Sunshine Days - Chapter 9
Jonathan and David had caught up with the rest of the group after a short burst of speed. Jonathan's previously sore feet were now practically howling with pain as he trudged on. David walked with the perky bounce in his step that he'd started with at the beginning of the hike, which the tabby was starting to resent a little.
'Ugh...how much longer does this trail go on?' Jonathan thought.
He grumbled under his breath. He tried to focus on things to distract him from the aching in his sneakers, which were an undeniably poor choice for the hike. His eyes were still red and irritated from the concentration of pollen in the air. He tried to pay attention to David's incessant chattering about how some superhero could beat another but he quickly detached and went back to focusing on other things again. It felt like everything was set out that day specifically to make his trek a miserable one.
Jonathan turned his concentration inward and paid attention to his own thoughts instead. He quickly got lost in them, barely paying attention to anything that was going on outside the confines of his head. He got to thinking about how quick he was to forgive David for his indiscretion in the Rec room the night before. After listening to David talking about the incident between him and Avery, it suddenly made a lot of sense why he reacted the way he did after Jonathan got up to leave in a huff and the look of fear on his face after he came out to him behind the cabin. David was not just afraid of rejection, he was afraid of losing another friend. He'd been hurt before and was practically on the verge of tears when he realized he'd messed up again. He seemed to lack a social filter and only realized his mistakes when it was too late. He wasn't incapable of remorse but he definitely lacked something in the logical judgment making department.
He eventually started thinking about how he reacted to David most of the time. From the beginning he was both repelled by the pup's exuberance and forwardness and likewise drawn to it. He was disgusted when he found his sock under David's pillow but quickly found himself immersed in both the canine's and his own scents as well. Although enjoyed David's unexpected kiss in the Rec room when it wasn't welcomed initially, it was quickly marred by the inclusion of his own semen being thrust back into his mouth. The pup was having a weird impact on him. He wondered if he was simply just going along with whatever David did, despite his own feelings and incidentally enjoyed some of it, or if there was a possibility that he might be gay himself.
As he pondered these things he was barely aware of David trying to get his attention until the pup was practically shouting in his ear.
"JONATHAN, STOP!!"
He registered the panic in David's voice and immediately stopped, snapping out of his meditation. The disturbance refreshed his vision, looking around his settings with an odd sense of clarity. His eyes no longer burned but he started to notice his sore ankles again. He turned to look at David and saw that he was just standing there behind him, his eyes wide with fright. He was looking and pointing down at Jonathan's feet. His eyes followed the pup's pointed finger and what he saw made his stomach drop out from under him.
Just a few feet away from where Jonathan had stopped was a rattlesnake. He had been so engrossed in his own thoughts that he hadn't heard David trying to warn him about the snake they were walking towards until it was too late. Now he was face to face with it, body and mind frozen in horror as he stared down at the serpent.
The brown body was coiled and its diamond shaped head was raised. Its sharp reptilian eyes regarded him with malice and its tail shook with an icy rattle. Jonathan wasn't an expert on rattlesnakes but he was certain that those were signs that it was about to strike. His mind, in a blind panic, begged his body to back away or run from it but his feet stayed firmly rooted to the spot. Everything below his neck felt numb and rubbery with abject terror. All he could do was watch the snake as it glared back.
"Stay still..." David whispered, standing still himself a few feet behind. "It might still bite you if you try to back away."
Jonathan would have thought something sarcastic in the right frame of mind. It was more than easy to follow those orders when he was already paralyzed with unadulterated fear.
After what felt like an eternity of gazing into the snake's soulless eyes and waiting, the snake finally backed off. It uncoiled and slid away into the grass, away from the immobile feline.
It briefly seemed that Jonathan was safe from danger but he wasn't quite out of the woods yet. When he found and reclaimed his body again he collapsed backwards, landing thankfully on the pack he was carrying and narrowly avoiding dashing his head on a protruding rock from the soil. Like a man emerging from the ocean, he gasped heavily for air. His lungs burned like fire, threatening to close up the more his chest heaved. His trembling paws dug frantically at his pockets, desperate for his inhaler.
A different paw found it first, thrusting into his pocket and digging out the little plastic device. David knelt over Jonathan and lifted his head, putting the inhaler to the feline's lips and offering a little blast of medicinal spray. The inhaler opened his lungs back up a little and Jonathan focused on slowing his heart rate. He took slower and more deliberate breaths as he tried to calm himself down. Having the pup sitting over him and holding his head up, looking down at him with intense worry on his face, was sort of comforting.
