{"sf1_id":693918,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Favorite Things","author":"DarkSoulsSauron","words":2940,"posted_at":"2014-04-17T01:28:00.000Z","tags":["Gay Relationships","M/M","ninetales"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/693918-favorite-things","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/693918","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=693918\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"Soren\nslipped into the new house. Even after living at this place for six\nmonths he kept getting off at the seventeenth floor rather than the\nthirty sixth. He hustled to the front door, conscious that he was\nrunning later than normal. Eli was sitting on the couch. He must have\nbeen done with his painting today already, as he had changed into\nnicer clothes. Eli got up to kiss Soren's cheek as he hung up his\nbackpack. As Eli approached, Soren suddenly swept him up in his arms,\nspinning him around once and kissing his lips. \"Guess what?\"\"What?\"\ngrinned Eli. \"Luscus\nwants to send me back to school.\" \"Really?\"\"Yeah,\"\nsaid Soren. \"It was originally just for three classes, but I got\nmore out of them.\" \"Tell\nme more,\" said Eli, guiding them back to their couch. \"What\nhappened today?\"\"Well,\nI was talking with Lidia,\" said Soren, kissing Eli as they cuddled\nin the crook of their L-shaped couch. \"And she was talking about a\npromotion for me, but she thought I needed to take some more\nclasses.\"\"And?\"\"Well,\nI told her about how... life circumstances... had gotten in the way\nof me getting my masters.\" \"Mmmhmmm...\"\ngrowled Eli. Ever since their wedding Eli hated people mentioning the\nSauls. He let Soren continue.\"I\ndidn't go into details, but I turned down a raise and a bonus so I\ncould complete my masters! Luscus is paying for my school and letting\nme keep my job!\"\"Well,\nwe need to celebrate,\" smiled Eli. \"What do you want to do?\" \"You,\"\nsaid Soren, kissing Eli. \"Maybe\nlater,\" giggled Eli. \"You shouldn't have to cook when you're\ncelebrating. Do you wanna go out tonight?\" Soren\ntapped his muzzle. \"Do you know what... we've been in San Francisco\nfor six months and we haven't explored the city for sushi. I've been\nin the mood for that lately\" \"I\nremember Elly telling me she found a place or two while at school,\"\nsaid Eli. \"Well,\nnot to be snobby, but I wanted to take you some place nicer,\" said\nSoren cuddling closer to Eli on the couch. \"Elly probably knew all\nthe student friendly places.\" \"Well,\nI did read about a newer place,\" said Eli. \"It's a bit touristy,\nbut I heard it's got a nice view.\"\"Mmm?\nTell me more,\" said Soren, scratching his arm fur. \"It's\ncalled Murakumo, I think,\" said Eli, pushing his drooping bangs out\nhis eyes as he thought. \"It's at the top of that new high rise.\nI've been wanting to explore that building anyway.\"Soren\nchuckled as he cuddled Eli. \"When will you learn that they mostly\nfill those things with office space? You always get disappointed when\nyou 'explored' buildings in Kansas.\"\"You\nnever know what's in them,\" said Eli. \"That's why I explore.\"\"If\nyou call it exploring. They've tightened security now more than ever\nsince the Space Needle. I doubt they'd let you out of the lobby\nwithout proof of official business.\"\"Yeah,\"\nsaid Eli, looking down. \"Still, you never know. But let's not talk\nabout terrorism. We're supposed to be celebrating, dear.\"Soren\nnodded, nuzzling his husband as he fished his phone out of his\npocket. He quickly googled Murakumo and found their home page. The\nmenu looked excellent, and it even had an online reservation system.\nDespite being new and rather well reviewed, there was an open spot\nabout forty minutes from now. He searched the address. The restaurant\nwasn't that far away. If they\nleft now, they could walk if they wanted. \"Do you feel like a walk,\nEli?\"\"Sure.\"\nHe meandered across the living room to go through his shoes. \"Do\nyou think we should look nice? I'm pretty casual right now.