FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Pervert for Bluewolf01 by 12 as Lukos

I grunted as I hauled my duffel bag from the overhead compartment and walked down the aisle toward the front of the plane. A smiling flight attendant wished me a great day in a contrastingly emotionless voice. I stepped through the double doors into the airport itself, and my long ears perked as the received the announcement that flight 2247 from Denver had arrived and would soon be boarding for a flight to Green Bay. I felt my beak click nervously as I followed one of the overhead signs toward Baggage Claim, where my phone said he would meet me.

I had been waiting for this day for well over two months now. I hadn't seen him in more than five years, not since I moved away to Denver. Text and instant messages had been our only communication since then.

Bulmung was the best friend a gryphon could ever hope to have. You know that one friend who you feel you can tell anything at all to? That was Bulmung for me. Even while we were apart, I had found myself confiding in him more than anyone else. He knew things about me that no one else knew, and I was pretty sure I was the same for him. Our other good friend, a wolf named Frozen, was another great confidant, and the three of us would finally be reunited.

It had been so long....

My paws quickened toward Baggage Claim. I knew he was waiting there for me. He would probably be pretty easy to spot....

Sure enough, the moment I turned to follow the direction one of the Baggage Claim signs pointed to, I saw him standing there. Even in the crowd of people crowding around the belts to wait for their luggage, my eyes were drawn to him. He was a tauren, solidly built, a friendly look on his face as he scanned the arrival list on the ceiling-mounted monitors. He wore a strange combination of a dark, almost-black hoodie with dark tan shorts, and his fur was that same blue-grey I remembered from all those years ago.

Yeah, I know. It sounds like I'm swooning, but you don't get it. This guy's, like, my best friend. Always has been, even when he had to move. Once, six years ago, when I was 17 and he was 19, I got caught up at a party, peer-pressured into taking a few drinks. The whole thing was unsupervised, to my surprise, and one thing led to another, and... well, I woke up in his bedroom, and he covered for me with my folks. Was I in the wrong? You bet I was, but he was still there for me. He knew how to make me laugh when I was down, or calm me down when I was angry. As I said before, I could tell him things that I could never tell anyone else. It's great to have a friend like that.

When I grabbed his shoulder, he jumped and turned around. The first thing I noticed was that he was missing part of his left horn. Where the ivory-colored horn would normally curve upward into a square angle was broken, leaving a somewhat jagged stump behind. He didn't seem to notice my surprise. As soon as he saw me, he broke out laughing and pulled me into a huge hug. I thought I had grown, but so had he; he was still much taller than I was, except maybe for my ears. I grinned widely and returned his embrace. He smelled of the same cologne he wore before he left. The scent was familiar, nostalgic, and made me feel like I could hug him all day long.

"Bulmung!" I said. "Good to see ya, buddy!"

"How was your flight, Felix?" he asked, ending the hug all too soon.

"Smooth, but eh, who cares about that? I haven't seen you in ages! What happened to your horn?"

The tauren chuckled. Man, I missed that sound. "Surfing accident."

"You surf?"

"Yeah, dude, it's California! Of course I surf. Lost control and got slammed into a rock." He rubbed the remains of his horn ruefully. "My poor horn took the worst of it. I don't know, I might eventually get fitted for a fake just so I don't have to answer all the questions. I didn't bother telling you about it. Figured it'd be a nice surprise.

I beamed stupidly up at him. "Eh, I like it. You look all rugged. Manly."

"Pfft," he scoffed. "I look like a broken balance scale. Anyway, enough about my horn. Let's get your stuff, huh? I'm eager to get you home. How does it feel to be back in California?"

"Awesome! I loved Denver, you know, but there's no place like home, especially when you get to room with your best bro!"

Bulmung laughed. "I missed you too." I felt him clap a heavy paw on my back. "Come on."

Just then, a buzzer sounded on belt 2, where a screen identified it as the baggage claim belt for flight 2247 from Denver.

Half an hour later, I sat in the comfortable passenger seat of Bulmung's SUV, staring up through the glass roof at the California sky, remembering the misery I felt five years ago as I left it behind with my parents. Bulmung chatted animatedly about where we were going, about what Frozen was doing, about San Diego and how it was different from where we once lived. It felt so good to be back.

"You know, you'll have to show me around," I blurted out at a lull in the tauren's verbal tour.

