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This is an excerpt of my published long story, Around the Bonfire. You can read the whole thing by going to this link and purchasing it: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UBG5WCY

Do you want to get it for free for being a Patreon supporter, as well as a myriad of other perks that come with it? Then*Support me on Patreon for novel chapters, snippets, short stories, and more awesome content+art! You get all the stories before everyone else does, plus various Patreon exclusive content that you can only get by supporting me.*

Okies, enough advertising. I hope you like the cover art, as well as the excerpt I provided. You're free to treat it like any other story by rating it and commenting it, though the brunt of the steamy M/M intercourse can only be found by purchasing the whole story. On with the show!

*****STORY TIME*****

"What made your story great was not only the well established plot, but also the chemistry between the characters. The brown bear..." he stopped typing to look up his name. "Cody's confidence complemented Jackie's low self esteem. Alone, they seemed no more than your average joe. Together, on the other hand..."

Together what? It was no more than average smut. Drawn-out, overly descriptive, with little left to imagination. They barely met and already dashed to the nearest toilet to...to...

Daniel slouched in his chair and sighed. A year of reading these stories, and his heart still raced in his chest when he pictured Jackie the Coyote bending over for the bear to claim him.

And it wasn't only his heart the story stirred. He tightened within his jeans with each throb, until his breath picked up and he sweltered within his shirt.

Daniel shook his head to clear it, licked his muzzle, and typed out the rest of the critique, emphasizing the positive aspects and mentioning the negative ones briefly. Once done, he shuffled over to his cot to crash among his fluffy pillows. It was a slim and short thing, just like him.

The grey fox rubbed his slender arms, a soft growl rippling in his throat as the image of the well sculpted coyote flashed in his mind. Even the lesser stories had their good parts, and Jackie the coyote resembled Daniel somewhat.

More athletic, however. Quite charming and eloquent in his replies, unlike him. And, most importantly, not alone.

Daniel rolled onto his feet at that. He went to the bathroom to splash cold water onto his face, allowing it to dribble onto his thin, bony chest.

What a hot bastard of a summer this was. He cupped his hands to pool up water in his palms and slurped the cold, chlorine tasting liquid. He swallowed it quickly, yet its taste still lingered upon his tongue. In spite of that, Daniel kept a straight face as he stared at the blurry image reflecting in the cracked mirror. He saw himself, but pictured a few enhancements that could make him look better in his next story.

That next character would be a grey fox, but with a shorter muzzle. He had symmetrical and well rounded cheeks, jaws, forehead, and a sleek, luxuriant mane that flowed across his shoulders as opposed to his almost bald scalp.

The picture of the perfect fox vanished from his mind, replaced by the harsh reality. Other foxes had thicker fur. Not him. His fur differed in nuances, but not in volume. His overly thin coat served to emphasize his gaunt features, thin arms, spindly legs, straight abs. No curves around a well formed biceps, no ripped chest, nothing. Only his lonely, ugly self.

Daniel turned around and shuffled back to his chair. A plot already started forming in his mind. It began with the last day of school, on the corridors, when Lao, the prettiest Jaguar in his class, threw him a glance and a curt smile as he passed by instead of shoulder checking him. In the classroom, Lao sat next to him and brought out his phone to...

Daniel shuddered, staggered, and almost tripped on his hand weights when the harsh bass of the heavy metal music burst through the thin walls of the duplex. It obliterated his thoughts, his plot, and his vivid picture of Lao, leaving only growls and screams ringing in his ears. Daniel strode towards the door, gripped the doorknob, then froze as a jolt of fear petrified him. His knees buckled and his posture hunkered at the prospect of actually complaining face to face to his duplex mate. The burly wolf had a gun and enough marijuana in his system to smoke him on sight.

A whine escaped Daniel. He doubled back across his tiny living room, kicked the door open to his room, dropped into his chair, opened a new Microsoft word document, and stopped. How did the story start, again? Lao's paw on his thigh as he reached for something he dropped--no, that came later. A wink at the lockers? But Lao never winked. He despised it.

How did the damn story begin? Daniel rolled his eyes, closed the document and alt tabbed. Murr Station appeared back onto his screen.

"Mhm, a notification," he said under his breath. It was Renard, the author of "When things go wild in the night," pasting a 'thank you for your thoughts' in response to Daniel's review. The douchebag did that for everybody. Daniel giggled as he scrolled up. Every message had a similar note, apart from one.

"If you think my story is shallow, then go read other author's works and take your whine elsewhere," he responded to Vincent, a chibi brown bear. For such a cute avatar, his critique sure had a sting to it. A smile spread across Daniel's muzzle as he read it.

"Your opinion on a brown bear's red rocket is skewed. If you think I'm wrong, then allow me the courtesy of tearing a second hole through your butt," Daniel read before laughing out loud. Tears welled in his eyes and his abs burned, yet faint chuckles still escaped him as he hovered the shaky cursor over Vincent's profile. This guy was nuts!

Daniel went straight to private messages, typed a LOL for the subject message, and told Vincent to refrain from being so acidic.

