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Aiden just laughed when he heard of the previous night's short-lived encounter - a laugh that was simultaneously a pressure release valve for Reid.

He'd met the lab for lunch that day, versus being picked up at the shop. Once was normal for friends, but twice in two days alluded to something more, and he couldn't have that. Paul was good for it, and his secret was safe with Kelvin; after all, he hid the same one.

"Yeah." Reid scoffed, shoveling a bite into his muzzle.

"Wow! That's...you know, he seems so timid."

"That's what threw me off. I didn't expect it."

"Poor kid. You think he's pent up?"

"I don't know, maybe."

Aiden chewed for a little while, eyes unfocused, fork waving in small circles.

"You think it's a good idea to let him stay at your place?"

"It's just temporary. And hey, I'm not exactly the poster child for self-control, but I'm not going to do anything with him. I could never be so shitty as to cheat on you."

"I'm not worried about that. I'd just hate to see your career be put in jeopardy by it if you did."

"Well, I wouldn't. I mean, do you think I would? Would you?" Reid turned the tables. The lab merely shrugged.

"Depends on your definition of cheating. Point being, if you want to fuck Kelvin, that's cool with me, just don't get any gifts that keep on giving, if you catch my drift. As long as you love me, that's all that matters."

Reid smiled, but inside, he was perplexed. Aiden's lack of reproach to the idea of sex outside their relationship made him wonder what else the lab might be up to in his day to day. After a brief moment of thought, he decided that he'd prefer not to know. He had something good for the first time in years; he didn't want to risk losing it.

"Hey, I've got an idea. Why don't we take Kelvin out to a club tonight? There'll be more dicks than he'll know what to do with!"

Reid choked.

"Yeah, and not just in the literal sense, either. I don't know if he could handle that."

"Only one way to find out. What's the worst that could happen?"

Graphic scenes played through the heeler's head, and he laid his silverware down on his plate.

"I'd prefer not to think about it. I feel responsible for him in a way."

"Well, we'll be there to have his back."

"What if he meets a guy and they want to take him home?"

"Easy. We'll just have Kelvin take him to your place. There's something sexy about a guy who's got his own pad at twenty-two. Makes him look like he's got his shit together."

"Whoa, hang on a minute. I've only got one bed, and I certainly don't want any stains on my couch."

Aiden chuckled.

"Fine, we can use my place then, I've got an extra bedroom. So what do you say?"

"I say your plan's fuckin' crazy."

"Crazy enough to work?"

"No, just crazy, but if you've got faith in it, I'm willing to do it for Kelvin."

"That's the spirit."

***

"Aiden, I don't think I can afford anything in here." Kelvin said, looking around and feeling very out of place in the store the lab had insisted they visit.

"Don't worry about it dude, I got you." The lab said, nonchalantly casting a glance as his four-thousand dollar Swiss watch. "We gotta find you something to wear if you're going to get lucky tonight."

"That a fact?"

"I'll see to it. Ah! I doubt you've got anything like this crammed into that duffel bag..."

Aiden pulled a shirt off the rack and held it aloft, the loud design and French cuffs far from anything the Shiba Inu would ever be seen wearing.

"I definitely do not have anything like that, no." He answered, managing a laugh and glaring contemptuously at the shirt.

"Kel, let's be honest, the only people you're going to attract with the skinny jeans and snapbacks are High School girls on longboards, stinking up Santa Monica with their vaporizers and trying to bribe you into buying them alcohol."

Kelvin blinked.

"Here we go!" Aiden's fashion targeting matrix had locked onto a pair of designer jeans that cost more than the Shiba Inu made in a week. "Raw denim is in, and these will actually fit you the way jeans are supposed to. It'll be a new experience for you and your balls!" He snickered, and the younger dog rolled his eyes.