It took a very long while and several blasts of the inhaler for Jonathan to get back into a place where he could breathe again. His lungs still hurt and his chest still seized occasionally. He smiled weakly up at David and said hoarsely, "What a rush."
David seemed confused by the statement, then his face broke out in a wide, relieved grin and he laughed. "Holy moley, you scared the bejesus out of me!"
Jonathan giggled, carefully though so he didn't trigger another attack. David helped Jonathan sit up on the dirt. He rubbed a paw over his neck as Jonathan looked down at his lap. Jonathan grimaced when he noticed the dark, wet patch on the front of his jeans. He hadn't even felt his bladder release during the standoff with the snake. His heart sunk and he muttered, "Oh nooo...Not again."
David hugged him awkwardly from his position next to him and nuzzled his head, "It's okay. No one saw." The words did little to help the feline but the hug was somewhat reassuring. David hooked an arm under the feline and pulled him up to a standing position. Once he was certain that Jonathan could stand on his own, he let go and let the kitten dust himself off.
Jonathan was still looking down at his stained crotch, feeling hot embarrassment burning over his cheeks. It was the humiliating cherry on top of his terrifying brush with death. His eyes welled up with tears and David immediately swooped in and put a comforting arm back around his shoulders.
"It's okay, John. You're okay," he said gently.
Jonathan shook his head, "No. They're gonna make fun of me again..." Tears had started to roll down his cheeks at the thought of facing his fellow campers. His mind's eye saw Avery and Henry laughing maliciously at him and Leader Eddie's look of annoyance and disappointment.
David stood there and held him for a minute before pulling back and placing his paws on Jonathan's slumped shoulders. He shook gently and said, "Hey. Look. I think there's a river not too far from here. We can go wash your pants off and no one will know the difference."
Jonathan nodded and took off his glasses to wipe away his eyes. He was hesitant about leaving the trail in case there was another poisonous snake waiting in the shrubs and pine needles. The alternative was facing his entire cabin with another accident and he wasn't quite ready to take another blow to his pride. So he went with David.
Jonathan kept his eyes on the floor of the forest, scanning through the flora just in case there was another rattlesnake slithering around in the underbrush. David kept his arm over the tabby's shoulder as he led him down a hill. The cat's ears quickly picked up the sound of water bubbling over stones not too far away from the trail. He wondered briefly if they would have any trouble getting back to said trail and catching up with the rest of the group. He wondered if they even knew they were gone.
~~~
Jonathan sat on a warm rock and waded his bare feet through the river. The cool water felt amazing on his sore ankles and heels, refreshing and revitalizing the kitten all over. He only wore a shirt as his pants and underwear were drying on a heated rock next to him. His socks and shoes were set next to them as well, although they didn't need the drying as much as the clothes did.
He looked over at the pup and said, "I know it was cool of you to do this but...you really didn't need to take your clothes off too."
David smiled and turned, having waded halfway out into the water. "I didn't wanna feel left out!"
"Yeah but...all of them?"
The nude canine turned his body, now proudly showing off. "I'll do what I want!" He splashed over to the feline and sat down. "I like being naked! Especially outside when it's nice and sunny." Almost to emphasize his point, he spread his legs out over the rock and grinned impishly at him. Jonathan blushed and turned his head down, staring down at the slow moving water.
The pup's smile melted away and he looked down at the river contemplatively, watching the crystal clear water rushing over his feet. He asked softly, more seriously, "Do you think I'm disgusting?"
"What?" Jonathan asked, a little thrown off by the question. He looked over at the pup who was still dipping his feet in the stream, looking a little down.
"I know I'm weird and gross..." David said plainly, "I'm not that stupid."
"I never thought you were stupid," Jonathan said. Although it was partially untrue, he truly didn't believe that the boy was entirely dense. He definitely had his coherent moments.
"Thanks...but I know people talk about me like I'm dumb. I also know that I've got weird little things that I like that people would think are gross and weird. Not just the gay thing but...just stuff."
"What kind of stuff?" Jonathan asked.
It was the canine's turn to blush; something that Jonathan thought was a blue-moon occasion. "Well...you remember back in the Rec room how I sucked your dick?"
"Yeess..." Jonathan said, shifting uncomfortably.
