Bridget awoke with a soft groan interrupted by a yawn. She could feel a weight in her guts. She rolled quietly out of the bed she and Marcy had shared for twelve days and stepped into the en suite bathroom. She turned the knob to close the door silently so she didn’t disturb the still-sleeping raccoon and sat on the sci-fi toilet to relieve herself. She let out a long sigh as she did so, tapped a button for the bidet to clean up, and then stood up to stretch. The toilet startled her by flushing itself a moment after she finished stretching and she snickered at herself. She muttered into the quiet room, “You would.”

Bridget carefully opened the door and walked back into the bedroom. Marcy had rolled onto her stomach, taking half the comforter from Bridget’s side with her. Bridget rolled her eyes with a small smile and found her gaze drawn to the bedside drawers. Marcy’s favorite toy is in there… The pig tapped her fingers together with a naughty thought, stifling a giggle with her hand.

She inched the drawer open cautiously, just enough to withdraw the glass dildo still held in its leather strap-on harness. Once she had it in hand and had the drawer closed, she stepped out of her pajama pants and into the harness as she had seen Marcy do three times before. Bridget had to adjust the sliders and buckles to accommodate her much thicker thighs and wider hips, but she eventually got the thing in place. She shimmied her hips to make the glass bounce and whip around, snickering quietly to herself. After playing with it for a minute, she got back into the bed with her lover and untangled the raccoon from the blanket so she could properly snuggle up to Marcy.

The raccoon took a long breath and smacked her lips, draping an arm over Bridget still in the stupor of sleep. Marcy scooted herself onto Bridget’s side and gave a confused little sound. Marcy muttered, “No pants?”

Bridget stroked the back of her lover’s head and shushed her gently.

Marcy buried her face in Bridget’s neck and slid her draped arm down to the pig’s hips. Her fingers caught on the straps and metal bits and she let out a sleepy chuckle and asked, “What’s this?”

“A little something,” Bridget deflected, taking Marcy’s wrist and setting her palm against the glass shaft. Marcy wrapped her fingers around it with a pleased murmur and gently pulled and pushed it against Bridget’s pelvis, getting the angle right onto her pubic bone every so often. Bridget softly huffed out each time Marcy hit the spot.

“Feeling some kind of way this morning?” Marcy licked into Bridget’s neck and then placed a suckling kiss, definitely awake now, moving the glass back and forth instead of up and down.

Bridget giggled, wiggling her hips playfully, “Maybe. What if I am?”

Marcy laid on her side and leaned over to kiss Bridget properly, parting their lips to meet their tongues. She kept one hand working the glass shaft into Bridget’s pelvis while the other massaged her tits in turn, finishing with a firm pinch to each nipple. Bridget arched her back into the pinches, murmuring a quiet, “Yeah,” into Marcy’s mouth each time. The raccoon kissed her way down her lover’s body, tracing her fingers along the pig’s sides sensually. She stopped when her face was just above the harness, reaching up to toss the blanket off them both.

Bridget worked the buttons on her pajama shirt open and just let the fabric fall off her chest to expose her skin to Marcy. She looked down her own body at Marcy, who touched the glass dick with her lips a few times. Bridget snickered, unable to feel it the same way Marcy did but still enticed by her lover’s play. Bridget murmured, “Don’t tease my dick, babe… I don’t tease yours.”

Marcy smirked and slid her tongue down the bottom side of the toy, taking the head into her lips and moaning against it. She worked her lips and tongue up and down, her eyes fixed on Bridget’s. The pig felt her chest get hot despite being exposed. Every time Marcy went down the pressure on Bridget’s pubic bone stretched deeper into her body, blazing through her hips and up her spine. She gripped the sheets and picked up her hips in rhythm with her lover’s pace.

Bridget breathed, “Ohhh babe… Ohhhnnn, right there…”

Marcy kept up the pace but slid a finger under the harness and inside Bridget. The raccoon curled her fingertip against the front of Bridget’s body, pressing inside against outside and closing her lips tighter to make the glass cock press harder into her clit.

Bridget fell against the bed, unable to pick her hips up as an orgasm took control of her lower body hardly a minute later. She whined out a moan, bunching up the fabric and feeling the warmth flood through her legs and head. She opened her eyes again as she felt Marcy’s weight on her torso as her lover returned to kiss her lips.

“Better?” Marcy asked coyly.

Bridget nodded, wrapping Marcy up in an embrace and pecking several brief kisses on her lips and cheeks, “Mmmhmm.”

“My turn?” Marcy had a gleam in her eye.

Bridget released her lover after another wave of pecks, “Sure.” She reached for the straps but Marcy took hold of her hands.

The raccoon bit her lower lip, “Will you… use it on me?”

Bridget sat up a little more on her elbows. “I’ve never tried. I don’t want to hurt you…”

Marcy kissed Bridget softly, one hand on her cheek. When they separated she cooed, “You won’t.”

Bridget smiled and shrugged, “If that’s what you want, babe. I will try.”

Marcy gave a sultry little giggle, pushed herself off her lover, and turned to face away from her. She bent over her knees, pushing her torso close to her legs, putting her ass in the air and showing Bridget her already wet pussy lips.

Bridget made her way over the bed on her knees and took hold of Marcy’s hips. She ran her hands along the raccoon’s thighs and back up to her ass, planting a firm slap on both cheeks. Marcy gave a startled squeak that dissolved into a moan, her eyes rolling back and her fists grabbing the sheet. Bridget shifted her hips so that the cold glass dick fitted between Marcy’s thighs and slapped her cheeks in turn a few more times, taking hold of Marcy’s tail in the process. Each impact sent a shudder down Marcy’s spine and a high-pitched moan from her throat. After a few more swats, Bridget stroked her rear soothingly, letting her fingertips brush over her lover’s ready sex. Marcy was rolling her shoulders and barely shaking her hips with a love-drunk giggle every so often. “Give me that cock, baby girl. I want you to ruin me…”

Bridget smirked and lifted her hips to touch the glass to Marcy’s pelvis, rocking her hips to tease the raccoon with ineffective movement. “Like this?”

Marcy turned her head to face her girlfriend with an expression of mild disdain. “Mean tease,” she mostly growled.

Bridget stifled a laugh and slid two fingers against her lover’s lips, pressing her thumb onto Marcy’s back hole. Marcy’s mouth fell open and she let her head fall into the bed again with a groaning sigh. Her lover lifted her hips to drag the glass prick between the raccoon’s wet lips a few times to make sure it was warm and slick. “You want this?” Bridget cooed, pulling Marcy’s tail against her to press the glass between her lover’s labia.

Marcy nodded into the mattress with a little whine, “Ye- yes, I want it. I want your dick in me.” She pushed herself against Bridget’s thighs, shifting her back up to try and get the toy inside her. Bridget arched herself backward to prevent that. Marcy pouted, “Baaaby…”

Bridget laid her body over Marcy’s, pressing her bust into Marcy’s back and feeling the glass shaft just barely enter her girlfriend. The raccoon gave a tiny moaning sigh as Bridget sucked in a breath right by her ear to say, “I’m not stopping til I cum.”

Marcy tilted her head back to kiss Bridget’s jaw. “Good.”