"Authors have the tendency to get defensive over their work," he mumbled as he typed. "Keep calm and be cute, like your avatar." His cheeks seared from the last remark, but Daniel licked his muzzle and glanced over Vincent's profile.

He was new to the site; only a couple of posts and few favorite stories filled his page. Daniel leaned forward in his chair at that. Most of them were the ones he read! Even the touchy ones with strange kinks. That also included the only zoophilia story Daniel had ever read during his stay on the site.

"Huh," he said before slouching back in his chair. The bear enjoyed outdoor time more than Daniel did. He was into football, participated in several jogging competitions, and even had some pictures posted of a cabin in the woods. Daniel stretched a sweaty paw towards the mouse and browsed a few landscapes and cabin pictures before he closed the window.

"Darn it." He scratched his forehead, took a deep breath, and opened the window again. But when he hovered over the arrow to show more pictures, his stomach sagged. "Dammit, you coward. It's just some silly pictures of a guy you don't even know."

But he wanted to. More than anything. He had read the same stories! Even the zoophilia one without cringing or vomiting over it. Like him, Vincent considered it an intriguing story with well established characters and plot. He was rather blunt in his reply, but that wasn't the point!

While he squirmed in his chair, fretting over this nonsense, a new private message arrived for Daniel. He clicked it right away. It started with "Bear hugs" and Daniel needed a full minute to steady his heavy breathing after reading it.

"Bear hugs. That's the greeting I use with grey foxes, so deal with it. Love--"Daniel paused for a breath, "love them too much to treat them like strangers. Foxes are better than that!"

Daniel squeaked with glee. "Gods, this bear..." he blurted out. He shifted in his seat from one haunch to the other in an attempt to cool off. It didn't help.

"Thank you kindly for the useful advice," the bear's message continued, "I tend to get passionate when it comes to the things I like--foxes included--so I always run the risk of having the natives of a site come out with pitch and torches." Daniel's laughter broke down into nervous squeaks as he went through the last part in his mind. His mouth was too dry and he fidgeted too much to speak out loud while reading messages, like he used to.

And, to make it worse, the bear sent him a friend request. After just a single PM! One exchange! Daniel accepted it right away, got up, tossed his shirt onto his cot, and began pacing. Blasted heat! And that infernal music! The growls became roars, and the guitar strings turned to mere noise to his perked up ears. Yet these weren't the reasons he paced from one end of the room to the other. It was Vincent, with his straight forward and intimidating approach. Daniel's blush returned with a vengeance just by thinking of his message.

"Every fear hides a desire," he whispered to himself. His temples throbbed at the thought of striding back to his computer and sound like the weird, desperate for friends geek that he was.

Yet that was exactly what he did. In one single breath, he typed out a full reply to Vincent and lunged away from the computer to drop straight onto his cot.

What would he say? Daniel shook his head, as if to dispel his worries. Screw them worries. The story mattered more. Yet, no matter how hard he scrunched his eyes in an attempt to bring back Lao the Jaguar, Vincent's chibi bear appeared, over and over again. It had two huge eyes and an infuriatingly broad smile.

"Gah," Daniel grumbled. He got up and padded over to his PC for the fourth time. His head reeled at the Mozilla icon and what hid behind it. One click, and Murr Station occupied his whole screen. Daniel's gaze fell on the private message notification, and he swallowed hard before opening it.

"Ohkay, let's do this without being weird this time." He flexed his shoulders, rotated his torso until his spine popped, and rubbed his padded palms. Then, he scrolled down to reveal Vincent's reply.

"We're connected, dear fox. Statistics says that, when two handsome, single males add the same stories to favorites with a slight margin for error, they're what the world calls 'Love at first sight.' I'm the conservative type and would hate to prove these hard working gypsy fortune tellers wrong." Daniel wet his muzzle, sucked in a deep breath, and hovered to the next paragraph. "Nah, I'm kidding. Half kidding. I still have a deep love for foxes, but I only took your observation and tweaked it a bit. Hope I didn't freak you out." Daniel stopped at that.

Half kidding? What the heck did that even mean? He skimmed through the rest and began typing his reply furiously. "Vincent, your half joke almost gave me half a heart attack. Do you know what that is? It's when your stomach is on the verge of exploding due to butterflies." He pressed enter to write the next paragraph. Instead, the highlighted 'send' button glowed, and Daniel's reply appeared right after Vincent's.

"Wha..." Daniel trailed off. He checked, double checked, triple checked to see what went wrong. It should've jumped to a new row. Not freaking send the message! And, unlike in the forum, the private messages lacked an editing option.

Daniel's heart pounded in his chest, and a shudder crept through him at the realization.

He blew it. Vincent would take it as the angry retort of a misunderstood teenager. He would see him for who he was; a weird, lonely, and creepy geek.

Daniel squinted when the private messages box turned green. Whatever Vincent said, he didn't want to see.

His paw grabbed the mouse out of its own accord and opened the message.

"I always knew butterflies are evil beings in disguise. Pretty insects hide dark intentions and are always up to no good," Daniel read. His eyes widened and his voice turned a pitch higher. "That made me crack up, by the way. Half measures are the way to go with you, I see. I'll try to respect that from now on. Oh, and by the way, if there are other stories you liked, give me a heads up. Would love to read more, especially when your tastes in co--cocks? and asses match mine." That one word made his blood boil and his crotch tighten. It was rough, and vulgar!

