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Thanksgiving

I'd woken up on that Thanksgiving morning early, despite the fact that I'd arrived home from work early the day before to do most of the prep work. Almost everything was ready to cook, or already done, so there would be no panic as it jostled for space on the stove or lost the oven for most of the day to the turkey breast we had bought. It was a holiday after all, a day to relax and enjoy; a day to be thankful for the good things in life. It had been many a Thanksgiving since I'd anything to truly be thankful for, but that year I had a perfectly good reason to be thankful. And at that moment, that reason was snoring next to me...

His name is Cerberus, and on that day he'd been my boyfriend for about five months. He was a grey and white husky with deep blue eyes that I loved to gaze into and see my red and grey scales reflected on. His bushy tail covered my leg as I sat up. I let him sleep for a few more minutes before I pounced on him with a shake of my tail. Nothing in the world could sleep through a male dragon pouncing on them. He took it rather well I thought, just opening his eyes and giving me a warm smile as he settled back into the bed after bouncing off my chest. It was just one more thing that convinced me that I loved him.

"Happy Thanksgiving, handsome," I greeted him as I'd leaned down for a kiss.

"And a Happy Thanksgiving to you," he replied as he reached up, putting his paws behind my crest and pulling me down to him for that kiss. Neither of us had very good breath-but we didn't care, we were just happy to express our love for each other.

"And what are you thankful for?" he asked sleepily as our snouts parted.

"Plenty, and all of it right here," I said with just a hint of playfulness in my voice as I let my claws wander in the general direction of his crotch. But I passed that by and put my arm under his waist and pulled him into my chest. He returned my embrace and we kissed again before I returned him to the mattress. "You're the best boyfriend a dragon could want Cerbi."

"And you're the best boyfriend a husky could want Jay Dee," he completed our little ritual. "But I don't see why this couldn't have waited another hour or so!"

I laughed at that. Cerberus was a graphic designer, like me still going to school, but his jobs were contract and commission work- he could (and did) work from home most of the time. He claimed to do his best work after I had gone to bed, and I would often be woken up in the middle of the night by him climbing into bed- not that I minded at all.

"I missed you, that's all," I'd told him. "You get some more sleep while I go make breakfast." With that, I slid out of bed and headed for the bathroom. With my morning grooming out of the way, I went to the kitchen to make a simple breakfast- eggs, bacon, and toast. We were going to have a big meal that night after all. But as I was cooking, I realized that Thanksgiving meant that Christmas would be coming soon and that would force me to make a choice.

Christmas was the one time a year that my family got together, and I hadn't seen most of them since last year. I hadn't seen any of them since... since coming out. Why had I hesitated at that thought? Clearly I didn't have a problem with the fact that I was gay; just thinking about the dog sleeping in my bed put a smile on my face and got my lounge pants feeling tighter. So why was I so hesitant about this? I knew the answer to that: it was because it would mean that I would have to tell them. Tell them how the dragoness I had been dating had dumped me for another dragon, calling me a 'fag dragon' as she left for good measure; tell them how I'd gotten myself so depressed I wound up in therapy; tell them how I'd met Cerberus, and a few months later fallen completely in love with him (except of course, for my parents- who knew everything but that last bit). What could be wrong about that? Nothing, and yet...

Some members of my family were extremely religious; most of them were the kind of dragons that believed in the message of religion, but not everything that the Church said. Most of them would probably not even ruffle their crests if I told them about Cerbi and me. But others I wasn't so sure about. I didn't really know what to think. Should I just not go? Claim work or something? Maybe Cerberus would want to go see his family, and I could tag along with him. I'd frowned at the thought as I flipped the bacon. Was I seriously contemplating running away from my own family over the fact that I'd fallen in love with another male?

I was so engrossed in my thoughts that the first I knew of Cerberus' arrival was when his furry arms closed around my chest and a got a mint scented lick on the cheek. I smiled again, even though I was annoyed that I hadn't smelled him coming in- dragon senses being at least a sharp as dog senses. I teased him about just how much extra sleep he'd needed, but quickly realized that he was dozing on my shoulder. He had one of my wings pinned at a somewhat awkward angle, but I managed to gently free it and wrap it around my doggie. My fears of just a few moments ago had faded in the face of our love- right then, I wasn't afraid of anything.

I asked him if he had plans for the holidays after we had finished eating.

"Not really," he said as he collected the last of his eggs with his toast. "My parents died in a car crash several years ago, and I'm not really close with the rest of my family. I was going to ask you what you were up to for the holidays."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know."