As Bridget straightened up she guided the glass dick inside Marcy with a hand on its base. She felt the raccoon go limp with a long breath out and then push back against her advance. Bridget gripped Marcy’s left ass cheek and pushed outward so she could really see what she was doing. Seeing Marcy’s pussy wrapped around the clear shaft set her loins on fire. Bridget let out a little moan herself as she slowly tested the length of the toy against her range of motion. She moved too far back and popped the head out, the toy cock bouncing up once it was free. Bridget aimed it back down with her other hand and once the head was inside again she pulled Marcy by the hips and rammed the glass cock in her to the hilt, a shocked yelp muffled into the mattress.

Bridget was enjoying having power over the smaller woman. She aimed another firm slap to Marcy’s right cheek, and the squeal-moan combination had Bridget slowly pull away and slam back into Marcy’s pussy, forcing the flared base against her own pubic bone this time, and making the pig grunt from the sensation. “Oh babe… I’m gonna enjoy this…”

Marcy giggled and then moaned again as Bridget mercilessly started pounding her hips against Marcy’s ass, driving the cock hard and fast into her lover. The pressure against Bridget’s clit was maddingly short but deliciously intense. She grabbed Marcy’s midsection and bucked her hips again and again, pulling her lover’s body back against herself in pursuit of more pleasure. Marcy moaned, gasped, and cried out a few times but never protested. The pig reached further up and under her lover’s body for her tits, taking hold of each and using them for leverage. The lower angle wasn’t as intense on Bridget’s side but the pressure was more even so she settled into a steady rhythm of thrusting their hips into one another. Bridget sighed and groaned through each thrust.

Marcy reached down between her legs to massage her clit with her fingers, the pitch of her moans rising. “Mmm, fuck me love, fuuckk meee ohhhnnn god.”

Bridget felt Marcy shudder and shake as an orgasm washed over her. Bridget wanted to stop and let Marcy have a breath but an intrusive thought won; she kept thrusting. She straightened up and went back to bucking in roughly from head to hilt, sighing as the intense little pulses on her clit made her eyes roll back in her head. Bridget brought one of her legs forward so she could stand on it to take the strain off her thighs. She kept going for another minute before she started to get tired and a little sore. She leaned over Marcy again and wrapped her arms around the raccoon’s ribcage.

“Wha- heeee!” Marcy squeaked as Bridget lifted her up and walked her way off the bed. She set Marcy down on the edge, hips hanging off the side, and grabbed her calves.

“Needed some leverage…” Bridget smirked and started pounding into Marcy’s body anew. The angle of the glass cock was lower this way and the base rubbed Bridget’s pubic bone for nearly the entire motion. Bridget could finally feel herself building toward climax and sighed deeply, pushing Marcy’s legs back further so she could get in longer strokes. “Babe I’m gonna cum…”

Marcy put her hands on the edge of the bed to steady herself. She smiled up at her lover. “Are you gonna cum inside me?” Marcy murmured with a sly smile.

“Uhh huh,” Bridget groaned, bending further forward and bucking against the raccoon’s hips chasing the edge. She felt the orgasm slip away from her again and whimpered, lowering her hips to change the way the base hit her. Marcy pulled herself a bit further onto the bed and lifted her hips up. Bridget squeaked this time and went into shorter thrusts, barely an inch long, pressing the dick against herself more than into Marcy. “Mu- nn- n- n- n-” Bridget’s eyes rolled back with two final long thrusts and her legs very nearly gave out as she came. The rush of cum sprayed down her legs and a little bit onto Marcy’s thighs and ass.

“God I love that…” Marcy growled.

The glass prick slid out of Marcy as Bridget slowly lowered herself to her knees. The pig laid her head on Marcy’s stomach, reaching out to playfully tweak her lover’s nipples.

“Good morning.”

Bridget laughed out of breath with a little shake of her head against Marcy’s body. “Mmm hmm.”

Marcy stroked her fingers through Bridget’s curls, “What brought this on, love?”

Bridget took a breath and stood up only to let herself fall sideways onto the bed next to Marcy. “I’m not sure. I saw the table, remembered this was in it, I had a naughty thought and decided to act on it.”

Marcy patted her girlfriend’s hand, “Well feel free to wake me up to morning sex more often.”

Bridget started loosening the straps of the harness. Marcy sat up to help. Bridget scrunched up her nose, “I woke you up with boobs in your face, and that led to sex. Does that count?”

Marcy shimmied the harness down Bridget’s legs and stepped off the bed to remove it fully, “Yeah, that counts. Just barely though, because it was coincidental. You were just straddling me naked. Unless you did intend for me to get aroused by you?..”

Bridget snickered and pulled her pajama pants up her legs before jumping back into the bed, “Maybe.”

Marcy rolled her eyes as a smile formed on her lips. She lifted her too-big t-shirt over her head and dropped it at the end of the bed with her clothes from the past three days. “You know,” Marcy said, opening the drawer and stacking her clothes in her arms, “Jack comes back today. So, we’ll have to go back to the other room. Until we decide on our own place.”

Bridget’s face lit up as she selected a pair of leggings from her backpack, “Oooh, I get to meet Jack today?”

Marcy nodded and stepped into the hallway, returning some seconds later for another armful of clothes, still nude. “He should be back around three or four. Gabe dropped him off at the airport and is picking him up. They’ll probably go on a date first.”

Bridget adjusted the waist of her seashell patterned leggings with a bounce, “We should invite them on a double date, in case they weren’t planning something.”

Marcy reentered the bedroom again, stepping over to kiss Bridget’s forehead. “Baby girl, they are planning. Gabriel told us that Monday. Remember?”

“Oh yeah.”

Marcy took Bridget’s hands, “Since we know they do have plans, it’s not good etiquette to try and make new ones with them. We can invite them on a double date next week. Jack won’t be tired from travel since he’s not going anywhere and we can have some time to actually plan something. Okay?”

Bridget nodded once, “Alright. That makes sense. Also I forgot I’m closing tonight.”

“Oh yeah, that too. I’m not on the schedule, so I’ll pick you up after,” Marcy offered, leaning up to kiss Bridget. The pig turned her head to accept. “Bring your bag in the other room when you’re ready. You can put your stuff in the drawers on the far wall with mine.”

“Mkay babe,” Bridget said idly, chin to her chest as she hooked her bra closed. Once she had it on and turned the right way around she picked out a white tunic with tiny braided tassels on its sleeves.

Marcy returned a moment later wearing a tight blue henley and jeans cut-off to capri length. The raccoon remarked, “You look nice, baby girl.”

“Thank you,” Bridget bent her knees in a curtsy. “I didn’t know you had pants that covered your knees,” Bridget teased.

Marcy smirked, “Yeah, this and one pair of work slacks left over from my internship in Roanoke.”

“Internship?” Bridget raised a brow and cocked her head.

Marcy waved a hand to dismiss the thought, “Yeah, I was apprenticed to a start-up bank manager. It was a good job: weekends off, health insurance, the works. But,” the raccoon shrugged, “they got shut down for lying about their stock prices or something. It was super technical and I didn’t read the letters. We got paid out six months and then two days later the place was empty, ready to be rented out to the next business.”

“What does an intern do?” Bridget asked.

