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"Mr. Masters?"

"Yes, Denise?"

"One of your clients is here, asking to see you. I tried to send him away but-"

"Is it Mr. Roark? The rabbit from yesterday afternoon?"

"Yes sir. I tried to send him away, but he's adamant that you knew he was coming. He doesn't have any appointments showing, though, and I told that him that you were just about to leave for lunch...but he wouldn't take no for an answer. I'm sorry if-"

"Nono! It's quite alright, Denise. I was expecting him. Send him in."

"Oh. Of course, sir."

The Masters... ...of Dating

(September 18th)

William Masters hung up his phone and pulled in a deep, shaking breath, as he fought the urge to turn around and look at himself in the mirror, again. He was ready for this. He had to be. He'd already done everything except having an actual DATE with a male over the last fifteen years; this wasn't that big of a step in comparison. He could handle it.

Luckily, before he could fret further, he was interrupted by the swing of his opening door...

...and Patrick Roark strolled casually into his agent's -- and his date's -- office, as if he owned the place, "Hi there Mr. Masters. You good to go?" He looked over the dog, shifting his normally sly smirk into a friendly and welcoming smile as he closed the door behind him.

The husky took in a deep breath, and spread his own, nervous, smile, "Do I look okay?"

Patrick held back a soft chuckle. Will was being surprisingly cute: he was nervous about their date already, and they had barely even greeted each other, yet. "You look fine Will..." he nodded a few times, in approval of the husky's appearance, "Not that it would matter. Hell, I think if you TRIED you wouldn't be able to stop this date from happening."

"I've lost any choice in the matter, now?" Will let himself chuckle, finally. Patrick actually being there, and being so calm and collected, was already breaking through his nerves, "So should I scream 'rape' now, or later?"

The bunny pretended to actually consider the question, "Hmmm...later. When we're in the crowded café and I try to hold your paw."

"I told you yesterday," William took another breath and walked closer to his date, "my...hesitation...has nothing to do with other people. It's about what I'm ready," he reached a paw toward the rabbit's, "...and what I'm NOT ready to tell myself." He smiled as his fingers touched the bunny's palm.

Patrick looked down at his date's paw and confidently took it into his own, looking back up with his continued warm and reassuring smile. He opened his muzzle to say something in response, but closed it again just as quickly when he noticed a tissue box and eye drops sitting out on his agent's desk. "Uhm...looks like you were prepared?"

"Hmm?" the husky tilted his head.

And Patrick just pointed at the objects that had caught his eye.

Will looked back with a chuckle, "Oh! Yeah...I expected you might need them, but uhm...I was so nervous, I kind of forgot all about it." He looked his date in the eyes: neither red nor tearing, "It looks like you're okay this time, though."

"Yeah. I kept my distance today. I didn't want to show up to our date all gross and sniffly," the rabbit confessed his own vanity. "Speaking of Denise, though...she won't mind if we walk out of here like this?" he held up their still entwined paws.

"Quite frankly, Patrick," William reached behind his date with his free paw and opened the door, "I hope she does."

Patrick stepped aside with a stifled laugh. "Do you?" he tugged his date out through the doorway, intending to call his bluff, but not realizing he was serious.

The husky slapped blindly at his light-switch and stepped through the door, putting up no resistance to the rabbit pulling him out into the main office. Before they even reached the foyer and elevator -- the site of the receptionist's desk -- Will's nose began to itch and twitch. He kept it under control enough, though, to address her as they passed by, "I'll be back in a little while, Denise."

Will strolled past her desk, somehow, with more confidence than he'd managed even in the privacy of his own office. Oddly enough, something about trying to getting a reaction out of the skunk made it all much easier. And at his side, still paw-in-paw, Patrick smiled near-mockingly at the overly perfumed female as they passed her desk, half to see her reaction and half as a silent and victorious: 'I told you he was expecting me.'