\" Eli\nwas wearing a burgundy polo and khakis. Simple stuff. His fur smelled\nof lemons, as he had showered about an hour ago to wash away the\nsmell of paint. Soren\nwas wearing a lavender silk short sleeve button down and a tie of\nsimilar color. He undid the windsor and laid the tie on top of the\ntable. \"I dunno how nice it is on the inside. I think we'll be\nokay.\" They\ntook the elevator down. It was the time of day where everyone was\ngoing up rather than down, so the wait was long but the journey down\nto the lobby was uninterrupted. Eli leaned on Soren the whole way\ndown, resting his cheek on Soren's shoulder. Soren just closed his\neyes and enjoyed the closeness. He rubbed his thumb over Eli's wrist.\nHis thumb caught on a sliver of dried paint that Eli missed, and he\nscratched at it until he felt that the fur was free of the splotch.\nThe\nwalk didn't feel like it took half an hour. Even in winter San\nFrancisco was a wonderful city to be in. It's foggy chill suited\nSoren, both aesthetically and comfort-wise. Right now it was chilly\nenough for other people to be dressed in rain jackets or even winter\ncoats, but was mild enough for fire types like Eli and Soren to be\nstrolling around in short sleeves without a care in the world. Eli's\nhand was straying to Soren's on a regular basis, and Soren did\nnothing to dissuade him. He never did, although he felt much more\ncomfortable holding Eli's hand in San Francisco than Kansas City. It\nwasn't about homophobia, although San Fran was by far a much more\ngay-friendly city. It held a general feeling of friendliness that the\nMidwest couldn't replicate. They didn't talk much on the journey.\nInstead Soren hummed a jaunty, meandering tune that Eli supplemented\noccasionally with harmony or an alteration. The\nnew building to grace San Francisco's skyline was certainly modern\nlooking: a great big tower of reflective glass that turned the bay\nmist a brilliant orange as the sun bathed the city in light. The\nelevator was a new model: A big, cylindrical thing that ran along the\nside of the building so that people could gaze at the city while they\nshot up like champagne cork high into the sky. The elevator was\ncrowded, mostly with people who were keen on trying out the\nrestaurant at the top. There was a low buzz talking about if all of\nthe seafood would be bay native. Even\nwith the reservation, Eli and Soren was told that they needed to wait\ntwenty minutes. It wasn't much of a bother. The establishment was\ncertainly gorgeous. Grandiose, almost. The room was mainly royal\nblue, with black wooden tables offering space for eating. But what\nattracted the eye of every occupant of the room was the ceiling. It\nwas painted sky blue and white, and it undulated above everyone's\nhead to create the illusion of a moving sky scape. Eli couldn't\ncontain himself. \"Soren,\nget me a ladder! I want to look at this up close!\"Soren\nshook his head, but smiled widely. He put his hands on his hips and\nchuckled. \"I don't think we're allowed to do that, sweetie.\"\"Oooh.\nDamn it,\" frowned Eli, pounding his fist into his palm. \"I left\nmy sketchbook, didn't I?\" Soren just nodded. \"We need to come\nback when I have paper on me. I want to see exactly how they made\nthat ceiling.\" At\nthat Soren felt the buzzer in his hand go off. Their table was ready.\n\"C'mon, dear.\"The\nbooth for two was cozy, nestled right up against a window. All that\ncould be seen was cloud, but the sunset dyed it a brilliant shade\nsomewhere between pink and orange. Still, it felt more like they were\nsitting next to a painting on a wall rather than a high rise window.\nNot that either option was unpleasant. Soren and Eli explored the\nmenu, getting everything in plates of two so they could sample as\nmany flavors as possible without stuffing themselves. The\ntwo were much more free with their public displays of affection than\nnormal. They kissed over their table or fed each other sushi with\ntheir chopsticks or let their tails intertwine under the table.