FSE

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1. Newest Fling

Markus had quietly let himself out early the next morning. After taking a quick shower and making the bed, Keurin returned home, this time with his photograph in tow. He reached his apartment around noon and placed the photograph on the nightstand by his bed. He then had breakfast. Halfway through his plate of eggs, he was interrupted by a knock on the door.

As the dragon moved to answer his visitor, he half thought it would be Markus again, and couldn't stop his laughter.

"Well, hey, Keurin; what's so funny?"

"Oh, hey Alicia, Theresa; wow it's been a long time-"

The adopted sisters pounced upon the dragon and smothered him in hugs. Keurin flailed his arms as his two friends squeezed him into an embrace, even squeaking as the air was crushed out of him.

"Do you have any idea how long it's been!" Alicia cried, releasing him and punching his shoulder. Theresa nodded eagerly.

Keurin cupped his shoulder and rubbed it gently. "Okay, okay, I get it; sheesh, Alicia, break a guy's arm why don't you?"

The leopardess put his hands upon her hips and grinned. "Keep that in mind for when you think about leaving for another six years!"

Theresa, her adopted dragoness sister, nodded again.

"Fine, fine. I won't leave again. At least not for a stupid reason. How's Jacob?"

"He's fine. Playin' his stupid Xbox games like usual. You'd think he'd have grown out of it by now, you know?"

Keurin chuckled. "Yeah, I hear you. How about you and Theresa; how are y'all doing?"

"I'm fine. If I'm not collecting urine samples, I'm wiping kids' noses. That's the life, eh? Theresa's finally got a day off from teaching sign language at the academy. How're you?"

"Good, good. Getting used to being back here and not seeing snow and ice all the time."

Alicia passed her gaze over the apartment and said, "Have you talked to Marc since seeing him yesterday?"

Keurin scowled as if he had swallowed something disgusting and it had just made a second appearance in the back of his throat. "Shit, no."

"What exactly happened?"

"Exactly what I told you, Alicia. He assumed that I was giving him his ring because I thought he was poor and needed the money; like I was pitying him and that upset him, I guess because he thought that I thought I was better than him... Which I don't. I just wanted him to have what's his, but he upset me and so I yelled at him and lied about selling my ring when I really didn't sell it-"

"Why the hell would you lie about that?" Alicia threw up a hand as if to say, What, are you freakin' stupid or something?

The dragon withered under her gaze like a child lying to his mother about being sick to stay home from school. "He hurt me... so I guess I wanted to hurt him back. You know, some childish thing like that."

Theresa nodded and Alicia said, "I agree, very childish."

"Hey," Keurin furrowed his brow, his cheeks turning red in anger and embarrassment. "He started it."

"Childish. I'll say it again: childish." Alicia looked at him dead on in that sharp, scrutinizing way felines do when they are sizing up their prey.

The dragon flushed a deeper red. "All right, fine! Fair enough! All I'm saying, however, is he wasn't so damn innocent either."

The leopardess blinked slowly, deliberately, as if she couldn't believe Keurin would be so dense. When it became apparent that he wasn't going to make the connection, she decided to do it for him:

"I know, Keurin, but he's always been insecure about money and pity because he doesn't want to, even in the smallest way possible, think he's blessed to have been born to an abusive mother and lost his father, since it garners him favor or pity. That's why. Remember how hard it was for you to convince him to let you help pay off his student loans? Didn't he always insist on paying for his dinner when you and he went out?

"He doesn't want to think 'Oh, hey, thanks to mom I can get what I want because people pity a kid who's been beat!' because... well who would want to feel like that?"

Keurin actually felt his eyes begin to sting in that certain way before you find yourself crying. He blinked back his tears. "I know that, Alicia... but at the same time he's an adult now and should have known - by now - that I wasn't being some high and mighty asshole deigning to grace him with my ring to sell. I would have thought he'd have known that by now, regardless of what happened between us."

"You should tell him that."

Keurin was silent for a moment and let out a defeated sigh. "Maybe I will... when we both cool down."

"Good idea... and just be patient with him. If you think it's hard for you to see him, think of how much harder it is for him knowing he lost you."