Eventually, Kelvin had to acquiesce to the lab's taste in fashion, even if it meant becoming someone he was not for a night. He had to admit that once he tried them on, he didn't look half bad. So Aiden paid for it. Everything from the shoes all the way up to the cologne he'd dab behind his ears racked up a tab of over a thousand dollars, and the Shiba Inu watched him peel off a dozen or so hundreds like it was nothing.

He thought better of his questions. So not wanting to be ungrateful, he said thank you, with just enough sincerity to hide his resentment.

All the designer labels in the world couldn't make up for what he really wanted.

***

"Remind me again why we chose the Costa Club?" Reid had to shout to be heard over the sound of the bass, not even sure his question reached the ears it was intended for though the maze of gyrating bodies.

"I think Sips would be a little too intimidating for Kelvin!" Aiden shouted back once they finally found an empty spot at the bar - no seats, just an empty spot. Reid turned back to make sure that Kelvin hadn't gotten lost in the crowd while the lab shouted their orders to the barkeep.

"I think this place is a little too intimidating for me." Reid muttered, although he didn't need to. He could have said it at a normal volume and still not have been heard. Aiden turned around and handed off a bottle of Coors Light to his boyfriend, and a Long Island Iced Tea to the Shiba. He picked up his vodka tonic, toasted them, and they headed off in search of an area whose population density was slightly less than that of Beijing.

All three dogs were in their clubbing best or at least what each of them considered that to be. Bait and switch was their technique of choice, and Aiden was the bait. He was dressed to kill in a faded and ripped pair of blue jeans, tight enough in the right areas to tease, yet loose enough to leave some to the imagination. His white button-down shirt hugged every muscle in his torso, and the sleeves were rolled up just enough to show off an expensive Swiss watch. He planned to find a guy, or let one find him, whichever happened first, and pass him off onto the shy, well-dressed Shiba Inu palling around with a red heeler that looked like he didn't even want to be there in a Ford Racing T-shirt, plain blue jeans, and python-hide cowboy boots.

"Kelvin, let me know if you see someone catches your eye. Point him out and I'll let you know if he's worth a shot."

The Shiba nodded.

"So what, you're a connoisseur of gay men now?" Reid chided.

"As Sir Winston Churchill said, 'I am a man of simple tastes - easily satisfied with the best'." Aiden retorted a shot him a wink. Ever the manly one, the heeler didn't show it, but he was melting inside.

"Kelvin. What do you think about him?"

He turned around and looked in the direction Aiden was pointing.

"Who? The skunk?"

"Yeah."

"Um, he's cute, I guess. How do you know he's gay?"

"All right my friend, lesson number one. I'm gonna show you some of the more prominent things to look for."

"I'm gonna get another drink." Reid said with a grin and a shake of his head, unable to listen to anymore of the lab's poppycock with a straight face.

"Okay, look at the way he carries himself. You see the way he walks? It's very feminine, he's got that certain sashay in his stride that just screams 'look at me, I like dick!'."

Kelvin blushed and laid his ears flat.

"Check this out." The lab polished off his drink and he took off in the direction of the skunk, the Shiba's meek protests falling on deaf ears.

Aiden waited his turn for an empty spot at the bar, keeping a close eye on the skunk all the while. In an effort not to make a fool of himself, he waited patiently just to make sure that his target was not waiting on a date who happened to be in the bathroom.

"Vodka tonic." The barkeep set the drink down on the bar top, and Aiden's ears preceded him in swiveling around to grab it before someone could slip a roofie into it - a notorious occurrence at the Costa Club.

He approached the skunk from the side.

"Hey, I'm Aiden. Can I hook you up with a drink?"

The skunk turned, looked him up and down quickly and sneered at the lab's proffered handshake.

"Fuck off."

Aiden just blinked.

When the lab returned to the table, he was in anything but a good mood, something Reid found to be quite amusing. The Shiba seemed indifferent, not having been interested in the skunk in the first place.

"I take it things didn't go so well with Mr. Skunk?"

"I dusted motherfuckers in San Quentin for less than that..." Aiden muttered over his shoulder, shooting a dirty look at the mustelid. Kelvin whined a little and sank lower yet in his seat, his ears plastered flat against his skull. Noticing this, the lab perked back up.