"That's why reading things out loud is a bad idea," Daniel said to himself. "And it's not like I can concentrate otherwise. Damn your noise of a music, Rocky!" The roars and the guitar strings muffled his words, much to his relief. If Rocky actually heard that...

He returned to Vincent and to his more enjoyable company. "At least he likes the same cocks," Daniel said, testing the foreign word on his lips. He still blushed at its mentioning, but he didn't tighten within his pants at least. That was quite some progress.

It became even more apparent when he gave Vincent a list of the other stories he had read but did not add to his favorites. His shoulders slouched, his padded palms stopped sweating, and his breath steadied. No more apprehensive blushes or fretting in his chair over Vincent's impressions of him. The bear liked him.

Once done with the story list, Daniel wrote him another message with tips on how to critique different works. Each required a certain approach depending on the author's attitude towards feedback, and the bear had yet to learn that.

It took the better part of an hour. By the time he finished, the sun bled in the sky and the heat became more bearable in his stuffed room. Daniel's stomach growled in protest too. He fixed himself a ham sandwich, tossed whatever topping he grabbed from the fridge on top of it, and returned to his computer to refresh the site every five seconds.

"It does have a real time private message feature you idiot," he said, but kept doing it anyway.

He finished his meal and even tidied up his bookshelf before Vincent replied. Daniel's heart fluttered at the green little envelope.

"Wow, you're quite knowledgeable when it comes to this. I thought people who write about the properties of cum--"he paused to swallow, "and the strength of its jet are already mature enough to deal with critiques. But you made a fair point, which I'll respect, but still less than I respect you. I'm glad you sent me this private message, dear fox."

Daniel forgot about his blush and the bear's lewd lexicon on his rush to reply. "The pleasure's always mine, Vincent," he whispered under his breath. "I'm still surprised we like the same stories, so you can imagine my desire to get to know you better. I know this may sound strange, but you're already a better friend to me than most of my contacts." He froze at that. Did he really make a pass on him?

Daniel sent the message before his worries made him reconsider. He leaned into his chair, suddenly exhausted, yet strangely satisfied. He lifted his bare foot to knead on his pads while waiting for the bear's reply. The foot massage soothed his inner fire and settled his stomach. If only he could get Vincent to do that...

He jumped in his chair at the thought. No! Too fast! He wouldn't know how to--he couldn't--he was just a weird geek with no appeal to anybody.

"I'm freaking lucky I came across him in the first place," Daniel said out loud. "I mean, what are the chances?"

Daniel began pacing around as he recounted his meeting with Vincent. "He not only likes the same stories, but also foxes." He shuddered as a warm tingle crept through his fur. "Of all the species, it had to be foxes. And he didn't say anything about me being weird!"

He beamed at the realization, only to frown a moment after. "But what if he has hidden quirks? Everybody has them. People aren't that kind unless they expect something from you." Daniel only had writing advice to offer; nothing more. And the moment he shared everything with Vincent with no hope to further entertain him...

Daniel shook his head at the thought. "No use to fret it, silly. Look where that got you."

A crammed up apartment inside in a duplex shared with the most obnoxious of people. No real life acquaintance to call a friend at the end of high school. No job because of his fears and low self esteem. Daniel had enough bad things going in his life to add Vincent to it, so he went into the shower and pictured the bear as one of his story characters.

Well sculpted, yet with suave curves and hard muscles concealed beneath his rich, slightly rough coat. His maroon eyes had a kindness to them, a warmth that sent a shiver through Daniel's crotch and dispersed through his body. His paws, although big and strong, had a smooth touch, just like the pads underneath them. And his embrace was tight, stifling almost. Daniel wriggled at first in it, only to melt a moment after as Vincent whispered something in his hear.

His eyes snapped open as his tight shaft pulsated. Daniel gulped at the sight of it and gritted his teeth when it continued to bob. He wrapped his paw around the bulged knot to keep it steady, and growled when a warm shiver made his fur bristle. He pushed his hips forward, driving his erect member through his pads with a gasp.

"What in the name of..." his rough voice trailed off as his member continued to swell within his grip, each throb amplifying the burning sensation that welled within his loins. His grey sack turned stiff, and even a slight prod made the grey fox whimper with need.

He never got so hard, so fast. Even his knot left his leathery sheath, and Daniel had to turn his back to the streaming water, least its tantalizing touch sent him over the edge.

Vincent had to do that.

Within his mind's eye, Daniel laid on his cot, naked under a blanket that covered everything but his feet. Vincent stood at the foot of the cot, his smile warm as his paw inched closer, and closer to Daniel's foot. His claws trailed along Daniel's pads. He jerked at that, and so did his member. Daniel let out a huff as he squeezed tighter around his knot.

Vincent chuckled at that and said, "Ticklish, eh?"

Daniel merely nodded. His breath was hard, and his heart threatened to burst with pent-up anticipation at what was to come.