For a brief moment Denise's jaw hung dropped in disbelief, but by the time her coworker and the rabbit had reached the elevator, that jaw snapped shut again, a blush suddenly showing quite clearly through the white bits of her fur, "Oh! Uhm...yes sir!" She sputtered out nervously, trying to give a professional response despite her obvious shock and discomfort, as the two disappeared behind the elevator doors.

William remained paw-in-paw with the rabbit, confident and sure, all through the elevator ride, the walk through first floor lobby, and out onto the street. Each and every step made him feel more comfortable, every errant eye from a passer-by or co-worker reminded him it was real, and each shy glance at his date made him smile just a little more genuinely. By the time they were padding down the sidewalk, his paw felt like it belonged there, and he had even instinctively pulled the bunny until they were shoulder-to-shoulder. The freedom in that closeness, the honesty both with himself and the world around him...it had been so terrifying only two days before, that he wouldn't even recognize the possibility. But now, if he knew how to do it, he would be kicking himself for waiting so long...

And all throughout their little trek, Patrick just kept his muzzle shut. He knew what this was like for the husky at his shoulder, and though he couldn't know exactly what Will was thinking, he could venture a guess. This was a time for silent contemplation at least, and for basking in the light of his new dawning life at best...but either way, his date tried his best to not say a word, for fear of intruding too much upon the moment. And all the while the bunny's large smile never once even hinted at fading. It had been so long since he'd seen this: a first timer's nervousness gradually slipping away. And it was as enjoyable a sight as always...perhaps even more so thanks to it being such an attractive first timer this time around...

Their silence was broken soon enough, though, when it finally occurred to the husky that they actually had somewhere to be. This wasn't just a casual stroll. "Oh!" he nearly yelped.

"What?" Patrick recoiled reflexively.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you, but...uhm...I don't really know where we're going." Will rubbed the back of his neck with his free paw, "Bacchanalian Café, right?"

"Oh God," the rabbit put his forehead in his own free paw, "Of course you haven't been to Bacchanalian! That didn't even occur to me." He looked up again, "Don't worry, though, we're headed in the right direction. And it's not far."

"Good," William let out a sigh of relief. "That's actually why I told you to meet me at the office, today. I needed you to lead us there..."

And soon enough, Patrick had done just that, and their feet slowed to a stop in front of the much talked of 'Bacchanalian Café.'

The husky let out a long sigh, the final bits of his nervousness finally snapping and falling away as he stood there, overcome with a feeling of liberation at finally just being able to be himself. Boldly, he raised the bunny's paw and kissed the back of it once, an electric chill shooting through his body just at that tiny contact. "Lead the way."

Patrick beamed proudly as Will kissed his paw, surprised but pleased by the level of boldness, "It'd be my pleasure, Will..."

Once through the café doors, William was greeted with a sight he hadn't exactly expected. But of course, it would be difficult to expect something he'd never seen. At first glance, he was certain he'd walked into a gay bar: dim lighting, music that no straight male would be caught dead listening to, a bar complete with a rainbow maned lion for its bartender, and gay and lesbian couples in every direction his eye happened to turn.

But it couldn't be a gay bar! The music was too quiet, too many people were sitting and enjoying casual meals, there were too many straight couples -- despite how outnumbered they admittedly were -- and what kind of gay bar would be open at noon? Besides...didn't this place call itself a café?

And then it dawned on him what he was looking at. A café mixed with a bar and open mid-day? This was one of those bar & grill places -- a sports bar -- but for gay people! But what sports bar has an entire wall of wine? And were those wine bottles hanging from the ceiling, too??

Noting his date's bewildered look, the rabbit at his side nudged him, "You okay? This place is a little different than what you're used to, huh?"

William just nodded, "It's like...a gay bar, a sports bar, and an Italian restaurant got....Frankensteined."

"Well that's the idea, I guess!" Patrick tugged him again, drawing him deeper into the 'café,' as he waved at a particularly flashily dyed red fox waiter near the bar, "Come on, Will. Let's grab a table."

The husky followed along, finally releasing the bunny rabbit's paw only once they came upon a small central table and parted to sit across from one another, "Okay, seriously, though: what's up with this place?"