"Well, I know you didn't like that kiss I gave you, 'specially after I tried to push your semen back into your mouth. But I like that. I love the taste and smell of cum, even when it's being kissed back and forth." He grinned sheepishly at the admission. "I know it was a crappy thing for me to do without you asking..."
Jonathan smiled lightly and looked away. "It's alright...I'm not mad at you about that anymore. It was just unexpected..."
David's face brightened. His tail swished a little at the feline's words. "Well...there's other stuff that I like but I don't wanna gross you out..."
"You can tell me," Jonathan said. He already had locked in mind the sock he'd found under the canine's pillow but he wanted to hear it come from David to be certain.
David looked uncertainly at the feline, "Are you sure?"
Jonathan shrugged, "Yeah."
David took a deep breath and said, "Alright....well, I like to smell things...I mean like around other guys. I like to smell around their bodies...let me know if this gets too gross for you."
Jonathan waved his paw dismissively. His stomach wasn't churning yet and he was curious as to what exactly made the pup tick.
"Well...I like to smell their dicks and balls. I like to smell around their butts too. And their armpits and feet and other places. I like to lick them too...I know it's weird but...I just like the taste and smell of hot, sweaty dudes."
Jonathan's face was contorted into an expression of disgusted curiosity. His stomach wasn't turning over quite yet but his flaccid dick started to expand between his closed legs. He figured that was the answer he'd been looking for.
David continued, loosening up and getting comfortable a little too quickly. "I like to smell socks and underwear too..."
Jonathan cleared his throat. David stopped and looked at him curiously. Jonathan took a deep breath and said, "I know. I found one of my socks under your pillow."
If the canine's white fur could have gone any paler, it would have. David looked so ashamed and horrified that he thought he might die of embarrassment. "O-oh...I'm sorry...I..."
"It's okay," Jonathan interjected, "I was mad at you but...not anymore. It was kinda gross but I found your underwear too and...I started sniffing it and..." He blushed wildly around his cheeks, wondering why he would admit that out loud. He turned to look at David and saw that he was looking at him with a little smile.
"Did you like it?" David asked softly.
"M-Maybe..."
David seemed satisfied at that answer, given by his smug little grin and his puppyhood poking out of his sheath. He shook his head and looked back down at his lap, "Well still...I'm sorry that I stole your sock. I know I'm a freak but I still shouldn't have done that..."
"Why did you do that?"
David shrugged, "I dunno...I just get this sort of thrill when I do...It's like I know I'm being bad and stuff but at the same time it's....I dunno."
There was a pause in the conversation, punctuated by the sounds of water babbling over smooth stones and birds singing sporadically in the trees. Jonathan stripped off his shirt and laid it aside, now naked with the pup.
"What else are you into?" Jonathan asked.
David's pointed tail wagged. "Well...I like having my tailhole played with. I figured out online how to get it all cleaned out like in the porn so there's nothing dirty down there."
Jonathan nodded, wondering how one would go about doing that. The idea seemed grossly unsanitary but intrigued him nonetheless.
"I like to get tickled and spanked and...there's something that I like that you'll probably think is super nasty but...I like to get peed on."
"Peed?" Jonathan asked, wondering if he'd heard the pup correctly.
David nodded. "Yup... I like it when guys pee on me but not a lot like to. Just one but I won't say his name."
"Avery?"
"No...no! Definitely not Avery." He blushed a little, "It's not important. I just like to get peed on. I don't know why but...I just like the smell and taste and...sometimes I like to pee on myself."
Jonathan's belly finally did a couple somersaults at that. He wrinkled his nose, wondering why on Earth anyone would like that. David saw the repulsed look on Jonathan's face and his ears dropped back.
"I know...I told you I was gross..."
"Well...maybe a little but," Jonathan swallowed. "I still think you're kind of a good person. A little weird but I like you. I mean, you're my friend."
For a moment, David looked like if he contained his happiness inside for another minute he'd explode. His tail whipped side to side and he grinned like an idiot. Jonathan couldn't help smiling either, sharing that happiness they both knew as acceptance and friendship. The more they opened up to one another, the more genuine it felt and the stronger the bond between them grew.
David stood up and shook himself off, his meaty thighs and belly jiggling a little after he dried off. "We should probably get dressed and catch up with the rest of the group. They're probably already at the campsite, setting up tents."
Jonathan stood and did his best imitation of a canine shake but didn't fare so well. "Probably. What do we tell them?"
"I dunno. We'll think of something." David grinned.
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