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Brutus groaned and held his head as he woke up. Chris was already awake and was walking around the room in nothing but a pair of dark blue slacks. Brutus blinked and looked around, surprised to find himself in the human's bed. Chris looked over at the Dalmatian and chuckled.

"I'm glad you woke up," Chris began, "I almost wrote you a note telling you where I was going."

Brutus rubbed his eyes.

"Yeah," The Dalmatian yawned, "Where are you going?"

Chris bent over and opened his dresser. He pulled out two dress shirts, one black, the other a dark shade of green and held them up to his pale skin. Brutus sighed and sat up.

"Why am I in your bed?" Brutus asked, "Did I make an ass of myself last night?"

Chris shook his head.

"No," Chris paused, "Did you forget about last night?"

Brutus shook his head.

"Give me a second to think," Brutus rubbed his temples, "You had a nightmare, you told me why, and I... Oh shit."

Chris chuckled and put on a white tee-shirt.

"I told you I loved you," Brutus whined, "Oh fuck..."

Chris shook his head.

"No it's not bad," Chris began, "You were very articulate and even more romantic. I've never had anyone say things like that to me before."

Brutus's tail wagged.

"So," Brutus smiled, "You feel better right? You were really shaken up last night."

Chris started to put on the green dress shirt. The human turned around, looking over his clothes.

"I do," Chris straightened out his pants, "I slept like a baby after you came over, even when you drooled all over my hair."

Brutus chuckled, looked away, and rubbed the back of his head. Chris grumbled and walked over to the mirror, his slender fingers moving to his neck to fiddle with his collar. Brutus got up slowly and put on a pair of shorts laying on his side of the room.

"Where are you going?" Brutus asked, "And why are you dressed up all nice so early in the morning?"

"My brother's taking me out to brunch with his fiancé," The human began, "Someplace fancy. He told me to dress like I was going to church."

Brutus walked over to the human and fixed his collar for him.

"Are you wearing a tie?" Brutus asked, "If you're going to dress nice, you might as well go all the way."

Chris shook his head.

"No," The human looked up at the Dalmatian, "Thomas said I didn't need to."

Brutus chuckled and looked over the human's tie selection. They were all terrible looking, each one seemed to have a more garish pattern than the last. He looked back into the human's eyes, his fingers still gently holding onto Chris's collar. Chris blushed and moved a hand up to Brutus's paw.

"Brutus?" Chris asked, "You alright?"

The Dalmatian nodded.

"I'm ok," Brutus replied, his paws moving down to rest on Chris's shoulders, "When are you going?"

Chris reached down for his pocket and pulled out his phone. He looked over it and sighed.

"Whenever Thomas texts me," The human sat down on Brutus's bed, "He told me to be ready an hour ago. He probably had to pick up Janet from church."

Thomas's fiancé Janet was a very nice vixen, even though she and Chris didn't exactly get along. She was a devout Baptist who, while being lax in some parts of her faith, was not in parts that brought her into direct conflict with Chris. She loved Thomas enough to leave Chris be most days, but after Sunday mass, all bets were off.

"That's not cool," Brutus replied as he sat down beside the human, "Do you have any other plans today?"

Chris shrugged.

"No," Chris gestured at his desk, "I finished up the homework I needed to do while I was waiting for Thomas."

Brutus stretched.

"Would you like to go out to the Angler with me and my friends tonight?" Brutus asked, "It's a bar, but on Sundays they open up a section for minors for karaoke night."

"I can't sing," Chris chuckled, "Maybe, I'll have to see what's going on with Mitch."

Brutus nodded and tried to hide his disappointment. The human sighed and held the Dalmatian's paw.

"I am going to think about what you said Brutus," Chris began, "I promise I will, but right now, at this moment, I am in a relationship. I don't know if hanging out with you all the time is going to make things more complicated."

Brutus nodded.

"I know you will," Brutus replied, "I trust that you will."

Chris smiled. His phone buzzed in his pocket. The human got up from the bed and bent over to kiss the Dalmatian on the cheek.

"That's probably Thomas," Chris began, "I'll see you when I get back."