"Well, he's lucky we're here for you and not me."

"Maybe it was a bad idea to come here." Kelvin admitted, finally.

"No, Kel, look, I got turned down one time! If you always give up after just one try, you'll never get anywhere! Check this out, in a place this size, you want to try five, maybe six different people. Any more than that, other people start to notice, you start to look desperate, and then it really won't happen."

"Sounds like you've got this down to a science." Reid chimed in dryly. "Which one was I, number six?"

"Nope, you were and are my number one."

Kelvin felt like puking.

"Hey, if this doesn't work, we'll drive down to Sips, Night's still young, I've got no problem with bar hopping. So Kelvin! What are you into, what do you like in a man?"

"Um..."

"Or let's start at the top and work our way down, what do you look for, physically? You like the skinny, girly sorts of guys, or do you prefer the big, masculine types?"

The Shiba blushed painfully under the lab's inquisition, trying to buy himself time however he could. If he could make it through one night of this, he thought, he'd never have to go out with them again and deal with questions like that. Aiden waited for an answer, and Kelvin soon realized that he wasn't getting out of this one.

"Well, uh. I guess that I - um - I kind of like more...dominant types?"

"Right on, that narrows it down...some." Aiden craned his neck to scan the crowd again, looking for any sign of a man who fit the Shiba's criteria. Within seconds, he spied a dog standing with his back to them, chatting it up with a couple of friends. He was short and stocky, no more than five-ten, and wore a sleeveless undershirt that framed the muscles of his back and broad shoulders, easily visible beneath his short pile fur.

"Let's keep an eye on this one." Aiden muttered, and Reid left the table a second time to grab another round. The lab watched the canine's every move. The way he talked, laughed, drank his beer, everything. It may have been the alcohol in his system. Aiden may have just been a poor judge of character. Either way, he'd come to his unfounded conclusion.

"Yeah, this guy is totally closet gay. Saw tons of guys like him in state. He's intimidated by other men of his caliber, so he compensates for it by being cocky and brash. I bet a night with a cute guy like you might even help him open up some; it'd be win-win."

Kelvin could only give him the go-ahead as he finished his Long Island. He hadn't even bothered to look.

At the bar, Reid grabbed the beers, thanked the barkeep, deposited some change into the tip jar and turned back around to see Aiden heading for his next target.

He nearly dropped the booze where he stood.

"Shit!" He muttered under his breath and began fighting his way through the crowd. He had to stop the lab before he made a grave mistake. Reid upset one of the beers setting it down on the table as he passed, and Kelvin turned around to see what all the fuss was about.

Aiden never heard Reid calling his name. He approached the fellow canine from behind and let him have it.

"Hey stud. Mind if I buy you a drink?"

In a chilling moment of realization, Aiden felt the color drain from his face beneath his fur when Billy turned around and looked at him with the ugliest mug he'd ever seen - pure murder. The kind of face someone might make before brutally stomping a mud hole into someone's chest. The dog's meaty fist gripped the handle of his beer mug, and he eyed the lab from head to toe a couple of times, sizing him up.

"The fuck did you say to me?"

The lab fought for words, and his eyes scanned for viable routes to avoid certain death. Luckily, Reid was on the scene before Billy could act out in violent recourse. In proverbial Jekyll & Hyde fashion, the pit bull softened and immediately grinned as the heeler approached.

"Reid! What's, up bro? Damn, your boy just came up here and started hitting on me; I thought he was being real for a sec there!" He laughed, and gave Aiden a playful push in the chest. Aiden laughed nervously, playing it off and looking back at Reid, now his knight in shining armor.

"Oh, shit, the whole gang's here tonight!" Billy said, looking past the heeler's shoulder to see Kelvin walking up. The Shiba Inu looked somber; his ears laid low, his hands in his pockets.