Marcy beckoned Bridget toward the hallway with a hand, “Let’s go get breakfast. Uhh, an intern pretty much does whatever their boss wants. It’s kind of like a personal secretary, or at least when you’re someone’s specific intern. You know what, it’s complicated. What I did as an intern was run paperwork between floors, take stuff to the post office, and sign for packages. Sometimes get coffee or bring in lunches.”

Bridget nodded as she followed Marcy out the door, “Like an errand girl.”

Marcy bounced her head as she locked the apartment door, “Yeah, more or less. Twelve bucks an hour to carry stuff around, and not heavy stuff. It wasn’t a bad gig.”

“How come you didn’t try to find an intern job here?” Bridget asked as they left the stairwell and headed for the truck.

Marcy unlocked the doors with her fob, “Because I wanted to cook. Well, I wanted to learn to cook. In Roanoke I had four roommates, one of which was in culinary school. He loved it and would do his homework cooking and recording in the house so we all got to eat kickass food at least twice a week. When I finally got released to my own devices I realized I only knew how to make eggs and sandwiches. I resolved to change that.”

“I’m very glad you did,” Bridget cooed, hugging Marcy and pressing her chubby stomach into her lover’s back.

Marcy snickered and opened her door, “Alright alright, get in. I’m letting IHOP do the cooking this morning.”

Bridget giggled and stepped around the hood, pulling herself up into the cab and closing the door. “What’s Jack like?”

“He’s a dork,” Marcy snarked, but then shook her head. “That’s mean… No, he’s really into science and medicine. He’s a… I’m going to get this wrong, a pathology research… something. I think it’s clinician, but he works for a couple different hospitals putting together training, evaluating new stuff that comes out of research labs and comparing it to existing standards. It's a huge complex job but he loves it. He travels all over to listen to conference speakers and their teams to decide what hospitals should focus on doing or practicing.” Bridget furrowed her brow, and Marcy tapped her hands on the steering wheel, “He decides what doctors should be learning about to best help people when they get sick. He’s like their lesson planner.”

“Ohhh, okay. So, is he a doctor?” Bridget looked out the passenger window for traffic, giving Marcy a thumbs up that it was clear.

“Not officially. He has a master’s degree in biology and from all his work he knows a ton about medicine, but he doesn’t have a doctorate and can’t practice medicine himself. Unless it’s an emergency where any competent person should give aid, but that’s different.” Marcy explained. She turned left out of the lot this time and headed toward the town center.

“But what’s he like?”

“Oh, right. Sorry.” Marcy blew a small raspberry at herself for getting so distracted. “He is actually kind of a square, he doesn’t like to do new stuff without a ton of reassurance. It took literal ages for him to go to a water park instead of a regular theme park, for instance. But, he is very sweet. He took me in in my hour of need, after all. Jack’s super in-tune with people, he understands others’ feelings better than his own.” Marcy smirked, “That trait actually cost him his last relationship. Jack wasn’t honest with his last boyfriend about his wants and ended up incredibly stressed out and couldn’t put himself first enough to be a whole person, which isn’t good for a partnership.” Marcy sighed as she stopped in the left turn lane at a red light. “Jack is smart, and he does care a lot about people in general. He’s a helper through and through, and he’s very charming. He doesn’t know it but he makes connections everywhere he goes. He treats everyone like an old friend, always wants to believe the best in people.” Marcy smiled into the distance and continued, “He was the only guy friend I had growing up who was never gross about me liking girls. I mean, he’d pretend to retch after he came out as gay, but he never made me feel lesser or like an object or a desirous… sideshow. We grew up super close. I love him a lot. I’d probably be a different, much more bitter and prickly person if not for him. I’d be a less severe Joice, I bet…”

“I seriously doubt that.” Bridget said softly.

Marcy let out a short breath, “Yeah, not that bad. But… I’d be different, for sure.”

Bridget reached across the cab to rest a hand on Marcy’s cheek. “I’ll have to thank him twice then. For saving you three weeks ago and for helping make you the woman I love.”

Marcy giggled, turning her head to place a kiss into Bridget’s palm. “I think he’ll appreciate that.”

As the light changed and the truck straightened out down the new road, Bridget pointed down the left side, “I see it!”

“You sure do, good catch baby girl.” Marcy turned the truck left again into the parking lot a few moments later. “What are you thinking you’ll get?”

Bridget smacked her lips for effect, “Stuffed. French. Toast.”

Marcy nodded as she pulled into a spot near the end of the full little lot, “Good choice, good choice.” She turned off the truck and stepped out. Bridget followed a moment later. The two linked hands and headed into the restaurant.

Inside was quite the crowd. There were only a few open tables, all of which still had uncleared dishes from previous diners. Bridget felt her head pang with the urge to clear them. The din of conversation was tolerable, a laugh breaking through as the girls approached the hostess. She was a goat with thin, rounded horns and a white coat. She looked up and smiled warmly, “Hey there!”

“Shelly!” Bridget chimed, reaching around the podium to side-hug her.

“How are you two? Just two?” Shelly picked up two menus.

Marcy nodded once, “Yep, just us. Is it always like this?” The raccoon gestured at the crowd.

“Yes, Wednesday Waffles, it’s five dollars for a plate of three and one protein.” Shelly shook her head, gesturing to a booth where Dane was already sitting. “Emmett will be with you shortly. Dane! Look who showed up.”

Dane looked up from his plate, mouth full and nodded with an energetic wave. He chewed and swallowed while Bridget and Marcy sidled into the booth, Shelly setting their menus on the table and shuffling off. “Hey hey, ladies,” Dane remarked. “How’s life?”

Bridget opened her menu, “Oh it’s good. Hi Dane, do you work here with Shelly?”

“Nah,” the wolf took a small drink of his soda, “I work down at Dr. Keller’s, I’m their phlebotomist.”

“Oh cool,” Marcy nodded, “having breakfast before work?”

“Nah,” Dane shook his head and took another forkful of eggs. “I’m off today, no tests scheduled.”

“Nice, me too,” Marcy added.

At that moment a thick, dark-skinned pig approached their table in a well-pressed shirt and slacks with an IHOP apron. “Hello hello, welcome to IHOP! What can I get started for you?”

Bridget bounced in her seat, “Stuffed French toast! And chocolate milk, please Emmett sir.”

“Excellent choice, sis. And for you?” Emmett looked at Marcy who hadn’t opened her menu.

She smiled, “Coffee, one creamer, and the classic combo with an extra egg instead of meat, good sir.”

“You got it,” Emmett confirmed as he scribbled onto his order pad. “Mistah Dane, are you all good?”

“Yes sir, thank you.”

“Alright, I’ll get this food in and drinks out. If you need me just holler, and if I miss it, holler again it’s a mess today.” Emmett nodded and walked away.

“So,” Dane began after chewing another bite, “what’s the plan for the day?”

“Good question,” Bridget said, turning to Marcy. “What should we do today? Until I go to work, anyway.”

Marcy shrugged, “I hadn’t thought about it yet. Maybe spend some time planning that double date we discussed.”

“Oooohh,” Dane cooed, “Double date with who?”

“My cousin and his boy pause friend,” Marcy clarified with a roll of her eyes.

Dane snorted, “Ah, trying to get them set up properly?”

“No,” Marcy shook her head, quick and short. “My cousin’s just indecisive, that’s all. This guy loves my cousin, properly, but Jack just… he has his hang ups.”