\nNeither could help it. Soren\njust felt so...giddy seemed a\nproper word. He hadn't thought he'd ever be able to keep his job\nwhile he finally finished his degree. And the good food certainly\nhelped. They started with sweet stuff, a tuna wrap topped with wet\nslices of mango before ending in a fiery lobster roll that made them\nboth bite into their rice balls to quell the burning on their\ntongues. They couldn't resist a plate of mochi either, and the sweets\nput them in high spirits as they paid the check. The\nreturn home seemed shorter than the way there. Neither let go of the\nother the whole way, and when they stepped inside they flopped on to\ntheir couch to just kiss and hold each other. They eventually flipped\non a movie, re-watching Cloud Atlas. Soren certainly wasn't paying\ntoo much attention. He was perfectly fine with just stroking Eli's\nhair in his hands and cocooning them both in his tails. When\nthe film ended they moved from the couch to their bed, switching into\npajamas. Soren smiled as they lay in the bed together, one on top of\nthe other. Eli had nestled himself into the crook of Soren's neck,\nhis breathing already starting to slow a bit. Soren kissed Eli's\nforehead. There was a short pause before he kissed Eli's hair, then\nhis cheek, the top of his muzzle, at the base of a pointy ear. \"Stop\nit,\" giggled Eli as he recoiled from the last kiss. \"That tickles\nthere. Why are you in such a kissy mood? Are you trying to get laid\ntonight?\" Soren\nkissed Eli's hair again. \"Not really. Do I need a reason?\"Eli\nunraveled himself enough to kiss Soren back on the lips. \"I have a\nquestion for you.\"\"What\nis it?\"\"What's\nbeen your favorite kiss?\"Soren\ncuddled closer to Eli, but he was frowning. \"Hmmm. That's a hard\nquestion. Can you go first?\"\"Well,\nI'm split three ways.\"\"Go\non.\"\"Well,\none of my favorites is our first kiss.\"Soren\nsmiled, raising his eyebrows. \"Really? When we were both drunk and\nsopping wet?\"\"Yes,\"\nsaid Eli, reaching up to run fingers through Soren's blue hair. \"I\nwas actually beating myself up over that night on our walk home. I\nwas hitting on what I thought was a straight guy, my straight friend,\npretty hard all night. I just got carried away by the booze and the\nsuccess and the good company. I told myself that you'd tell me to\nstop if it bothered you, although back then I knew damn well you'd\njust sit quietly and take it regardless. When you kissed me it laid\nto rest my fears that I offended you, that I had crossed a line. You\ndid even more, because I could tell you wanted me as much as I had\nwanted you. But do you know what impressed me the most about our\nfirst kiss?\" \"What?\"\"When\nyou broke apart. I could tell from the moment our lips touched how\nmuch you wanted our first kiss. But even when we were soaked and\ndrunk and horny you always were aware of my feelings. You were\nso horrified that you had crossed a line, that you had taken\nadvantage of me. Even when you wanted me so much, you were always\nconsiderate about how I felt. And then the first time we had sex you\nwere just the same. You were always aware of me, of what I was\nfeeling. I wasn't a hookup. I wasn't just a piece of ass for you to\nplay with. You made love to me that night and every time after\nthat, and you've always made sure I was experiencing just as much\npleasure as you were. I could tell all of that from our first night\ntogether.\" Soren\nhooked two fingers under Eli's muzzle and leaned down to press their\nlips together. \"What can you tell from this kiss?\" Eli\nsmiled, nuzzling Soren's neck again. \"That you love me very much,\"\nhe paused to punch Soren in the arm, \"and that you're distracting\nme from the other parts of my story.\"\"Oh\nfine then,\" huffed Soren, rubbing his arm and kissing Eli's\nforehead. \"Keep going, sweetie. What's your second favorite kiss?\"\n\"Well...\nmy second favorite kiss. That would be the morning after our first\nnight together.\" \"Really?\"\n\"Why\nare you so surprised?\" laughed Eli. \"We had such a wonderful\nnight together. But I woke up before you, by almost two hours,\nactually. And I laid there that whole time with you on my chest. And\nI got to hold you and feel your fur and the warmth of your beautiful\nbody. But I was terrified that you'd wake up, that the alcohol would\nhave worn off, that maybe my measures of you were wrong. What if my\ninterpretations of that first kiss were wrong, muddled by the alcohol\nthe same way our inhibitions were? But that second kiss... it was\njust as sweet as our first, and I felt the same love in that kiss as\nyour first. I knew that you wanted to be with me just as much the\nmorning after.