FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Unlikely Angel

Written by Amethyst Mare (Arian Mabe) for Luster Unicorn

The buck grimaced as he sprawled on his bed, cloven hooves kicked over the edge of the rumpled sheets. The only clothing he wore was a pair of red boxer shorts, seeing no need for anything more as he was in perfect solitude with the campus being closed. When the time for students to buy duvet covers en masse had come, he had chosen a blue duvet cover for his first semester of college. He would have preferred green. The blue duvet cover had been heavily discounted, however, so he had had no choice in the matter.

He scowled at the scholarship paperwork on the desk; it was piled neatly enough, its presence a sore spot. It should have been a source of pride that a buck from Cody's background had been able to scrape together enough scholarships to study Advanced Physics; it was a high honour and one of the proudest days of his life to receive the acceptance letter. In sleepless New York, Binghamton accepted him as a student where winter snows sent chills through his coat of short, brown fur. Cody grumbled. He did not grow a thick enough winter coat to ward off the cold, especially when the heating in his dorm room was turned down to zero.

A second single bed resided a couple of metres away, allowing the individual roommates some sleeping privacy, with the sheets made up pristinely. He snorted and shook his head, being of an untidier breed to his roommate. He had little to actually make a mess of when it came right down to it, but there were countless arguments. The bay Shire horse groomed his surroundings until they gleamed but forgot to maintain his own appearance, leaving his mane a mess and feather in a scraggly rope. At least he did not forget to shower.

The buck muttered under his breath as he kicked himself to his hooves, rocking his body upright in a lithe spring of motion. His fingertips danced along his forearm as he halted halfway across the room, leg outstretched as if the energy to complete the motion suddenly left his body. Paw falling, the buck frowned. What was he doing, getting up, anyway? What _exactly_did he think he was going to do? He couldn't do anything. He'd had enough walks around campus to last him a lifetime and, with everyone home on Christmas Eve, there was not even anyone to hold his interest.

Listlessly, he pawed at his chest of drawers, tucking a stray shirt back amongst its fellows. There was no point in doing anything else, nothing to do and nowhere to be. Cody sighed. There was no one to be nowhere with either. That would have been nice.

The fuck am I meant to do? Cody thought, scuffing a hoof over the carpet where he'd worn a line through the fibre. Every day's the same. Sure, study is great and all that jazz, I know I'm lucky, but where's the rest of it?

He huffed and shook his head.

Everyone gets to have fun...why not me? I got here, didn't I? Don't I deserve it too? Just a bit?

Cody's ears drooped to either side of his head.

A friend? Maybe?

Money was the currency of college and, while even the most strained of students could usually afford to sit in their dorm with filched drinks, Cody did not have that luxury. Dorm and student fees sapped so much that he was lucky if he had enough left to feed himself. And even then he pilfered from free buffets at the college and discount food from the supermarkets, wherever he could traipse at closing time to find the cheapest sustenance. Hell, once he'd even gone to a food drive where they dished out meals to the needy. That had been his only hot meal that week.

Frowning, the buck lifted a blue, simply designed shirt to his muzzle and took a sniff. His eyes widened and his arms shot away from his body, holding the shirt at arm's length as his muzzle contorted. It could not have been that long since he had done a load! The buck grumbled, crumpled the shirt into a ball and tossed it on the floor, quickly checking the stash of coins atop his chest of drawers. He had a few quarters left, just enough for what he needed.

Cody stuffed every piece of clothing into a holey plastic bag, filling it and then a second to the point where they threatened to burst. He may be alone on Christmas Eve but life went on. The buck fingered his antlers. He almost wished life wouldn't go on. But he couldn't think like that for too long, or else he'd never get out of it.

And the laundry wouldn't do itself.

*

Cody shivered and hunched his shoulders against the bite of wind. Not for the first time that winter, the buck wished desperately that he had a scarf to keep winter's cold fingers from his throat. Once, when he was younger, one of his foster families had given him a fantastic scarf in red and yellow stripes: the colours of Griffindol. A huge Parry Hotter fan, it had been the gift of the year and he'd worn it everywhere, even when the summer months encroached. Eventually though, he moved on from that foster family like he had all the others before and, somewhere along the way, the scarf had become lost forever. Not unlike him.

He shuddered and ducked as the wind picked up flurries of snow and he trod along the barely visible path bare-hoofed. There were no other tracks ahead and no lights glowing from dorms or campus buildings as cloud cover further darkened the night sky. It could not have been that late, perhaps seven or eight in the evening, but it could have been the dead of night for all the life the campus cradled.

Cody laughed, the sound harsh and echoing in the frozen air. Snow crunched beneath his hooves.

"'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house," he muttered, "not a creature was stirring...except one stupid buck."

Tightening his grip on the laundry bags, Cody kept his head down against falling snow and made his way slowly but steadily towards the Laundromat on campus. Most students scorned the little laundry room for its near broken down machines but Cody found it did the job all right, even if he had to give the dryer a kick every now and again.

Blowing into his paws, the buck squinted through the chill breeze and looked back at his hoof prints as he approached the utilities building. Part of another dorm, the rectangular black door for the Laundromat was difficult to spot in the gloom. The lights on the deserted campus had been switched off where paths would have been lit up, leaving him to find his way purely by his senses and the number of times he had walked the path before.

At last, he padded up to the door and pushed experimentally on the right side, expecting it to swing open at his touch - it had never been locked in his experience. When it did not immediately swing open at his hoofed fingertips, the buck tilted his antlers speculatively. Trying the handle gave no different result and Cody stared at it, lips parted in comic shock. The carrier bags weighed heavily in his paws, plastic cutting lines of pain into his palms.

"Closed?" He blinked at the door, raising his voice until it cracked in his throat. "Closed? You've got to be kidding me."

Anger flared, racing through his veins like wildfire. It wasn't fair! All he wanted to do was his damn laundry! Was that too much to ask? It was just laundry! Laundry!

Cody stomped childishly and flung the bags at the door; they struck the generous target and exploded in a shower of dirty clothes.

"No one even mans this!" He shouted at the closed door. "They could have left it open for us! Whoever was left on campus! But nooooo, of course not, that would be too fricking easy!"