"Vance, get us all a round of shots, tell Erika to put it on my tab!" The pit bull ordered, excited by the sudden appearance of his friends. Kelvin, however, wasn't all for sticking around.

"Reid, Aiden, can we just go to Sips already? I don't think this is really my scene, and I hate to be that guy, but you said we could go if I didn't like it here..."

Cue record scratch.

Billy blinked.

No one had bothered to tell Kelvin that Sips was one of the most prolific gay bars in Santa Monica. Never having frequented the area, the Shiba Inu couldn't have known any better, but his knowledge of the club's reputation came a little too late. Reid felt his cheeks flush, and their smiles faded with the rest of the mood. Vance turned around, his smile the last to die as he looked around confusedly.

"Sips?"

Reid's mind raced for words against Billy's feeble-minded attempts at putting the pieces of the puzzle together. His options were few. He could play it off. Let Kelvin take the fall, out him in front of the guys. No, he couldn't. He wouldn't do that to the poor kid, he'd been through enough. It was all or nothing at that point, and by the time the heeler had made his mind up, a light bulb of 40 watts at best went off over Billy's head, his face suddenly radiating with enlightenment.

"Holy shit, it all makes sense now!"

"No, no, Billy, come on..."

"That's why you never wanted to come out here with us! That's why in all the years we've worked together, you've never mentioned having a girl, and now this dude..." He gestured to Aiden, "...you're gay!"

"Billy, I'm not gay." Reid asserted, his ears burning.

"You're a faggot! I knew it! You, and you, whoever you are. But Kelvin! Come on bro, I had such high hopes for you! We were gonna be your wingmen!"

People were starting to look. Kelvin shrank. He wanted to crawl under a table, shrivel up, and die.

"For fuck's sake, Billy, you're making a goddamned scene!" Reid hissed. Vance, made uncomfortable by the scene was throwing back yet another shot out of the round that had been ordered for them all. "Aiden, let's get out of here before this gets any more out of hand."

"No, fuck that! I'm not going to stand here and let this meathead talk to us like that!"

"Aiden!"

"Whatcha gonna do about it, bitch? Fuckin' tail raiser, come on! Do something!" Billy spat, and clapped his beer mug down on the bar. A twenty-foot radius around them had gone nearly silent. Vance shook his head with his eyes wide. He wasn't as excited about fighting as his cohort apparently was, but he was going to have his back nonetheless.

"What're you gonna do? You want to throw the hands? Let's go!"

Reid turned to the Shiba.

"Kelvin, run."

"I'm only good at two things: suckin' dick and beatin' ass." Aiden said casually, and brought his fists up.

By the time Reid turned around, the fight was over. The moment Billy and Vance stepped into range of the lab's reach; Aiden threw both of his fists forward in tandem, connecting with both of their muzzles at the same time. Both pit bulls stumbled backward drunkenly, losing their footing in sync. Vance tripped over his feet and cracked the back of his skull on the edge of the bar, falling to the floor limp as a rag doll. Billy ungracefully attempted to keep his balance, crashed into a barstool, then, to the concrete floor.

A chorus of approving sounds and sporadic clapping followed, but neither party was sticking around for the curtain call.

"Let's get the fuck out of here before the cops show up." Reid grunted, and tossed a couple of twenties to the barkeep. Aiden was right on his heels. Kelvin had already taken off.

They found him waiting by the car, head on a swivel.

"What happened?"

"Aiden knocked them both out with one punch. Both fists, at the same time." Reid explained hastily, reaching for the keys and unlocking the car.

A bit of the crowd had spilled out of the doors of the club onto the front walk, looking to get an ID on who the impromptu MMA fighter was. From out of the crowd came Billy, bleeding from his nose and mouth.

"Hey!" Aiden's ears pricked and he spun around just in time to see the pit bull break into a full sprint towards him. The 240-pound canine slammed into him and took him down to the pavement where he proceeded to land a few good hits, most of which the lab was able to block.

