FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 24

Jared kept looking towards the doorway from the kitchen to the rest of the apartment, as if hoping the girls would walk through any moment, laughing and smiling as if nothing had happened. He took another heavy swig from the beer bottle in his paw, knowing he would have to get very drunk to hallucinate that kind of miracle.

Jack stood at his friend's back on the other side of the counter, knowing he was to blame for what had happened, even if his friend was content to torture himself with the guilt. Looking at the bottle he also held in his paws, turning it in the light as if looking for an answer in the inhibiting liquid it contained.

Both men looked up, ears swiveling towards the doorway at the noise they had both heard. Stepping slowly and quietly, they Jack rounded the kitchen island and followed his Rottweiler friend back into the living room of his apartment. All eyes locked on the bedroom door on the other wall of the room, still closed fast. They had both heard the noise, but were unsure what had made it.

When they had stood there for the drunk version of eternity, Jared finally shuffled his feet across the carpet to press and ear close to the door. Nothing; not a sound at all. Still pressed to the door, he reached down and turned the knob. It wasn't locked, which he hoped was a good thing. Turning the knob gently, to not make a sound, he slowly pushed open the door enough to look in.

When his friend's muscles tensed, Jack immediately crossed the room to his side. "What is it?" He was afraid, had the girls snuck out and left them there. Had it been as bad as all that? When he received no response, he pushed harder on the door and watched as it swung silently on its hinges, as if not to wake the angels sleeping on the bed.

It took a long moment for his impaired eyes to realize that his golden Tigress and Jared's Red Wolf were naked and entangled in each others limbs. Eyes widening to try and see every detail, he saw Sunn's muzzle tucked up under Kate's chin, resting on her naked chest as her lower body curled into a kind of ball while still braced fully against the Tigress's warmth. Both looked happy and peaceful.

He hardly realized he was leaning, following the edge of the door and it was pulled back closed. When it clicked, he finally looked at Jared, who seemed to have relaxed almost entirely. Meeting his eyes for a moment, he gave a half smile before turning away from the tightly shut door and returning to the couch.

"What do you think it means?" Jack could only take a few steps, still wanted to reopen the door and just watch their girlfriend's comforting embrace.

Jared watched the bottle, still in his hands, for some time. Jack almost thought he wouldn't say anything to him before he finally spoke.

"I hope it means we will both be forgiven... But I'm not sure." He smiled slightly before it faded into a darker look. "I hope it means she will not be scared again from my bad decision."

"Jared!" The fox stepped closer to the couch before dropping his hands in defeat. "It not your fault... it's mine!"

He laughed. Not the reaction he had been expecting, or hoping for. Hell he would have taken yelling and swearing before he heard that noise, knowing full well his friend had no intention of giving up the blame.

"It was my choice, Jack." Their eyes met for a moment, but he looked back down before he had time to rebut that point. "I was the one that told you to do it. I could have done or said anything, hell I could have punched you in the maw to knock some sense into you, but I suggested this mess instead." He hung his head once again. "I don't know why I did it... maybe some part of me wanted you to, to prove a point, or maybe I'm just twisted.... But it was definitely my fault."

It was a convincing argument, but he was missing a detail... a very important detail that could have prevented this entire thing from even coming about. There was a long pause before Jack could even bring himself to admit to such a horrible fault. "...I could have kept myself in control around _your_girlfriend..."

There eyes met, his black-tipped fix ears lying flat to his head and his brown eyes pleaded with his friend to understand. He needed to be blamed, he needed to be responsible. It was the only way to keep the same thing from happening again. Being forgiven so easily, it could trick him into thinking it was ok behavior, when he knew like hell it wasn't. Long moments passed before Jared finally nodded. He could not blame him when he blamed himself, but he certainly wouldn't mind him shouldering his own share. They tipped their beers.

Her eyes parted slightly before snapping back shut, not wanting to awaken within her own nightmare. The rhythmic breathing beside her was what finally convinced her to open her eyes. At first she was shocked that there was a naked Tigress practically entwined with her own naked body, but her present mind soon came back to her. Kate had saved her from her own horrors and she had repaid her in kind. If only they could live her in this moment for a while, but she knew that it was not possible.

Sitting up enough to glance at the door, she knew who was on the other side of it and that they would have to face them eventually. Her movements stirred the peaceful creature beside her, stirring and stretching as she looked around. She smiled when she saw Sunn, already awake, but her smiled faded as she caught her eyes as she looked at the door.