Unwelcome tears pricked at the corners of his eyes and he swept them away with his knuckles, pressing into the sockets until lights flashed across his vision. It was ridiculous to be tearful over a locked laundry room but, in the moment, it felt as if the world was crashing down around his ears. Only one thing needed to go right, just one. That wasn't too much to ask. Or was it?

He stared at the carrier bags, clothes dampening as flakes of snow melted on their surface, slightly warmer than air outside. He heaved a sigh that held the weight of his young years behind it and gathered up the strewn fabrics, shoving them back into the bags with a rough, quick paw. When able, he would try the Laundromat outside campus, if he could afford it. Shivering, the buck turned homeward, thinking of the marginal warmth it held in retrospect now that he had ventured into the great cold. Yet there was no sense in wasting a walk and there was always one place around that was open, if but for a time.

The buck trudged through the snow with his paws dug into his pockets, arms through the handles of the bags so that they hung at the inside crease of his elbow. Cody thought of his parents, mind wandering, drifting. The deer held no memories of them, bar ones he had concocted for himself - a light, musical laugh that soothed him to rest as a fawn and a warm, steady paw guiding him. Those were good thoughts when they came, but his heart twisted and he clamped down on emotion, locking it down where he didn't have to acknowledge its existence. Though they were long gone, he knew his parents wouldn't have wanted him to be cold. Cody gritted his teeth. He just had to keep his head high and all would come right in the end.

He had to believe that.

Approaching the student union, he was unsurprised to find it in darkness, as there would be no business for the college while most of its clientele was away celebrating. He snorted, wishing it was open, though wishing had never gotten him anywhere. The modern exterior of the union was silent and forlorn, a far cry from the bustling noise and clamour of the food courts and public rooms that he was used to. He rarely used the facilities - like everything else, they cost money - but worked as a cover receptionist from time to time. He wasn't bad at the little gig either, if he was less than modest for a change.

Cody paused, ears twitching. In the alley to the far side of the union, something moved. He stopped in his tracks and peered down the alley, looking past an askew wheelie bin to where darkness flickered. The movement was there, even if barely discernible and so faint that Cody could have mistaken it for his imagination.

"Hello?" Cody called out hesitantly.

There was no response, yet the movement came again, a living being shifting in the half-light reflecting off the snow. The deer hesitated, shifting his weight anxiously from hoof to hoof. Ice seeped into his bones.

"Hello?" Cody coughed into his fist, narrowing his eyes as he peered down the alley, bins half-obstructing his vision. "Is anyone there?"

He paused. It was cold.

"Are you okay?"

He wanted to move on but he couldn't live with himself if he left some fur in the cold, hiding down an alley from who knew what. Though his fingers were frozen in his pockets, Cody crunched down the alleyway, back straight and ears turning to catch every sound. A sinuous black shape leaned back against the wall, formidable blocky jaws parted to show a flash of white teeth - a feline yawn. Cody sighed in relief, as there seemed to be nothing wrong with the strange fur, bundled up in warm clothes as he was in the middle of a deserted campus. It was weird that he was down an alley, but that was about the extent of the oddity to his eye.

Edging closing, the buck extended his paw, a few metres from the revealed Black Panther, trying not to shy away from the flash of red inside his muzzle, as his golden eyes gleamed.

"Are you okay?" He asked and then instantly wished he hadn't ventured down the alleyway at all.

The panther was not alone. Moaning, he arched away from the wall, thrusting his hips out sensually. Stripes glared in the shadows and the otter rested his paw on the top of another fur's head, level with his crotch. Cody's eyes widened.

A zebra knelt on the frozen ground, knees spread apart for balance. His stripes clashed starkly in the grey of the alleyway but his heavy, thick coat did nothing to hide the cock straining his lips wide. Bobbing his muzzle slowly, the zebra paid no attention to the slack-jawed buck, paws splayed flat against his partner's thighs. The panther locked his gaze with Cody's, smirking as his hips moved faster and faster, dragging the ungulate down on his cock so that the pink shaft was enveloped by long, zebra muzzle.

He should have left right then and there, yet Cody was transfixed. His gaze wandered to the cock plunging between the zebra's lips as the feline shuddered and thrust roughly, whole body jerking as he reached a quick climax. The zebra's throat worked as he swallowed, cum disappearing straight down his gullet as the panther groaned deep in his throat, a thick, guttural sound of male pleasure. Pinching the zebra's ear, he held him in close, muzzle grinding into his mussed up crotch fur until he was good and satisfied.

Cody gulped, standing stock still ass the scene played out before him. It was far too late to run.

The zebra let the softening cock slip from of his lips with a wet pop, cum drawing out in a string between the shaft and his startlingly pink tongue. Sitting back on his hooves, he raised an eyebrow and crooked his fingers in a 'come hither' motion towards Cody.

"Hey stud," he nickered, lip curling back from his teeth to taste the air. "Are you next?"

Heat flooded the buck's cheeks and he turned on his heel so that he did not have to look at the zebra's stupid smirk any more. Laughter chased his heels as he trotted from the alley, bags swinging noisily against his sides. What a fool he had been to assume that some fur had needed help! The buck cursed himself inwardly and smashed his hoof through a snow drift, sending chunks of ice flying where it had frozen in deeper.

Cody struggled with himself, waging a mental war against an invisible foe that hurled insult after insult at his cowering form. Why did they have to laugh at him like that? He had thought someone was hurt, for heaven's sake! He had tried to do a good thing and he had let himself down once again. It was always the same. The buck gnawed the inside of his cheek and drew his laundry bags in close to his chest, ignoring the crinkles as he hugged himself for comfort and warmth.

You are useless.

The buck closed his eyes.

No, I am not.

They'll be laughing at you for days. You'll be the butt of all their jokes.

I did nothing wrong.

Oh, but you did.

How?

By existing.

That makes no sense...

It makes sense to me.

No!