The human walked out the door and turned to look back at the Dalmatian as it slowly closed. Chris smiled and walked downstairs to the lobby. Chris pulled out his phone and sighed. Mitch had texted him.

Hey Baby :)

Chris looked outside. Thomas's compact car had just pulled into the parking lot. Chris breathed a sigh of relief and texted the wolf back.

Morning Mitch, I'll talk to you in a couple of hours

Chris put his phone back in his pocket and walked outside. After last night's events, Chris had no idea how to deal with his relationship situation. The human waved to his older brother and waited for the fox to pull up to the curb. Thomas parked and rolled his window down.

"Sorry about that," Thomas began, "Janet and I got held up having coffee with her pastor."

Janet smiled and waved at Chris.

"Hey Chris," Janet smiled, "You look very handsome."

Chris smiled back and got into the backseat of Thomas's car. At least Janet was in a good mood today. Thomas looked back at the human and cleared his throat. Chris chuckled and buckled his seatbelt, Thomas had always been anal about safety. Thomas pulled out of the dorm parking lot and sighed happily.

"Where are we going for brunch?" Chris asked, "Thomas has only ever taken me out to cheap places."

Thomas chuckled.

"Janet's brother is working as a waiter at the Café Sphinx downtown," Thomas began, "Apparently they serve the best breakfast in the state."

"They do," Janet replied, "You'll like him Chris, he has some, similar qualities to you."

Chris chuckled.

"You mean he's gay?" Chris asked.

"No," Janet replied sharply, "He's just, not like me."

Chris rolled his eyes.

"I like you fine Janet," Chris began, "If you say I'll like your brother, I probably will."

Janet sighed.

"You're right," The vixen said, "I'm sorry for snapping. I'm still not used to, you know, this whole gay thing."

Chris fought the urge to scoff. In the three years that Chris had known her, she had never gotten any more used to "this whole gay thing". Thomas cleared his throat and parked across the street from the café.

"Here we are," Thomas said brightly.

Chris and Janet got out of the car without a word. Thomas sighed and watched them cross the street. The male fox followed after them and sat down at the corner booth they had picked out for themselves. Thomas scooted in beside Janet and planted a kiss on her cheek. A cream colored fox wearing a red waiter's uniform came up to the table. His raised collar couldn't hide the pink tribal tattoo that crept up his neck and the three piercings in his left ear.

"Hey little sis," The fox started pouring the trio cups of ice water, "You guys want anything else to drink."

"We're ok with water Vincent," Janet began, "I don't want to make your life too difficult."

Chris raised his hand.

"Could I actually get a cup of coffee?" Chris asked.

Vincent smiled and nodded.

"Of course," The fox looked over the human, "Just black, or do you want one of our fancy coffees?"

Chris looked over the drink menu and then looked over the waiter's athletic body.

"Why don't you just bring me your favorite?" Chris replied.

"Will do," Vincent began as he walked to the kitchen.

Thomas chuckled and looked down at his menu. Janet sighed.

"You really shouldn't encourage him," Janet said to Chris, "My mother hasn't talked to Vincent in years."

"How am I encouraging him?" Chris asked, "I'm just being polite."

Vincent came back to the table with a white cup of coffee smothered in whip cream and chocolate. The fox set it down in front of the human and chuckled.

"So that is Death by Mocha Latte," Vincent began, "It's super good."

Chris took a sip and nodded in approval.

"Holy crap that is good," Chris replied as he extended his hand to the fox, "I'm Chris by the way, Thomas's younger brother.

Vincent took the human's hand and kissed it.

"Enchantè," Vincent said with a grin, "Your boyfriend is a lucky man."

Chris blinked.

"How did you...," Chris began, "Oh, right, the pheromones."

Vincent nodded.

"You guys ready to order?" Vincent asked, "I'd love to stay and chat, but my boss will get angry with me."

The trio nodded and placed their orders. Janet and Thomas split an omelet, and Chris ordered eggs benedict. Vincent smiled and winked at the human as he took the order back to the kitchen. Chris sighed and looked over at Thomas.

"Hey Thomas," Chris began, "You know about love and stuff right."

Thomas chuckled and held Janet's paw.