"Yeah, yeah. Can I make you something to eat?" The dragon was clearly tired of this conversation and attempted to change the subject to something universal: hunger.

Alicia raised a hand and shook her head. "No thanks, we were just dropping by before going shopping for clothes." The sisters smiled at Keurin.

"Oh, all right then; it was good seeing you two again."

"It better not be another six goddamn years before we get to do this again either!" Alicia exclaimed, punching Keurin's shoulder a second time before both she and Theresa fell onto Keurin and began smothering him with hugs and kisses yet again.

"See you later, Keurin. Try giving Marc another chance. If only just to be friends."

Keurin nodded and shut his door, resisting the urge to voice his dissent about such an idea. Childish or not, fair or not, the dragon really had no desire to see or speak to Marc. He moved into his living room and gazed out of the windows. The sun hung high in the sky over the ocean, flanked by a few wispy clouds that swept by, twisting and twirling around one another like dancers. The ocean below glittered like silver. On the edge of the horizon, Keurin saw a cruise ship.

As if seized by some wild and foreign spirit, Keurin snatched up his phone and sent Aderrian a text. After a few minutes - a few agonizing minutes - he received a reply:

Hey, Keurin. I'm good, bored, missing seeing you. How're you?

I'm well. Hey, can you call me when you've got some spare time? I'd like to talk.

Of course. I'll be off duty in a few hours. Nothing serious I hope?

No, nothing like that. I just want to hear your voice.

Keurin paused before sending that message and thought for a moment as he stared at the screen before him. "I don't want to sound creepy..." he mumbled to himself and retyped it:

No, nothing like that. It's no big deal. Just to chat.

Sure, I'll call you later!

_ _ Okay!

Keurin tossed his phone onto the couch. "Must be a busy day," he said to himself. "The pools were heated from what I remember... so I guess even in the middle of February people want to swim."

To kill time, Keurin set out to properly unpack. He had little luggage: the majority of his outfits back in Western Portdam had been work uniforms - white button up shirts and black slacks. He had no real need for a lot of casual outfits: nights and weekends at the cabin were spent in pajamas, or boxers, or nothing at all. He had one or two everyday outfits for bi-weekly excursions to the grocery store, one of which he was wearing now.

That is to say, unpacking took all of seven minutes.

"I guess I'll have to go shopping later like Alicia and Theresa..."

Until then, however, Keurin brushed his teeth and then went downstairs to the condo's management office. The door was open, so Keurin tapped on it with a raised knuckle and let himself in. Behind the desk was an older man, probably in his late thirties. He was a bull, black fur streaked grey, with two thick, black horns that sprouted behind his ears and curved forward above his snout. He was quite the large fellow with a gut, but his muscled arms belied his lazy appearance. Keurin knew that gut looked soft, but it was rock hard.

The bull looked up from his computer, his deep brown eyes behind a haze of smoke. Keurin resisted the urge to light one up himself. The ashtray on the desk was stuffed full of cigarette butts and looked like an onion blossom.

"Ah, Keurin, right? The new tenant?" the bull began, standing up and tucking the cigarette into the corner of his mouth. His voice was low and resonated from deep within his chest. He put forth his hand and Keurin shook it, almost falling off balance from the bull's firm handshake.

"Yes, mister...?"

"Troy Redwood."

Keurin had a dirty thought and strained as best as he could to keep from giggling. He did blush though, he thought, and Troy may or may not have noticed it, Keurin couldn't tell. "Yes, yes, that's right," Keurin said quickly, "I'm sorry, I'm terrible with names."

"It's fine, sit," Troy said as he crossed back and sat behind his desk. "What can I do for you?"

"Well, on the phone the other day, you mentioned the condo puts out its own newsletter, and I wanted to see if you could use another writer. If not, perhaps there's an opening in the dining hall."

Troy leaned back in his chair which creaked under the weight of his muscular body. He took a drag from his smoke. "Which would you prefer?"

"Which one pays more?"

"That's what I like to hear!" the bull roared with laughter, holding his gut with one hand as it devolved into a spat of coughing.

"Well," Troy began moments later, after he could breathe, "The newsletter job is paid per article. Five for current events - things around town, local deals and discounts, you know - and ten for original content such as creative writing and anecdotes. All articles must be approved before payment.

