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Arden expected his paws to feel heavy, but they were lighter than ever. He expected to turn around at least once to rethink his decision, but he kept marching forward.

He walked slowly and leisurely; there was no reason to hurry.

He found his parents sitting in the living room, reading.

"Don't forget to take your bag out of the car, honey." Mrs. Halinen looked up from her book as he walked into the room.

Even meeting her gaze served nothing to diminish Arden's resolve.

"Mom, Dad." He paused long enough for them to put their books down and look at him. "I'm gay."

That was it. No preamble, no stammering, no lengthy speeches. 'I'm gay.' Two words that would decide the rest of his life.

Mrs. Halinen sighed and put her book down. Arden watched her leave the room.

He sighed. 'So begins.'

His mom would leave the room and spend the next several hours in tears while his dad screamed at him and told him to get out of his house. He was about to take out his cell phone and call Mark when he realized that while his mom did leave the room, the tears and his father's yelling were conspicuously absent.

Arden stood there for a few moments, trying to decide what to do. His resolve began to melt away, exposing a fresh layer of panic.

What if his mother went to call the police... or the church... or...

His thoughts were interrupted by Mrs. Halinen walking back into the room. She was clutching something in her left paw. Money?

'My last allowance.' Arden extended his paw.

Fear turned to confusion when Mrs. Halinen walked straight by him. "Here." She tossed the twenty dollar bill at his father. "Happy now?"

"Not yet." Mr. Halinen graced her with a self-satisfied smirk.

"You were right and I was wrong." She sighed. "Honestly, Engvard, you're being such a cub right now."

"Well, that's what you get for assuming things." Mr. Halinen pocketed the money and sat back down.

"Huh?" Arden spoke up for the first time since his confession. Not a very eloquent line but pretty good considering his current state of confusion.

"Oh, don't worry, Son." Mr. Halinen winked. "Your mom will get over it."

"But I'm gay." Maybe they just didn't hear him.

"Oh, we know." His mother smiled.

"Yes, we both know now." Mr. Halinen smiled even broader and nudged his wife. "Used to be just me, though. Your mother's a little slow to catch on sometimes; you know how she is. But hey; now, I'm twenty dollars closer to a new pair of skis!"

Mrs. Halinen rolled her eyes and chuckled.

"So, it's okay?" Arden was beginning to smile too. He knew for certain he was either hallucinating or dreaming. Either way, this daze would lift, and he would find himself in his room again, no closer to his goal.

"Son, we love you." Mr. Halinen got up from the couch and walked over to him. "We loved you when you were Arden the fire-otter, who decided to put out the fire in my bookcase with the garden hose, and we will always love you."

"Yes." Mrs. Halinen walked over and pulled both of them into a big hug. "We're only sorry that society has made it so hard for you to tell us that."

"Speaking of which," Mr. Halinen raised an eyebrow, "whatever made you decide to tell us now?"

Arden told them about his feelings for Mark and his talk with Katelyn.

"That's wonderful, dear!" Mrs. Halien beamed. "He is a very nice young wolf. Just be safe, okay?"

"And as far as Katelyn goes..." Mr. Halinen's smile turned a little more mischievous. "I've got an idea. Call her and tell her you couldn't do it. Say something like 'I didn't have it in my heart to dump Mark.'... or whatever you need to say to make sure she pays us a visit."

"I will!" Arden pulled his phone out of his pocket. Somewhere between that and dialing Katelyn's number, it hit him: he told his parents that he was gay... and they accepted him. The obstacle he feared so much was now overcome. He needed to call Mark, he needed to tell the wolf that they were another step closer to being accepted... but first...

"Oh, hi, Arden!" Katelyn's nasty voice cooed, but it could do nothing to puncture his bubble of happiness.

He tried his best to sound sad and distraught. "I couldn't do it." That was the truth. When he last talked to Mark, he contemplated it, but the thought of not being with the wolf drove the idea from him with a force that made his head spin.

"Hm, suit yourself." Katelyn sighed dramatically. "And there I was, trying to help you. Oh well; I guess we'll just do it the hard way. I'll be seeing you in a bit, sunshine."

This time, it was Arden who hung up first. "Yes, you will." He flipped his phone closed and smiled.

"Did she buy it?" Mr. Halinen was bouncing eagerly on the balls of his feet.

"I think so." Arden couldn't help but be amused at his father's giddiness. "She said she'll 'be seeing me in a bit.'"

"Ooh, this is gonna be fun!" Mr. Halinen rubbed his paws together. "I'll let you know when she comes over. I think you have at least two more phone calls to make."

"Oh, that's right!" The thought of Mark waiting for his call made him twinge guiltily.

He ran upstairs and dialed the wolf's number as fast as he could.

The phone barely rang once before Mark picked up. "Please don't hang up this time!"