"I suppose I do," Thomas replied, "What's going on?"

"Well," Thomas sighed, "Someone told me they loved me, but I don't think I love them back."

Thomas opened his mouth, but Janet squeezed his paw.

"No offense, Thomas," Janet began, "But, I'd like to take this one. I want to prove to you that I can put my beliefs aside for your family."

Thomas nodded and sat back.

"Who is it Chris?" Janet asked, "Are you dating them?"

Chris shook his head and Thomas's eyes went wide.

"Ok," Janet continued, "Who is this person to you?"

"My roommate," Chris replied, "He-,"

"Janet sweetie," Thomas began, "You should let me handle this. You could go catch up with Vincent."

Janet shook her head.

"I've got this," Janet squeezed her fiancé's paw, "How long have you known him?"

"Hardly anytime at all," Chris chuckled, "He just moved in this Thursday."

Janet chuckled.

"There you have it," Janet began, "It's not love then, humans never fall in love that fast."

"He's not a human though," Chris paused as Thomas put his head on the table with a groan, "He's a Dalmatian."

Janet tensed up.

"That is not ok," Janet said through gritted teeth, "God says that you aren't supposed to have relations with another species."

Chris sighed.

"I'm not religious," Chris began, "You know that Janet. I don't see anything wrong with it. After all, we're both adults, and we both can consent."

Janet took a deep breath and got up from the table.

"I'm going to go talk to Vincent," Janet said curtly, "I don't have anything nice to say on this subject. Wave me over when you guys have finished."

Thomas whined quietly as Janet excused herself from the table and walked over to the kitchen. Chris sighed and put his head in his hands.

"I'm sorry Thomas," Chris began, "I should have kept my mouth shut."

Thomas shook his head.

"No," Thomas replied, "Don't you ever think that Chris. My family comes first. Janet understands that, and she loves me enough to know that just because she doesn't agree with me all the time does not make me love her any less."

Chris nodded and sighed.

"So what should I do Thomas?" Chris asked, "I mean is Brutus sincere?"

"If I had to bet," Thomas began, "I would say that he was. Furs don't throw that word around lightly."

"So what does that mean for me?" Chris asked, "Should I, well, go for it?"

Thomas whined.

"I'm scared for you if you do," Thomas took a shaky sip of his water, "People don't accept those kinds of relationships. You know that."

"I know," Chris looked down at his napkin, "I shouldn't fight it if that's how I feel right."

Thomas hesitated and then nodded.

"I'll support you Chris," Thomas began, "Mom and Dad will too. I think they would have been surprised if you didn't end up dating a Fur."

Chris chuckled and smiled.

"Should I?" Chris asked, "Because I think Brutus would be a great choice."

Thomas chuckled.

"Tell you what," Thomas said with a grin, "You bring him to meet me first, let me size him up, and then if he's a good catch, I'll let you know."

Chris nodded.

"I'll be honest," Thomas continued, "He seemed like a little bit of a doofus when I first met him."

Chris chuckled.

"Well," Chris began, steeling himself for his brother's inevitable freak-out, "I had the first nightmare last night. Brutus, well, jumped into action. That's how it came up."

"I definitely wasn't ready to deal with not being there for those," Thomas sighed, "Were they bad?"

Chris nodded.

"The worst I've had yet," Chris replied, "I'm ok though. If last night was any indication Brutus will take care of me if they get too bad."

Thomas smiled.

"Alright," Thomas began, "I'm going to wave Janet over."

As Thomas waved, Vincent walked out of the kitchen empty handed. Janet walked out of the kitchen, shook her head, and walked outside. Thomas sighed and got up from the table.

"I'll be right back," Thomas replied, "I've got to see what's going on."

Thomas walked off and followed Janet outside. Vincent sat down across from Chris and breathed a sigh of relief.

"You won't be getting any breakfast today," Vincent stretched, "My wonderful sister pissed the cook off, and he got you guys kicked out. I could still bring you yours if you want."

Chris shook his head.

"I'd lose my ride home," Chris replied, "It's ok. I'll get breakfast on campus."

"So," Vincent began, "How long have you been dating this guy?"