He shook snow from his antlers and charged off the path to mounds of snow, layered beautifully over grass. Trees dotted the mounds, strategically landscaped, and the buck darted between them, hooves flying as he fled his demons. Cold air raked his lungs with icy claws and his eyes bulged. Somewhere along his wild dash, he slipped, snow balling up beneath his hoof, and tumbled head first into a snow drift, a puff of powder erupting in his fall.

He coughed and blinked, floundering as he it threatened to swallow him. Panic rose in his throat and Cody half-yelped, a strangled noise that did not carry in the world of white around him. He kicked out and crawled from the drift, snow clumping in the fur on the back of his neck as if he had suddenly grown a stark white mane like a horse. Shocked from his flight, the buck shook his head and stumbled to his hooves, calves trembling and trousers dampened with now melting snow. Cody spun in a slow circle, calming his breathing as he took in the desolate campus, snow dropping from deciduous tree branches whenever a branch took too much of a burden. He could relate.

Maybe he needed to drop some of his burden too.

Sighing heavily, he looked down at the ground and searched the mess of prints and dirt-scarred white for something he did not know how to describe. Not quite hope but a reason to keep going. With a voice in his head and mockery behind, there were fewer and fewer reasons to not walk away forever.

"Having fun there, are you?"

Cody's head snapped up and his lips twisted into a scowl. The zebra from the alleyway leaned against a tree, arms crossed across his broad chest. His black and white mane rose from the back of his head and neck in a traditional zebra Mohawk, lips curving in a lopsided smile. The buck shook his head and straightened, searching for his carrier bags amongst the white - must have dropped them, how silly. And the zebra had clearly followed him...

Cody's heart chilled. Had the equine seen him fall like an idiot? Losing his balance like a fawn? He raised his chin defiantly, stifling the urge to swallow. Let him mock, if he dared. Cody's paw curled into a fist.

On the other hoof, it was not him that had been caught sucking off another fur in an alley. The snide joke in his head made him smile and he jerked his head to the side, a cockier glint entering his eye, if but for a fraction of a second. He'd show him.

"Yeah, I was actually," he retorted sharply. "What's it to you?"

"Nothing at all," the zebra answered. "Though it is strange indeed to find another student here so far from Christmas cheer."

Cody barked a laugh, breath frosting and the sound echoing mirthlessly.

"There's not much of Christmas when you're like me."

Cody sighed and rolled his shoulders in a shrug as the zebra studied him.

"That's very negative."

"Welcome to my world."

Cody growled, throat rumbling - an unusual noise for an anthro deer to make. What was the zebra's problem, sneaking up on him? What was his deal, anyway? What if the zebra was after more 'fun' like what he had been having with the panther in the alley, another cock to suck? The buck's eyes narrowed and he snatched up one carrier bag, reaching for the second as he searched for words, anything to get him and his stupid stripes to pack up and leave.

"Shouldn't you be with your buddy?"

Cody did not mean to sound so venomous but he kept his gaze stern. He'd be damned if he would let the zebra take advantage of him. The buck was better than that. He wasn't like him. Had never even done anything, come to think of it. Cody shook himself: it wasn't time to think of that.

Snorting, the zebra shook his head, brushing a bare paw through his short mane. Cody watched his blue eyes as they slipped away from his, shocking in their clarity and most unnatural for a zebra. Holding his paws up to either side as if to make a 'what can you do?' motion, the zebra dropped a conspirator's wink to the buck.

"Never seen him before, never gonna see him again." The zebra grinned. "Such is life and such are my travels. Name's Nick. What do they call you?"

"Ass, mostly."

Cody didn't think before speaking and cringed, grabbing the second bag from the ground to loop over an arm. The plastic crinkled obnoxiously as Nick gave a great, big belly laugh that rumbled up from his gut.

"Whereas I am confident your arse is a charming feature, I daresay it's getting quite cold now," Nick countered, a genuine smile brightening his muzzle. "Freezing my bloody tail off here. You want to go somewhere?"

Cody took a step back, ears pricked warily.

"I'm not up for anything like what you were doing...back there," Cody trailed off, unable to force out the exact words he wanted to say. "Trust me, dude, just because I'm hanging around campus on Christmas Eve doesn't mean I'm desperate. Or that I swing that way," he hastened to add. "Only trying to get by. As you do."

The zebra waved a paw dismissively, turning his muzzle away with what Cody could have sworn was a blush.

"No..." He grumbled. "No one was meant to see that. I didn't think anyone would be wandering around at this time."

"So giving a blowjob in an alley was an option?"

Nick raised an eyebrow and grinned, bringing a finger to his lips to wickedly 'shush' the buck.

"It can be, upon occasion," he said evasively, "with the right individual."

He didn't reckon he was about to obtain any straight answers from the zebra, Nick, so he didn't waste his time. Shrugging, the buck half-turned towards his dorm and the beckoning light that he knew still flickered within in the adjoining hallway. It would be a side warmer than outside and the buck shivered, hugging his torso for a scrap of warmth.

Nick stepped closer, muzzle tilted curiously.

"Come on." The zebra extended a paw, smile warming his blue eyes. "Let me buy you a drink. You can't have been going anywhere other than Stoat's Den at this hour, let alone on Christmas Eve."

Cody sighed.

"I can't drink, I'm eighteen. Worked too hard to get here to risk that now. You should know that. Some don't care but I fricking do."

"Who's going to book you on Christmas Eve?" Nick cajoled, ears drooping in faux sadness. "You'd leave a poor zebra out in the cold all alone?"

Cody chuckled unwillingly at his antics. He was a character, it had to be said.

"If a drink was all it was - and you were buying - then it wouldn't matter, but I'm not getting past anyone with half a brain. There's no ID and no wallet on me."

Nick ran a finger down the flat of his muzzle as he considered. Cody tried not to think of what that muzzle had been doing only a short time ago, putting his resulting shiver down to the cold and not the unwelcome warmth coursing through his abdomen.

Behave...

"I'll get you in and buy you a drink," the zebra said after an elongated pause. "If it makes you feel any better, I'm twenty-one, so of the legal age in your country. I forget that it's not eighteen over here sometimes."

He hesitated, rubbing his forearm through the thick, grey coat.

"Sound okay?"

