Burdens - Chapter 60: Evasion
#60 of Burdens
Yup
Chapter 60: Evasion
Roger froze. The situation was dangerous and he knew it. If he kept still, he figured, perhaps the wolf would just assume he was asleep, and then head back, himself. However, what if his arm traveled back down?
He concluded that if the wolf acted, he would do so, as well. He waited.
Hunter made a sound much like a tired groan and stirred. He squeezed the fox into a tight hug and nuzzled into his shoulder. He said softly and lazily, his sleep still effecting him, "Hey... you feeling any better?"
It was evident that the wolf knew he was awake. It forced him to act. "Yeah," he said softly. "Bit better. I'm uh..." he paused for a moment to think. "I'm sorry you had to see that."
The wolf shook his head. "It's okay. You can always tell me when you're ready."
He moved his paws around like before and rubbed Roger's stomach. It caused the fox to feel nervous, since if it went any lower, his cover would be blown. He readied himself in case it did, and continued, hopefully drawing the attention away from his suspicious actions. "It's nothing I can't handle, but thank you for caring."
Roger could feel the wolf nod. He was too nervous to enjoy the belly rubs at the time, and when, as he predicted, the wolf's arm went down a little, he grasped it quickly and brought it back up. Instead of merely leaving it there, he twisted onto his stomach, so that if it had to be pressed against something, at least it would be on his bed and not anywhere obvious. The wolf's paw now rested on his back.
He heard the wolf ask him, "What's wrong?"
The fox laid with his head pointed toward the side, facing the wolf. He spoke softly, though it caused a little bit of strain. "Back just hurts a bit."
Hunter immediately reacted by beginning to massage the fox's back with the free arm that he had. It was a ruse, but as soon as the wolf began to massage his back, Roger felt soothed and noted that he would have to receive more massages from such skilled paws.
It caused Roger to forget about everything else for the moment, and as such, his mind was cleared to the point where his previous thoughts returned from before he fell asleep. Perhaps now was a chance, an advantage that he had that Mary did not. He took a deep breath, held it, and then let it out. He gathered himself.
"Hey, Hunter..." he began, but he stopped there. The words evaded him.
"Yeah?" the wolf replied. His paw did not stop and continued performing its duty.
"You know, you've been hanging out with me a lot lately, and uh... we've been close, right?" the fox said. He was not sure where he was leading the wolf with such a statement, but it was the first thing that came into his mind.
Hunter nodded. Roger continued, "And you're a really good friend, and just... a really good guy, in general." He paused again.
The more he spoke, it felt as if the door was beginning to close. He was digging a deeper and deeper hole, and he did not have the proper tools to escape.
"Well," he continued, hoping that he could find the courage before he forced himself to flee. "I just wanted to say, that uh... I, um... I lo..." he trailed off.
"Hm?" he heard from the wolf. The paw stopped moving so that he could focus properly, it seemed.
The fox's face became flush. "I uh, what I mean to say is, uh, I.... Well, I love... uh...."
He closed his eyes, and then gave in to the alternative. He would have to flee. "I love... all the time that we, uh... spend together."
He could hear a thump against the bed from the wolf's tail. "Me too," the wolf replied.
Roger bit his lip. Maybe another time, he thought, but for now he had to deal with what he had done. "I um... I guess I wish we had more time, you know?"
Hunter nodded, so he continued, "I wish I had met you sooner."
The wolf hugged him tightly after he spoke such words. The thumps on the bed were fast, and it felt to the fox he had said the right thing, but it was not what he wanted to say. He wanted to say it, but he could not. Maybe, he thought, it was just not meant to be that way.
When he was let loose from the wolf's grip, he situated himself back on his stomach. He thought for a moment in the silence, and then asked, "Hey, so... are you, uh... naked?"
The question hung in the air for what felt like a year. Hunter answered sheepishly, tripping on his words, flustered at the same time, "Um, yeah. I'm sorry, that's probably not good, I'll go grab some clothes."
Roger shook his head and quickly said, "No, no... I mean, it's fine. I don't really mind, just was... surprised."
The wolf nodded. "I guess I should've asked you."
The fox shrugged. "It's alright, I mean, we've seen each other before, right?"
Hunter nodded, and then Roger added, "And I guess thanks for helping me out with that, too, I guess. It was a good solution to the heat."
The wolf spoke lowly, seemingly embarrassed. "I left your boxers on 'cause I guess it seemed inappropriate. I'm sorry if I crossed any lines, I shouldn't have done it."
Roger smiled. Now at least it was no longer his turn to feel embarrassed. "It's okay. Let's just, uh, try to get to sleep again, alright?"
The wolf nodded and then nuzzled the fox. A minute later, he was already snoring.
Roger yawned. At least the crisis was averted for now, but he figured there would be a mess in the morning to clean up.
He would cross that bridge when the time came.