He gave me a look. "Really? It's... just Cali, dude. I'm afraid there's not much to see."

"Sure there is!" I replied. "You've told me about so many things since you moved here a couple years ago. I want to see where you hang out. Besides, I never lived in San Diego. I lived in Francisco, remember?"

Bulmung smiled. "Sure. We can do it tomorrow."

"Nuh-uh. Today." I didn't know why I wanted him to show me around so badly. He was right. It was just Cali, and once I'd seen his hangouts I felt I'd know all there was to know short-term. Further, I'd just stepped off a plane, and I had a lot of things to do. Bulmung was my roommate now; hanging out could afford to wait, but I wanted to do it today. Maybe I was just eager to go out and spend time with him. A familiar thought passed through my mind, only for a moment: "Just how much do you like him?"

As quickly as the thought came, however, it vanished in Bulmung's reply. "If you feel you're up for it! I have been dying to show you my favorite restaurant."

I smiled. "Yeah, sounds good!"

"Alright then. Frozen's at work, but let's just drop your stuff off first. This is an SUV; it needs all the gas mileage it can get."

We ended up parking just before the downtown area. Bulmung happened to work around there. It was autumn, so the air was cool and the sky was clear above all the skyscrapers that now bordered my view of it.

There was a sudden poke to my ribs. It hit a nerve that made me jump and squeal awkwardly, snapping out of my little trance to see Bulmung's grinning face. I growled and swiped at him, and he quickly jumped out of the way and ran a few feet forward. I grinned, walking calmly behind him. "Oh, don't you worry, Bul, I'm gonna get you."

"Bring it on then!" he spread his arms in a display of bravado, turning the gesture into a flex as he walked backward out of my reach. His hoodie hid whatever muscle he had, but it seemed like it might be a fair amount. I couldn't help it--I began looking him over as we walked. His longish hair was draped over his shoulders in a few strangely masculine braids. I still wished he would just get a haircut. He was broad-shouldered, good-looking.

I allowed my eyes to glance further south. As his strong-looking thighs moved beneath those shorts, his package created an appealing bulge. For a split second, I imagined the large, soft pair of balls that lay below. I pictured my paw cupping them, and imagined how well they'd fill it.

"Hey!"

Again, I found myself snapped out of a trance. Bulmung had a smile of playful accusation on his face. "You were checkin' me out, weren't you?" he declared, pointing a finger at me as he continued to walk backward.

Yeah, he knew I was gay. He was the only one who knew I was gay. Coming out to him through instant message had been far easier than I ever could have imagined. He had been so easy to talk to, and he set my mind at ease. He then revealed that he was bi. That helped a lot too. Ever since then, the what-ifs had been flashing through my mind, sometimes in sweet moments of affection, other times in lewd fantasies that often extended far past where Bulmung just cut me off.

"Psh, I wasn't checking you out," I said coolly. "I was just trying to see how fat you've gotten."

Bulmung stopped, a look of pure hurt on his face. I didn't buy it, continuing to walk right past him. Sure enough, he grinned and draped an arm about my shoulders. "And now I have a reason to get you back," he declared. "Oho yes. When you least expect it, boom!"

As he continued, I forced my eyes to stay away from the bulge that bounced and bumped happily against his thighs.

The restaurant was nice, a little Italian bistro where Bulmung said he had spent many a lunch break. The smells coming from it were delicious.

"Their Panini are epic," he told me. "I'm buying you one."

"Good," I replied cheerfully. "I didn't want to have to pay."

Bulmung grinned. "Oh, well just for that, dinner's on you tonight."

Take-out orders were supposed to be placed at the counter. I sat at a table and watched my best friend as he walked through the line. What was with me today? I couldn't keep my eyes off of him. Maybe after fantasizing about him for so long, actually being there with him was proving too exciting for me in more ways than one. It was his rump this time, large and round and muscular-looking, perfectly outlined as he shoved his paws into his pockets. It looked utterly squeezable; maybe I could come up with some sort of ploy to cop a feel later.

Man, I had to stop this. I didn't move all the way to San Diego to perv over my best friend. He definitely influenced my decision to move here, but not just because I wanted his body. He and I had never even talked about deepening our relationship anyway. I needed to exercise some self-control and just enjoy my time with him like a normal best friend.

The Panini was incredible. "I can see why you love this place," I said after swallowing my first bite. It was hot, crunchy, and delicious.