Digesting this and wondering over the zebra's accent, the buck nodded, Nick already walking away with a swish in his tail. By the time he returned absolutely to his senses, he felt he had no choice but to follow and did so with a dipped muzzle, trotting to catch up and speculating what exactly he had gotten himself into.

They strode through campus in companionable silence, heading towards the outskirts where Cody knew the bar Nick had mentioned was not far. Alcohol was not served at the present time on this campus as it was too great a temptation for underage students, though venues outside were less scrupulous, or so he had heard. Cody hadn't drank alcohol for a long time and even the thought of having a friendly drink bought for him was warming.

"I wasn't going to the bar, you know," Cody said as he walked alongside the zebra. "I really don't have my wallet on me."

"Oh? Then what were you out at this time for?"

"Laundry." Cody chuckled. The notion of doing laundry and becoming so frustrated now seemed absurd with this companionship. "Was all locked up though."

"Mm, that's not a surprise, though I'm sure it would have been useful."

The zebra tilted his head, expensive hoof-boots treading down hard packed snow.

"You never told me what your name was, you know."

"It's Cody," the buck admitted as if parting with a great secret.

"That wasn't so hard now, was it?" Nick grinned and bumped the buck's shoulder with his, juddering Cody off balance. "Not going to get into your national insurance or anything, don't worry."

"National insurance?" Cody's brow furrowed. "What's that?"

"Ah, I'm sorry - I forget the terms sometimes," Nick slid his gaze away thoughtfully. "I think it's similar to your social security... I can't remember. I'd have to look it up."

"You're definitely not from here then?" Cody prodded tentatively.

"Nope! British." The zebra chuffed. "You didn't get the accent?"

"I'm not too good with accents," the buck chuckled shyly, a blush colouring his cheeks. "Hope I didn't offend."

"Not at all."

Following the zebra's lead, Cody allowed himself to be led further and further from his dorm, eventually leaving the bounds of campus. Stoat's Den was down a side street, ideally placed for sly students, with an illuminated, tacky neon sign outside depicting the name. All but one neon pink dot surrounding the yellow place name was burned out, leaving it appearing forgotten amongst the silently falling snow.

The flakes were smaller now and Nick stepped ahead of Cody to hold the door open, muzzle bowed gracefully as the buck stepped past him into the stuffy interior. Resting his paw on the buck's arm, Nick guided him with the lightest of touches through the near empty bar, strewn with beaten up tables and chairs and a stoat - as the name implied - behind the bar with a distrustful look in his eye. Heart pounding, Cody nodded his thanks, eyes carefully averted.

Collapsing into a secluded booth, Nick shrugged out of his coat and tossed it back, watching as Cody slid into the place opposite him. At the back end of the bar, it was quiet enough that they could not discern what the few other patrons were saying, which put Cody at greater ease. The zebra winked.

"What's your poison then?"

Cody scratched his neck.

"I wouldn't know, I don't drink all that much. Rarely. I'll have whatever you're having," Cody fumbled with his words.

"Sure thing."

Sliding easily out of his seat, Nick padded to the bar, clip-clop hooves oddly muted by the boots. Cody leaned out of the booth to get a better look at them, briefly envious of the money behind them. He crossed his cold ankles over one another underneath the round table, rubbing his forearms to warm up as the zebra smoothly collected two pints of beer from the stoat at the bar and returned to the booth.

"Did you miss me?"

Cody raised an eyebrow, making no verbal comment as he leaned back in the booth. He reached for his drink and took an experimental sip, the 'wheaty' taste on his tongue familiar from earlier years when he had been all too keen to down a bottle. He cringed at the memory and took a heftier gulp, soothing his throat.

"Thanks for the drink," he said awkwardly, lifting his paw up from the table as if to make a gesture of thanks that fell short. "It's...nice of you."

"No problem," Nick said, taking a draught of his beer so that a froth of white coated his upper lip. "What actually brings you out on a night like this? I can hardly believe that you traipsed through the snow purely for clean clothes. It's hardly a student requirement."

Cody hesitated. What the hell did he think he was doing? Nick was a stranger, for god's sake. He couldn't fricking say what first came into his mind - it would be lunacy! To occupy himself and buy some time, he drank deeply, the level of liquid in the glass disappearing more swiftly than was sensible.

"What did you mean when you said you wouldn't see that panther again?" Cody dodged the question, pouncing instead on a far more tempting topic. "Are you a one night stand kind of guy?"

"Why, you interested?"

"Nope," Cody snorted, though his eyes gleamed. "I prefer guys with a little more muscle than you."

"Muscle?" The zebra's nostrils flared. "Are you saying I'm skinny? I'll show you muscle!"

Before Cody could correct his ill-timed joke, Nick yanked his t-shirt, emblazoned with a band that the buck didn't recognise, up over his head, muscles flexing. Light glanced off a gleaming striped coat, black and white patterning elegantly over bulging muscle and a rock hard six-pack. Cody stared slack-jawed at the ripped zebra as the proud equine ostentatiously flexed, paws curled into fists so that the hoofed fingertips dug into his palms. Ducking his muzzle provocatively to the side, the zebra smiled so seductively that Cody's breath caught in his throat.

Then a coarse shout interrupted his stare.

"Hey!" The stoat leaned over the bar with a dish cloth in one paw, lips twisted distastefully. "Clothes on in the bar! I don't care what you're on!"

Nick jumped and lunged for his shirt, unable to keep the grin from his lips as he pulled the red fabric back over his head, ears popping out, and shoved his arms into the sleeves. Cody shrank back into the booth, torn between laughter and pretending that he no longer existed and was not embarrassed by being shouted at in a bar.

"Sorry!" Nick whinnied, amusement colouring his tone.

The stoat retreated, muttering about 'kids these days', as Cody and Nick collapsed into stifled giggles, leaning in close like two schoolboys caught at mischief. When laughter retreated, Cody drained his glass, wishing he had another. The warmth of alcohol and laughter stirring his body was a forgotten treat and he shot a look to the zebra, who nonchalantly drank, glass reasonably full.

"What is it about you?" Cody blurted out, shaking his head. "Why are you...like this?"

Cocking his muzzle to the side, Nick's ears pricked up, petals swivelling to attention.