"Not very long," Chris blushed, "I think this guy is just going to be a one night stand."

Vincent sighed.

"Oh to be young again," Vincent sighed wistfully, "It must be so awesome to be gay now. I had to meet my partner through trial and error. I hit on so many straight dudes it wasn't even funny. You don't know how lucky you have it with Grindr and Furfinder."

Chris chuckled and finished his fancy coffee.

"It took me about 5 years once I was kicked out of my house to meet this guy," Vincent sat down beside the human, "I met Karl at a bar in Missoula. We still are together to this day."

Vincent sighed wistfully. Chris smiled and grabbed Vincent's paw.

"That's great," The human began, "I'm very happy for you."

Vincent looked down at the human's hand on his paw and smiled.

"You know, if you ever wanted to hang out with us, me and the guys would love to have a young guy like you in the group."

"I'd love to hang out with you guys," Chris replied with a smile as he took his paw away, "You want my number?"

Vincent shook his head.

"You got a FurFinder?" Vincent asked.

Chris blushed and nodded. The fox chuckled.

"I'll find you on there then sweetie," Vincent smiled, "All the guys would love to meet you."

Chris sighed and got up from the table. Vincent got up as well and hugged the human tightly.

"See you soon sweetie," The fox chuckled, "Stay cute."

Vincent walked back into the kitchen, his tail swooping from side to side. Chris chuckled and shook his head as he walked out of the café. The human got into the backseat of Thomas's car.

"I'm sorry," Thomas began, "This was a bad idea."

Janet shook her head.

"No baby," Janet replied, "I should apologize, I acted out."

Chris nodded.

"Me too," Chris began, "We'll try harder next time Thomas, I promise."

Thomas breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good," Thomas replied, "I'm glad."

Thomas pulled away from the curve and started driving Chris home. The rest of the drive was awkwardly silent, punctuated every few minutes by a nervous cough from Janet. Thomas stopped in front of the dorms and let Chris get out.

"I'll call you later Thomas," Chris said as he got out of the car, "Have a good day. You too Janet."

The pair smiled, waved, and drove off. Chris walked inside and pulled out his phone to text Mitch.

What's up?

Chris started walking up the stairs. His phone buzzed.

I was just wondering what you were doing tonight? Me and the guys are headed out for drinks tonight? Interested?

The human walked into his dorm room with a sigh. Brutus jumped up out of his desk, quickly throwing a large armful of something into his drawer. A container of pills rolled out of Brutus's paws and came to a stop at Chris's feet. Brutus whined and lowered his ears. Chris picked up the bottle, taking care not to read the label, and handed it to the Dalmatian.

"What are these for?" Chris began, "Are you sick?"

Brutus nodded.

"It's nothing serious," Brutus replied, "Just an antibiotic regimen, you won't catch anything. It's just a Dog thing."

Chris sighed and sat down on his bed.

"So Mitch invited me out to drinks," Chris kicked off his shoes, "I don't have to go if I don't want to right?"

Brutus shrugged.

"Just say you made plans with friends," The Dalmatian replied, sitting down on his own bed across from the human.

"He knows that I don't have any," Chris lay back on his bed, "Well, except for you of course."

"So, don't worry about it," Brutus replied, "He can't expect to get all of your time."

Chris nodded. Brutus beamed widely and put on a coat.

"Where are you going?" Chris asked, "Doing anything fun?"

Brutus shrugged.

"I was just going down to the cafeteria for breakfast," Brutus replied, "Want to come?"

"Yeah," Chris nodded, "Breakfast with Thomas didn't end up happening."

Brutus smiled and sat down on his bed.

"Alright," The Dalmatian began, "Got everything you need?"

"Let me get redressed and check my email," Chris pulled out his phone with a sigh, "And let me lie to Mitch."

Brutus shook his head.

"Just tell him the truth," Brutus laid back on his bed, "What if he catches you in your lie?"

"He won't," Chris replied, "If I say I'm going out with someone else he'll probably get pissed off."

Brutus rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Alright," Brutus closed his eyes and put his paws behind his head, "Do what you think is best."