Patrick looked around, as if looking for his date's problem. "What do you mean?" but he knew exactly what the dog meant.

"This isn't a café. This is a bar," Will tapped the table for emphasis. "No café is built entirely around its bar -- if they even have one to begin with -- or has so much liquor and wine on the walls...and ceiling!"

"Well, yeah. Don't you know what 'Bacchanalian' means?"

"...not off the top of my head, no."

"Well let's just say its root word is 'Bacchus,' as in the Roman God of wine," the rabbit directed his date to a painting of a nude golden jackal on the wall, drinking wine and surrounded in grapes. He went right ahead talking as the husky turned to look, though, "And the God of partying, ecstasy, and madness, too, for that matter..."

"Ah," William nodded and turned back again, "So calling this place a 'café' is like...a joke, then?"

Patrick just nodded, "Something like that."

"But a jackal? Did they even have jackals in Rome?"

"Greece, too! Dionysus, the Greek equivalent: he was a jackal too!"

"Ahem!" the two were interrupted by a red fox suddenly standing beside their table. "Isn't it MY job to tell the newbies about the place?" He was the same fox Patrick had waved to from across the café: pierced ears, dyed fur, and clothes that left SOME of his body to the imagination, but none of his sexuality...

"Sorry, Nikki," Patrick offered a mock apologetic nod. "I didn't mean to step on your toes."

"I can't really blame you," Nikki, the fox, patted the bunny on the shoulder. "With how long you used to work here, I'm sure the habit's hard to break."

"Oh, come on!" Patrick threw up his paws, "You couldn't let him think I knew all of that on my own? I'm trying to impress my date, Nik!"

The fox looked at the husky with a chuckle, "I know that look in his eyes. He's not just a newbie to the Bacchanalian." Obviously not one for personal space, Nikki reached forward and messed with the dog's obviously meticulously brushed headfur, "This one won't be hard to impress!"

William's eyes shot open wide: not at what was said, or the unsolicited contact, but when he realized his headfur had been jostled out of place. Pulling back, he moved his paws to fix it, but stopped when he noticed the snickering of the fox and rabbit watching him. "I'll have you know," he jumped to his own defense, pointing at their waiter. "I'm not as new as I might look."

"Yeah," Patrick agreed, "he's just new to the scene and the label." He eyed his date, "But he's been playing for our team for a while."

"Honey," Nikki's paw lit on his hip, "you boys don't even play in my league."

Patrick opened his muzzle to respond, but Will beat him to the punch: "You're saying you've gone pro?" which was met with an immediate burst of laughter from the rabbit.

"Not officially," the fox leaned in over the table, "but you leave a big enough tip, and who knows what it might buy you."

Patrick pushed him back, though, putting a end to the fox's flirting right there, "Uh-uh! The husky's mine, Nikki. I know you have a thing for knots, but there are plenty of others here for you to chase after."

"The boss DID tell me to quite sniping the customer's boyfriends." Nikki giggled almost girlishly, and then stood up straight again, "Fine, fine. You want the usual, Aar-"

"Yeah!" Patrick cut him off suddenly. "Yes. The same as always."

After eyeing the rabbit suspiciously for a moment, Nikki turned his attention to Will, "And for you?"

"Well...I AM at a bar. So I want you go tell your rainbow lion up there to make me the strongest mixed drink he knows how to put together," the husky held up a paw, counting the following list off on his fingers, "so long as it doesn't taste like licorice, mint, or coffee."

"Whoa!" Patrick piped up again, stopping Will's order from going through. "Don't you have to go back to work?"

"Oh, sorry! No," William turned back to look at his date, shaking his head. "I guess I forgot to tell you. Some 'creative rescheduling' has left me free for the rest of the day."

The rabbit smirked hopefully, "Does that mean that we have plans for after lunch, too?"

"We might. That just depends on how good of a job you do..." Will paused for effect, "...impressing me."

"Do I need to be our designated driver, too?"