“Aww, well I hope Jack comes around, anyway.” Dane took another drink and got back to eating his food.

Marcy laid her head against Bridget’s shoulder only for Emmett to return with their food hardly twenty seconds later. “Stuffed French for the good gal,” Emmett laid the plate and set down her glass of chocolate milk in front of Bridget. “Classic breakfast for the little lover.” A plate of steaming eggs, hash browns, and a second plate with two fluffy pancakes were laid before Marcy along with a small white cup and the coffee carafe. “Enjoy you two. Dane, still good sir?”

Dane picked up his almost empty cup, “Another Pepper, Emmett my man.”

“Can do, be right back with that.” Emmett returned in short order with a filled glass and poured it into Dane’s now drained one. “Anything else, lovelies?”

Marcy was already shoveling pancake into her mouth. Bridget giggled, “I think we’re good, thank you Emmett.”

“Alright, just holler if you need me but I’ll be back around in a bit.”

“I love him,” Dane admitted after the pig had walked off to another table.

“Oh?” Bridget took a sip and started tearing the French toast into manageable squares with her fork.

Dane nodded, “He’s a great waiter. Good looking, too.”

Marcy snickered with a hand to her mouth to hold in her breakfast. Bridget chewed and swallowed while thinking. “So ask him out. Leave a twenty with your number on it.”

Dane laughed, “Oh my gosh, no. He’s married, Bridget.”

“He is?” Bridget craned her head over the booth to try and see Emmett’s hands.

Marcy took a sip of her coffee to wash down her first few bites. “Ahh, that’s fresh. Love it.” The raccoon patted Bridget’s arm, “You trying to play matchmaker today or just coincidence?”

“You say that people should be happy,” Bridget explained, eating another square. “Am I not supposed to help?”

Dane snickered and downed a quarter of his refilled glass, “It’s not that you aren’t supposed to help, Bridget. It’s more than you’re supposed to help when people ask, not all the time.”

Marcy nodded with another full mouth, “Mmmhmm, mmm.”

“Okay, I see. That’s one of those private things.” Bridget reasoned.

Dane shrugged, “For some people. I’m not actually worried about being single, personally. I want to work out my own life before trying to fit someone else in it. Especially if that someone might have different plans than I do, or whatever.”

“Smart man,” Marcy commented, her pancakes finished and her fork tearing off some egg from the plate.

“What about us then?” Bridget looked at Marcy.

Marcy chewed and swallowed, “We,” she took a sip of coffee, “Mmm, we are working through our shattered lives together, picking up the pieces, sometimes falling apart with someone nearby who understands said falling apart. We are healing and helping each other heal.”

“Yeah, that’s all true.” Bridget took another bite and thought while she chewed. “I think I just wanted more people to have what we have. Or, what I have in you.”

Marcy patted and squeezed her lover’s shoulder gently, “That’s admirable. And thank you for the compliment. People usually prefer to find their own way, though. Like Dane, here,” Marcy gestured to the wolf, “Thank you for that perfect example, sir.”

“Anytime.”

Bridget smiled and shrugged, skewering her last two squares of stuffed toast and eating them. All three had empty plates and Emmett stopped by the table to clear them with a cheery, “Anything else I can get you? Coffee? Dessert for the road?”

Marcy just shook her head, draining the last bit of her cup and passing it to Emmett. Bridget said a small, “No thank you.” Dane dug his wallet out of his pocket and dropped a twenty and a ten on the table. Emmitt tucked the bills into his apron pocket and stepped through the doorway to the back with the dishes.

Marcy plucked her phone case from her jeans and her debit card from the back of it. She laid it on the edge of the table and sat back in the booth. Emmett dropped Dane’s receipt and change by him and picked up Marcy’s card, “Thank y’all so much! Be right back with this one and then y’all have a great day.”

Shelly appeared again, taking off her nametag and sliding into the booth by Dane. “What’d I miss?”

“Not much,” Dane said. “Some philosophy about love.”

“That sounds like very much!” Shelly protested.

Marcy and Bridget laughed lightly as Emmett returned, set down the card and receipt with a, “Top copy’s ours bottom copy’s yours,” and slapped hands with Shelly. “You out, girlscout?”

“I am. Good hunting, little guy, it’s a wrap for me.” Shelly fell dramatically on Dane’s arm with a wrist to her head. Emmett laughed as he headed to the next table over.

“Nice seeing you again,” Dane added while Marcy scribbled on the receipt.

“You two, too,” Bridget offered. “Back to the dorm?”

Shelly gave a drawn out, “Yeeeeesssss-uh.”

“Not me,” Dane answered. “I’m free today so I’m going to Iron Staff to play card games with fellow nerds.”

“What game?” Marcy looked up from her check, flipping it upside down and setting the pen on top so it wouldn’t float off from passing waitstaff.

“Magic.”

“As in,” Marcy narrowed her eyes, “the Gathering?”

Dane smiled and everyone could see his tail wag behind him, “Yes. Do you play, Marcy?”

The raccoon smiled, “I used to. I never had my own deck though, always had to borrow one.”

“You can borrow one of mine,” Dane quickly offered. “What color do you prefer?”

“Dane, are you inviting me to come play with you?” Marcy’s smile became a smirk with a raised brow.

“Yes, that. That’s what I meant.” Dane’s face flushed a light pink, “I get excited.”

The three girls all giggled, with Bridget adding, “It was kinda cute.”

Marcy nodded, “Yeah.”

Dane covered his muzzle with his shirt.

Shelly gently tugged the collar back down, “It’s okay big guy.” She looked at Marcy, “He’s touchy with teasing.”

“Aww Dane,” Marcy reached across the table gently, “I was being sincere. I’m sorry, I didn’t know. If the offer is still good, I’d love to come play. How long is the session going to go?”

Dane shook his hands out, patted his cheeks, and let out his held breath. “It goes until seven.”

“Okay. Soon as I get Bridget into work at four, I’ll come by and play. Is there a buy in or anything?”

Dane shook his head, “No, just the floor space reserved for Magic today.”

“Mkay. Come on friends, let’s let Emmett get some more paying customers in his day.” Marcy stepped out of the booth and stretched so a waitress could get by with a tray. Bridget followed with Shelly and Dane close behind.

Once they were all outside Shelly draped an arm over Bridget’s shoulders. Bridget only then noticed the goat was as tall as she was. “Alright, you girls have a nice day, Dane you have fun at your game. This bitch is going home for an N A P.”

Bridget side-hugged Shelly at the waist, the goat returning the gesture before heading for the side of the lot. She swung her leg over a motorcycle.

“Oh shit,” Marcy quipped, “Shelly’s a badass.”

Dane snickered, “A badass who doesn’t own a helmet.”

“She’s a goat, does she need one?” Marcy asked genuinely.

Dane sighed as Shelly’s bike roared to life. “Yeah, even goat skulls don’t stand up to vehicles all that well.”

“Fair enough. Maybe we get her one for Christmas.” The trio watched Shelly lean and ride the bike hard out of the lot. “Okay yeah, that looked worse than it probably is.”

“She’s been riding all her life,” Dane wrung his hands. “I try and take comfort in her expertise.”

“I stand by my assessment of badass, then.” Marcy nodded and faced back to Dane, “You asked what color I prefer, yeah?”

Dane nodded.

“Green or white.”