"You never asked love," he chided. "It's alright though, I miss them, but I know they'd want me to be happy- and I am."

There was an undercurrent in his tone that I picked up on, but he shot me a 'drop it' look before I could say anything. That told me all I needed to know: his family knew, and while it seemed that his parents had been fine with it, the rest were not.

"Well," I said instead. "My family traditionally gets together for the holiday at my grandfather's place. There's gonna be... maybe sixteen of us, counting my cousin's new wyrmling. I was going to invite you to come along."

His eyes had brightened at that, but I couldn't quite hide the fact that I was chewing my lip a little.

"You're worried about having to tell them aren't you?" he'd asked quietly.

"Yeah," I'd admitted.

He reached across the table and took one of my claws in his paws. "Then I need to be there for you Jay Dee," he said with a squeeze. "You won't have to face it alone. Now, tell me about your family."

Well there's my parents, both of them PhDs, my younger brother, my aunt and her two children- both older than me and married, my uncle and his family with four kids either in college or high school. And my grandfather of course, a highly religious dragon who had coached high school football, basketball, and baseball in that part of the country for just about forever.

He asked some other questions about them as he collected the dishes and I answered as best I could, but didn't get a sense of what he was looking for until he sat back down.

"Tell your parents first," he said with finality. "They're not going to have a problem with it, and they can tell you if it's a good idea or not to bring me."

"Why would it not be a good idea to bring you? My brother has brought his girlfriend a couple of times."

"I'm not going to dignify that with a response," Cerberus replied.

He was right, and I knew he was right- so there was no point.

"Call your parents this weekend, and see what they think. But tell me before you do- I will be there for you Jay Dee."

I reached across the table and this time I took his paw in my claws.

"I will. And if they say it's not a good idea, I'm not going. You're my family too Cerbi and I don't want you alone on Christmas."

"I know Jay- hopefully it won't come to that," he said quietly. "I'm thankful that I found someone like you. Now, when do we have to start the turkey?"

That was the last we spoke of the subject for the next two days. We had a good time on Thanksgiving- managing to get in some sexual 'play' as Cerberus called it while dinner was heating. Cerberus defined sex pretty much as intercourse, so by his definition we had not had sex yet- a situation that neither of us were in any particular hurry to change. Every now and again, we would have a good laugh about just how little of our lives was devoted to sex- especially since we were two young males living on our own. We were still best friends, we just happened to be lovers as well. Dinner was excellent, and we went to bed early- stuffed full. And we slept in late the next day. Since we both hated crowds there was no reason to leave the house. I don't think we even got dressed that Friday. Leftovers provided lunch and dinner for Friday, so there was very little work to do- I got some writing in, and Cerberus did some drawing in the office we shared.

Finally, Saturday came and I had to face my next challenge: coming out to my Mom. I hadn't talked to her in a while. I think the last thing we had talked about was Cerberus moving into the house with me. She knew about my breakup with... her (even though I realize now that she was right- I was gay, she still cheated on me before leaving- I will never say her name again). I lay awake for a long time in bed that morning, running through every possible way this conversation could go and as it went worse and worse in my head, I had started to get angry. A thin curl of smoke drifted lazily out of my nostril, but then Cerberus rolled over in his sleep and put his nose in my chest. The cool wetness dispelled my anger, and I just began hoping that he was right about how she would react. But I had a doggie who needed to cuddle at that moment, so the dreaded call could wait.

But far too soon, Cerberus rolled back over and left me free to escape the bed. I did so reluctantly, taking my phone from the night table and leaving the room so Cerberus could keep sleeping. I lingered in the bathroom, going through it over and over again. Why did I need to tell her? I was just bringing a friend who didn't have a home to go back to for the holidays. Why didn't he have a home to go back to? Oh, because he's gay. So you're just going to claim to be best friends, huh? Not going to admit that what we have is special? What kind of boyfriend does that make you?

I grabbed the bathroom doorframe and slammed my head into it to try and make the voices stop. They subsided a little bit with the pain- but they didn't go away. I took my phone from off the sink and headed into the living room to make the call. The voices told me to get Cerberus, but I told them he needed his sleep. It was my own mother, after all- if I couldn't tell her on my own, who could I tell? My finger hovered above her speed dial number.

"I'm not ashamed," I'd told myself. Really? Then why are you so scared?

I didn't have an answer for that, so I just pushed the button. The first part of the conversation went well, as we talked about how things were going with her and Dad, and how school was going for me. But after a while, we turned to the subject of Thanksgiving, and that inevitably lead to the discussion of Christmas. Finally, there was no delaying it any longer.