"Mmf, ah-guh-ear-hor-nunf-awwa-dahn," Bulmung said through a mouthful of sandwich.

"Come on, dude, swallow before you speak!"

"Nnn!" Bulmung grinned as he chewed his mouthful and swallowed moments later. "That's what he said."

"Shut up," I retorted playfully. "What were you originally saying?"

He laughed. "Dang! Okay, I see how it is, Felix. I was just saying I come here for lunch all the time."

"Mmm, well it's a good choice." I took another bite as we started down the sidewalk. People and cars went by as we enjoyed our food and idle chat. Bulmung showed me his favorite coffee shop, which also sold a variety of doughnuts and cookies that he liked. I found a music-and-entertainment shop and went in before Bulmung could stop me (if he would even want to) to look around. It was like old times. Sure, I had chatted with Bulmung over the past five years, but getting to hang out with him again was filling me with the warm fuzzies.

Man, I was really thinking about him a lot that day. Thoughts of how much I had missed him kept invading my mind. More often than I'd like to admit, those thoughts often evolved. I would catch myself staring at his crotch from time to time as he talked about the goings-on in his new neighborhood, or how we should go visit OceanWorld sometime. I knew that wasn't what I should have been doing, but I couldn't help it. I had missed him, I had fantasized about being with him on many different levels over the past five years, and one of those levels was... like that.

I don't know why the fact that I had a huge crush on my best friend wasn't immediately obvious to me.

At the moment, my brain was on his body once again. He didn't seem to notice my downward glances. Like a good male, I was careful to perform them when he was looking away. I wanted more.

We walked for quite awhile. As we walked, I eventually noticed the bright sunlight reflecting from the waters of the San Diego Bay. We took a left turn, and before long we saw the San Diego-Coronado Bridge arcing gracefully over the sailboat-dotted water. One more glance down at Bulmung's package, and I had the most amazing idea.

"Hey, you know what I want to do right now?"

"Hm?" Bulmung kept his eyes on the bridge.

"I want to go to the beach."

At this, he looked down at me, a slight tilt to his head. "The beach? Now? You haven't even unpacked yet, and it's getting too cool for the beach."

"Dude, I've been in Denver for five years. Do you know how long it's been since I've gotten to the beach?"

Bulmung scratched the back of his head. I could tell some beach time sounded good to him as well. "What about Frozen? I'm sure he'd want to come, but he's at work."

"Like I said, it's been five years. We can always go again when he's off!"

"I don't know...."

"You could show me your moves on the surfboard!" I singsonged. I knew I had him, and sure enough, after a moment of thought, he smiled. "Let's get back to the car."

I was so focused on Bulmung that I really hadn't paid much attention to my new home. It was a comfortable two-bedroom condo. I was supposed to share a room with Bulmung, who had recently traded rooms with Frozen so we could have the bigger one. It was spacious, with a little bit of Bulmung's familiar clutter here and there. I had a good idea about which of my suitcases held my trunks. I hurriedly pulled them free and got changed while Bulmung packed a few snacks and drinks. I was excited. Bulmung and Frozen and I used to go to the beach all the time back in San Francisco. I focused on that in an effort to ignore the other reason why I wanted to go.

My trunks were blue and white, sort of like me. I wore them with the same white T-shirt and green button-down shirt I had already been wearing. It was an odd combination, but I figured the button-down would help keep me a little warmer on the way back.

I walked out to declare that I was ready to go, but as the door opened, Bulmung walked past and into the room. "Do me a favor, would ya?" he said. Stick that cooler in the car and wait for me while I change."

Shoot. A missed opportunity. Had I not been so eager, I might have had the chance to watch him cha--wait, what was I thinking? I was really becoming a pervert. In fact, this whole beach trip at this time of year was a crazy idea.

"But you can't call it off now," I reasoned silently with myself as I lifted the small, cylindrical cooler. "Bulmung already went to all the trouble." I'd have to go now, especially with the images of Bulmung in my head. Gay or not, I was acting like such a male.

The beach wasn't very crowded at all. There were a few people walking along the shoreline, a few sunbathing, enjoying the contrast of the sun's warmth and the cool, early autumn air, and a few in the water. Bulmung had brought his surfboard along, and once we found a spot far enough away from the other beachgoers to call ourselves alone, he shoved its end into the sand with authority.

"This'll do," he said, looking at me cautiously. "The water's going to be cooler. You sure you want to go in?"