A smile spread across the bear's muzzle as he picked Daniel's foot. He tensed up at first, not knowing what to expect, until a soft squeeze urged a muffled whimper out of him. His member throbbed in unison with it, and Daniel licked his muzzle at the heat of the bear's paws around his foot, the slickness of his moist pads from their combined heat. He fondled with each toe, squeezing, releasing, and stroking them with soft, elaborate touches.

Daniel squirmed. He kicked into the bear's immovable paw within his mind as he thrust his member deeper into his palm. The sudden motion brought forth a rippling wave of pleasure. It washed over him, tightening his muscles and making his member writhe within his grip.

Daniel's hips began to rock in unison with Vincent's strokes. When he squeezed a toe, Daniel squeezed his member. When he slid his paw across his foot, so did Daniel, until reality mingled with his thoughts. Only, the latter were more pleasurable, and infinitely more arousing.

The bear's touch was exactly how Daniel wanted it. Soft after a squeeze, hard when he reached his central, most sensitive pad. He lifted his gaze whenever he fondled with it, smiling when Daniel's foot squirmed within his grip. Vincent then proceeded to knead at it with broad, drawn-out strokes, then quick, terse touches. Each allowed Daniel only a gasp of relief before pleasure cascaded through him. It cut off his breath, forcing him to take it all in, to surrender to the raging fire building within his loins.

Daniel bit back his climax. Vincent chuckled at that and his strokes picked up in speed, each rougher and more intense than the previous. Daniel tried to kick away, to free himself and buy more time, but the bear didn't relent. His squeeze around Daniel's feet increased, and increased, until his peak approached with every thundering heartbeat.

Then, Vincent's paws clamped down around his feet, so hard and tight Daniel yowled. His vision flickered, and his member swelled within his grip. Daniel began to thrust into his paw with abandon as his climax threatened to wash over him.

He braced for the first jet, eyes closed, teeth pressed against one another. The grip around his knot became so hard his member stopped throbbing. Even his crotch hurt from the pent-up pressure welled within. He felt the scalding seed slithering through his member, only to stop inches away from the tip. He thrust again in an attempt to release it, his legs trembling with weakness. No throb came. Stars gathered before his eyes, summoned by that terrible, all consuming pleasure. Daniel released his grip...

And burst harder than he ever expected. The first jet left his convulsing member like an arrow. His feet buckled awkwardly, weakened by the immense strain of pleasure. Daniel staggered, yowled, and fell. Spurts of seed escaped his member, sticking onto the ceiling before dripping back onto his wet, ashen fur.

The throbs felt surreal. Each spasm drew the breath out of him, and each breath summoned forth another spasm. Daniel clenched a paw around the knot, howling at the exploding pleasure. The next burst splashed against his pads, spreading the creamy fluid across his palm. With one paw holding the knot and the other clenching around the tip, Daniel peaked harder than ever. Every muscle in his body tightened and relaxed, urging every drop of seed out of his shuddering sack.

And he had more than he anticipated! His paw became thoroughly sticky before his spasms died down. Milking his knot for all its worth, Daniel enjoyed the last spurts with a long, drawn out moan.

"Mother of..." he trailed off, wincing as scalding water pelted his spent member. He shifted his back towards the stream, scrambled onto his knees, and worked his member back into the protective sheath. Only...it didn't budge. His knot remained swollen, and faint throbs still wracked his length. Daniel rose to his feet, yelped when his tip brushed against his wet thigh. He slid the shower cabin's door open and stepped out.

His feet, slick with water and seed, skidded across the cold tiles. Daniel twisted, lunged forward, and grabbed the towel rack hard enough to keep himself from falling. His limbs sprawled in every direction, and it took some serious kicking, yowling and barking to gather his slick feet underneath him.

"Freaking, damnable, ridiculous..." he paused at the sight reflected on the mirror's surface. A thin, panting, quivering fox with the biggest and most annoying erection ever stood there. Why the heck did it fail to recede? He dabbed at his tight flesh, winced when it stung, then tried to drape his sheath over the bulging knot. Nope, nope, nope. However he pulled, pushed and twisted, his member remained tight, clear globs of liquid pooling onto the flared tip before they dribbled onto the floor.

Wait it out. That's what he had to do. Time solved everything, right?

In his case, it took more than four hundred seconds. Daniel lost count at some point, when he forced himself to think of anything other than Vincent. In his mind's eye, the bear smiled, wrapped a heavy arm around Daniel's frail shoulders, and whispered something about not knowing what he was getting into.

"Like there's anything worse than this," he said, then chanced a look at his member. Half of it already fled back into the furred sheath. Daniel yipped, pushed the rest back in, and stepped back into the shower with slow, careful steps to test the floor. Smooth, if a bit sticky. Daniel washed his feet first before he drew his head back to bask in the flow of cascading water.

So warm, so relaxing. It took his mind off his clumsiness, off Vincent, as a more pressing question circled his mind. Why the fudge did his knot swell to the point of refuse? He pawed off before, but never came this hard, this much. His cheeks turned hot at the memory, and he shook his head to dispel it.

