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Harold was on my right, visibly and audibly uncomfortable, clearing his throat a couple times and making the gestures to begin speech, but found appropriate words only after some diligent thinking.

"Well... I guess that answers that question."

"What question?" Alistair asked in a bright, cheerful tone.

"Whether or not you're gay." Harold chugged the remainder of his water. "Looks like he's already gotten in your pants. Or you've gotten in his. I don't know how this works, and I don't care to know." He stood up, steadying himself for a moment as the alcohol and shock combined in his head.

Alistair stood as well. "Where are you off to, Harold?"

"Home. This is just too weird. Like, really fucking weird. Why... How... Why didn't you say anything? We've been swimming in the same pool for two seasons now. God. Thinking back on how friendly you are all the damn time, it makes total sense you'd be a faggot. What was I thinking coming here? I've... I've got to go." And with that, he headed towards the door.

"Harold, you don't understand. Besides, you're still tipsy." Alistair reached out for him, but Harold was already at the door. "Look, you don't have to stay the night--"

"Yeah right I'm staying here! I'm not getting fucked in the middle of the night by either of you."

"--But stay for another half hour. That's all I ask. After that, you can go home, quit the team, hate me forever, I don't care. It's a silly prank that maybe went a bit too far, and not worth risking a ticket for."

"Or worse," Victor added.

"It's four beers, guys. I'm not going to kill anyone just being tipsy. I'll be fine. And I don't want to be here anymore. So let me go." He hit a button on his keychain, and a vehicle in the vicinity beeped as the engine came on. Opening the double doors, he decided to leave with one final comment:

"Ian? Victor? If you don't get out of here soon, you're just as gay as these two." And with that, the party shrunk by one.

"Idiot," Victor muttered. "Should we stop him?"

"He'll be fine. He's probably going to have a mini-freak out before he drives off, sleep like a baby, and then not know what to say to us next practice. He's an adult. Let him make his own mistakes, if a 'mistake' is what you'd call it."

I eyed Ian cautiously. "What does that mean?"

"It means you can't do this sort of thing, Lex. Do you remember what the point of tonight was? To make you seem normal to all of us. How successful do you think you've been? You've already scared off two of my friends. And now you're sitting here in next to nothing looking like an entrée at some gay buffet. Did you really think this was going to improve things?" He cast a disapproving glare at Alistair. "You were just looking for a reason to take off your clothes. And our host is the only one who's okay with it."

Alistair's smile, so intrinsic to his face, slipped and fell. That did not prevent Ian from continuing.

"And who are you kidding anyway, Alistair? These are your shorts! You think it's normal for straight boys to swap undergarments? 'Cause I can tell you right now it's not. It's not normal to go out of your way to make gay friends. It's not normal to invite a gay guy you hardly know back to your house for any reason. It's not normal to let him make a fool out of himself--and not just be okay with it, but to encourage it--as he sends away one friend after another, angry and confused, from your home. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Alistair was still. He just kind of nodded, like someone had popped his favorite-colored balloon.

"Face it, Victor: Alistair's gay, and he doesn't have the balls to come out about it, even though we're his closest friends. So he's put together this stupid farce of a production, complete with drama and surprise and suspense, all so he can get his rocks off watching the reactions of his captive audience: us. But have you noticed? The audience is leaving before the show's even over. Maybe you ought to drop the curtain." Ian narrowed his eyes as he concluded, daring Alistair to say something, anything to counter his assessments.

"I... I will not be insulted in my own house." Anger rose in Alistair's voice as a scowl took shape. I'd never seen him upset, and had never wanted to. I was filled with a desire to kick Ian out, to tell him how horrible he was, to come to my man's defense (even if he was just my imaginary man)... but what Ian said made sense. That reptile was clever, and his razor wit wasn't just for telling jokes. He and Eliza would have made great friends.

Ian chuckled again. "News flash, Alistair: It's your dad's house. So how about you drop this game and summon up the courage to tell us what we already know so we can go back to having a good time, yeah? Lex can put his clothes back on, we can finish our beers, play a game or something, and in the morning we'll pretend like tonight wasn't completely fucked up."

I looked down at the golden nametag on my fine leather collar, down to my naked torso, down to the swim briefs of Alistair's I was wearing. At any other moment, the thought of my package touching the same fabric that withheld his cock would have been enough to get me rock hard, but just then I was feeling every kind of out-of-place. It was like before, when we first talked outside the pool. What was Alistair thinking? Why was he doing all of this? Was this all part of some bigger plan of his? Only this time I was the one practically naked.

Victor was just watching the whole scene, his eyes going from Alistair to Ian to me and back, taking mental notes but offering no opinion. He gave me a conciliatory look and a friendly smile. It must have been terribly obvious how conflicted I felt. I just sat on the couch, not moving, not speaking, and occasionally returning Victor's glances. We were two stone gargoyles while a couple of pigeons squawked their little hearts out. I guess Victor was a deadly predator, too... but he didn't give off that same dangerous vibe Ian did. I told myself it was because Victor had a kind heart, and not because a part of me still feared reptiles.

Finally Alistair said something worthwhile.

"Ian..."

"Yes? Out with it."

"Victor... Lex... oh Lex, I'm so sorry." He sat down next to me and took my hand. I was simultaneously elated and scared. It really was like the pool all over again....

"The truth is, chaps... well, I don't really know what I am." He coughed, but it came out as more of a squeak. It was hard to tell if that was because he was terrified, or because he was an otter. "I've found men handsome. I've found women beautiful. I haven't been with many people, and the ones I have been with were fairly awkward, probably because I haven't decided for myself yet where Mr. Kinsey would put me."