"Are you asking me why I am as I am?"

In the zebra's mouth, the words seemed silly, fawnish, and Cody splayed his paw flat on the table, lips quirking as he thought it through.

"Well, let me think..." He tried instead. "Bluntly, you were giving a cat a blowjob a bit ago. Now you're in here with me." He swallowed. "What are you trying on?"

The zebra sat up, paws resting in his lap.

"You think I'm trying to get you in bed."

"Something along those lines."

In stark contrast to their mirth, uncomfortable silence enveloped their booth, the atmosphere of the bar darkening. With alcohol buzzing through his body on an empty stomach - quick to act - Cody swore that the lights dimmed, if only marginally. Shifting his weight, he tapped the tips of his fingers together, too wound up to sit still for more than a couple of seconds at a time. Nick leaned back with his paws behind his head, looking up at the ceiling. In the quiet, his nostrils flared.

It was unbearable. Cody's heart thudded quicker and quicker, painful against his ribcage, and his breath rasped. Leaning forward as the zebra sat slightly to the side of the booth, he narrowed the distance between them, something in him disliking how Nick moved away.

"Did you follow me?"

Nick hesitated and rubbed the back of his neck, fingers grazing the zebra Mohawk of hair.

"Is it creepy to say that, yes, I did?"

Cody frowned.

"A little. Why?"

He huffed and blew warm air, nostrils flaring again. Cody wondered if it was a sign of lying or a note that he was nervous. It was impossible to tell with a fur that was still a stranger to him.

"The way you shot out of the alleyway..." Nick stroked his chin, the light bristle of hair there. "Now, I don't play around much but usually it's pretty funny to be caught, if it does happen, stupid students and all that entails. But you didn't have the same look as the others. I can't explain it."

He nipped his lower lip and rested his elbows on the table, eyes downcast as if all the life had been sucked out of his body. Nick's earlier joviality was long gone and his muscles trembled lightly as his tail thwapped the table legs, a low, repetitive beat. With the beer further warming his system, Cody found it difficult to remain on edge around the zebra, ears flicking to catch his words. He knew on a deeper level that the conversation was more serious than his fuzzy mind made it out to be, yet could not draw on caution that had once prevailed.

He really shouldn't have drunk on an empty stomach.

"I guess..." Nick spoke slowly, tasting his words before allowing them out. "I saw something of me in you, as cheesy as that sounds."

As if embarrassed, the zebra folded his arms across his wide chest, muscles bulging as he slanted his gaze away, pink tint colouring the cheekbone below his eyes. The buck struggled to take that in, caught between too many thoughts that each demanded attention, too many to keep track of or understand as they flitted by. He could not imagine anyone having as bad a time of it as him. If so...what could have happened? Cody wound his fingers together, throwing any remaining shreds of caution to the wind as he reached out to brush the back of Nick's paw with his interwoven paws for the fraction of a heartbeat. The zebra jumped at the contact and stared wide-eyed, muscles shivering beneath the skin in an equine reflex.

"It's cheesy...but in a nice way," he said, his tone soft. "If you really see yourself in me, I hope it is less and not more." Alcohol loosened his tongue. "I wouldn't wish my life upon my greatest enemy."

Studying the grain of the table, Nick reached out to take Cody's paw warmly in his own, hoofed digits trembling. The buck sat very still, fearful that if he moved even a muscle, he would scare off his new...friend, if he could be called that.

"I would say the same. Sometimes people don't realise what hard times others are going through, though that also sounds corny." The zebra grimaced. "I'm not doing a very good job of this, am I?"

He laughed, colour returning to his tone.

"Either way, I thought I should follow you. And here we are." He raised an eyebrow. "However...perhaps we should not have met while I was indulging my passions behind the student union...maybe."

Cody blinked and clapped a paw over his lips to stifle a girlish giggle - inappropriate!

"It was silly to think that you followed me to sleep with me," the buck said when he regained some control, playing his glass between his paws. "I didn't mean to overreact... I'm sure you get why I did."

"It wasn't too daft to assume," Nick chuckled. "I would never force anyone. It's hard to believe after you've walked in on me like that, but I am selective with my partners. There has to be something special there, a connection. Otherwise it's no fun at all."

His gaze locked with Cody's and the buck pulled his head back, startled by the driving force behind them. He broke the meeting with some difficulty and cleared his throat, brushing his paw across his exposed collar bones.

"Just as well you didn't want to get with me then."

Cody chuckled sheepishly, thrown off guard. He reached for his glass and then withdrew his paw, realising in the next instant that it was empty.

"I've never been with anyone, let alone a guy. If you get around, I'm sure you head for the more experienced type. Not a damn lonely virgin like me."

He licked his lips, clumsier than he would have been normally. Drumming a tune across the table top, Cody hummed to himself, little tail twitching where it could not be seen. His arm nudged the carrier bags of clothes, still waiting to be washed, though he could not find it in himself to care. Let them be unwashed. The Laundromat would open again soon and he would use his last quarters to sort himself out for another couple of weeks, fresh and clean and raring to go. Maybe he would save the dimes for another beer...

He looked up to see Nick studying him with a shy glimmer in his eye.

"Actually, I think you're pretty cute."

The buck started, jerking upright from where he had slowly slumped forward over the table, limbs looser than he would have liked.

"What?"

The zebra held up his paws.

"What do you want me to say? You are cute," he elaborated, smile widening as he gulped hard. "I thought that's a compliment."

"It is..." Cody stumbled, tongue-tied. "But why would you be interested in me?"

"Heh..." Nick clasped his paws on top of his longer muzzle, pulling it down to his chest in an overly coy motion that made Cody's heart leap wickedly. "Not just anyone gets me out of my shirt, you know. Like what I was trying to say - and badly too - I can't explain it. Can anyone? There's something about you, Cody. There's a glow to you."

Tugging at the collar of his shirt, the zebra suddenly scooted across the booth so that his hip pressed to Cody's and, with surprising delicacy, he snaked an arm around the buck's waist. His paw, which had never left Cody's, tightened in a squeeze. Like the typical deer in the headlights, the buck froze, eyes wide and half-glazed over. His mind worked overtime and he shivered, closing his eyes against the onslaught of thoughts, heart pounding and nerves tingling. How was he supposed to act?