"It's my vivid imagination." He stepped out of the shower, grabbed a towel to dry himself off, and threw it onto the floor to wipe the pads of his feet on it, least he slipped again. "Oh, the boons of a writer..." he trailed off on his way to a chest of drawers. Underwear, a fresh T-shirt with an embossed wolf head, and a pair of shorts. He tilted his head at a pair of socks, but shook his head. Too hot for them. Once garbed, he licked his muzzle to wet his cold nose and sat at the PC.

A shiver ran through him when he opened Murr Station. The sight of the green inbox made his stomach churn and his breath pick up. Vincent. The same bear he masturbated to was now sending him messages. Daniel clutched the mouse, tighter and tighter as sweat began to ooze from his pads. All of them. His thumping foot slipped across the naked parquet under his desk.

"I can't--I can't do that," he stammered, then closed the browser.

Daniel's temples pounded so hard his head almost burst. Served him well, for masturbating to his new friend. What sort of sexually obsessed freak did that in the first place?

Daniel snorted at that. "Good question." And, to make it worse, he also forced Vincent to give him a foot massage. While he rubbed one off in the shower, so hard he remained swollen for half an hour.

The grey fox dipped his head, covered his face with his palms, and took in a deep breath.

"What happened, happened," he said. "No use fretting over it." He repeated the same words, over and over in his mind, until that was all he thought of. This mantra, and Vincent's cute bear chibi avatar.

"Ghrrrrr!"

Daniel opened up google, typed in fox mating, and clicked the first informative link his cursor fell upon. He thumped his free paw on the desk while reading, the clatter of claws upon wood providing necessary distraction from his fierce blush.

"So this knot swells to keep the male tied to its partner hmm..." He paused while searching for more, but nothing important followed. Daniel splayed on his chair and shut his eyes from the disturbing piece of information. It wasn't enough that he masturbated to his friend. Now he had the knot to worry about when Vincent and him--

Daniel slapped himself at the thought. He went there! "You freakin--that's why nothing works with you! For thinking stuff like that before you even meet the guy." He knew geeks were perverted like that, but he took the freaking cake!

With everything going downhill so fast, Daniel brought his feet to his chair and sat cross legged while he fiddled with his thumbs. As long as he kept his paws occupied, he wouldn't reach for his foot to rub or the mouse. Both had quite a history behind them, and until his stomach butterflies settled, he did not trust himself not to puke.

The grey fox took a deep breath, exhaled, and repeated until he was calm enough to open a movie. He watched movie after movie until the sun set and his back ached. He stretched to alleviate the stiffness, went to heat up a thai cube, and returned to watch the second half of "Claws of Liberation." It sucked more than the first.

He opened his 'action scenes exercises' document, wrote a paragraph, scrunched his muzzle at it and closed the document without saving. Writing never worked when distracted.

For the twentieth time, he hovered over his inbox. The source of his torment stood one click away. And it likely had a positive reply!

Daniel sighed and shut down his PC instead. He crashed onto his cot, growling at how good the mattress felt. He slithered up to his pillow and shut his eyes. Yet, no matter how he lay, and shifted, and curled, sleep didn't come. He fumbled for his clock, knocked it down, let out a muffled bark, and picked it. 1 AM.

"Best hour and a half I ever spent." He rubbed his sore, wet eyes, rolled onto his butt and sighed. He was too numb to think and worry. Might as well get it over with.

He turned on his PC, scratching his itchy forehead while the ancient brick loaded. It took long enough for his senses to return and for his heart beats to pick up. Daniel opened the inbox before the butterflies welled in his stomach.

"That warmed me to the point where I had to pace around to cool off." Daniel stopped to chuckle, smile, and yelp in surprise at the bear's casualness towards his blatant awkwardness. "Thanks to you, I even stretched my legs after sitting one hour in my chair. You're so considerate, dear fox, to the point where I feel jealous. I thought it's the big guys who look after the small ones."

Daniel blinked, went through the message, then blinked again. He didn't read wrong. Vincent actually wrote that! He jumped from his chair at that, jumping and fist pumping and yipping like a crazed teenager.

"Shut your cunt muzzle!" Rocky's yell burst through the wall. Daniel frowned, whimpered, and shrugged.

"Whatever you say, crack head," he said under his breath. The grey fox from yesterday would have whimpered in terror. Not him. Not after Vincent made his interest in their friendship clear.

Once he sat back at his PC, the reply poured like oil onto the virtual paper. By the end, Daniel's cheeks seethed and he squirmed in his chair. Better to end it here before it got out of hand again.

"So, what other interests do you have outside of Murr Station?" Daniel asked among other things. With the message sent, the grey fox returned to his bed, his lips almost numb from his broad smile.

He dreamt of his high school, of Vincent knocking into him and apologizing, much to the dismay of his peers. Lao the Jaguar was among them, a feral sneer etched across his face. Vincent turned to him, swiped a massive paw at the slender feline. Lao flew across the corridor, crashed against the lockers, and trudged across the floor before they crashed on top of him.

Daniel jerked to awareness. Lao's scream, raw and sharp, still rang in his ears. "Bloody retarded dream," he said. Lao was a jerk, but even he deserved better. And Vincent's snarl... The grey fox cringed as it flashed through his mind.