Ian had a distinctly smug look and sighed. "You say 'people'... Have you fucked a girl?"

"That's--! That's highly inappropriate," Alistair stammered.

"Fine, fine... Have you been emotionally drawn to a woman?"

"Yes."

"And has a man ever caught your eye?"

"... Yes."

"Do you naturally prefer the thought of intimacy with one sex or another?" Ian was speaking to him like the cold-blooded croc was teaching a human growth and development class. It was too much. I could see that Alistair was in pain; that the emotional turmoil was building to critical mass as tears formed at the corners of his eyes. So what if he was a bit old to be struggling with his sexuality? So what if he didn't know who he was? Do any of us, really? I couldn't bear to see this go on another moment.

I tapped Ian lightly on the shoulder and brought my hand back down to my other, locking fingers over my crotch. "Please, Ian... That's enough."

"Are you sure, Lex? You're the one who's had to suffer for this most of all. You're the one who has everything to win or lose by his answers. I mean, you came out, and look at you! You're still in one piece. What's he so afraid of?"

I gave a sympathetic smile to my vulnerable otter. "Yes, I'm out... but it hasn't been easy, and you know that. You've been right there with people making fun of me once or twice, Ian. No one can answer these questions for Alistair but Alistair. So please. Let him be. Whether he's gay, straight, bi, asexual, or some combination of the four, it won't change that he's your teammate, and all of our friend, right?"

A slow grin spread across Ian's toothy jaws. "You know something, Lex? I like you. Maybe not in the way Alistair does, but you're a good guy. I think we can be buddies." The croc stuck out his hand; I lifted one from my lap and cemented the cordial shake. "And thank you, Alistair, for inviting us." The accusatory timbre was gone, and Ian sounded quite pleased with himself. "I've got to say, tonight has been very illuminating."

"Yes, well... I'm glad you could have your fun. You're welcome for the pizza, by the way." Alistair took in a deep breath and exhaled heavily. "I trust our cameraderie is still intact?"

Of course I nodded vigorously in the affirmative.

"Sure thing," Ian replied. "No scales off my nose."

Victor, however, had an air of betrayal about him. "Why, Al? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I'm truly sorry, Victor. I didn't think it was worth mentioning until I knew for sure, one way or another. It was never my intention to mislead or harm you. Please believe me, mate."

The tiger winced. "... We're still friends, but don't call me 'mate'."

There was some trivial conversation among the four of us after that, but Alistair's cheery demeanor never recovered, and it wasn't long before he said he was headed to bed. I asked if there was anything we could do, but he refused, claiming to just want to sleep for a while. I guess in the end I couldn't blame him. That was the night Alistair became more than just an object of worship to me. He became a person. It was going to take some time to get used to.

After he went off, Ian talked for a bit to Victor and I. He said that while he may have been harsh, it was the only way to get Alistair to quit going around in circles. We exchanged poignant looks, but neither of us could say much on that point. He finished off his beer and headed out as well, adding that if Alistair was still upset the next time we saw him, to apologize of Ian's behalf. Victor and I were left alone.

We sat in silence for a while. There wasn't much left to say, as far as I knew.

"You know," Victor started. "I wonder how serious Harold was about quitting."

I huffed. "Why the hell should I care? If he can't play on the same team as someone who's wired differently than him, I don't give a rat's ass."

We caught the unintentional pun at the same time, and laughed a fair amount.

"I feel the same way, Lex. I feel the same, in a lot of ways." The tiger moved in closer on the couch so we were next to each other.

My mental reaction was along the lines of, Ummmmmm, what?!

"Ian's a smart guy. Brilliant, even. But when you're so focused on catching your prey, you can lose track of the ones you should really watch for."

I turned in my seat and looked him in the eyes.

"... Victor?"

He placed a paw on my face and stroked my cheek with his thumb. "Ian and I never talk much unless Alistair's around to make it happen. Not that I dislike the guy, but I'm not easy to get to know."

My mouth fell open as I tore through the dictionary in my brain, looking for some string of words that came close to approximating my feelings right then.

"I'm sorry, Lex... is this bothering you?" He beamed, as warmly as a summer day.

"N-no... not at all... it's just, I had no idea...."

"That's because you were focused on the wrong predator," he responded, his tongue emerging from his mouth and licking his lips in feline fancy. I chuckled, confused but excited. I could feel the heat building inside me, my cock hardening inside my sheath.

"But Alistair--"

"--Is in bed. Let's let him rest. He's had a hard day." He took a whiff of the air, picking up my scent and interest. "But not as hard as you're going to have."

Could I do this? Should I do this? Here, on Alistair's couch, right after he almost had a nervous breakdown? It was suddenly very hard to believe I'd ever thought of Victor as shy... and very, very hard not to think of him being inside me.

"Lex," he breathed, allowing his paw to glide down my torso. "Do you want me to make you feel good? You have to say 'yes', or I'm going home."

I thought for a moment, with the sexy cat's muscular frame so close to mine, his paw pads delicately outlining my upper body. Then he stuck two of his fingers underneath the fabric of Alistair's briefs, not reaching for my groin or hole, just intimately nestled on my inner thigh.

"Y-yes, Victor," I practically yelped.

"Good. One condition, though."

My head was swimming, and my heart was pounding. "...Yes?"

He grabbed my nametag with his free hand and pulled my face so close to his our noses were touching, as he looked into my eyes with a feral, intense gaze. I was immediately sobered.

"I'm not Alistair, and don't you dare think of him while we're together."