Chris nodded and texted the wolf.

I'm not really into to drinking Mitch. I was going to stay in and do homework tonight. Sorry for being so lame.

Chris put the phone down beside him and pulled out his laptop from under the bed. The human logged onto it, blushing as he closed the furry porn sites from his last browsing session, and opened his emails. He read through them, and beamed as he saw one from his professor. Chris clicked it and read.

Chris,

My project has been postponed indefinitely. I knew you were interested in doing research, so I did some snooping and found a paid position under a graduate student doing research in our labs. If you are still interested, let me know ASAP.

Steven Bridges

Chris squealed in excitement and hurriedly replied.

Steven,

I am very interested.

Chris

Brutus chuckled and looked over at the human.

"What was all of that about?" The Dalmatian asked.

Chris closed his laptop and walked over to his closet.

"Nothing," Chris began as he started to take off his dress clothes, "I just have an opportunity to work with a graduate student on some project."

Brutus sat up and chuckled, taking a second to look over Chris as he slid his pants down around his ankles.

"That's pretty exciting," Brutus got up from his bed and stood a respectable distance from the changing human, "So, I found your dildos while you were out."

Chris squeaked and hurriedly pulled his pants back on. Brutus chuckled and sat down on Chris's bed.

"They weren't really that hidden," Brutus continued, "You must really like canines, I don't think I've ever seen a collection like that."

Chris blushed as he put on a teal hoodie.

"Don't make fun of me," Chris began, "After all, if I didn't have such a thing for canines then you wouldn't even have a chance with me."

Brutus rolled his eyes.

"Nah, I'd still have a chance," Brutus replied as Chris's phone beeped, "Want me to get that?"

Chris nodded and leaned up against the door. Brutus walked over to the human's bed and picked up the phone, "He says. "I wouldn't ever think you're lame. It's all good." Want me to respond?"

"Yeah," Chris replied, "Ask him what he's up to."

Brutus texted Mitch back and handed the phone to Chris.

"There you go," Brutus began, "Let's go get breakfast."

The Dalmatian put an arm around the human's shoulders. Chris blushed and opened the door. Brutus ushered him out and walked him out of the dorms.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Later that night

Chris and Brutus jumped off the stage into a sea of applauding furs and humans after a loud and proud rendition of Crazy in Love. The pair moved through the crowd and to Brutus's group of friends at the back of the bar.

"Isn't this awesome?" Brutus asked, "I told you that you'd have fun."

Chris smiled and blushed.

"Yeah," Chris giggled, "You were right."

"Thank you for hanging out with me so much today," Brutus began with a smile, "I haven't had a day this good in a long time."

Chris nodded.

"I had fun too." Chris replied.

The human looked Brutus in the eyes and blushed. Chris stopped walking and looked down at his feet. The Dalmatian stopped in his tracks and looked over the human worriedly.

"Is everything ok?" Brutus asked, his paw reaching out to stroke Chris's cheek.

"Yeah," Chris nodded and nuzzled into Brutus's paw, "Can I... kiss you?"

Brutus chuckled and pulled the human into his chest.

"You never have to ask," Brutus leaned in and kissed the human on the lips.

Brutus pulled away from the kiss with a smile and looked at his group of friends. The smile left his face as he saw Mitch and Russell standing behind the group. Chris blanched too and moved a little closer to Brutus.

"Hey Chris," Mitch smiled and walked up to the pair with Russell, "I thought you weren't going out tonight."

"I uh," Chris chuckled nervously, "I changed my mind. Besides I didn't think you'd be here."

Russell looked at Chris and immediately looked away. Brutus sighed and put a paw on Chris's shoulder.

"What's going on here?" Mitch asked, "I thought you wanted more than a one night stand Chris. And yet, here you are with him."

"Mitch," Brutus stepped in front of Chris, "It's not like that, we're just-."

"Don't lie to me Brutus," The wolf snapped, "I can smell how you really feel about him. Even more damning, I saw you kissing my boyfriend. Soon to be, ex-boyfriend."

Chris hung his head.

"Sorry Chris," Mitch began, "But being romantically inexperienced doesn't excuse you from being an asshole."