“Okay, okay. I see you.” Dane said. “I think I have something for that.”

Bridget spoke up, “Marcy?”

“Yes love?”

“Can I play the game too? Is it three players?”

Dane’s tail practically slung back and forth, “Of course you can Bridget. I love bringing in new players.”

“Okay,” Marcy nodded. “You heard the man. Dane? Is it okay if she rides with you over to Iron Staff and you can start giving her the basics?”

“Sure! Bridget, would you be okay with that?” Dane pointed toward his little white sedan.

“That’s fine with me. This is exciting!” Bridget shuffled her feet in a little happy dance.

“Alright,” Marcy clapped her hands once, “I will see you two over there. I have to stop and get gas.”

Dane shrugged his pointing shoulder, “I mean, I probably should too. Fill up across the street there and then go?”

“Sure.” Marcy bowed and headed for her truck, “See you in a moment.”

. . .

Marcy sat in her truck and turned the key. I’m so proud of her. The raccoon smiled to herself and backed out of the spot. Dane’s car had been closer, so he and Bridget had already crossed the lanes and gotten to a pump. Bridget was leaning over Dane’s passenger side, nodding to whatever Dane was explaining. Marcy checked the street and drove across, parking near pump six. She got out and just slid her card to pay at the pump and pressed the button for mid grade. She opened the door to her tank and stuck the nozzle into the hole, the cap having been lost long ago. She overheard Dane explaining tapping mana and smiled. “You know,” she muttered, “I hope I remember all the rules…”

The raccoon checked her phone to see the time was just before noon. She flicked through her Facebook feed while waiting for the fuel to stop flowing. She happened to see a local ad for Gabriel’s business just as the sharp thunk of the mechanism signaled her tank was filled. Marcy gave the ad a Like without a second thought and put the fuel line back in its place. Dane and Bridget were already gone as Marcy climbed back in the truck.

Her phone chimed with a text alert from Bridget. “This game has a ton of rules.”

Marcy laughed and turned the key, replying “Yes it does baby girl. Yes it does.” After thinking for a moment Marcy sent a second message, “Don’t worry, we’ll walk you through things as we play, too. MTG is a complex game for sure but it’s also fun.”

The drive to Iron Staff Gaming was quiet. Marcy swiped through her phone to play a song when she was about two streets away, cursing herself for forgetting music. Bridget was standing in the parking lot near Dane’s car. A second later the wolf stood up with his arms full of two big, flat, white boxes. He hip bumped his car door closed and the two headed for the door. Marcy parked toward the back of the building next to a fence and hopped out herself. She pranced up to the shop door with a little more excitement than she thought she would have.

Inside the shop were dozens of LED lights shaped like lanterns, the light shone through their bases toward the floor. There were cardboard cutouts of all sorts of pop culture characters standing in various corners or at the ends of shelves filled with games Marcy couldn’t read the titles of from the door. She stepped further in, seeing a few staircases leading upward to a second landing where she could hear people walking and tamping their feet. She caught sight of Dane and Bridget sitting down at a mostly empty long table toward the center of the place. Dane’s boxes made a deep thump as he set them on the table. Marcy made her way over, pulled the chair next to Bridget to the end of the table, and sat down.

The raccoon tapped the top box with her fingers, “So these are full, full, huh?”

Dane shimmied the lid off the box which had four lanes of cards stuffed end to end. “Oh yeah. These are spares though. Duplicates, and a lot of land.” The wolf set the lid down again and swapped the boxes to open the second. “These,” the second box was filled with smaller boxes, each of which bore the elemental symbols of the game’s mana, “are ready-made decks, tweaked or built by yours truly.”

“Let’s play!” Bridget shuffled in her seat.

“Of course. What color do you want, Bridget?” Dane patted the edge of the box.

Bridget put a finger to her chin, “Mmm, red.”

“Good choice,” the wolf plucked a box that had both the red and black symbols on it. “This one is just red, I was broke when I made a few of these and couldn’t get boxes at the time. Marcy? Green white still?”

Marcy fingered a box with red, white, and blue on its top, “What about this one?”

“That’s a Sevinne commander deck. It’s for a more advanced rule set,” Dane explained. Maybe next time, though.”

“What’s the difference?” Marcy asked.

“There’s a hundred cards in there instead of sixty, and some other rules and a new damage type.”

Marcy picked up one of the smaller boxes the size of the one Dane had lent to Bridget with green and black symbols on it. “Ah. This one?”

“You’ll like that one, I think. We won’t, but you will.” Dane snickered.

Marcy sat down and went to shuffling the cards through her fingers, cutting and rebinding the deck fairly skillfully. “Have any questions about the rules, Bridget?” she asked.

The pig shook her head, looking through the cards she’d been given and then asked, “What’s double strike mean?”

Dane was already shuffling another deck himself, with blue and red symbols on its box. “Double strike lets your creature hit before other creatures in combat and also hit them again. It’s a really strong ability.”

Marcy finished randomizing her cards and set the deck down near Dane. “We cut or no?”

Dane scoffed, “Oh yeah we do,” and took a third of the cards off the top to place underneath the rest. “Especially for this deck.”

Bridget fumbled the cards and spilled a good chunk of them onto the table. “Ah man…”

Dane and Marcy both helped her pick them up. Dane said, “All good, Bridget. It happens. We’ll call that a shuffle, and you can cut her deck, Marcy.”

“What’s a cut?” Bridget asked.

“It’s this.” Marcy took a finger’s worth of the cards off the top of Bridget’s stack and placed them underneath the deck. “It’s to prevent people who stack cards from being able to do that as effectively.”

“Oh, okay. So I get to cut Dane’s, right?”

Dane nodded and slid his stack over to her, “Sure do. Go for it.”

Bridget picked up a single card and slid it underneath his deck with a smile.

Dane laughed, “That counts, let’s do this. Seven cards and I’ll go first so Bridget can see how two turns operate before she tries.” The wolf picked up his cards, then drew an eighth.

Bridget stammered, “He- uh- he- wh-”

“That’s the one for his turn, baby girl.”

“Oh yeah. Sorry.”

The trio spent two hours playing one game. Bridget asked many questions about the cards on the table. Dane had forgotten to get them counters for their life totals so when Marcy first attacked Bridget he used an app on his phone. The game went back and forth for a while, Marcy and Dane somewhat ignoring Bridget as a threat. By the time they started taking Bridget seriously, she had three powerful dragons on the field and an artifact that gave all three powerful extra abilities. Bridget swept the board with her two opponents having weakened each other.

“Good game,” Dane said, reaching over the table to shake hands in turn. “Well done Bridget.”

“Thanks, but I feel like you two kind of let me win.” Bridget observed. “You didn’t even attack me.”

“That’s true,” Marcy agreed. “She did have a four four flier kinda early. I think we played baby mode accidentally.”

Dane nodded, gathering up the cards from his deck, “You might be right. But, I didn’t have anything to challenge it with for a while. And by then you had ten elves on the board.”

“True. Well, we’ve got time for one more. Bridget?” Marcy gathered up her cards and began shuffling them again.

Bridget shook her head, “I want to have a look around. This place is interesting.”

“Okay. Do you want me to come with you?”

Bridget shook her head as she stood up, “You can stay and play. I’ll be back.”