"Mom," I'd said hesitantly. "Do you think it would be okay if I brought someone with me?"

"Oh? Who?"

"My...my... my boyfriend," I stammered. I'd almost hung up right then and there, but instead I slumped against the wall and I felt some of the tension leave me as I slowly slid to the floor. There was a moment of silence after that, and I could have sworn that she heard my heart racing over the phone- I'd thought it was going to hammer its way out of my chest.

"You have a boyfriend?" she asked after a pause. "Since when?"

"Since the summer," I replied as I desperately tried to read into her tone.

"Why didn't you say anything? I knew you were so down about breaking up with..."

"MOM! Please don't say her name!" I interrupted as my tail thrashed the floor.

"I'm sorry. But it seems you've gotten over her, why are you still hurt?"

"She cheated on me, and called me a fag when she broke up with me before leaving in the arms of her new boy toy! I can't get over that."

"Are you sure that this isn't just a reaction to that?" she asked seriously. "Whatever it feels like to you, I'm not trying to upset you Jay Dee." (She used my full name there, but I reserve the author's right to a little anonymity, so I'm not going to give you my full name.) "I'm your mother- it's my prerogative to make sure you are thinking with your head and your heart and not just your balls."

I thought about that for a long time. I had gotten this far by being honest with her, and all I could do now was play this out. The frightening level of frankness she'd just displayed probably helped a little.

"Looking at it now," I said after a deep sigh. "She was right- every problem we had was because I was trying to be something I'm not. It seems so obvious to me now..."

"What's his name?" she asked after another pause.

"Cerberus."

"Cerberus? The husky you met in therapy?"

"Yeah," I said, and I'd looked up as his scent drifted into the room. He was standing in the open doorway, clearly having hurried from the bathroom, as he was still pulling his boxers up. His usually soft blue eyes had a hard edge in them as he glared at me slumped on the floor. He was as angry as I had ever seen him and I collapsed inside knowing that he was angry at me.

'Jay Dee! Why didn't you wake me up?' he mouthed angrily.

"Is he handsome?" my mother asked at the same time.

"Yes," I'd said, thoroughly chastised. "Except when he's angry with me."

"Why is he angry with you?" she'd asked, he voice now filling the room as I hit the speakerphone option.

"Hello Dr. Drackus," Cerberus said into the phone as he'd taken a seat next to me on the floor. "I'm not that mad at him, he just doesn't listen too well sometimes."

"Hello Cerberus," she greeted with a chuckle. "It seems that you've already figured out that he's too independent for his own good sometimes, so that's good."

"I just wanted to be there for him when he told you," Cerberus said as he took my free claw in his paws. "I know what it's like having to tell someone by yourself, and I didn't want him to have to go through that."

"I see," she said in a tone that suggested that she really did see. "Did he at least ask you if you wanted to come before he called?" I could feel my ears burning- wedged between my boyfriend and my mother proved to be the maximum on the embarrassment scale. And it wasn't about to get any better.

"He did," Cerberus replied, wrapping his arms around my chest. "It was my idea that he ask you about it first."

"Probably a good idea," she said. "So, who knows?"

"Me, him, you, and one of my publishers," I'd put in, glad to be at least part of the conversation again. Until I realized how much trouble I had caused for myself.

"One of your publishers?"

"He entered a short story about how we met and fell in love in a contest," Cerberus said with a giggle. "He won first prize- quite a large check too..."

"You did? Why didn't you tell me? You know that I'll read your stuff Jay Dee."

"Absolutely not!" I'd shouted. "There is no way I'm letting you read that! And now I'm not even going to tell you which publisher."

"Jay Dee!" she used my real name again. "What could you have possibly done that would be so bad that you don't want your mother to celebrate your accomplishments?"

Cerberus snickered as I put my free claw to my face. I was already bulling through everything else, so why stop now?

"I... I gave him fellatio as soon as I realised I was gay," I whispered and tried to melt into the floor. That both she and Cerberus started laughing at that did not make it any better.

"Jay Dee," she said as soon as she could speak. "I'm your mother, and I will always love you. I'm glad you found this out before you ended up in a situation where you would be unhappy for a long time. I'm not going to give you the sex talk, because you are both old enough to understand the risks."

We'd both agreed to that.