"No worries. It's not a short walk...but my apartment IS within walking distance."

"Well then..." Patrick whipped his head around to look at their server, "...you heard the dog. Strong, no licorice, no mint, no coffee!" He looked back at his date to make sure, "Right, Will?"

William nodded, "Right, Patrick!"

The suddenly perplexed look on Nikki's face didn't escape Will's attention, as the fox responded, "Sure thing," and neither did the deliberate and curious pause before he said the rabbit's name, "...Patrick."

With that, Nikki left to fill the order, but before the husky could question his date about the fox's odd final words, Patrick spoke up again and changed the subject.

"I hope you know what you've gotten yourself into, Will!"

William looked around, at the departing fox and then back at his date, "What do you mean?"

"Keon," the rabbit stopped when he realized the dog wouldn't know that name. He pointed at the bar across the room to clarify, "the rainbow lion...he doesn't mess around when it comes to his drinks. His definition of strong might be something you're not used to."

Will laughed aloud and tapped his chest, putting on an obviously comically exaggerated show of masculinity, "Russian blood! I'm a husky, bunny-rabbit! I think I'll be okay. And if I'm wrong...that could only bode WELL for you, right?" He winked, and moved right along, "What about you? Are you drinking too? You seemed a little worried about whether or not I needed a designated driver..."

"Yeah. I'm drinking. How could I come here and not?"

"What are you having?"

"Something they didn't even used to make here, actually!" Patrick pointed a thumb at the bar again, "Keon hadn't even heard of it when I asked for it. It's not exactly common. But by the second time I came in, he'd looked it up and learned how to make it, just for me."

"I take it this was before you worked here?"

"It was."

"What's in the drink?" The husky turned to look at the bar, hoping to catch sight of it being made, "Do you think I'd like it?"

"Depends." Patrick shrugged, "Do you like Añejo tequila? You strike me as more of a Reposado or Plata sorta' guy..."

William just blinked at that, "I've never even heard of those brands."

The rabbit stifled a chuckle, "Sorry. I shouldn't laugh. Those aren't brands, they're like...classifications. They describe how dark the tequila is."

"Oh! Well, I like mine light."

"Then no: you wouldn't like this."

"I get the feeling you know a lot more about alcohol than me." Will rubbed the back of his neck, "I'm not sure if I should be embarrassed about that or not. It seems like I should know more on the subject, since I'm so much older than you..."

Patrick raised an eyebrow, "You're not THAT much older than me, Will."

"You must not realize how old I am, then!" the husky laughed. "I mean, you're what: Twenty-one? Twenty-two?"

"I'm flattered you think I still look so young! But no, Will. I'm only two years younger than you," Patrick held up two fingers for emphasis. "I'm twenty-nine."

Will recoiled lightly and blinked, "You're twenty-nine? You look so much younger than that!" He paused for a moment, "Wait...how do you know how old I am?"

Before the rabbit could answer, though, their server had returned. With a silent smile, Nikki sat a glass down in front of each of them. Will's was straight and tall, whatever was in it resembled the color of tea -- light, reddish tan -- and it had a lemon wedge stuck on the rim. The drink in Patrick's margarita glass however, was far darker: a rusty red with hints of purple...the hue Will was certain wine would be colored in a cartoon. And between, the two, Nikki sat a plate with a small pile of bite-sized brownie balls. Apparently, Patrick's 'usual' was more than just alcohol.

The fox nodded politely, "If you two need anything else, just flag me down, okay? I'll try to leave you alone otherwise, though." With a wink and a smile, he turned and hurriedly began to wait on the other tables, once again leaving the couple alone.

"So? How is it?" Patrick took a sip of his drink as he watched Will intently, waiting for him to do the same.

William answered by taking a big gulp of whatever it was he'd been brought. He closed his eyes as he swallowed and then opened them with a contented sigh, "Very nice. It looked like a Long Island...but I thought it was a bit too dark. Whatever it is, I think he put 151 in it."

"Harsh stuff."

"But luckily one of my favorites."