"I gotta be honest though, kid, the newsletter ain't so hot. No one likes to read anymore except for old housewives and kids forced to do it for homework."

"Yeah, I hear you," Keurin said. His shoulders fell and his gaze drifted downwards. He fidgeted with his hands.

"We could use another dishwasher and busboy in the dining hall, though. Not the most glamorous job, I know, but that's how it goes." Troy shrugged. "Sorry kid, not quite what you had hoped for, I'm sure."

Keurin was silent as he pondered the situation. He was becoming sick of being a waiter or busboy or whatever you wanted to call it.

I guess it can't be helped, though...but I could always look for another job... he thought and then said aloud, "Could I come back later with an answer?"

"Sure, kiddo. I'll be here all night."

Keurin nodded and shook the bull's hand again and left. He went to the parking garage and got in his car.

This section of downtown Upper Portdam was something of an art district. There was no shortage of indie coffee shops, museums with content ranging anywhere from abstract to nude, book stores that smelled of old paper and glue, libraries full of dust and secrets, and parks. Keurin drove slowly up the avenues and streets, looking for a place that was hiring.

After half an hour, he found a bookstore - with an actual Help Wanted sign taped haphazardly to the window - and he made a beeline for the door.

Behind the counter was a fox. The shopkeeper was obviously male, but looked either very young or very feminine. Behind a pair of glasses were his eyes: bring blue and large, inquisitive, curious - eyes belonging to a true lover of reading. His body was small - he was a runt, really - and curvy. His fur was a delicate white; his tail was streaked black and fell gracefully over his backside.

When Keurin entered, the fox spoke. His voice was surprisingly deep coming from such a small body: smooth yet strong, almost musical.

"Hey there, welcome to Beauman's Books..." the smile died from the canine's face and he squinted, repositioning his glasses like one would while trying to examine something closely. "Do I know you?"

The dragon frowned and shrugged. "I don't think we've met before..."

"Huh, weird! Anyway, my name is Toby, can I help you?"

Keurin stepped over to the counter and leaned forward over it on his elbows. "Actually, I'm hoping I can help you." Keurin tipped his head toward the direction of the Help Wanted sign and looked back at Toby. "My name is Keurin Nerim and I was hoping-"

"That's right! I read your book! Loved it, oh wow, could I uh... perhaps get..."

"An autograph? Sure, I've never done one before. I didn't know even know I had a fan 'round here who liked that old garbage."

"Garbage? I respectfully disagree. I loved it, every word!" Toby disappeared for a moment as he knelt down behind the counter. He popped back up, setting down Keurin's old book on the glass countertop.

"Wow, it's been years since I've seen this... It's been well loved, I see," Keurin chuckled as he turned the book over in his hands, seeing the worn spine and torn dust jacket. "Do you have a-"

Before he could finish, the fox thrust a permanent marker pen forward into Keurin's hand. The dragon laughed and autographed the book with his curly, graceful signature.

"Wow! This'll fetch such a pretty penny on EBay! Just kidding!" Toby giggled. "Thanks!"

Keurin flushed a little, even though the fox was joking. "You're welcome," he said amiably enough. "Always nice to meet a fan."

"Oh you bet! You could imagine my surprise when my boyfriend tells me he used to date... you... Uh, sorry..." Toby's face beamed a bright red.

Keurin's left eyebrow popped upwards. "Oh really now? You're dating Marc? Marc Faulkner. That Marc?"

"Uh... yeah... Wow, I'm sorry, I wasn't even thinking... When I get excited I go on and on and on without even thinking about what I'm saying and sometimes it gets me into trouble or I upset someone or-"

"What a strange coincidence," the dragon said quickly to shut him the hell up. "To walk into a bookstore looking for a job and find the one," he thrust a single finger forward, "guy in the entire city who is now dating my ex-fiancé."

"It's almost like a story itself!" Toby exclaimed, rapt.

"Yeah, a bad one," Keurin looked upwards as if glaring at someone above him. He shoved his hands into his pockets and thought, That explains a hell of a lot of things, like why he was so stubborn and wouldn't take the ring.

"I, uh, I'm really sorry, Mr. Keurin."