I had already put down the cooler and beach towel and was in the process of removing my shirt. "What do you think?" I asked him.

He shrugged. "Don't say I didn't warn you!" With that, he began to disrobe.

Now it gets a little cheesy. It's late afternoon, so the sun is setting over the Pacific Ocean. I have this... this sexy tauren in front of me, I've definitely got sex on the brain, and this eye candy taking off his clothes. His silhouette shows off his toned upper body, sunlight and shadow falling perfectly into his curves and crevices. He drops his hoodie and T-shirt on top of the rolled-up beach towel, and he takes off his shorts, and what is he wearing?

He's wearing a freaking Speedo.

Of all the things he could be wearing. A Speedo. I can see his strong legs, his firm thighs, the stretchy fabric hugging those perfect buns, riding ever so slightly between them. Between his thighs, I can just barely see the bulge of his heavy balls, nicely supported by the small swimwear. I quickly reach down to adjust myself and keep my privates private.

"Hey, nice butt," I said, forcing a chuckle and hoping I didn't sound as serious as I really was. He turned to me. I gave him an innocent smile.

"Aw, shut up," he said, a sort of embarrassed blush coming over his face. "They're more supportive, okay?"

"Yeah, and all the little fishies in the Pacific will get to see what you're packin' down there!"

"Ooh, jealous?" he grinned. I was relieved that he wasn't taking this seriously.

"Tch, I'm happy with my size," I said. "I don't have to show it."

"Well I do," he said in a playful, pompous, I'm-proud-of-myself voice. "It makes me feel better about myself." He chuckled and returned to his normal voice. "Besides, now I'll get to see what you look like when you're trying to hide a boner."

I was shocked for a moment. Had he noticed? How? His back was turned when I hid the boner I did indeed have.

My thoughts must have translated to my expression, because he held his paws up defensively. "Whoa, I was just joking dude!"

"Psh, I know that," I said, trying to hide the relief in my voice.

"What, you actually have one?" One of his paws suddenly reached toward my crotch.

"Ah! Hey!" I backed away, and he laughed and started toward the water. "Come on then, Felix!" he called back over his shoulder. "Might as well get the hard part over with."

I couldn't help but notice how his rump wiggled as he jogged.

As soon as my footpaws touched the water, my former regrets began to resurface. It didn't feel like anything I wouldn't eventually get used to, but between the changing season and the coming nightfall, the water felt cold. I halted in the shallows with the water up to my thighs, shivering as I waited for my body to become accustomed to the temperature before subjecting my more sensitive areas to it. Bulmung, meanwhile, had already submerged himself and was swimming about happily in the salty water.

"Oh, no, no, no!" he said when he looked back and saw me standing there. "You, my friend, are breaking the number one rule for swimming in cold water! Come on, just do it!"

"N-no," I said stubbornly. "Nooo way."

"Come on, this was your idea!" He started walking toward me like some Adonis emerging from the water. "Don't make me decide this for you."

"Don't you dare!" My tall ears laid back against my head, and I stood rooted to the spot, too cold to move forward, and too cold to move backward.

Bulmung shrugged. "It's okay, I won't."

"Good." He stood face-to-face with me. His gaze was sympathetic. He put his paws on my shoulders. "Hey." I felt a light blush on my face as I looked up into his kind eyes. I felt my heart start to pound. I almost missed the mischievous grin.

My brain barely had time to register what was happening before I found myself lifted out of the water in his arms. Suddenly, I was flying through the air, the water rushing straight toward me. I let out a yell, only to have it disappear within the salty liquid. It was SO COLD. I didn't say a word as I half-swam, half-ran straight to the jerkface. Shivering, I remained submerged in the water, tightly hugging his legs to steal whatever body heat I could, only my ears poking out above the surface. Bulmung laughed.

"Oh come on, it's not that bad! Hey, leggo, I can't move like that!"

Indeed, I was quickly adjusting to the cool water, but hugging onto Bulmung was more comfortable. He was warm. Not only that, but hugging his leg, pressing my face against his thigh after poking my nose up for air, was proving quite pleasant. It felt strong, firm, and with his short fur nice and wet like this, it felt smooth. I tried not to let my paws wander too much. My grip on his inner thigh slipped a little, and I moved my paw upward to compensate. Nothing unreasonable. No big deal. It could have gone up a little higher after I moved it, but he wouldn't notice. I sort of wished that the water wasn't so salty so I could open my eyes. Five years in Denver had me wary about opening my eyes beneath the surface.