At least he was on my side, he thought, then shrugged. Dreams made little sense, yet they provided ample inspiration for certain stories. This one, coupled with some erotic macho intercourse, had the potential to be a winner.

Daniel blushed at that on his way to the PC. He winced at his bursting bladder, but thumped his foot to alleviate that. Vincent first, peeing after.

"I'm not a very interesting guy, but if you insist, I'm going to have to ask for your skype ID," Daniel read in a single breath. Skype ID? Already?! He almost peed in his pants, were it not for his thighs squeezing his morning wood.

"I'll have to get one." He replied, then shot straight to the bathroom to relieve himself.

Or not. His head throbbed more than his bladder ever did at the blatant lie he told Vincent.

"Well, not technically a lie," he said to himself. "I can still create a new account instead of using my existing one."

It fell short of expectations and ended up making him clumsy throughout the day due to nerves. He had left the scrambled eggs too long inside the pan while pondering over a reply. Then, he forgot his keys when he went to get groceries and had to bother Rocky--Rocky!

His limbs still shivered as he typed his reply to Vincent, hours after the encounter with the terrifying crack head. "I haf--have a skype. Name's Cuddlyfox934." He smiled wryly at the silliness of the name, and pressed send, too numb to care after how Rocky lashed out at him.

"Just a couple of days left, you silly punk," he whispered under his breath. "We'll see who laughs last when Vincent--"

A chuckle escaped him. Then another, and another, until his squeaking laughter filled the room. It broke down into whimpers when his stomach seethed, and Daniel wiped away the tears slithering down his cheeks. Wishful thinking. It was a geek's only weapon.

The next day, he lied to Vincent again under the pressure of his sweltering blush. His headphones worked fine, as did his microphone, yet his avatar had a real life picture of him and he looked...he looked...alarmingly handsome, with that perfectly curved jaw, cute muzzle, dimpled cheeks, glossy mane. Daniel's gaze hovered it again, smiling at the silly cap Vincent wore.

"Yea," Daniel typed. "I'm going to get some breakfast, though the honey I use doesn't sweeten my day as..." his words trailed off. As you do, he thought as he typed the last part. He swallowed the lump in his throat and licked his muzzle. Gods! When did it get so hot?

Daniel paced around while waiting for Vincent's reply, clasping and unclasping his paws. Where did all these lines come from? Not even his story characters had such sweet, alluring lines. He scrolled up to check, then rechecked to make sure.

Cuddlyfox934. That was him writing all these provocative lines.

Daniel whimpered and cocked his head. His heart fluttered, his stomach churned, and he trembled like a leaf while waiting for Vincent's reply. Never did he feel so good and so bad at the same time.

Daniel's heart skipped a heart beat when Vincent's reply came. "Then I'll bring you some proper natural honey, without all those additives and crap they put into it. I'll also cook you some breakfast while I'm at it. If my honey basted ribs don't make you drool like a mutt, then I'll give you the cap I wear in my avatar. And I do love that cap!"

Daniel's balance wavered. His legs buckled, and he crumbled in his chair, panting. Breakfast? That meant Vincent coming over! Him, actually entering Daniel's shitty apartment, to gawk and frown at all the mess!

A new message alert forced his attention back to the chat. "I wish you had a mike though. There are so many things I want to show you, things you will certainly enjoy."

"I may have one that works. Just gimme a moment." Daniel pressed enter faster than he had time to reconsider. Was that what he wanted? To slur like a bumbling drunkard before one of the friends he admired most?

Not at all. "Darn, it doesn't work. Will have to buy one tomorrow. Got to go now though. Take care, lovely bear."

Daniel didn't wait for Vincent's reply; he already crashed into his bed and curled, his tail slack and ears splayed across his skull. Promises; always his downfall.

That night, Daniel didn't even know if he had slept. Everything was a haze in the morning, thick and heavy to his half lidded eyes. He blinked back his drowsiness and glanced at his PC.

Good. The mouse stood askew, same for the keyboard. He did not actually spend the night talking nonsense to Vincent until he removed him from skype, like in his dream. The memory of it still sent a chill through his spine.

Once he got his confirmation that it was just a dream, Daniel burrowed his head under the pillow and curled his tail around a thigh.

The door bell rang. Daniel glided from his bed towards the door and opened it without even asking who it was. Somehow, he already knew.

Vincent drew back, his brown eyes big over his lips stretched into the biggest, warmest smile Daniel had ever seen. He took a step forward, only to melt in Vincent's tight embrace a moment after.

"Brought you ribs and honey, among other things."

Daniel licked his muzzle at that, but didn't break the hug. He liked how it felt, taut and broad and hot around him. His knees buckled and he let go of himself. For the first time, somebody held him from collapsing.

Light burst through Daniel's half opened eyelids. He twisted his head away from the glare and buried it into his pillow, his eyes shut tight. No amount of shifting and reminiscing brought Vincent back to him. It was only a fading dream, nothing more.