Arden could tell that he'd been crying just moments before. "I'm so sorry, hon." He cradled the phone with his paws. "I just needed your support without you talking me out of what I was about to do."

"You came out to them, didn't you?" Didn't miss a thing, that wolf.

"Yes."

"And I'm guessing by the tone of your voice that it went okay."

"Oh, better than okay!" Arden closed his eyes and savored the warmth in his chest. "They told me they love me... and that they love you, too."

"You mean they're okay with us... being together?" Mark whispered the last part.

Arden realized then that his parents were probably within earshot.

"Yup!" Saying that caused Arden to grin even more broadly. "As it turned out, they actually had a bet going on whether I was gay or not. My dad won."

"So, your parents would be okay with us sleeping together." The question alone made Arden's fur tingle.

"Well, they didn't say it in so many words." He lay on his bed, looking up at the ceiling for the second time that night. "But I think they realize that with two teenage boys, that's pretty much inevitable."

"Speaking of sleeping together." Mark lowered his voice again. "How about that sleepover?"

"Oh crap, I completely forgot to ask, hold on!" He put the phone on his bed, and ran downstairs.

Mrs. Halinen had already gone to bed by that point; her husband was still sitting in his chair, reading a book.

"Hey, Dad..." Arden paused, musing at how he seemed to have more trouble asking his dad about the sleepover than he did telling him he was gay.

"Yeees..." His father lowered the book he was reading.

"Mark asked if I could come over on Tuesday."

"Ooh, a sleepover!" A knowing grin played on his muzzle.

"Yeah." Arden felt his face flush.

"Fine by me."

Arden kissed him on the cheek and started walking away.

"Arden, I'm not going to lecture you on safe sex. God, I know how awkward those talks are, trust me." He cleared his throat. "I will just trust you to know what's right."

"Thanks, Dad!" He loved his family more than ever at that point. Not only did they love him, but they continued to love him after his confession as if he never said a word.

He ran up to his room to break the good news to the wolf. "Dad says I can come over!"

"Awesome! I'll see you tomorrow, though, right? You've got to keep up with your training if you want to make the cut for the fitness exam."

"Even if I didn't have to make the cut," Arden corrected him, "you'd still see me tomorrow."

"Tomorrow, then."

"Yup. Love you!" Even yesterday, Arden would have felt unsure of whether he meant it or not; today, he couldn't be more certain.

"I love you too, Ar." Mark spoke firmly. "Please remember that. I'll be here for you no matter what."

"Thank you." He felt the familiar warmth return upon hearing those words.

He waited for his cell phone to end the call and then dialed Sam and told him the story.

"I figured they'd be okay with it." Nonetheless, he sounded relieved. "They're Finnish. It's not such a big deal in Scandinavia."

"Why didn't you tell me that before?" He wasn't angry at his friend, but that bit of information would have made things a lot easier.

"You never know. I didn't want to be wrong."

Arden was about to tell him about the sleepover, when he heard the doorbell ring.

"I've got to go, Sam." He hoped that he didn't sound like he wanted to get rid of his friend. "I'll call you tomorrow."

He ran downstairs.

Mr. Halinen was already waiting by the door. When he saw Arden, he motioned for him to hide in the living room.

Once his son was out of sight, Mr. Halinen opened the door. "May I help you?" He looked impassive, feigning total ignorance.

"Yes."

Arden heard Katelyn's voice. If he weren't so happy, he would have rushed out right then and there and choked her to death. As it was, he decided to wait.

"Is Arden there?"

"Arden!" Mr. Halinen turned in his direction.

After waiting to seem like he was far away from the door, the otter came over to stand next to his father.

"K... Katelyn?" He was really getting the hang of this acting thing. "Can we... we maybe talk in private."

"Oh, it's rude to keep secrets from your family." She paused, smiling nastily. "And speaking of secrets... I have a few pictures that you might want to see, sir."

"What kind of pictures?" Mr. Halinen tilted his muzzle comically.

Katelyn seemed too absorbed in herself to realize it. "Oh, just pictures of Arden and his... boyfriend."

"Oh, that's perfect!" Mr. Halinen's eyes lit up. "We were just talking about getting a picture of the two boys together. Can you print us... let's see... one, two, three... oh, and one for Uncle Marku... so four; yes, four copies. I'll reimburse you if you want."

Between his father's innocent expression and Katelyn's deer-in-the-headlights one, Arden did his level best not to laugh. He bit his tongue until he could taste blood.

"Ah... A... I need to go." Katelyn blinked several times and turned around. She walked off before either of the two otters had a chance to reply.

Mr. Halinen called after her. "Don't forget those pictures!"

He barely closed the door before the two doubled over with laughter, tears coursing from their eyes.

"Oh, you two." Mrs. Halinen came down the stairs. She, too, was smiling.