"Oh, come on." His voice was very quiet from under the water, but then I felt his paws reach down and grab me, hauling me back above the surface. "No way you're not accustomed to this by now."

"You threw me!" I said accusingly. "After you said you wouldn't! You will sit there and take my clinging like a man!"

He grinned. "Well there aren't really any waves for surfing right now," he said "Since you're such a baby today, want to go toss the Frisbee around before it gets dark?"

"Sounds good," I said. It was getting dark, so it would be harder to dry off anyway. I really hadn't thought this through. Worst of all, I didn't bring a change of pants. Bulmung's Speedo would dry pretty quickly, and after a quick toweling he could get into his clothes and be perfectly fine, if not a little salty. I'd be stuck wearing those wet trunks all the way home.

You men out there, always think with your head and not your dick.

The cold water had tamed mine for the moment. After we had shaken off the water, I set Bulmung's discarded clothes on top of the cooler and spread out the beach towel, flopping down on top of it. Bulmung went to his surfing stuff and produced a blue Frisbee. He tossed the disc lightly onto my chest, and I looked at him.

"On your footpaws, gryphon," he said.

We played with the Frisbee for about half an hour, chatting above the sound of the gentle waves washing ashore, before we figured it was too dark to continue. I couldn't remember the last time I had felt as carefree as I had all day today. It was weird to think that I had woken up in Denver mere hours ago, excited about seeing Bulmung and Frozen and California again, and now I was here, spending time with my best friend. I was tired, very tired, but at the same time I wasn't ready to go home. Frozen probably wasn't back from work yet anyway.

"Hey, let's go check out the shops," I said suddenly.

"What about the food?"

"Eh, we can eat it when we're done, right?"

"Yeah, I guess. It is a nice night, but won't you be cold in those shorts?"

"...Yeah, you're right."

He grinned. "The beach will be here forever, dude. We can come back this weekend. We'll bring Frozen."

"Sounds good," I smiled.

"In fact... take those off when we get back to the car."

"...What?"

"You heard me. You'll feel a lot better with the heater blowing against your junk than you will in wet shorts. Besides, my upholstery will thank you."

I blushed a bit, but I couldn't argue with all that. "Okay, yeah. Thanks."

So there I was ten minutes later, sitting in the dark SUV with the heater and the music on, the stars visible through the glass roof, eating sandwiches and drinking cola while totally naked from the waist down. Strangely, I didn't feel at all subconscious. Bulmung had that effect on me. I felt totally comfortable.

"So did you have fun today?" he asked.

"Heck yeah, I did," I said back. "Best day ever."

"Yeah, and many more," said Bulmung. "You're sharing a room with me from now on, after all."

"Here's to that," I said, lifting my soda can and tapping it against Bulmung's without warning him. "And to being 23 and old enough not to have to follow my parents around."

"Yeah, and I'll get to see you graduate college. Have you thought about which one you'll go to?"

"Well, yeah. I've narrowed it down to two. I'm probably going to start in January. It's too late to register for this semester, you know? Gives me time to settle in anyway."

"Yeah, sounds good. Don't forget, you have to help with the bills!"

"I know, I know! Don't remind me, freeloader."

He gave a look of shock and jabbed me playfully in the side.

"Ow!" I laughed and rubbed my side ruefully. "Okay, okay, I deserved that."

"Thank you."

"Frozen's not a freeloader. Ow!"

To my horror, he began to tickle me. I laughed helplessly as his fingers suddenly became instruments of torture, finding just the right spots to make me hurriedly jam my soda can into a cup holder and try to defend myself through my peals of laughter.

This was my relationship with Bulmung. We laughed, we joked, we fooled around. There were few people I'd rather be with than Bulmung and Frozen, and especially Bulmung.

Suddenly, the tickling stopped. My eyes were still clenched shut, but I could feel Bulmung there, leaning over my side. My shirt had found its way up around my shoulders as he tickled me. I was almost completely naked, sitting there in his car.

"I know what you've been doing all day," he said suddenly.

My eyes widened, and my heart skipped a beat. "Y-you know... uh... I mean... what?"

"Oh come on, Felix, you think I didn't notice where your eyes kept going? Er... and your paws, back in the water?"