"You're alone tonight, aren't you, Cody?"

The buck nodded, not trusting himself to speak. He did not know what he wanted - how could he possibly know what he wanted? All through his life, decisions had been thrust upon him, even the education he'd battled for personally. It had been the only option for him, the only option that let him to keep living. When had he ever had a choice to make himself? Everything was clear and sensible and normal otherwise! He focused on school and making something of himself, not other furs.

Chest tightening, Cody placed both of his paws on the opposite bicep for a comforting squeeze, half a hug. Not quite there. Every past injustice snarled from the shadows, stalking him with gleaming, red eyes. Demons were his everyday and the buck had no idea what could lie in wait on the sweeter side.

And now a zebra with kind eyes and a warm paw sat before him, inviting him closer with unspoken words. Cody trembled.

"If you want..." He hesitated, conflict battling in his eyes. "Only if you want...I could come back to your dorm with you. To talk, to keep you company...or something more."

He held up one finger, throat working as he swallowed with difficulty.

"Only if you want it. I warn you though that, as I said, I will be leaving tomorrow, very early. I don't want to disappoint you, buck."

He squeezed around Cody's waist, chin resting lightly on top of his head. Unconsciously, the buck leaned into the zebra, tilting his muzzle away so that his antlers would not give Nick an untimely clout. There would be no easier way to sour the mood. Decisions still would not come, even after buying himself time. Nausea wracked his innards and Cody steeled himself, curling his free paw into a tight fist. One decision remained untouched. He did not have to do anything. He could have company alone, if that was all he wanted. And his heart had been lonely for too long.

To hell with it...

"I'll..." Words felt thick in his mouth and Cody cleared his throat several times. "You can come back with me. I don't make any promises either. These years have been nothing but failures and promises I couldn't keep."

He grimaced. Cheesy. Nick did not mind and slipped out of the booth with an awkward hop, extending his paw to help Cody up.

"Then let us bid the bar adieu, buck, and make tracks to the place you call home, for now." He rubbed his thumb over the back of Cody's paw. "Maybe some games or a film to watch would be okay for tonight."

Cody's heart pounded as he lead the way out of the bar, cloven hooves clumsy in his haste to leave. What on earth was he doing? His palms were sweaty and he could not make eye contact with the stoat behind the bar. Snow blasted into his face and he shielded his muzzle, squinting to see what little he could. The wind picked up and it would be a trek and a half to reach his dorm, though he did not have the heart to kindly release his company now that the zebra was so willingly trotting behind, crunching through the snow.

He raced across campus without saying a word, the wind sending tears down his cheeks that froze to his short fur. Was the weather trying to work against him? Stubbornly, he hurled his body against the wind, grinding his way through step by step as his curved nostrils flared.

"Hey...easy," Nick murmured, trotting to catch up with the buck. "You don't have to run like the hounds of hell are at your hooves. I'm here. Trying to keep up with you."

The buck glanced at the snow speckled zebra.

"Maybe I'm just keen to get back," Cody said, almost too quiet to be heard over the rising howl of wind.

The zebra smiled gently and rested a paw in the curve of Cody's waist.

"I can keep you warm, sweet buck."

Cody's cheeks heated up and he ducked his muzzle shyly, though made no move to remove the paw, drawing Nick along with his quick pace.

"I can only hope you will."

The dorm loomed ahead and, with the buzz of beer warming his mind if not his body, the buck pushed through the door, towing Nick lightly along with him. The door closed behind and Cody turned sharply, bumping straight into a jacket that smelled softly of cologne, stretched over a muscled chest he hoped to become more familiar with.

Whinnying, the zebra dipped his muzzle a few inches to butt cutely against Cody's, lips a hair's breadth away. In hindsight, Cody would have blamed it on the alcohol but he leaned into the zebra, sliding his jacket impulsively from the equine's shoulders to cradle it in the small of his back, form pressed close. Bumping his muzzle too earnestly into Nick's nose, he mumbled an apology and was caught by a second kiss, tongues brushing intimately and raising heat to the stag's skin.

"Oh, my sweet buck..." Nick nickered when the kiss broke, paw curling possessively around Cody's cheek. "The things I could teach you...but only if you want me to."

He paused, eyes innocently hopeful.

"Would you like that...Cody?"

"Please..." The buck breathed, his lack of words saying more than his lips ever could have.

They stumbled up the stairs in each other's arms, Nick shielding Cody from all the unwanted bumps and scraps that he could. Crashing through Cody's dorm door, the zebra kicked the door shut, paws on either side of the buck's muzzle to kiss him deeply, lips parted for tongues to explore.

In the half-light of the scattered lamps glancing off the snow outside, they undressed one another, Nick struggling out of hoof-boots with a giggle that did not suit him. He kicked them aside to a spot where Cody immediately proceeded to stumble over them, falling into the zebra's arms as if the whole act was intentional. Chuckling tipsily, the buck yanked Nick's shirt up and over his head to show off his abdominals for a second time that evening, this time having the sense of mind to appreciate them. He shyly ran his paw over his abs and up to his chest, lips meeting in a brief kiss that left them moaning softly for more even as Nick took it upon himself to unzip Cody's jacket, throwing it on the floor. For once, it did not matter that his room would be a mess of clothes when there was no roommate - thankfully - to bother them. They had the whole night together, just the two of them. The thought made Cody's heart sing, warmth strumming through his chest.

With trembling fingers, Cody crouched and spread his cloven hooves apart for balance as he unbuttoned the zebra's jeans and tugged them down to his black hooves. The zebra stepped out of them and, when the buck's antlers shook too much to continue straight away, pulled Cody's threadbare t-shirt from his torso, not seeming to notice the holes. Gulping, the buck straightened, self-conscious to be so exposed, and blushed as the zebra slipped off his own boxer-briefs, semi-hard shaft springing free. To give himself something to do and distract himself from his thudding heart, Cody took a deep breath and removed his jeans and boxers in a quick motion as if doing it more swiftly would lessen the nerves.