"But 151's dark!" the rabbit laughed at his date's inconsistencies.

"Dark-ish. And I only said that I don't like dark TEQUILA." Will took a second sip before changing the subject. He'd completely forgotten both of his earlier questions at this point, but had come up with new ones in the meantime. "So...I know almost nothing about you, Pat. And that's still what first dates are about...even gay ones, right? Learning about each other?"

Patrick smiled and nodded to the Husky with a grin creeping across his muzzle, "Yes. The gay ones are just...gayer."

The husky chuckled a little, "That's fair." He took another drink, "So do you mind if I start asking you a bunch of random questions?"

Patrick ate one of the brownie balls as he continued, "Should I have an attorney present?"

William shook his head, "You're agent will do."

"Lucky me!" The rabbit took a big drink of his own, "Go ahead, then."

"Well...when did you decide you wanted to be a writer?" Will reached toward the brownie balls questioningly, waiting for a nod of approval before he snatched a few for himself, as well.

And after giving his date that nod, Patrick launched into what would be an unintentionally long answer: "High school. I never really knew I could write, but my English teachers and a good friend of mine told me that I was apparently very good at it. So I wrote a few just-for-fun short stories that were based on my real life, but changing around whatever I didn't like about reality, you know? And my teachers loved them! So I just kept on writing in my, 'alternate life' journal, which is what I still do, mostly. Like with the manuscripts you've got: it's about a writer going through a self-discovery phase as he writes about his life, changing whatever happened to him to however he wants it recounted. Of course, in the book, the line between fiction and reality blurs for him a bit. It's kind of the psychological hook, and..." He stopped when he realized how long he'd been going on, and coughed softly before taking another drink, "You, uhm...you get any of that?"

"Every word," the husky smiled and nodded. "I've been in publishing since I left college, myself...and I've always kind of wanted to be a writer, too." A sad, little hint of regret flashed on his face at that, but he continued on regardless, "So, yeah...I understood all that just fine."

"Why haven't you gone for it?"

"Hmm?"

Patrick sat up a bit and cleared his throat, again, "How come it never came to be? I can tell you still want to, so have you at least tried to get something published somewhere?"

"Oh." William shook his head, "No, I've never gotten anything published. I dunno, I just...the stuff I wrote when I was young just really isn't any good, and I'm not so sure any of the ideas I have right now would work out any better." He smiled again, "But that's not important. Do you mind if we just talk more about you, for now?"

The bunny nodded and helped himself to some more of the brownies and his drink, knowing that that conversation would have to be put on hold for now, "Sure! What more about me intrigues you?"

"What intrigues me? Hmmm..." Will thought for a moment, recalling an earlier moment of curiosity, and opened his mouth to ask how Patrick knew how old he was. But before he could speak, he finally remembered that he'd been cut off before he could ask an even MORE important question: one concerning Nikki's odd reaction to Patrick's name, "Oh! I can't believe I got so off track!" He took another big drink and set it aside, "Our waiter seemed a little...entertained by me calling you Patrick. And I know a lot of our authors go by pseudonyms, so...is Patrick even really your name?"

'Patrick' smiled slyly, looking down at his cup and swirling its contents around as he spoke, "It is not, in fact." He took a large gulp from his cup, and leaned back in his chair, "I'm surprised it took Nikki to alert you. I was certain 'Patrick' was a bit too 'everyman' to be an author's name..."

"Not at all. Especially not with 'Roark' as the last name." William leaned in with a smile, "But either way...if we're gonna' date, I should at least know your real name, shouldn't I?"

The bunny nodded and a nervous smile spread wide on his dusty muzzle, "My name's Aaron."

Will blinked and paused. He'd been about to take another sip, but stopped with the glass against his lips, "Aaron? That's...interesting." Eyes turning away from his date, he did take that sip, as decade old memories flooded his mind. No. Could he be...? There was no way. What were the odds?

"Interesting, is it?" Underneath the table, the rabbit who until a moment ago was named Patrick pushed his knee playfully against the husky's, "And why's that?"