"So Dad, why Uncle Marku?" Arden recovered slowly from his laughing spasm.

"Well, he's gay too... didn't you know?"

"No..." But then he remembered something "wait, so... Uncle Kusti is..."

"His husband, yes." Mr. Halinen shrugged. "We always sort of assumed you knew. I mean, they do live together."

"Wow." Arden chuckled. "I should hang out with the family more, huh?"

Mrs. Halinen nodded. "We were actually going to ask you if you wanted to go to Finland over Christmas break."

Arden only had one question. "C-"

"Yes, Mark can come too." His dad added, smiling.

"But I'm sure telling him can wait 'til tomorrow."

At this point, Arden wouldn't have rescinded the possibility that his parents could read his mind.

"Oh suure! Don't include me in family bonding." Mikey stood at the top of the stairs, arms folded, but wearing a huge grin. He ran down the stairs and swept them into a hug. Despite having fairly long arms for an otter, his were still not long enough; not that it mattered. Arden closed his eyes and enjoyed the moment. He and his family were close, but over the past few days they grew closer than he ever thought possible. There were no secrets anymore. He felt pressure building up behind his eyes, but he didn't mind; those were tears of joy.

Mark was waiting for him at the track the next day. "Coach twisted his ankle, so practice was canceled."

"Maybe you'll have enough energy to keep up now." Arden laughed. Laughing came easy to him now; he hoped that would be the case more often than not in his life.

"Oh, we'll see about that." Mark broke into a sprint.

Arden watched him round the track and come up behind him.

"Who says I was talking about running?" Arden smiled alluringly at the wolf.

"Wha... what, right now?" Mark stared at him, muzzle agape, finally realizing that the otter meant.

"Yes. Right here, on the track." Arden patted the bulge in his pants "If you're that eager, that is. Me, I think I'll just wait 'til tomorrow."

"Yeah." Mark tore his eyes from the otter's bulge and smiled. "That sounds like a good plan. Although, I don't know which one of us is more eager." He looked back at Arden's rapidly-tightening pants.

They jogged the rest of the way in silence, enjoying each other's company.

After the run, they went to Rabbit's and got smoothies.

Arden half-expected to see Katelyn there waiting for them; but, remembering the events of the previous night, he decided that she would be out of their fur, at least for a while.

They drank their smoothies on the way home. Both boys paused momentarily by the row of hedges next to Arden's house. They looked at each other and smiled, deciding that waiting one more day would only make things sweeter.

Arden called Sam that night and caught up with his friend on the events of the past month. He was glad to be talking to the otter again. It felt like every day they spent apart made it harder and harder to get back together. "Why don't we meet up at Rabbit's tomorrow? We can hang out, get smoothies, and you'll finally get to meet Mark."

"Sounds awesome!" He could feel Sam's excitement right through the phone. "Just text me when you're done with your run."

"You could join us for that too, you know." Arden offered to run with Sam before, but the otter declined.

"I could... but I think I'd rather just ask my dad to call the Board of Ed. and threaten them with a lawsuit. That option is a bit easier on my legs."

"Suit yourself." Arden chuckled.

They talked for a little while longer before bidding each other good bye and going to sleep.

Arden got to the track extra early on Tuesday and sat in the bleachers, watching the soccer team practice. He could immediately see why Mark was captain. The other players were good, but the wolf had a certain something to him that made him a natural leader. It seemed like he was the one in control of the entire game. He called passes and shouted encouragement to everyone else. Arden felt a swelling of pride for the wolf... as well as a different kind of swelling in his shorts.

By the time practice was over, he managed to calm his excitement somewhat.

The run seemed to fly by; Arden realized after checking his cell phone that he was now down to eight minutes on his mile. It was a vast improvement, especially over the twenty minutes he clocked in the three days after Mark came over for dinner. Then again, it was a surprise to him that he was even able to run then.

On their way to Rabbit's, he texted Sam.

The otter showed up about ten minutes after he and Mark did, greeting them both with a smile and a paw-shake.

They got smoothies together and sat down in their usual place.

"We should come here more often." Sam took another sip of his smoothie. "This place is great!"

"Yeah." Arden sighed, looking into Mark's blue eyes. He remembered his first visit to Rabbit's. "This place is pretty cool, alright."

The smoothies ended long before the conversation did. The boys talked about anything and everything. Arden was happy to see his best friend and his... boyfriend hitting it off so well.

He resolved that all three of them should hang out together once school started.

They walked back to their neighborhood together, bidding Sam goodbye once they reached his house. A block and a half later, Mark stopped. "Home, sweet home." He nodded to a large house with lemon-yellow siding and a lemon-shaped mailbox. "My mom likes lemons." He added, seeing Arden examining the mailbox.

"I can tell." Arden followed him inside.