"We will probably have to forgive them." The tone was amused and serious at the same time. Sunn did not respond to her words, only laid her head down on her warm friend's hip. A tender paw began scratching behind her ears, making her silent purr vibrate through her long health throat and into her friend's leg. Leaning into the touch, she finally smiled, knowing her friend was right. Holding a grudge is bad for your health, but meeting each others' gaze, they knew it would still take time to heal.

Crawling up the bed to meet her friend, she reminded her they had already begun that part not that long ago. Another kiss and they felt even better.

"I suppose we have to get dressed now." Her Red Wolf friend lifted her gaze and she found there a wicked smile. She could only laugh, imagining what she knew her friend was thinking. "As much fun as that would be, I don't think the boys are quite ready for it yet." Her smiled faded as she thought about them, sitting out there waiting for them. "You know, I think Jared feels worse than I do. I know he would never want to hurt you. You'll need to talk to him, for both your sakes." Sunn could only nod, a silent sigh drooping her shoulders as she sat up to look for her cloths.

Kate knew that Sunn wanted to snap her fingers and forgive him, she loved him more than anything, but the wounds that were brought to the surface are not easily to heal, especially since they are not knew. It was her own fear that she was afraid of. It made her think of Jack and what she could possibly say to him after what she saw. She let out a sigh of her own as she began to look around the room for her own discarded cloths.

Dressed and presentable, they both stood beside the door for long moments. Nether wanted to move first, almost wishing the door would open on its own, but Sunn's red paw was the one that gripped and turned the knob and pulled the door open. Making sure it didn't bump into Kate as she stepped out into the room, she turned back to the main room only to see Rottweiler standing from the couch. Her breath caught and her legs buckled as his face slowly registered in her mind. This wasn't him, she wasn't there. Trying to look around the room, while still keeping an eye on him, her breathing began to stabilize as she noticed the familiar surroundings in the nice apartment she had been living in. Finally her brain broke the memory from the present and she recognized Jared, her boyfriend, and the one who had been living with.

His eyes were hurt and hopeful at the same time, recognizing her body's reaction to him, and not moving for his own fear of frightening her further. The last shiver subsiding from her spine, she finally smiled at him, though she did not move any closer till Kate was at her side once again. This may be a long process.

But she was not prepared to come face-to-face with Jack, one of her saviors turned attacker. She jumped as he stood, even as slowly as he could, taking a definitely step back from the fox. His ears dropped and he looked down at his feet for a moment, before he looked down, pulled his short head-fur back and bared his throat to her.

Her eyes blinked several times as she recognized her the Wolf Tribe's sign for complete submission. Only moving his eyes, seeing she was not rejecting his offer, he finally spoke to her.

"Sunn, I am so sorry for what happened. I did not mean to hurt you in any way, and I promise you will not receive such treatment from me again. I accept totally responsibility for my actions and the circumstances that brought them about, please accept my deepest apologies."

Everyone stood there, shocked at his formal and official tone and waiting for Sunn's response. Her heart reached out to him, to one of her closest friends. She recognized this part of him that had gotten lost somewhere in all of their own discoveries. Seeing something she recognized again, she could only smile. She knew that he understood the laws and what he would be offering to her in that moment, which could only show her just how sorry he was for what had happened. But it was not something she could live with if she accepted.

Biting her fear she stepped forward, hearing Kate beside her take in a breath. If she were to accept, her friend would lose her lover and companion, and that was something she could not abide by. She leaned in, against her every fiber telling her to move away from her most recent attacker, and pressed her lips, not to his throat but to his cheek.

Kate and Jared let out a sigh, but Jack could only stare. He could see the tension in her form and immediately retreated from her, giving her space, but they could only smile, as friends would, as they met each others' eyes. She forgave him as much as she could right now. The rest would have to be proven and earned. Glancing at Kate, he knew the offer her had made could have hurt her, but it was also the only way he could express to everyone just how sorry he was for what he had done. Her smile to him was halfhearted. He only hoped he could mend their relationship in time.

Now Sunn came face-to-face with Jared. A Rottweiler up and close. She took a breath and studied his features. Features she had come to know and love. Her paw trembled slightly as she raised it to his cheek. The both held their breath as it came closer and finally rested against his short black and brown fur. He was warm and clean, if not smelling a little like alcohol, but he was certainly not the one from her nightmares. This was Jared and he loved her, just as she loved him. Her smile was struggled, but it was still a smile and it was still for him. His breath let out as he nuzzled her paw gently, giving her a small smile as well.

After too short a time, he broke the connection and turned towards the kitchen, followed immediately by Jack as he disappeared. She felt stung by his retreat, but she knew she had done it for her, so she would not push herself to suppress her fears. She had to work through them at her own pace so they could get back to where they had been.

This will be a lot of work for all of them.