Smiling, Nick pulled him close for a deep kiss and drew him towards the single bed with the tangled mess of comforter and bed sheets. Before they knew it, the males tumbled nude on to the bed and Cody moaned as Nick kissed down his neck to his chest, lips teasing a path over his pectorals.

"Easy..."

"Come here, buck," the zebra murmured, lips tickling Cody's ear. "Lay back and let me take good care of you, make you feel good."

Hesitating, Cody shivered and hid his muzzle against Nick's neck, his rod of stag-flesh nuzzled into the zebra's abdomen, though it was shy in appearance. Less subtly, the thick, black cock boasted by the zebra slapped his thigh as he moved, paws gentle as they guided Cody's down and invited him to simply enjoy.

"I'm not sure..." Cody blushed, paw lightly stroking the length of equine-meat pressed to his thigh. "I can't 'take' you. I've never done anything like this before." He felt stupid saying it. "You know this...frick..."

"You don't have to," Nick breathed, rolling the two of them over so that he straddled Cody's hips, their shafts pressed together. "Take me. I'm here for you to experience as you will."

Cody wrinkled his muzzle, wondering just how he was supposed to mount the zebra when he was on the bottom. He knew the fundamentals of sex and that was not how it worked...was it? He pressed his lips together as he tried to work it out. The 'mounting' partner was on top, that was it, it was. He shook his head, mind clouded as a paw worked over his cock oh so sweetly; the pleasure made it difficult to think clearly.

"But how can I... Oh..."

How it would work became clear as the zebra shifted up on to his knees and pressed the tip of Cody's flesh-coloured cock with a smooth, rounded head to his tight pucker, ropey tail flipping out of the way. He rubbed it back and forth slowly, lips parted in a breathy moan. Cody briefly wondered how he had ever been so cold in his room before when he now had what could very well have been the hottest zebra in the world preparing to ease down on his virgin cock. The presence of another fur so close did not make him want for heat and sweat gleamed over his collarbone, darkening fur. His heart pounded, blood roaring in his ears as a wave of euphoria rocked him in dizziness, every sensation enhanced.

Luck_could_ come.

"Don't we need...something?" Cody could not force his lips and tongue to form the words.

Sucking his fingers, the zebra shook his head and pushed the digits into his tail hole with that little drop of lubrication. Though his lips twisted in a slight expression of discomfort, Nick drove them in deeper, curling up against his prostrate with a nicker of equine pleasure. Cody watched avidly, eyes wide, and groaned as the zebra ground his cock along the buck's length, pre cum smearing slickly over both hard rods. Nick's eyes burned.

"I'll make do. For you, buck. You're worth it. So very, very worth it."

Moving up, he rested a paw on Cody's chest and grasped the buck's cock, raising it so the tip nuzzled into the very entrance of his tail hole. The buck gripped the zebra's hips in trembling paws and, as the buck rocked back, pushed up into his tight tail hole. He held his breath, not knowing what to expect, and moaned as his shaft was engulfed in hot tightness, the twitching, clenching rump near overpowering. Panting heavily, the zebra slid down, anal ring spreading wider to allow Cody's shaft inside. Though moderately sized, it was more than enough to stretch the unprepared zebra and grind deliciously against his prostrate.

"Are you okay?" Nick paused halfway down Cody's shaft, expression conflicted.

"Better than okay..." The buck moaned and arched, hooves planted on the bed for leverage. "Please, don't stop."

"You control what happens, buck," Nick dropped a kiss on his lips, rolling his hips luxuriously to ease down further. "Take it as you will."

Swallowing, Cody nodded and thrust experimentally, spearing up into the zebra as he trembled, sweat matting the fur beneath his arms. The zebra grunted as he thrust, rocking in time with his clumsy motions as his tail flicked up, wildly swishing from fly to side, though he had no flies to swat away. Twisting, the buck dug his fingers into Nick's thighs and snorted, antlers knocking back against the headboard of the bed as he lost himself, instinct begging him to thrust hard, to breed and spill his seed. To the side of the bed, the carrier bags of laundry lay spilled out over the carpet and the buck chuckled breathlessly at the ridiculousness of their presence. Why had he been so worried? Then again, if he had not gone out in the snow for a wasted trip, he would never have met Nick. And Christmas Eve as it was would never have happened.

Thank God for laundry!

Rolling his head against the pillows, the deer huffed and thrust wildly, getting into the motion and ramming in until his crotch was flush with the striped zebra rump, tail dangling between his legs. The buck shuddered and gasped for breath that would not come, cock pulsing and spurting what felt like far too much pre cum into the tight passage. With every thrust in, Nick groaned and rolled his hips, arching to allow the buck in as deep as possible. Supporting himself with one muscled arm, Nick grunted and trembled, nostrils flaring dramatically to show a flash of red inside as he grew increasingly heated.

The pleasure was too much for an inexperienced buck, however, and Cody gritted his teeth, eyes narrowed as pleasure rose and rose to an uncontainable high. In the dim light of the bedroom, he took in every nuance of the zebra's motion, striving to focus on that above all else to hold off for as long as he could. His body was not to be denied and he clicked his teeth together as his hips jerked, body beyond his control.

"I'm..." Cody gasped, ears pinned back. "Mmmph... Too close... Too soon!"

Words would not come in full sentences but even on the edge of orgasm, Cody wrapped his paw around Nick's forgotten shaft, slippery with the zebra's pre cum. Grinding his cock as deep as he could, Cody did his best to pump the equine length in time with his thrusts, using the copious pre cum drooling down the thick length to smooth the path of his paw.

"Cum for me, buck," Nick whinnied, velvety lips curled back half from pleasure and half to taste the scents on the air, sex flooding his senses. "Fill me! Nice and deep, I want you, oh...I so want you."

His eyes were feverish and Cody grasped the paw that Nick was not using to support himself, winding his fingers between striped ones. The touch gave him courage and the buck panted as he anchored himself, hips thrusting as his tail twitched, a white flash beneath a rump that the zebra had watched from a distance, unnoticed and unheeded for too long before. Though it was a much sweeter treat to give himself up to the buck than to take such a soul, he knew, a sensation that swelled in the warm of his chest.