Unless Vincent was still planning on delivering breakfast. Daniel yipped at that, swung onto his rump, and took a deep breath. His ribs almost tingled from the bear's strong grip, and a shudder ran through him. It stirred Daniel's numb senses to the point where his room seemed infinitely more irritating, with the way his clothes piled high onto a chair stuffed to the brim.

He had to wash them. Clean the desk, sort out his magazines, throw the old NES console, put the TV back into the living room. Just in case, for when Vincent visited for real.

Daniel poured himself some milk and cereal. He scooped spoonfuls of flakes, barely chewed them, and swallowed. His foot thumped and he glanced at the clock every ten seconds. Ten and a half. Vincent was most likely online by now.

He drank the rest of the milk and left the rest inside the bowl in his rush to the PC.

"Come on come on come on." He wrapped his arms around his torso, but his own hug lacked Vincent's vigor and warmth. A yelp escaped him when the skype icon flashed with the bright orange of offline messages.

"Forgot to mention since you left so fast, but I have a spare mike that works. I can pass by and give it to you, or just mail it. Make your choice, bushy tail."

Daniel reddened instantly. "Are you actually coming here?"

Vincent began typing right away. He posted a smiley icon, and then he said, "Only if you want to."

"It's messy in here, have to clean up and stuff," Daniel typed as he held his breath. "Would prefer if you visit at a later time, after my birthday." His stomach turned, and he exhaled his pent-up breath at that. Lies, lies, and more lies meant to cover his insecurity.

Daniel gritted his teeth and began typing with his eyes closed. "Bought a mike though."

Ping after ping after ping came. Daniel squinted at his screen, almost afraid to read what Vincent said.

"Wonderful! It's a shame I can't come over. Would have left you something nice for the birthday. When is it anyway?"

Daniel's padded fingers hovered over the keyboard. When the heck was it? His mind went blank, and he had to click his skype profile for that. "Tomorrow," he said and typed.

Wait. Tomorrow?!

The only thing that kept him glued to his chair was Vincent typing. "Oh! And what do you wish for your birthday?"

It went without saying. "To not spend the day with a one dollar muffin as my sole companion." He added a smiley to make it seem less miserable.

Vincent smiled in return. "Muffins make for lousy companions. Plug your mike though. I'm no good with typing when it comes to congratulating friends on their birthday."

Whatever that meant. Daniel's paws turned slick in an instant as he plugged in the microphone's jack. He did a test call, and his breath caught in his throat when his thin, shaky voice came back. Was that slurring string of words even a sentence?

"Crap. What am I doing?" he whispered under his breath. He thumped both of his feet, his slick pads squelching at the contact with the bare wood. The first person he had ever talked with on skype had to be Vincent! The same Vincent he admired during the day, dreamed of at night, masturbated to in the shower. He buried his face in his paws at the last thought.

His drawn-out whimper was cut off by the ping on skype.

"Still there bud?"

Daniel gulped. "Yes, just a moment."

He took a deep breath, checked his web cam to make sure it was both offline and unplugged, and pressed the call button with a trembling finger.

"Ahoy buddy!"

Daniel jumped in his chair. What a deep voice! He only saw a flash of the bear's smile before he minimized his webcam screen and dragged it to the side of his desktop.

But the harm had already been done. His body shivered like a leaf, his teeth rattled, and his throat turned dry all of a sudden.

Vincent began singing.

Daniel muted his mike and squeaked and squealed over Vincent's rich bass voice, then gasped and giggled when Vincent added his own touch to the Happy birthday song. In his jittery state, it passed through Daniel like water through canvas.

By the time it ended with explosive cheers, Daniel seethed. Everything burned, except for his chest. That one felt tight, so tight he panted.

"Ah, you cuddly, fluffy fox. How'd you like my new and improved version of an old song?"

"It was--it was great," Daniel said. He licked his muzzle when he noticed his mike was muted and hovered his trembling cursor over it. "It was--it was great." Second time, and he still stuttered like a broken tape recorder!

"Glad you liked it!" Vincent said with a higher pitch. "It was because of that last part, wasn't it?"

Daniel nodded while trying to remember it. "Yea I really liked it."

"It certainly took your breath away!" Vincent observed.

Daniel feigned a smile. He shivered too hard to form a proper one. "Can you tell?"

"Can certainly hear. That's the highest form of flattery I ever received, to have my audience so astounded they're panting like dogs. Or foxes in your case." Vincent laughed, a hoarse sound that resembled boulders grinding against one another. Daniel yelped, and that only added to the bear's mirth.

"That's one freaking cute sound!"

Another yelp left Daniel's tight throat at the sheer intensity of the shout. He turned down the volume just as Vincent pounded his desk with one paw. "Stop it. Can't you hear--that I'm hurting with this abs workout--you are giving me?" He said between fits of laughter.

"I'm sorry. I'll stop." Daniel drew closer to his screen and straightened his stiff, sore back. His muscles burned from all that shivering and his sweat drenched paws slipped against the floor.

"Nah it's good. I didn't mean that. Wasn't serious." His chair creaked, and Daniel assumed he stretched and sprawled within it. "Ah, foxye, I'm so delighted you agreed to chat. I wish your webcam was activated though. Kept trying to picture you smiling, but I never get it quite right."