Reid stepped in. He hooked his arms underneath Billy's swinging hams and put him into a full nelson, preventing him from further assault, but the fight was far from over. Billy's date appeared out of nowhere and bellowed forth with a harpy-esque screech, beating the poor heeler over the head with the heel of her shoe. In spite of the high heeled assault, he was able to hold the raging canine off for long enough to allow Aiden to escape.

"Stop!" Kelvin attempted to wrestle the shoe away from the girl. Fortunately, for Reid, standing on one stiletto heel proved to be too difficult a task for a half-inebriated twenty-something to accomplish, and she toppled over into the bushes that surrounded the building.

"You killed him! You killed him!"

Everyone involved looked up to see another woman, shrieking hysterically and running towards the fight, presumably to get involved. Reid felt his stomach turn. Vance had hit his head pretty hard on that bar. Aiden had made a dash for the car. Billy's date was trying to escape from the prickly foliage her dress had become entangled in, and Billy himself was still struggling in the heeler's grip. Poor Reid couldn't catch a break. Vance's date began to hit him with her purse.

"Call 911! Call 911, for Christ's sake!" He grabbed the purse away from her and threw it away. This resulted in a weakening of his hold on the furious canine, and the pit bull broke free, going straight for Aiden, who had already made it to the car.

"Oh my God..." Kelvin said with a palpable queasiness in his voice. Reid turned around, and his eyes went wide. Aiden had been using the car door as a barrier to keep the pit bull's attacks at bay, but the defense was short-lived. He'd been forced to resort to drastic measures, and Billy was now backing up slowly, his hands raised at chest-level, palms out, ears down, tail between his legs.

Aiden was pointing a gun at his face.

"Whoa, hey...easy..."

"Turn around and get on your knees. Get on the ground; get on the fucking ground! Right now! Do it!" The lab ordered while pressing the pistol out with a two-handed grip, elbows locked and the sights trained square between Billy's eyes.

"Okay! Okay..."

"Aiden! What the fuck?" Reid demanded, watching the scene unfold before him; Billy sinking slowly to his knees with his hands on his head, and Vance's date tearfully shouting at the 911 dispatcher behind them. Once the aggressor had been reduced to his knees, the lab reached back into the car and produced a pair of pink, fuzzy handcuffs.

"These were for us, for tonight, but I think I just found a better use for them." Aiden said, securing the furry shackles around the pit bull's wrists.

"Okay, so we're going to wait for the cops to show up, is that it?" Kelvin asked weakly.

"They're going to show up, but we won't be here," Aiden explained, "Reid, start the car, take Kelvin with you. I'll meet you guys later."

"What? Are you sure?"

"I'm sure, just go!"

Aiden stuck the gun into the small of his back and took out a small pocketknife.

"H-hey! What are you doing?"

"I'm going to teach you a lesson in humility, motherfucker! You want to fuck with gay guys? You fucked with the wrong one!" Aiden planted the sole of his boot between the dog's shoulder blades and pushed him down onto his face.

It was like watching someone skin a feral deer. Aiden began slicing away at Billy's shirt with focus and precision, and a knee planted firmly into the back of the big dog's neck. He cleaved the leather belt in two, and began slicing through designer denim, down one leg, then down the other, until his outfit was no more than a pile of fabric scraps on the sidewalk.

The sudden discourse from violence to someone having their clothes removed struck some as humorous. Against Billy's pathetic pleas, the lab picked the big lug off the ground until he was back on his feet, now only in a pair of boxer shorts and his shoes. Aiden grabbed the shorts and whipped them down to his ankles, starting gleefully for a moment at what had been concealed underneath.

"Damn. No wonder you're such an asshole."

He marched the nude canine towards the jeering crowd, which parted to allow them access to the front door of the Costa Club where two ladies opened the doors for them to enter. Aiden didn't plan on staying, but he figured Billy needed another drink or two. So he planted his boot heel on the dog's ass and gave him a violent shove into the confines of the club, where the fuzzy handcuff-bound and underwear shackled canine landed flat on his face just inside the door.