"Now, I am going to tell your father- he's not going to get upset about it, I promise. I want you two to come here to help us decorate for Christmas as soon as classes are over- alright? I don't have a problem with Cerberus coming with you for the holidays, but I want both of to be aware that you may have to keep it cool around certain members of the family. Okay?"

We both agreed again. It was one more thing we shared: we weren't that affectionate in public, we didn't even hold paws.

"One more thing: I want pictures of the two of you okay?"

We agreed again, and the conversation wound down quickly after that. After saying goodbye, I hung up and just dropped the phone at my side. I was shaking as all the emotions flooded out of me- I was crying, and I wasn't entirely sure why. My whole body was quivering.

"She was okay with it," I sobbed over and over again as if I was in a state of shock. Cerberus reached his muzzle up and started licking my face.

"I told you she would be, silly," he'd said.

I couldn't answer that, I just kept sobbing. Then I became aware that my boxers were leaving my waist. I looked down to see Cerberus was holding my waistband away from me and sticking his nose under it and into my crotch. He was sniffing for something, but in my current state, I couldn't tell what.

"Where's my naughty little dragon?" he sang, apparently to himself. "Come to Cerbi... Ah, there you are!"

The instant the cool wetness of his nose touched my shaft, I was aroused. Cerberus whipped my boxers off me and then brought his muzzle back to my crotch. I was still too emotionally drained to do anything to help or dissuade him as he started licking my sac and my shaft. With each lick, I got harder and harder- and when I was completely vertical, Cerberus took me into his muzzle and went to work.

Well, it was kind of hard to keep crying when your lover was performing for you and as Cerbi kept working me, I sniffed a few times and pulled myself together. I reached down under his erect tail, and began running a finger over his tail hole. I could tell by the way his eyes rolled back that he enjoyed that, and he began to work me with even more gusto. Cerberus had not done this as much as I had, and I had come to the conclusion that he just liked getting oral more than he enjoyed giving, which was fine by me.

Whatever he reasons, it clearly wasn't a lack of skill as his tongue was finding sensitive spots that I hadn't even known existed. I squeezed his arm and moaned as the sensations got more and more intense, but he didn't let up or let go as I climaxed. My head hit the wall as I sighed in afterglow, only looking down as a puddle of warm liquid splashed in my lap. Cerberus was on his paws and knees looking up at me, drool still dripping from his muzzle (I was sure he did that just to get my attention).

"Better?" he'd asked.

"Better," I said, wiping tears from my eyes. "I'm sorry Cerbi. I guess I'm still used to facing my problems on my own."

"I forgive you," he said. "But there's not going to be a next time okay?"

"Yeah," I replied. "There won't be a next time. But right now, I guess it's my turn huh?"

He grinned at that and wiggled out of his own boxers while I slid all the way onto the floor. My work was going to be easy; he was half out of his sheath already. He gently set himself down on me and rolled over on his back, spreading drool and cum over both of us as he slid up my chest. He stopped with his head at my throat and I reached one arm across his chest to hold him while my other claw gently grasped his shaft. He looked up at me and licked my muzzle.

"I wanna be here a while," he'd whispered. "Make it last."

There are some things that even I didn't have to be told twice. I don't know how long we lay there, but it was long enough for Cerberus to start to feel heavy (and to a dragon, who's used to being a couple of tons, it takes a while for a two hundred pound husky to get heavy- even in our Anthro forms) and long enough for me to get aroused again. My shaft was poking Cerberus at the base of his tail, which seemed to amuse him. We just lay there on the floor, me holding him, he holding my arm, and my other claw gently stroking his shaft. Every now and then, Cerberus would give my face an encouraging lick, and I fought the urge to go faster, although every time he did I gave him a gentle squeeze as I continued. But finally, he climaxed, leaving a white streak across my arm and we just lay there on the floor enjoying the moment.

After a little while I'd chuckled. "I guess we have to send her some pics, huh?"

"Yeah," he'd said. "But I think we should shower first..."

We did that, and then we spent the rest of the day getting pictures for my Mom. We went a lot of different places around town, and we sent her a bunch of pictures, but they all fell into one of three types- Cerberus alone, the two of us together, and the two of us kissing. I knew Cerberus was a little more personable then I am, but I was surprised at how many people he got to take pictures of us- and how few people were actually against taking pictures of two guys kissing. When we went back to the house, I'd gotten a simple text message from Mom.

You're right. He is handsome.

I showed it to Cerberus, who just laughed. "We have a lot to be thankful for Jay Dee."

"I am my doggie, I am."

(special thanks to Ruth of Pern for continuing editing duties)