William returned the playful push and looked back up through narrowed eyes, "It's just that I knew a dusty little rabbit in high school named Aaron." He took another sip, "...though, that's not what we called him."

Aaron ran a finger around the rim of his glass, very much enjoying watching the dog slowly catch on, "And...what exactly DID you call him?"

Watching the rabbit's unexpected reaction to all of this, the husky's eyes widened and his mouth hung open before he even spoke, "I'm getting the feeling you already know. What's your last name, Aaron?"

Aaron looked him right in the eye, "Jones."

Will recoiled, nearly yelping at the news, "Rimmer!?" Though he had already begun to suspect and assume, hearing it actually confirmed was an entirely different matter.

The bunny laughed at the outburst, and at the glances of a few nearby furs, "The one and only, William."

"You..." a small grin appeared on William's face as he pointed at his date, "You already knew that we knew each other, didn't you?"

"Of course I did!" Aaron threw up his paws. "You think I'd forget you and Kris?"

"And that's why you were so sure I was gay yesterday?"

"Or bi. Whichever."

The husky let out a heavy sigh, forehead falling into his paw, "I am SO sorry I didn't recognize you, Aaron. You knew this whole time, and probably expected me to figure it out and..." he looked up with a second sigh, "I feel terrible!"

"Don't!" Aaron waved his paws. "It's been thirteen years since you graduated. It's understandable. And," he glanced away, and looked back with a shy smirk, "besides: I didn't recognize you at first either. Not until I you gave me your...business card, anyway."

"You mean the post-it," Will shook his head with a laugh. "God! It's been SO long since I've seen anybody from back then."

"Except Kris, of course."

"Except Kris."

The bunny rabbit froze for a second, before tilting his head in confusion, "Wait. You mean you and Josh don't keep in contact, anymore? You two were so close!"

"He moved on," William shrugged. "People do that. I think he's married now, but he's off in another state, either way." Pulling his drink closer, he turned it back and forth while looking down at the tan drink inside, "We had some fun times, though. I miss him. Hell, I've missed ALL of you!"

"Except Kris," Aaron repeated his earlier correction.

"Except Kris!" the husky looked back up with a laugh, but then continued right along, "Hell, just the other day I was thinking about that party we were at. You remember the one, right? At Josh's?"

"Josh's pool party? Of course I do!" Aaron leaned forward, motioning between the two of them, "Me, you, Kris, and Stephen, all alone in that basement? You think I'm gonna' forget THAT??"

"Stephen would be pretty hard to forget!" Will stared into space dreamily, "That kangaroo was quite the specimen..."

"Oh no. Stephen's not who I remember, Will," the rabbit pointed at his date as he re-ensnared his attention. "It's you and Kris, who stand out. You two are still the only pair of..." he paused with a sly and impish grin as he carefully picked his next word, "...huskies, that I've ever had the pleasure of playing with simultaneously."

"Really? We're the ONLY pair of...?" William, though, didn't pick a codeword; he just let himself trail off. "We're really the only ones? Not just the first?"

"Never had the opportunity since. Definitely a shame..." Aaron winked.

"I'll bet!" After taking another sip of his drink, Will continued on, "Do you remember the next morning, too? How you woke me up?"

"I do, I do! That was my...'signature move' after all." The bunny reached across to take the husky's paw, still cold from holding the drink, "So how IS Kris, by the way?"

William smiled and squeezed his date's paw, "Still the same as always: too nice for his own damn good. Has a kid, now, though." He leaned in a little ways and changed the subject before Aaron could say anything else, not interested in talking any further about Kris. "Y'know, all of this -- who you are -- it kind of changes...everything..." he suddenly had a more serious look in his eyes, but he didn't let go of his date's paw.

Aaron's grin faded slightly as he responded, "For the better? Or does this make everything...weird?"