\" \"It\nwasn't in the morning,\" smiled Soren. \"It was after one in the\nafternoon when I woke up. I really sleep late after I drink a lot.\"\n\"Same\ndifference,\" giggled Eli. \"Either way it put to rest my fears\nthat all it would be was a hookup.\"\"And\nwhat's the last kiss on the list, huh?\" \"Our\nwedding kiss, what else?\" said Eli, holding Soren closer to him. \"I\nhad never, ever seen you so unconditionally happy. You always have\nsomething on your mind. It's\nnot always something bad, but there's always something brewing in the\nback of your head. But not when we were at the altar. You were\nholding my hands and silently bawling your eyes out and smiling wider\nthan I had ever seen you smile. And when we kissed I would have\nstopped time and held us there forever. That day will always be one\nof the best of my life. Of our lives. I love you more every day,\nSoren.\" Soren\nkissed Eli again. \"I love you too, sweetheart... When did we become\nsuch saps?\"\"I\nthink we always were. But you aren't getting out of this easy,\"\nteased Eli. \"You've got to answer me. What's your favorite kiss?\"Soren\nkissed Eli. \"This one.\" Another kiss. \"No, this one.\" Another\nkiss. \"No, this one.\"Eli\npunched Soren's other arm. \"No cheating. Seriously. You don't have\na favorite kiss?\" Soren\nkissed Eli a fourth time, wrapping his arms around his slender body\nand flipping them around, so now Soren was on Eli's side of the bed\nand Eli on Soren's side. Soren smiled as he felt Eli's warmth wrap\nhis body. \"I do have a favorite kiss. When you picked me up off my\nknee and told me that you'd marry me. A part of me was afraid that\nmaybe you'd say no.\" Eli\nwas incredulous. \"Really? What made you think that?\"\"Well...\nWe were only together for two years. I thought maybe, just a small\npart of me thought that you'd think I was taking things too quickly.\"\n\"Sweetie,\"\nwhispered Eli. \"Sweetie, I was willing to follow you here to\nCalifornia. I would have said yes months before you asked. It's like\nI'd always said when we just started living together. When we'd been\njust friends we were dating in all but name, really. My senior year,\nand the year after it was just us all the time. And we lived together\nfor so long.\" \"I\nknow, I know,\" sighed Soren. \"Eli, sweetheart, when have my fears\nabout you ever been\nrational?\" Eli\nkissed Soren on the lips, holding them there and breaking apart with\na little \"mwah.\" He nuzzled Soren again and held him close. \"\nI love you so much, Soren.\" \"I\nknow,\" said Soren, pressing Eli's cheek into his chest. \"I love\nyou too, sweetie.\" Soren spent the next few minutes running his\nhands across Eli's slender body, smiling as he felt the firm body and\nsoft fur run through his fingers. Eli's breathing slowed almost\nimmediately as Soren began to caress and massage and nuzzle him.\nSoren felt light, sleepy kisses brush against his chest as he cuddled\nhis husband to sleep. It didn't take long for Eli's eyes to flutter\nclosed A\nsmall bubble of joy filled Soren as he watched Eli in his arms. Even\nas Soren approached thirty he could and would still describe his\nhusband as cute. He had his sweet, tender half smile when he slept.\nHis hair drooped over his closed eyes, and his hands were half-closed\ninto fists around Soren's chest fur. A part of Soren wanted to hug\nand kiss and love his sweetheart, but he didn't want to wake him when\nhe looked so peaceful. Soren\ndidn't use the term \"blessed\" very often. In fact he had a\nrelative distaste for the word, but when he could hold Eli like\nthis... It just felt like a fitting term. Soren was married to the\nmost wonderful, talented, beautiful, and caring love of his life. He\nwas going back to school to finish his masters, and he was holding\nhis love in his arms. Soren felt Eli's chest against his as they were\nbreathed, his heartbeat gently thumping in rest, his fingers slowly\ngripping at his fur with each breath. Soren couldn't resist kissing\nEli one last time, as gentle as he could for fear of waking his\ndearest. He let his eyes close, resting his muzzle between Eli's\npointed ears, smiling as he slowly drifted next to his love. "}