The dragon waved the notion away. "It's whatever. No big deal. Could I ask, though, how you and he met?"

"Well it was about two years ago," Toby tapped his lower lip with a finger in that repulsively adorable way a child does while trying to recall a past event. "My uncle works with Marc's dad as a carpenter; so when I had to order new shelves and bookcases for here at the shop, uncle suggested that I buy through him in order to get a discount, and Marc was one of the guys who came to set them up and install them. I fell for him instantly."

Keurin nodded slowly and passed a casual glance over the bookcases that looked the newest.

"So I kinda put on the charm. He wasn't into me at first. He seemed so distant and cool, you know? Like an 'I don't give a damn about you or anything' kind of guy. I thought maybe he was straight or just not interested, but we kept seeing one another around town - grocery stores, the beach, ViB - and about a month after we first met, he came back here. Said he wanted to buy a book or two and that by now we practically knew each other anyway."

"Right," Keurin said only to let the guy know he was still listening, and barely at that. He had lost interest the moment the guy talked about trying to seduce Marc.

"He was very forward that time. Asked if I wanted to hang out since we always seemed to end up in the same places."

"Makes sense." Again with that superficial sense of listening: just enough to know when to reply while the words themselves died the moment they hit the ear.

"So we traded numbers and started hanging out. We weren't really dating, per se, but we had held hands and hugged and even kissed once or twice."

Keurin's cheeks glowed in anger but he kept his expression from changing. Typical that as soon as he decided to listen again, he would've been told something like that.

"Then, a few months later I found your book and started reading it. He recognized it and asked what I thought of it. I said I loved it, as I already told you." Toby giggled.

"What'd he say about it?" Keurin's interest in this conversation finally returned, especially if he could find out what Marc truly thought of his book. The huskywolf had claimed to love it, but Keurin had always wondered.

"He, er... said he had never read it... Sorry."

The dragon's shoulders fell and his breathing grew quick in anger and upset. He clenched his fists until his nails dug into his palm painfully and had to force himself to relax lest he draw blood.

"But anyway," Toby began to change the subject, "He said he used to date you. I didn't believe him at first until he pulled out his wallet and showed me an old photo of you and him on a cruise ship.

"Where he and I are soaked after swimming and are sunbathing together?" Keurin asked, his eyes closed and that exact image burning in his mind. Aderrian had taken that photo for the both of them.

"Yeah! It must be true then! I half expected it to have been Photoshopped or something."

"Nope, bucko. The guy stickin' it to you used to stick it to me. True story."

"Wow..." Toby said, completely rapt. Keurin wasn't sure what the guy liked more: that he was dating the ex of one of his favorite authors, or his realizing the guy fuckin' him now used to fuck the dragon standing before him.

"Well, this is awkward," Keurin scowled and straightened up. His back ached from leaning on the counter. He placed a hand on the small of his back and stretched.

"Yeah, sorry..."

"You didn't do anything. I'm the one who asked. Anyway, about that job opening."

"Oh, right! Well the job is inventory and stocking shelves. It's eight-fifty an hour. Sundays off. Hours are from noon to five with overtime paid for significant work after hours such as taking care of heavy inventory and setting up displays for new releases."

Eight bucks is hardly over minimum wage. Bullshit, but whatever; this is the first chance at a stable job I've been able to find. I guess I can supplement my income with the weekly newsletter thing. Keurin licked his lower lip and said, "Sounds fine to me."

"Great! This is like a dream come true! Getting to work with one of my literary idols! ...It won't be a problem on your end, will it?"

"What?"

"Uh, working with the fiancé of your... ex-fiancé."

The dragon looked down and noticed the band on the guy's finger. His chest tightened a little and his next words came out rough:

"No, not at all. Marc isn't a part of my life anymore."

"Great! ...Well I don't mean great that you and he-"

"I know what you mean. When do I start?"

"Today would be fantastic!"

"Fantastic indeed."

"There are some boxes in the back. Come, I'll show you."

Toby slipped from behind the counter and trotted ahead, his tail flicking to and fro behind his ass which twitched in such a way that couldn't be natural - no, this kind of walking was deliberate and rehearsed to attract attention.

This might've been a huge mistake... Keurin thought as he followed the fox.