"No, it's just," the husky shrugged, "I've spent more than a decade just...having sex and everything, you know? Never anything serious. And I thought this would be something different...since we're having a real date, and I'm finally admitting what I am, right? So I was kind of expecting us to take things slow." Despite how serious that short speech had seemed, he smiled a wide and jovial grin at the rabbit across the table, "...but seeing as I already fucked you in a threesome something like fifteen years before our first date? That ship has already sailed hasn't it?"

Aaron returned the wide smile, gladly correcting his date's memory, "Foursome."

"Whatever!" Will playfully narrowed his eyes.

"And yeah," the rabbit nodded, "that ship may have sailed, but it doesn't necessarily mean we need to pick up where we left off. We can still take things slow...if that's what you want."

"Thanks. But I have a feeling we'll let the alcohol decide that for us," William winked, and in the moment of silence that followed, broached a slightly different subject, "Uhm...if I ask you a question, will you promise not to get offended?"

"If I DO get offended, may I ask you something equally offensive?"

"If it'll keep you from like...storming out or something, yeah!"

"Then shoot."

"You don't, uhm...acquaint yourself with as many people, now, as you did back in high school, do you?" the husky lowered his head a little, hoping the question wouldn't upset his date. "Like...I notice you and Nikki seem familiar with one another..."

Aaron chuckled softly and shook his head, giving Will's paw a reassuring squeeze, "No. I don't. I'm not quite so overcome by my hormones now. I've managed to get my libido under control enough that and I don't need to sleep with a different fur every week," he stated in an oddly formal tone. "And Nikki and I are definitely just friends. We're not each other's type: it's hard for two bottoms to have very much fun together."

Will smiled wide without meaning to, but was very happy hearing that. Wanting to keep the mood light though, he shifted directly back to joking, "A different fur every week? I don't think you EVER spread them out by entire weeks. You could barely even handle it being just one-a-night, if memory serves."

The rabbit shot back, "C'mon! A sixteen-year-old bunny!? What do you expect?"

"I didn't say I blamed you! I wasn't exactly a prude myself." William picked up his drink with his free paw, "Now, I think it's about time we finish these off. What about you?"

Aaron raised an eyebrow, "Think you can handle it?"

The husky glared silently at his date, and then immediately turned his drink up, downing the entire thing at once. Not wanting to be shown up, of course, Aaron immediately followed suit, despite the fact that he knew his drink didn't at all match up to Will's.

The two sat their drinks back down with the clanking of glass, and William forcibly held back a shudder. He didn't want to let on that the taste of the alcohol had affected him at all...not after such an attempt to prove his masculinity. The rabbit, on the other hand, let HIS shudder come unabated.

With a short breath, Will spoke up, deciding to move things along, "So what now?"

Aaron thought for a moment, before leaning in, "May I be brash?"

"Go right ahead," the husky nodded.

"Well, since you don't have to go back to work today, I was kind of hoping you'd invite me back to your place."

"Would you mind us swinging back by the office, first, so I can pick up some papers from work?"

Aaron smiled a gleeful grin at the thought, "And get another chance to watch Denise squirm? How could I say no?"

~

There we go! The Masters continues!

* Starring: Oloroso Rhone (formerly Frost Rime Borealis) as William Masters Phil Anthro Pist as Patrick Roark / Aaron Jones / Rimmer *

If you'd like to go say hi to Phil, he's got an account here at http://phil-anthro-pist.sofurry.com/

Well, this big reveal wasn't as big this time around as it was the first time. Thanks to some edits to last chapter, a lot of you already figured out that Patrick was Rimmer!

But...hmmm...it seems there's some other stuff going on here, too. I wonder if I was too obvious with it this time...and how many of you will pick up on it... (I'll give you a hint that TWO things were hinted at, which will be officially revealed later)

But there's not much else to say! They had a date, and now they're going home. And it doesn't take much imagination to figure out what'll probably happen there!

Anyway, thanks for reading!

I welcome any feedback! Comment or PM me here, or email me at theottercoon[at]gmail.com

See you for the next 7 chapters of The Masters! ...for the next 5 chapters of A Warm Bed! ...and, in due time...Sibirskaia!