I was glad it was dark. I could almost hear myself blushing. "I'm... I didn't mean to...."

"Hey, it's okay, dude," said Bulmung. "I get it. We are both into guys after all."

I couldn't bring my eyes up to meet his face. Instead, they stayed fixed on the ground.

"It's been awhile since we've been face-to-face," continued the tauren. "Even so, we're still best friends. That says something, doesn't it?"

"Yeah," I agreed readily. "You're awesome, you know that?"

"Of course I know that, but my point is--ow, hey, you said it!"

My punch to his arm made him chuckle. I loved that sound. I think that was the moment I started to realize the gravity of what I was feeling. It hadn't registered itself as anything specific yet, but my frequent question to myself, about how I felt about Bulmung, was slowly beginning to answer itself.

"Anyway, you're awesome too," Bulmung said. "It's awesome to have you back. Even if you are a total pervert."

"S-sorry about that," I stammered. "I... I didn't think you would notice."

"Of course I did."

"Well why didn't you say anything?"

He reached up to scratch at the back of his head. "'Cause I liked it," he said cheerfully. "The temperature wasn't the only reason I wore this Speedo."

"Are you serious?! See, you're a pervert too!"

"We're guys, of course we're perverts," he laughed.

"I can't believe you knew the whole time." I was still rather embarrassed about it.

"Well... I don't know. I could have said something, but I'd already brought it up when we first got out of the car today. I thought you figured I might notice after that."

"I'm such an idiot."

"What did I just say, dude? We're guys. And you're gay, and I'm bi. It's sort of strange to say, but... I get it. We do this stuff. It's part of why girls get so ticked off at us." His grin was somewhat illuminated by the lights on his vehicle's dashboard.

"So... what are you saying? Are you saying it's okay for me to stare at your crotch?"

He laughed again. "I guess I am. Besides... it's not like I haven't been checking you out too."

I hadn't even thought about that. My face flushed. It felt like it was on fire from blushing. Bulmung? This big, sexy tauren was checking me out? I figured I was good looking (and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that), but it had never occurred to me in my hormone-fueled feelings today that Bulmung could be ogling me just like I had been ogling him.

"Shocked?" he said after a few moments of total silence from me.

"Y-yeah," he said. "I never thought of that. I'm pretty surprised."

In the darkness, I felt his paw suddenly reach out to mine. My heart skipped another beat as he took it and lifted it, pulling it toward himself. I leaned over to accommodate him, my eyes searching his face curiously. They widened as I felt my paw slip between his thighs, cup his package through the Speedo he was still wearing. I could feel his balls, large and heavy and full, resting comfortably there. I felt his package beginning to expand as his thick cock began to leave his sheath. It all felt large, soft, and oh-so-warm. I shuddered as the taboo of the moment passed and I finally got a paw where my eyes had been gazing all day long.

"How about now?" he smirked.

The next morning found me in my new home. I could have sworn that two beds were in the room yesterday, but they had been pushed together into one. Man, I felt good. I was so exhausted when I got back last night that I barely remembered getting into bed. Bulmung was snuggled up against me, still fast asleep. I smiled and wrapped my arms around him as I thought about our conversations and experiences last night. What a great way to wake up. The sunlight was streaming through the windows. By the looks of it, it was some time in the afternoon. Frozen was standing in the doorway. Some of my things had been hung up in the closet, so unpacking later would be a little easier, and--wait, Frozen was in the doorway?

The wolf grinned down at us. "Awww, how sweet," he said.

I blushed as though I had been caught red-handed doing something I wasn't supposed to do. "Oh! H-hey, Frozen! This is, uh..."

The wolf chuckled. "Oh, don't worry. I'm a wolf, you know. My nose is better than any story Bulmung could possibly come up with for why the two of you came home at like one in the morning smelling like beach and butt sex, with you barely conscious."

I pouted, my face red. "Good to see you too, buddy."

"It's great to see you. Hey, when you manage to get out from under that big guy come on out and greet me properly, okay? I'll make us lunch."

"Yeah, you bet."

Frozen left the room, closing the door behind him. Without opening his eyes, Bulmung grinned.

"Busteeed," he mumbled sleepily against my neck.

"Yeah, and it's totally your fault," I remarked.

"How is it my fault?" he asked.

"It just is."

"Yeah, right."

We lay there for a while, just enjoying the feeling of waking up in each other's arms. Moving back to California had just become my best decision ever.