"Ladies." Aiden said with the tip of an imaginary hat, and just like that, he was gone.

***

Back at Reid's apartment, Kelvin was a shaking, quivering mess. Overwhelming was an understatement. He'd thrown up once already. Reid had given him a Valium, some water, and some saltines but they had yet to take effect - the encounter had rocked him to his core.

For the moment, they dealt with it in their own separate ways. Kelvin on the couch that was his bed, Reid at the kitchen table with a tall glass of whiskey and his head propped in a sweaty palm.

"Kelvin, how you holding up? Do you need me to take you to the emergency room?"

"No, just let me sit here."

"Okay."

The silence was maddening. Evidently, Kelvin had calmed down enough to fall asleep, or he'd cried himself there. Reid cursed himself. He picked up his phone and dialed Aiden, each ring like a nail being driven into his ear canal.

"Hey, you've reached Aiden O'Flynn with Hathaway Law and Associates; I can't make it to the phone right now -"

Blue and red flashed through the window. Getting up, the heeler ran over to see a cruiser pull up outside and stop. For a few minutes, it simply sat there, but when the passenger side door opened, it was not a police officer that appeared.

It was Aiden.

The lab leaned back into the car and appeared to shake hands with the officer; a cat, as far as the heeler could tell; and he turned to walk toward the steps leading to his boyfriend's door. Reid met him just outside it.

"You want to tell me what the fuck just happened back there?" He whispered hotly, wishing not to wake Kelvin or worse - Mrs. Widener. Aiden raised his hands in surrender and diverted his gaze to the floor.

"I know, things got a little out of hand back there, but it's all good! Everything's fine, you're not in any trouble, and neither is Kelvin."

"Yeah, well, Kelvin's a nervous wreck in there right now! I've never seen him like that before, crying, shaking, fucking vomiting!"

"Is he going to be okay?"

Reid put one hand on his hip and waved the other nonchalantly.

"I dunno. Probably. Gave him a vallie and he finally fell asleep a few minutes ago."

Silence.

"What about you, you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm good."

"What_was_ that back there? Aiden, I mean, that was...I don't even know, man. I'm shaken."

"Look, why don't we go inside? It's been a long night; I think we both need some sleep. I'll explain everything in the morning."

Reid reentered the apartment with Aiden in tow, and waited until he was out of sight in the bedroom to down four more pills with the remaining whiskey in his glass. With his last remaining moments of consciousness, he wondered about Vance. He wondered about Billy, and wondered if they were okay. On his way to bed, he wondered if he really even cared.

He began to shed clothing that smelled of smoke, beer, and partying far too hard for a work night. The cattle dog was down to his black boxer briefs in cool, soft sheets when he felt a pair of golden arms encircle him and a telltale bulge against his behind.

"Babe, not tonight. I'm not feeling good." Reid whined softly. He laid his ears and went to putty over Aiden's muzzle in his neck.

"What's the matter?"

"I don't know. I've been having these pains in my side."

"Have you been to the doctor?"

"No, I don't think it's anything to be worried about. It's probably just gas. I took some Pepto, but I'm just not feeling up to having sex tonight." Reid's voice was tired, and barely audible.

"I know. I just want to be close to you." Aiden whispered.

"Mm."

"Let's move up to the Pacific Northwest together. Get out of LA..."

"And what would we do up there?"

"Open your own tuner shop. I'll start my own law firm. We'll have so much money we won't even know what to do with it all. It'll be awesome." The cattle dog felt Aiden yawn on the end of his sentence and nuzzle into his neck fur. Indeed, it would be, he thought.

Reid peered through half-lidded eyes at the nightstand, where Aiden's gun, a Glock 17, sat innocently; its three-dot, phosphorescent sights glowing softly back at him in the dark. He entertained the prospect of spending the rest of his life with the lab he loved, but it seemed as though the more he knew about Aiden, the less he knew about himself, and what he really wanted.

Only time would tell.