Stroking swiftly, Cody squeezed behind the flare of Nick's cock, wishing he could give the head a quick lick, just to taste what it was like, pre cum glistening on the tip. He wanted to drive the zebra over the edge at the same time that he lost control, but his own climax could be denied for no longer.

Turning his muzzle into the pillows to stifle his strangled yelp, Cody thrust like a fur gone mad, body beyond his control as he filled his partner's hole with cum, driving in as climax gripped him as if he was a snowflake in the blizzard rising outside. Nick arched as the buck ejaculated, grinding the cock buried in his rump against his prostrate, cock jumping in need. As the buck collapsed beneath him, paw working over his length, Nick tensed and neighed loudly as he too reached his peak­. It was good that the dorm was deserted, not that either of them would have cared.

Flopping back on the bed, the buck groaned as his softening cock slipped from the zebra's rump with a barely audible pop. His ears twitched to catch the sound and he looked down through half-lidded eyes at his paw, covered in the zebra's cum. Blushing, he held Nick's gaze as he brought it experimentally to his lips and licked off the tiniest of tastes. His muzzle wrinkled and his ears shot up straight. As surprising as it was, the strong taste was not altogether unpleasant and Cody shyly lapped up more and more, chuffing as Nick drew in close to him to share the last drops. The zebra's tongue sensually caressed Cody's paw until not a drop of cum remained and their lips met in a kiss that tasted of masculine pleasure.

Cody's front was streaked with zebra cum, painting him with white stripes much like the culprit himself, but he could not bring himself to care as it soaked into his fur. That would be a matter for the morning. He kind of liked having the zebra's mark on him, as he had left his mark inside Nick's tail hole, cum trickling out of a hole that still needed to tighten up. Cody was a little proud of himself. The small amount of alcohol consumed had now left his head and warmth twisted sinuously about his heart. Nick stroked his back, fingers pressing and massaging muscle as the buck sighed and relaxed into him, eyes closing even as he fought to stay awake. Nick would be leaving. He could not sleep.

The zebra tightened his arms around the buck.

"Sleep well, sweet buck. Nothing lasts forever, the bad as well as the good. Rest well and dream of the moment and the moment alone."

He kissed the top of Cody's head as the buck nuzzled into the pillows, one arm tight around Nick's waist.

"Life will come better. I promise."

*

Weak winter sunlight cast a rectangle of bright across the buck's muzzle and he rolled over in bed, grumbling to evade it. With an arm flung behind his head, he murmured in half-sleep, rubbed his muzzle and blinked blearily, fighting off the day. His stomach twisted and he knew on the edge of his waking mind that it was Christmas Day and he had to face the morning after the worst best dream he had had in a long time. It had involved a zebra with a smirk on his lips and a tale to tell, while his listening ear quivered intently...

Cody sighed, warm breath huffing over his pillow. His eyes moistened behind lowered lids and the buck wrapped his arms around his torso, squeezing tightly in memory of the dream embrace he had felt so vividly. It had been such a good dream. If only he could return to dreamland. Then everything would be all right again.

Mumbling incoherently, he sat up and rubbed sleep from his eyes with the back of one paw. Stupid dreams. They always made him think that something better could happen but nothing special ever did happen, whatever he did. His lips turned down sullenly and he stared across the room at a scrap of peeling wallpaper. The only good things in life happened to those who either stumbled blindly into them or had brilliance fall into their laps.

Cody sighed and scratched his antlers. No, he would not think like that today. Maybe his luck would turn if he tried hard enough, faced another day like the zebra had told him to, just before he cupped his chin and kissed his lips so sweetly.

Nostrils flaring, the deer took in the strange scents of the room, unfamiliar in their potency as he regained a greater sense of the waking world. He dipped his muzzle to the bed sheets on the opposite side of the bed and licked his nose to better take in the scents, hardly daring to hope as his paw trembled. That was not his scent. Another prey animal had lain in his bed - scents could not lie!

On the second rickety bedside table sat a sprig of mistletoe and a simple, white envelope with a crisp edge with his name scrawled across the front.

Cody.

It had been no dream at all. Memories of the night before came rushing back one after the other and Cody blushed to think of his first time, catching sight of dried semen streaking the blue duvet, a mark of male pleasure. The buck chuckled and shook his head, smoothing the sheets flat with the palm of his paw. He had never done the laundry after all that.

But the zebra was not there. Nick was not there. Cody cast his eyes down. Had the zebra had enough of him? Had he been used? The tips of his ears tingled with heat, humiliation beating down on him as if he had become the skin of a drum. For a moment, Cody faltered, battling the voice inside that told him that no one wanted him, he would never amount to anything, it was all for nothing. The buck straightened his back, antlers held high.

No. He bolstered his resolve, that inner strength that Nick had spoken off. He was strong inside. Nick had said he was leaving. He knew this and the conclusion of his student programme was the one reason that he had left so early. Shyly, Cody ducked his muzzle down to his chest. The zebra had most likely not wanted to wake him. Or perhaps Nick was as bad at goodbyes as Cody felt he was.

Collecting the letter in one paw - to his mind, it couldn't be anything else - Cody pressed it to his chest, not yet daring to open it. That would take greater courage after at least one coffee, but he was confident that it would be found. He only needed a little time to digest the enormity of what had happened, the loss of his virginity and crying on to Nick's shoulder. The buck's tail twitched and the beginnings of a grin pulled at his black lips, a smile for Christmas Day that could not be contained by the sorrows of days past.

He looked out the window to where a fresh layer of snow blanketed the ground, pure where he had last stomped across its pristine surface. The buck beamed at the day and sprung from bed, flinging the windows open and leaning out into the cold arms of the deserted campus. For the first time in more months than he could count, the buck felt positive, letter clutched in his paw like a lucky token. Even if Nick was gone, perhaps for a very long time, he knew one thing with waking clarity.

The future was there for his taking. He brushed his lips over the envelope in a chaste kiss and broke the seal with the gleam of life in his eye. The zebra had been right. One day, he would show him that.

Merry Christmas, Nick.