Marcy nodded and moved her chair back where it went, plopping down into Bridget’s seat across from Dane. “Alright big guy, you n me. Elves versus sea monsters.”

“Actually it’ll be elves versus vampires.” Dane smirked.

Marcy held out a fist, “See who goes first?”

Dane held up his fist, “Sure. On scissors. Ready?” Marcy nodded, “Rock, paper, scissors!” Dane spread two fingers. Marcy flattened her hand.

She cursed, “Shit. Alright, cuts when ready.”

Marcy and Dane’s duel ended up running longer than the last. So long that Bridget returned and sat down next to Marcy with a plastic bag holding something she’d purchased.

“Whatcha got there?” Marcy asked. “Turn.”

Bridget withdrew a pair of books. “The basic rules for Dungeons & Dragons.”

Dane and Marcy looked up at one another and then at Bridget. Dane smiled from his cheeks.

Marcy raised a brow. “I didn’t know you were interested in D&D.”

“It was a while back, there were a pair of girls in the hostel that talked about it all the time, I think it was my second year there,” Bridget explained. “It sounded like a ton of fun, but I forgot about it til I just saw the books over there.”

“Talk about a game with a lot of rules,” murmured Dane. He laid down a land card before speaking up, “I’d love to play D&D again. We had a club in high school, but that’s been ages ago. Feels like, anyway.”

“Right,” Marcy quipped. “I’ve never played. I know Jack has, though. Maybe we already have four then.”

“That kicks ass,” Dane said, tapping all his creatures to attack. “Fifteen, Marcy.”

The raccoon checked her phone and then nodded at Dane, “Good game. I gotta get this one,” Marcy patted Bridget’s knee, “to work. I will be back though. Cool?”

“So cool. See you later, Bridget. And, heck yeah on D&D, for me.” Dane stood up and offered her a hug.

Bridget smiled and embraced the wolf firmly. “Looking forward to it, big fella.” She let go, clapped his arms gently, and turned to her girlfriend, “Alright, let’s go. Got hungry people waiting on me.”

“Yes ma’am,” Marcy jumped up. “Oh, one sec.” The raccoon patiently gathered up Dane’s cards and slid them into their box with a small pat to close it. “There we go. Dane, I like this one. I’ll be back, twenty minutes tops. You want anything?”

Dane waved her off, “No thanks, I’m good.”

Marcy took Bridget by the hand and headed for the door. “How much were those books anyway?”

“Forty each, discounted for buying them together.”

Marcy raised a brow, “Well they do explain how to play a game that you really only need notebook paper for.”

Bridget held the door and skipped over to Marcy’s truck after. Marcy unlocked it for Bridget and climbed in herself a moment later. She started the truck and swiped through her phone to play some music. Bridget said nothing for nearly half the ride, reading through her new source books instead. About halfway to the restaurant, at a red light, she piped up, “I like Dane.”

“He’s a neat guy,” Marcy agreed.

Bridget looked up, watching the cars around them stop. “Do you like him?”

Marcy tilted her head slightly, “Yes. What’s on your mind, baby girl?”

Bridget thought for a moment. “Can we go on a date with him?”

Marcy snickered, “Wh- what?”

“A date.”

“No, I heard what you said. I should have asked, are you serious?” Marcy turned the truck right.

Bridget held her chin in thought, “Well, people always say, “it takes a village,” and I know that’s about raising kids, but why not just… have a village anyway?”

Marcy pursed her lips and nodded slowly, “People usually call that polyamory. Do you feel like you’re polyamorous, Bridget? You think you could share a loving, romantic relationship with more than one person?”

“Yes,” the pig nodded. “Meeting Dane didn’t make me love you less. But I like him, too. It’s the same kind of comforting warmth in my body.”

It was Marcy’s turn to think for a while. I’m not against the idea. I don’t know if I like Dane partner-wise, but I have attachment issues she doesn’t. I don’t want to be a limitation for Bridget. Maybe… Marcy cleared her throat as she turned into Carlo’s parking lot. “I’m not opposed to having a date with Dane. But, he has to agree to it. And we have to be honest with him about the whole ordeal.”

Bridget smiled warmly, “Okay babe. We will.” Bridget snagged a white button down shirt from the back seat and draped it over her arm. “I love you, Marcy.”

“I love you too.” The raccoon leaned across her truck to kiss Bridget softly. “Have a good shift.”

“Mkay!” Bridget slid out of the truck and skipped into the front door.

Marcy backed out and guided her truck back into traffic, headed back to the game shop. “Become a throuple, eh?” she muttered to herself. Marcy laughed quietly, “I bet he’d like using the strap on us.” She slapped her own hand gently, “That’s stereotyping, Marceline, you’re better than that. Get your mind right, you’re going to see him in like ten minutes.”

She noticed the books were still in the bag on her seat, so she reached over while at a red light and put them gently on the floorboard. She turned up her music and tried to spend the rest of the drive thinking of nothing. Thoughts of inadequacy drowned out the songs, but Marcy fought them fiercely. No, this isn’t about me. Bridget’s poly, or might be, and it’s normal to have a lot of love for more than one person. Marcy nodded each time she mentally recited her rebuff to the intrusive thoughts. She turned back into Iron Staff before too long and turned off the truck just to sit there for a moment in the sudden silence.

“Am I okay with this?”

Marcy put her head against the window and picked at a bit of the peeling leather of the steering wheel. “It’s not less for me, it’s more for her. As long as I don’t get pushed back, and no one keeps any secrets, I can live with this.”

She let herself out of the truck and locked it with the fob. A pair of ferret girls wearing Marvel shirts held the door open for Marcy as they were leaving. “Thank you,” she said kindly as she walked in. Dane was sitting in the main table area, intently looking at his hand of cards. Marcy sidled through the chairs to stand behind him and put her hands on his shoulders. “Are ya winning, son?”

Dane jumped slightly at her voice and then snickered, “I am not.”

A tiger girl across from him gave a toothy grin, “He’s hanging in there. It’s all in the draw, now.”

Marcy watched Dane pick up his next turn card. Ruinous Ultimatum. She let out a quiet, “Mmhmm,” but Dane shook his head.

He turned back and Marcy leaned down so he could whisper, “I need my abilities on the field. I’ve got one more chance or this is over.”

Marcy pursed her lips and patted his shoulder, whispering back, “Good luck.”

Dane put down a land card and said, “Turn.”

A squirrel with glasses and a black hoodie on drew a card and let out a long breath. He put his hand on top of his deck, “I forfeit.”

Marcy looked down and saw he only had a few mana, compared to Dane and the tiger’s ten each. “That sucks,” Marcy muttered.

The tiger drew her card and tapped four mana, placing down another creature card. “Four six menace. Minus him, twelve at you good sir.”

Dane shuffled around his own creatures, “I block the six and both twos, these are gone, and take two.”

The tiger shrugged and tapped two more mana, “Miracle, any two creatures put into a graveyard this turn return to the battlefield under my control.”

“Ah damn…” Dane handed her his two cards. “Good game, play it out if you want.”

“Nah, I’m good. Good game, wolf guy.” She offered a handshake.

Dane smiled and took it, “Nice play, Kara, right?”

“That’s me. See you around?”

The wolf nodded, standing up with his boxes, “For sure.” He turned to Marcy, “Do you wanna play again?”