Karina opened her mouth to protest, but was stopped by Brutus raising his paw.

"Why are you here Mitch?" Brutus asked, "I'm not going to steal Chris from you. We're just friends."

Mitch scoffed.

"That's not what Russell told me," The wolf began, "You want to be with him don't you Chris."

Chris looked down at the floor and bit his lip.

"You should have told me. We could have had a civil conversation about this and been friends when all was said and done. This is how it's going to have to be." Mitch continued, "All that being said, I can bet that there were a few things Mitch neglected to tell you."

"Mitch...," Brutus growled, his hackles raised.

"I never, ever shared Russell with the team," Mitch growled, "Russell actually cheated on me with only one guy, Brutus."

Russell sniffled and looked over at the wolf.

"It's true," Russell began, "But that's not the worst."

Brutus whined.

"N-No," Brutus put his ears down against his head, "That can't have happened."

Russell nodded and rubbed his arms.

"I caught up with Russell this afternoon," Mitch began, "I can't believe you gave him FHIV."

Chris didn't react, but looked up at Mitch angrily.

"Why are you doing this?" Chris asked, "Actually, I already know the answer. It's because you're an emotionally stunted jock who can't handle rejection. I'm amazed you're even out of the closet. Do you really think that it's going to make you stand out anymore as a player?"

The mix of furs and people surrounding the conversation fell quiet and turned their attention to the human and the wolf. Mitch growled and advanced on the human.

"What did you just say to me?" Mitch snapped, getting into Chris's face, "You don't even know me. Where do you get off slut?"

Chris hesitated and shoved the wolf back. Taking the opportunity to get in Mitch's face.

"I don't think I stuttered," Chris snapped back, "I know I lied to you, and I know that I led you on. I'm sorry that I changed my mind, but I can't help how I feel. If this discussion right here is any indication, changing my mind was the right choice."

"Get the fuck out of my face," Mitch growled, "Before I make you."

Brutus whined and grabbed Chris's shoulder.

"Chris come on," Brutus began, "He's not worth it."

Mitch chuckled.

"And neither are you," Mitch scoffed, "I can't believe I got dumped for a guy who's going to be dead in what, 15 years?"

Chris shook off Brutus's paw and punched Mitch in the jaw, hard. The wolf stepped back, eyes wide, and looked over the pissed off human standing in front of him.

"Don't you ever disrespect my friends in front of me," Chris snarled, advancing forward on the wolf, "And don't you ever think that you can intimidate me."

Mitch growled and shot back with a left hook to the human's nose. Chris staggered and fell back against Brutus with stars in his eyes. The Dalmatian whimpered and tried to wake Chris from his daze Russell looked behind the Dalmatian and nudged Mitch's shoulder.

"We need to get out of here," Russell began, "The bouncer is coming over."

Mitch nodded and scoffed at Brutus and Chris.

"Fitting," Mitch shook his head, "You've made a big mistake Chris, I could have been the best in the world to you."

Russell shook the wolf's arm.

"Mitch we need to go," Russell said loudly, "We'll get in trouble."

Mitch nodded and stormed off through one of the bar's many exits. Russell followed after him, practically running to keep up with the much larger wolf. Karina put a paw on Brutus's shoulder.

"Is he alright?" Karina asked, "Can he walk?"

Chris nodded and shakily got to his feet.

"We should leave too," Chris began, "I don't want to get you guys in trouble."

Karina nodded.

"Andy," Karina said firmly, "Go out and start the truck. We'll be right behind you."

Andy nodded and sprinted out of the bar. Karina shook her head and followed after him at a much slower pace.

"Get a move on you two," Karina began, "It looks like Andy might drive off without us if we aren't careful."

Brutus nodded and looked down at Chris.

"Are you ok?" Brutus whined, "He hit you really hard."

Chris shrugged.

"I've taken a punch before Brutus," Chris replied, "Let's get out of here."

Brutus shook his head.

"No," Brutus began, "I need to explain."

Chris took the Dalmatian's paw and led him out of the bar. The bouncer, a hefty monitor lizard, gave chase. The pair ran outside and jumped into the covered bed of Andy's little red pickup. Andy peeled out of the parking lot and sped off down the highway. Brutus whined and held Chris close to him.