"It's broken, need to get a new one."

"Darn. Oh well..." he trailed off.

Daniel's ears perked up at that. "Why do you want to see me anyway? It's not like it matters," he said, his frail tone laced with a tinge of spite.

"Just a curiosity." Vincent's voice softened as well. "I've been working on this drawing, you see, and it kind of has you in it...?

Daniel swallowed hard. "A drawing? For what?"

"I'm a digital artist, but I'm sorry if I freaked you out. I get ahead of myself sometimes. Heh."

Daniel didn't realize he whimpered at that until Vincent's chuckle alerted him. "It's ok--it's ok! I'd like to see it though."

Vincent groaned at that. "It's not finished. It lacks the final touch, which is a genuine smile from you."

"I'll see what I can do." Gods above, why was he so stiff and formal? This was Vincent he spoke to! His only best friend. "I don't smile a lot," he added. "Seldom find a reason to."

"Ah!" Vincent clasped his paws together. "I'll give you plenty of reasons. Just bear with me!"

Daniel laughed in his squeaky way at the pun, and urged Vincent to join in his mirth as well. "What? Why are you laughing? In fact, I don't care. Whew!" He took a deep breath then exhaled. "I'm sorry if I sound high or something. Every sound you make has that effect on me. Freaking adorable!"

Daniel turned beet red, and for a moment, his cursor hovered over to Vincent's webcam window. "Thanks. I'm trying."

"You succeed!"

"I uh..." he trailed off at the praise as a smile spread across his lips. "Glad to hear that."

"Glad I made you glad, dear fox. Would you like to see some art I worked on?"

The blush returned with renewed vigor, and Vincent took his silence for a reply.

"Oh, sorry. Too much about me. Spotlight's on you now, fluffy. Got any hobbies?"

"Writer," he swallowed to wet his dry throat, "I'm a writer. Or trying to be. I don't know."

Vincent whistled at that, and Daniel flinched. How could somebody with such a deep voice produce such high pitched sound? "Out of inspiration for the time being?"

Daniel nodded. "Kind of." He yipped when the picture of Vincent rubbing his feet flashed through is mind, much to the bear's mirth. He already grumbled in his throaty way. "I'm trying to put my thoughts in order, but nothing really happens. It's like..."

"You need a vacation in a place far, far away from the turmoil of the city," Vincent added.

"Yeah!" Daniel wagged his tail with excitement at the thought of leaving his shitty room behind. Of leaving every bad memory behind. "But that's what writers do. Enjoy everything they never will experience otherwise through their stories."

"Aw, that's too deep for me. I prefer whatever I can touch, feel, or hug."

Daniel chuckled at the irony. "Bear hugs are renowned for certain reasons."

"That's what I'd like you to experience, Daniel. That both of us should experience, as super good friends and all..."

Fainter and fainter words, followed by awkward silence. Daniel shifted in his chair, then brought up one of his paws and started rubbing a toe. His heart fluttered, his stomach lurched, and his eyes widened when he replayed what Vincent said in his mind. Us? Did he say us?

"Anyway, would you like to take a look at some of my art? Maybe it strikes a chord and helps you kick start your writing."

"Sure," Daniel said, even though his mind reeled with the different meanings of what Vincent said and implied. What did he mean by 'us'? Did he friend zone him? If that was true, then he wouldn't have trailed off at the end. Right?

Vincent's art took his mind off it. Those drawings...they were beautiful! More beautiful than Daniel ever imagined. His jaw hung and his tail and ears stiffened as he leaned in his chair to peer at the exquisite art. Feral creatures of all sort, detailed and well proportioned on a vivid, colorful background.

As soon as the skype conversation ended, Daniel's stomach sank. He had only seen Vincent for a brief moment before his cowardice forced him to drag him to the side of his screen. A brief moment that might very well had been his only opportunity to gauge the bear.

"Don't think of it," Daniel whispered under his breath. "He wouldn't have spoken to you, complimented you and all if he disliked you." Yet, how could he not think Vincent left in a rush because he got tired of speaking to an antisocial freak? Even now, Daniel couldn't remember a quarter of his replies. Surely something put Vincent off. That always happened.

Vincent didn't show up on skype later in the day. He didn't even leave an offline happy birthday message for Daniel. When he woke up on his grand, forever alone muffin day, the skype screen looked depressingly empty.

"He sang for me," he said on the way to the kitchen. "That's enough."

While he sat in front of his plate with scrambled eggs, cheese and bacon, Daniel realized he wasn't hungry. He slipped into one of the savvier T shirts he had, strapped on a pair of jeans, and went out for a jog to clear his mind. It only amplified his morose state when, on the way back, someone bumped into him and shoved him straight into a pole.

Daniel kept his shoulders slouched, his back crooked, and his head low on the way back to his duplex. He only looked up while crossing the street.

And that's when he noticed it. A new car parked to the side of the duplex, ruby red smeared with ivory stripes on the side. Just like Vincent's cap!

His heart skipped a beat when his gaze fell on the bear sprawled across the bench on Rocky's side of the duplex. Vincent! That was freaking him!