Marcy followed Dane out of the table lane, “Sure. One more can’t hurt.”

There weren’t any empty tables left so they settled on playing on the floor near the end of a shelf filled with sale-priced books and figures. Dane handed Marcy a different little box, “Try this one. It’s mono-white but I think you’ll like it. It’s creatures like green with pure white spells so it’s easier to play through.”

“Ah cool, thanks.” Marcy opened the box and shuffled the cards. “Dane, may I ask you a personal,” Marcy lowered her voice, “non-trans question?”

The wolf raised a brow while he rifled cards through his fingers, “Yeah, sure. What’s up?”

“How would you describe your identity?”

He stopped mid-motion for a moment and then continued. “Like, bi, gay, and whatnot?” Marcy nodded. “I usually just say I like girls. Which is true, too, I use that answer to keep some dicey family members from asking a billion questions. But, if I had to be specific, because a friend was asking: bisexual, probably demisexual.”

“Mkay, mkay,” Marcy said, setting her deck on the carpet so Dane could cut it. “I’m pan, myself.”

“Why do you ask?” Dane cut the deck and placed his own for Marcy.

Marcy separated the cards and quickly assembled them, “Just curious. Do you happen to know a Clydesdale named Gabriel?”

“Why? Does he think I’m cute?” Dane drew his seven cards and laid his phone between the two of them to use the life counter app.

Marcy drew her cards, “No, he’s a friend of ours, and a bit of a community leader, I just wondered if you knew him.”

“Can I ask you a question after this one, Marcy?”

The raccoon snickered, “Sure. Also you can go first.”

“Thanks.” Dane put down a land card. “Is Marcy short for something?”

“Yes. It’s short for Marceline.”

Dane nodded, “I thought so. Marceline Alred, by chance?”

The raccoon raised a brow, “How did you know that?”

“We went to school together one year.” Dane explained. “You transferred to Heathmore, right? Tenth grade.”

“Holy shit, that’s right.” Marcy laid her hand down carefully and smacked the carpet to lean forward. “There were only a handful of wolf kids there. And only three in tenth.” Dane nodded. “And only one girl.” Dane nodded again, blushing fiercely. “Ahaha! That’s awesome! It really is the smallest damned world, isn’t it?”

“Sometimes. Do you remember her name?”

Marcy shook her head gently, “Sorry to say I don’t.”

“That’s okay. Your turn, by the way.” Dane rubbed his cheeks with his forearms in turn against his burning flush.

“Oh, right.” Marcy drew and played her turn before continuing, “Turn. We never really hung out though. I think we had math and geo together, right?”

“Mmmhmm.” Dane picked up a card and blew out a long breath, ruffling his land cards. “Yeah. We didn’t hang out because I was an awkward dork who thought you were really cute and didn’t have the courage to say anything.”

Marcy sat back a bit more, stunned. She composed herself as Dane looked up, a fresh red tint in his cheeks. Marcy fanned herself with the Magic cards, “And… what about these days, hmm?”

Dane gave a tiny nod, “Yeah. Don’t tell Bridget. She could probably kick my ass.”

Marcy laughed a little louder than she meant to. She held a hand over her muzzle until she could compose herself. “I’m sorry. I’m laughing at the thought of Bridget fighting. Anyway, this is extra hilarious, because…” Marcy scooted in, plucking the deck up and moving it aside, “You cannot tell Bridget what I’m about to tell you. It was supposed to be her thing. Okay?” Dane nodded again, eyes fixed on the raccoon. “She wants to ask you out on a date.”

“What? Really? Why?” Dane’s flush spread all the way up his muzzle to his forehead.

“Oh my god you’re adorable,” Marcy quipped. “Because she likes you, and she might be polyamorous.”

“What… What did you say to that?”

Marcy explained, “I said that as long as we were all honest with each other the whole time I didn’t mind.”

The wolf brought his knees to his chest and hugged them. “I mean… I… I- I uhh- I’m flattered. I mean, gender euphoria, cute girl asks, or wants to ask, me out. Cool. But… Did she say anything else?”

“Not really. You think she’s cute, too?” Marcy smirked.

Dane loosened his hold on himself, “Yeah. That’s like half of why I was so shy at the lake.”

Marcy slapped her own forehead, “Would you believe I never considered that possibility until you said that just now?”

“Heh, happens to the best of us.” Dane relaxed again, careful not to disturb the cards or decks. “So, what do we do with all these revelations?”

“Do we have to do something with them?” Marcy crawled over their game carefully. Dane went wide-eyed and began inching back on his hands. Marcy caught up easily and froze maybe three inches from the wolf’s face. She heard Dane swallow. “We use the same body wash,” she cooed.

A fresh, fiery red inflamed Dane’s entire face. He stuttered, “I- I- th- think y- your- you’re r- right.”

“Dane…” Marcy murmured, “you don’t think I’m going to betray my girlfriend for even a second, do you?”

“W- wel- When you- put it like that…”

Marcy looked around the store and saw not a single pair of eyes on them. She closed another inch to get eye-to-eye with him. “Good. Is this too much?”

“Maybe. No. Mm… A little? No.” Dane squinted his eyes shut for a moment. He breathed in through his nose to steady himself. “I- if we do go on a date, or some- some dates. Then I should be- should be alright with being close to you. Both of you. Right?”

Marcy sat back again. “That’s up to you. It’s your body, Dane. You can rest assured that neither myself nor Bridget will intrude on that.”

Dane brushed off his shirt and then opened his eyes again. “Marcy…”

“Dane?”

The wolf coughed lightly and shook his head, “You have coffee breath, girl.”

Marcy huffed into her palm and smelled it. “Oh shit, I do. Sorry about that. Didn’t think about it.”

Dane smiled, “It’s fine. Not a big deal. Just thought you should know.”

“Thanks. Who’s turn is it?” Marcy slid her cards back into position.

“Yours,” Dane confirmed, moving his things back as well.

The game was anticlimactic, as Dane played a card that allowed him to choose both his and Marcy’s attackers and defenders, handily finishing off his twelve life lead. Marcy shook Dane’s hand again, “Good game. That’s a bullshit card, but good game.”

“Yeah, it’s nasty.” Dane checked his phone and saw it was just after five thirty. “I’m getting hungry. Is Carlo’s any good? We can go see Bridget and tell her we met in school ages ago.”

“Yeah, it’s good. It’s Mexican, pretty hard to screw that up.” Marcy handed Dane his deck and stood up to stretch. She checked her phone and saw a text from Jack timestamped for four forty-five. “I’m on the ground in Richmond. Should be back around 7.”

Marcy sent back, “Are you meeting Gabe tonight?” She looked back to Dane, “My cousin. But yeah, I’m down. You’re looking at fifteen to thirty bucks, depending on your tastes.”

“Could be worse. Let’s go, I’ll meet you there.” Dane twirled his keyring on his finger, the card boxes held under the other arm.

Marcy held the door open for Dane, “Sure thing. Park in the back, it’s easier to get out that way.”

“Hey thanks. See you there!”

The drive was uneventful, and Marcy’s usual spot was open in the back. Dane had beaten her there by enough time that he was opening the door as she pulled in. She pulled open the door and smiled at the host, “Benji!”

A wide hippo man wearing his company polo and slacks slapped the podium, “Marceline, what’re you doing in here, girl? You’re not welcome here on your days off!”