"Okay," Chris began, "Explain."

"Mitch was telling the truth," Brutus sighed, "I thought if I exaggerated some of the things that I knew about Mitch, that you would dump him quicker and go out with me."

Chris sighed.

"I knew you wouldn't stay with him for long," Brutus continued, "But I wanted to save you some of the heartache that he would have inevitably caused."

"Let's not talk about Mitch," Chris began, "Let's talk about you. I need to figure out if I can trust you after this."

Brutus sighed and hung his head.

"Like I said, It's all true," Brutus put his head back against the back window of the truck, "I was the reason Mitch and Russell broke up. We first hooked up during Freshman Orientation last August."

Chris nodded.

"What about the FHIV thing?" Chris asked, "Did you know that you gave it to him?"

Brutus shook his head.

"I told him that I had it," Brutus began, "We did have sex, but I took every precaution possible. We used condoms, I took my suppressants, I even pulled out before I finished. But I guess it just wasn't enough."

Chris sighed. FHIV, or Fur-Human Immunodeficiency Virus, was a disease that evolved as furs and humans started to interact with each other. This disease, due to the large number of different types of furs, had a large amount of variations, or strains, that had different effects on different parts of the body.

"What strain do you have?" Chris asked.

"FHIV-KI3," Brutus replied, "It goes after the kidneys."

Chris nodded.

"You shouldn't let Mitch's comment bother you," Chris began, "You should live a fairly long and happy life. That strain is pretty slow-acting, well, compared to the other strains."

Brutus nodded and sighed.

"You probably want nothing to do with me now," Brutus whined, "Why would you want to date someone sick?"

Chris shook his head.

"I'm more upset because you lied to me," Chris began, "I trusted that you would have told me about this before we had sex."

Brutus rubbed Chris's side.

"We should get in the cab with the others," Brutus said with a sigh, "I don't want you to get frostbite."

Chris shook his head and put his hands under the Dalmatian's arms.

"This camper is sheltered and probably warmer than it is outside," Chris began, "I'll be ok, just keep me warm."

Brutus nodded and held the human close to him. Chris looked up at the Dalmatian and sighed.

"How did you get it?" Chris asked.

"Well," Brutus paused, "It's a bit of a story."

Chris scratched behind the Dalmatian's ear.

"We've got time," Chris replied, "I won't judge."

"I lost my virginity at 16 to the first woman that I ever loved," Brutus began, "She was my high school Algebra II teacher. She was a human, very attractive for a 40 year old, and most importantly, totally into me."

Chris sighed and got comfortable.

"I was never good at math," Brutus continued, "Which gave Miss Troyer an excuse to get me alone for private tutoring whenever she wanted. We fooled around a lot, but only had sex one time. I didn't wear a condom."

Brutus moved his paw up to his face to wipe away a tear.

"A couple weeks after that I got sick, really sick," Brutus sighed, "I went to the doctor and tested positive for FHIV. The first person I ever had sex with, got me sick. I told them what happened, who gave it to me, but Mrs. Troyer up and left town as soon as she heard that I had come down with something."

Brutus fell silent and looked away from the human pressed against him.

"That's the truth," Brutus began, "The ugly, ugly, truth."

Chris stayed silent for a few moments.

"Thank you for telling me," Chris began, "I'm sorry that happened to you."

"Yeah," Brutus held his gaze away from the human, "Thanks."

"Is Russell the only person who got sick from you?" Chris asked.

Brutus nodded.

"Yes," Brutus began, "And I had been with others and have taken way less precautions."

Chris sighed.

"Ok," Chris replied.

"What now?" Brutus asked after a short lull in the conversation.

"Now," Chris began, "I think I'd like to be single for a little bit."

Brutus whined.

"Don't give me that Brutus," Chris said sharply, "You did lie to me. I need to make sure dating you is a smart choice. I'm not going to date a guy that I can't trust."

"I thought you did trust me," Brutus said, his ears flat against his head.

"I did," Chris began, "Now, I'm not so sure."