Nonetheless he continued forward, ignoring every synapse in his brain that fired and screamed Leave! Get out. This won't end well. He followed Toby to the back room. It was dimly lit but not poorly, and chock full of shelves in turn chock full of dusty books stuffed so tightly together that pulling one would cause three more to come with it.

Keurin suddenly felt claustrophobic and sneezed once.

"Yeah, it's pretty bad back here," Toby began cheerfully. "But you get used to it."

"I'm sure," Keurin replied, holding a finger across his nostrils lest he sneeze again.

"Here they are!" Toby said as he bent over much farther than what was necessary. He even threw up one leg. In one motion he stood back up, spun around, and presented the box to Keurin.

The dragon took it and Toby picked up another box. They returned to the front of the store, this time Keurin leading and Toby directing him.

That way Keurin couldn't see the fox checking him out, his eyes roving over the dragon's body from behind.

When he and Toby returned to the storefront, the dragon was panting softly; the box was full of large, heavy hardcover novels and, truth be told, Keurin wasn't in good shape anyway.

"Okay, just stock this shelf and this one with the books in the boxes," Toby said as he set his box down. "Keep the same authors together and alphabetize the titles."

"Gotcha." "When that's finished, toss the empty boxes out back and then go around the store and straighten things up."

"'Kay."

"And in the future, when you don't have a lot of stocking to do, just make yourself available for customers' questions. The store isn't big but you should probably start to memorize where things are."

"Right-o."

"All right then, I'll leave you to it!" Toby winked and returned to the counter where he buried his nose in a book, his eyes drifting upwards just enough to watch the dragon work.

Stocking was easy enough. The toughest part was having to keep bending over to pick up books, but as the dragon emptied the box and it became lighter, he was able to hold it propped against his hip with one hand. When that was finished, he set out to fix up the rest of the books. Some were upside down, backwards, on their sides, or in the wrong sections. Doing that took the longest time simply due to the amount of backtracking he had to do to return all of the books to their proper places.

After that, the dragon just hung around the counter, glad that the fox was either uninterested in talking or too engrossed in reading to notice Keurin.

In truth, Toby had been poring over the dragon all afternoon in a mixture of adoration and desire. He had wished multiple times that afternoon for the dragon's close to not be so damn baggy. The little guy was utterly infatuated with Keurin.

1. Admittance

Once five rolled around, Keurin left after bidding Toby farewell and politely declining coffee (What, and have Marc bitch me out? The dragon had thought). On his way home, he stopped by a nearby Big and Tall clothing store and bought a few pairs of jeans and some shirts. Troy was kind and helped Keurin carry his bags up to his room.

"Thanks, sir," Keurin said as he and the bull set the bags on the couch.

"Call me Troy. No problem, bucko. Gave anymore thought about writing for the newsletter?"

"Yeah, actually. I'll probably drop a story or something once in a while if that's okay."

"Sure thing! Just don't expect to have it posted simply because of who you are."

"Who I am?"

"A published author. I don't mean to sound like an asshole but I don't give favoritism around here, got that?"

Keurin nodded, never expecting otherwise. "I understand that I won't get any special treatment. Don't worry."

Troy nodded and left. Keurin put his outfits up, showered, and then ate dinner. After that he phoned his mother to let her know of his new job lest she be up all night worrying. After that conversation, Aderrian called as if on cue.

Hey, kiddo.

_ _ "Hey, Aderrian, I'm glad you called. I got a job."

You quit working at the Icechest? Is that one guy - I forget his name - giving you trouble?

_ _ "What? No! ...Oh right, I haven't told you, have I?"

Told me what? Aderrian sounded anxious. Has something happened?

_ _ "No, no... well, nothing bad. I moved back to Upper Portdam."

What? Why?

_ _ "I... dunno," the dragon stumbled over his words, somewhat hurt that Aderrian didn't seem happy about the prospect.

Well... that's great! I'm glad you're closer and not stuck somewhere so cold. (Keurin smiled at this, relieved, and was promptly hurt again by the orca's next words.) I was miserable in such a place. Way too cold for me!

_ _ "I... I didn't know you had been miserable!" an upset Keurin said, his voice rising in pitch and almost breaking.

