Burdens - Chapter 61: Far
#61 of Burdens
:T
Chapter 61: Far
Roger awoke with the coming of the light. It streamed through the window in his room. He opened his eyes groggily, grumbling to himself about needing to shut the blinds.
The blanket was wrapped around him and he was still lying on his stomach. Hunter was not there, however.
He turned around and the sheets stuck to him. He pulled them off, thinking that they would be wet, but they were not. Rather, it had dried and stuck to his fur and was slightly painful to separate. He was glad, however, that he had decided to lie down on his stomach, as the evidence was much more clear than he thought it would be.
He did not recall the blanket being on him, though, but he could not remember much anyway. He assumed the wolf put it back on him.
He looked around and saw no sign of the wolf. He moved out of bed, hearing some snaps of the hairs breaking. He winced, but moved out of bed.
His neck was slightly sore from the way he slept. He rubbed it and sat up on his bed. He checked to see if there was a stain, but the color of his sheets hid anything that would have been there, luckily. Still, he covered it, as he was sure that it would at least have some sort of odor to it, though it was not the full substance. In that sense, he sprayed an air freshener on it.
He turned back and saw the wolf returning. He was merely in a towel, having apparently come back from a shower. He looked slightly damp, as he usually did after a shower. Roger thought that he ought have dried himself a bit better given all the time he needed.
The wolf's tail waved behind him when he noticed that Roger was awake.
The fox blushed a little. He still was getting used to seeing someone in only a towel, especially someone he thought was so....
He mentally shook his head to rid himself of the thought. He watched as Hunter sat beside him, still in but a towel, and slowly making his bed slightly damp, but he did not mind.
The wolf nosed at his shoulder lightly. Roger did not know how to respond to such an action, but felt that patting Hunter on the head was appropriate, as if he were a dog. It gained an appropriate response.
Hunter rested his head on the fox's shoulder and looked at him somewhat expectantly, somewhat worried. He asked, "You seemed to be pretty down yesterday... is something wrong?"
The fox looked forward at the ground for a moment. He tried to think of a way to say what he wanted to without saying anything specific. He put a paw on the wolf's leg and patted it. "Well, I'm not going to lie, yeah. I guess I'm just frustrated."
Hunter frowned and responded, "Frustrated about what? Is it.. the studying?"
Roger shook his head. "No, not that. You're doing fine. No, it's just...."
He put his paw in front of him, and then stretched his arm out. "Here, I'll give you an example: you see my paw here, right? And you see that table over there, right?" He indicated the table that they used to study. It was about four feet out of his reach.
The wolf nodded, so he continued, "No matter what I do, from this position, I can't reach it. If I stand up and move a bit closer, sure, eventually I'll get it, but if I stand here..." he stood next to the table, but his arm was but barely out of reach. "I can't touch it. I can strain and strain, but I'm limited. Imagine there's something holding me back, that I can't move any closer, that's just how it feels right now.
"That's why I'm frustrated. I feel like I'm holding myself back, and the thing I want is that table, but no matter how hard I strain and stretch and try... it's so close, Hunter. And yet it's so far away," the fox said.
The wolf nodded slowly, then quirked his head. "What's the thing you want?"
Roger paused and thought to just say it, but he could not. He sat back down next to the wolf and sighed. "I can't really... pinpoint it, I guess. I mean, I know and I don't know. I'm asking for... well, for far too much. I should be happy with what I have."
Hunter put an arm around him and hugged him. "Well, I hope you get what you want, when you figure it out. If I can help, let me know."
The fox laughed softly. "Heh, if only, if only."
The wolf laid the fox down and hugged him. It only caused the fox to blush, but he did not argue. It was becoming commonplace, but he did not think he could ever get used to it. It was not that he did not like it, of course, but the opposite. There was always a little bit of anxiety accompanying it.
The fox could still the wolf press up against him, and it was a feeling that would elicit the reaction he had expected. He rested his paws on his stomach and laid there silently, though he did give off a deep sigh.
He looked over at the wolf, who had rested his head above the fox. His eyes were closed and he could hear the thump of his tail.
He glanced downward and identified that the towel had loosened. He looked away and attempted not to think of it, but the damage was done. He moved away from the wolf's embrace and stood up, quickly rummaging through his drawers for clothes.
The wolf sat up and looked at him. "Shower time?"
Roger nodded, blushing. He attempted to keep the growing bulge out of sight. He gave up on finding the rest of his clothes and accepted having only a towel, and quickly wandered off.
He stood there, in the bathroom, having removed his boxers. It felt like it was getting worse. It was like it was becoming flammable, and the wolf was making sparks.
He took his shower and relieved himself. It was all he could do to lessen its effects, but he knew it was temporary.
It subsided after a moment, and he left. It was uneventful, it was quick. It felt almost like it was a chore.
He returned to his room and found the wolf lying down in the same spot. His legs were over the bed, paws on the floor. He laid sprawled out, on his back. Roger could hear soft snoring.
The fox grabbed his clothes and sat next to him. The sleep was uninterrupted. He looked down hesitantly, but decided now was as safe a time as any.
Hunter's towel had dropped slightly, and the fox could see at least part of his sheath. It was just as thick and large as he recalled, and he could determine that through the outline in the towel. He put his paw on the wolf's abdomen and rubbed it idly.
He thought of moving it lower, but the thought to not do so was greater. He sighed softly.
"So close, and yet so far," he said to himself.