FSE

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'It's no fair, it's not like we were doing anything dangerous or whatever,' she said with a pout as they walked through the woods one evening, passing through their erstwhile firing range and checking out the damage inflicted on their target boulder.

'I dunno, that rock looks like it's telling us it was dangerous enough,' Sean noted, pausing as a squirrel scampered past him. 'Besides, I knew I shouldn't even have let you touch those guns, much less learn to use them. I shouldn't have let you walk all over me like that. Dunno what the hell's wrong with me.'

'Oh, woulda coulda shoulda,' Aki said with a little smirk. 'And there's nothing wrong with you. I kinda like how I can control you. You're like clay in my hands.'

Sean gave her a look, slightly stung at her smug air. 'You know, back where I come from, they knew just what to do with insolent little missies like you.'

Aki flashed him a deliberately cheeky grin, forcing him to smile in turn. 'See? Told ya you were mine,' she stated, wrapping an arm around his waist possessively.

Sean rolled his eyes and shook his head, but nonetheless wrapped his own arm around her in return as they walked the woodland path. One thing he was glad about being back in his suit was the lack of a trailing robe to get snagged on all kinds of vegetal protuberances during their little hikes.

They arrived at a familiar-looking little grove of trees. Looking around, he thought he recognized some of the surrounding trees.

'Are we going to ...?'

'It's as good a destination as any,' Aki said with a little shrug as the trees gave way to reveal their secret retreat, the pond glistening as the late-afternoon sunrays caught it at an angle through the fiery tree canopy. They had returned once or twice since Aki had first brought him there, usually staying only as long as it took to dip their feet in the limpid waters and enjoy the scenery before returning to the village, by which time suppertime was usually around the corner.

By habit, they crept down the slippery stone slope until they arrived at the narrow ledge, sitting down and letting their feet dip in the cool water (Sean removing his boots first). He was surprised how refreshing the water felt at his feet, which were no longer used to being confined to boots all day.

Aki's foot drifted over to his and she caught his toes in her own.

'Think I caught something,' she said quietly with a little smile, giving his foot a little tug. 'Should I reel it in?'

Sean was almost surprised at how easy his smile came to him. 'Dunno. It looks kinda big. Think you'd be able to pull it all in?'

'Good point, it might pick a fight. Maybe I should soothe it first, give it a false sense of security.'

As she spoke, her foot began dragging up and down along his own, slowly and softly, her silky fur feeling strangely pleasant against his skin. He suddenly became acutely aware of how her hand had covered his own; he hadn't noticed at first as it had been completely casual. He did notice her eyes, though, which were gazing at him, beautifully blue and twinkling as they always did. He felt his cheeks warm up slightly, but couldn't bother to look away.

'You're weirdly good-looking, you know,' she said. 'For a hairless ape, I mean.'

Her tone was unusually calm, and that last part was added almost as if she didn't want her statement to sound too serious. His face grew warmer, though he tried not to blink.

'Thanks,' he said, somewhat blankly. 'And you ... look good too. For a fox.'

She grinned, showing her pointy teeth. 'Not too quick when you're embarrassed, are you?'

He looked away from her, hoping against all odds that her sharp vulpine eyes hadn't noticed the redness that was surely spreading across his face. He obstinately stared at the vegetation around them, particularly the thick roots snaking down the rock basin and plunging into the water. Aki followed his gaze, her softly furred hand remaining atop his own. He briefly considered removing it, or maybe rubbing his thumb along her wrist.

Aki sighed, breaking the sudden silence between them. 'Was there ever anyone in your life, Sean?'

Sean's mind suddenly went from spinning feverishly to a standstill.

'"Anyone"?' he repeated blankly.

'You know ... someone special. More than a friend. A girl, or a guy. A mate ... or a lover, I mean.'

Sean fidgeted, his legs splashing around a little more noisily in the water than he'd like. 'No ... not really. Never really had time for anything like that.' He suddenly had the strangest feeling of déjà vu.

He definitely felt Aki's hand press down a little more onto his. 'And ... now?'

He felt compelled to turn back around and look at her. She had definitely moved closer, and she was gazing at him again. Her beautiful foxy face was devoid of its usual playfulness; in fact, at that moment, he couldn't recall her ever looking more solemn. He couldn't look away.

They gazed at each other without moving or speaking, Sean all too aware of his own breathing, seemingly transfixed in those bottomless cerulean orbs.

'We're friends,' he heard himself state simply.

This time, Aki blinked, and he thought he saw her withdraw a fraction of an inch.

'Yeah,' she said finally. 'We are, aren't we?'

Sean looked at her for a moment longer, then suddenly followed a sudden compulsion: he grasped her hand over his, brought it up, and laid a perfectly gentlemanly kiss on it, the fine fur tickling his lips. He gave her a smile that suddenly felt almost too hearty.

'Yeah. And I - love having you as a friend, Aki.'

The foxgirl stared at him, almost dumbfounded, then broke into an easy smile and retrieved her hand from his, brushing her fingers affectionately against his palm as she went.

'You too, Sean,' she said quietly but earnestly, her features regaining some of their usual radiance.

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Obligatory stats (whole book): Current word count (final estimate): 178,591 (~ 200,000) Current page count (final estimate): 489 (~ 530)