No, no, I didn't mean it like that. I loved spending the holidays with you, Keurin. I still think of our days and nights together. Helps me sleep way out here alone. What I meant was it was really cold. You know me, I'm a tropical kind of guy. I like not wearing a shirt - you like me not wearing a shirt, yeah? - feeling the sun on my skin, going swimming... you know.

_ _ "Yeah, no, I understand," Keurin sighed.

So... tell me again why you moved back home?

_ _ "Oh, uh," Keurin closed his eyes and shook his head. He wanted to tell Aderrian the complete truth: that he was in love with the orca and had moved all the way back home to have a chance at being with him, but no longer felt that this was the proper time to say so. "I just felt it was time to move back home and deal with some things. And... maybe we could hang out again? When you aren't busy, of course."

You moved to live closer to me?

_ _ "I... yeah, I uh, I guess so."

That's sweet, remind me to give you a big kiss next time I see you!

_ _ Keurin smiled widely as his heart melted, his chest growing warm. "Please... I miss you, Aderrian."

I miss you too, buddy. Like I said, I think about you a lot.

_ _ "Yeah, I have our photo on my nightstand here at the condo."

Condo?

_ _ "Oh, yeah, the Oceanside Condo. It's near the boardwalk."

Keurin could hear the orca's deep, musical laughter. I would have thought your mother would have kept you at home!

_ _ "Yeah, well, like I told her, I'm almost thirty. Still living at home would be embarrassing and wouldn't have impressed anybody."

Yeah, just a little!

There, that wonderful laughter again; such a noise having the utter absence of malice, sadness, or any other negative emotion; being purely happy and content; Keurin had the absurd image of Aderrian laughing on a stormy day and suddenly the sun would poke through the clouds to bless the orca with warmth and light for bringing such pure happiness into the world. Again Keurin's heart melted.

"So... when do you think you'll be coming back to port?"

Well the cruises usually only last a week here, but as soon as one ends another begins the next day. We're two days into this cruise... so we'll come to port Friday night and on Sunday morning we'll set out again.

_ _ "You only have one day at home...?"

Yeah, but since I do this full time, I just usually stay on the boat in my cabin anyway. Why... are you wanting to hang out?

_ _ "Yes! God yes," Keurin said, clutching his shirt over his heart. "I mean... if you don't have any previous engagements that is."

Of course not, I'd love to hang out with you again, Keurin, and see your place!

_ _ "Oh, oh good!" Keurin smiled and shut his eyes. "Yes, yes I'd love for you to come see my new place."

It's a date then!

"Yes... yes, a date," Keurin's cheeks were glowing a rosy, joyous red.

"So, in other news, how's this job so far?" Keurin crossed over to the living room and fell onto the couch. "It's good, oh, you are not going to believe this. My employer, he's freakin' dating Marc! They're engaged!"

You're kidding me!

_ _ "No sir, I am not. I saw the ring, and he was practically bragging about it between fawning over my being his favorite author."

Dude, that's the most fucked up thing I've ever heard.

_ _ "I know, right? I hate coincidences sometimes."

It's... not going to cause any problems, is it?

_ _ "Nah, the little guy is just star struck. I don't know why, I'm only famous locally, and even that is stretching it."

As long as Marc doesn't come wide with you, we're good.

_ _ The graveness in Aderrian's voice both warmed Keurin's heart that Aderrian would imply doing something if Marc gave the dragon trouble... and bothered him to realize that, maybe, something just might happen. After all, Toby was a loudmouth who loved to talk, and no doubt he'd tell Marc all about his new employee and favorite author.

"It'll... it'll be fine, Aderrian, don't worry, okay?"

Oh I'll worry, but I won't bother you with that. I'm just saying be safe, Keurin.

_ _ "I will, sweetheart, I promise."

Good, hey, I gotta go. I'm about to pass out over here and as usual I've got an early day tomorrow. Text me when you can?

_ _ "Of course Aderrian, I..." Keurin paused, his eyes looking forward in a hard line. "I love you..."

What was that?

_ _ "Oh, nothing, nothing. Good night, Aderrian, I'll talk to you tomorrow."

The orca was silent for a few moments before replying, Good night, Keurin.