“I’m here to eat all the food out of your dumpsters,” she snarked, walking up to slap hands with Benji.

“I bet you are. Checking on your girl?” Benji winked.

Marcy shook her head, “Introducing a friend to fine cuisine.”

Benji laughed, “I’ll bring ‘em a bucket.”

“It’s that wolf who just walked in,” she explained, “where’d you sit him?”

“Oh, okay. Right side, table eight.” Benji offered Marcy a menu out of habit and then scoffed and flipped it onto the host post, “Brainless…”

“Don’t beat yourself up, Benji. It’s just the job.” Marcy patted his upper arm, “Hey, who’s cooking?”

“Hamitch, Carly, and Buster,” Benji answered.

Marcy nodded, “Hell yeah. You take care, mister.”

“I will sis. Enjoy!” He walked toward the door with a cloth in hand.

Marcy found Dane right where Benji said he’d be. His muzzle was in his menu. Marcy reached the table the same time as the waitress, a meerkat girl with a thick, messy braid of black-dyed hair. Marcy stood by the table rocking on her heels while the girl came to the table and gave Marcy a confused look. Marcy briefly held a finger to her lips. The girl shrugged and looked down toward Dane. “Hiii! Welcome to Carlo’s Cucina. I’m Mari, I’ll be taking care of you.”

Dane looked up and raised a brow at Marcy. She answered, “I’m shadowing, gotta learn the waitress side.”

“You are not,” Mari snarked, “Stop bothering guests.”

Marcy sat down with Dane, “Hey, I’m with him. No customer service voice, just talk to us, girl. I want a Michelob and the sampler, all cheese.”

“Got it, girl.” She turned to Dane, “And for you, Marcy’s friend.”

“Hi Mari, I’m Dane, a coke for me and I’d like the taco plate, combination.”

“Got it. Hey, when you coming in tomorrow?” Mari tapped the raccoon on the shoulder.

“I prep Thursdays,” Marcy said.

Mari nodded and walked away with their orders.

“Is that your sister?” Dane joked, “Marcy, Mari. Sounds like a confusing household.”

Marcy smirked, “Oh yeah, our mother could only call the right girl to yell at if we were visible. Otherwise, messed up every opportunity.”

The wolf snickered, “Yeah, I bet. Did you have siblings, for real?”

Marcy shook her head, “Nope. Only child. What about you?”

“I have a half-brother, same mom. He’s a real piece of work. But I don’t like talking about him since I have nothing nice to say.” Dane sighed, “He still says he has a sister. To give you an idea.”

“Aww,” Marcy reached over the table and put a hand on Dane’s arm, “what a prick… I’m sorry Dane. I bet that can be awful.” Marcy leaned back in her chair, “So, what sorts of music do you listen to?”

Dane tapped his fingers on the table, “Techno, trance, and lots of instrumental stuff. I prefer songs without lyrics.”

“I see. Do you have the YouTube app?”

“Oh yeah. Does anyone not?”

Marcy snickered, “Bridget, until this year. Send me a song you really like, and I’ll do the same for you.”

“Sure.” Dane reached for his phone and then stopped in place, eyeing Marcy, “Bridget had a phone without YouTube? How?”

Marcy nodded, already swiping through hers, “Dude, you can ask her sometime. It is completely wild what they kept from those kids, and how.” She picked out a Breaking Benjamin song, Follow, and shared it to Dane via text. “You might have heard this one, it’s kinda mainstream but I love them so much.”

Dane was tapping his phone and smiled. “Yeah, I have. You like twenty ought rock?”

Marcy turned her hands upward just above the crown of her head, “Guilty. It’s the stuff I grew up hearing and I think it’s still good. Though there’s some new stuff I like, too. Lil Nas, Halsey, Sia, and a few others.”

“Nice, rock and pop. I could see that.” Dane looked over Marcy’s shoulder. “Uh oh, there’s a super cute waitress coming this way and I think she’s gonna hit on you.”

Marcy smiled as Bridget slid her hands down the raccoon’s arms. “Hey you’re way too sexy to be in here, ma’am. You’ll have to leave and wait for me at your place.”

Marcy and Dane laughed, Marcy turning her head up to nuzzle Bridget’s cheek, “Smooth. How’s the shift?”

“Great,” Bridget chimed. “I’ve already made two hundred, there were two business parties that wanted the back room, both left ninety bucks. Oh, and I’m not closing.”

Marcy cocked her head, “Why not?”

Bridget bounced, “Gary hired another bartender, so he’s gonna take my end of shift for training, and I offered to get out of his labor.”

“Okay, what's his name?” Marcy looked toward the bar and saw a black bear with golden tribal tattoos up and down both arms, silver loops and studs in both ears. He was smiling and shaking a drink for a deer sitting at the bar. “That him?”

“Yeah. That’s Barrett. He’s sweet. Gary says he has good flair.” All three turned to watch Barrett pour the shaker into a salted glass and add a skewered cherry with a pinch, sliding it to his customer after.

“I’ll say,” Dane remarked.

Marcy nodded to acknowledge Mari’s return with their drinks. Dane gave a quiet, “Thank you,” and took a sip.

Mari put down a straw for him and said, “Should be about eight to ten minutes, you two. Need anything in the meantime?”

“Nah,” Marcy waved her off, “we’re good.”

The meerkat nodded and stepped back to check on another table.

“Carlo’s doesn’t give chips and salsa?” Dane asked, looking just a little bit sad.

“Oh, yeah, we do usually,” Marcy answered. “It’s good, but I never eat it so most of the servers don’t bring it to me.”

“I’ll bring you some Dane,” Bridget offered.

“That’d be great, thanks Bridget,” Dane said. The pig nodded and headed for the kitchen.

“Sorry about that, I didn’t even think about it my guy,” Marcy offered.

Dane smiled, tearing his straw open and sinking it into his cup, “Ah, it’s fine. If that’s the worst thing that happens to me today, I think I’ll be alright.” He lowered his voice and leaned a little ways over the table. “Do you think she’ll ask about the date when she comes back?”

The raccoon shrugged, “No telling. I’m a little shocked she didn’t ask as soon as she saw you again.”

“Really?” Dane raised a brow.

Marcy turned around on her chair to check for Bridget’s return. She turned back and lowered her voice, “Yeah. Patience is not her strong suit. Well,” Marcy held a finger to her chin, “it’s not so much that she’s impatient… More like, she takes time intervals very literally. Like, if I told her to ask you Saturday she would have asked to go find you so she could ask at her earliest convenience.” Marcy shrugged, “I think it was probably a control thing from her upbringing, but I try not to ask too many questions about that, so there’s no telling.”

Dane nodded and pointed briefly to the approaching Bridget, carrying a bowl of red salsa and a basket of chips. She set them on the table by Dane, plucking one of the broken pieces from the side of the basket, “Quality assurance,” and crunching down on it. Bridget circled the table and put her hands down to lean over by the wolf, “So Dane,” she cooed next to his ear, a low blush painting the bottom of his cheeks, “are you single?”

Marcy took a long drink of her beer and pounded on her chest to dislodge a belch into her fist. Dane smirked and shook his head before turning his muzzle up to reply in a lowered voice, “I am.”

Bridget clapped her hands with a little jump, “Great. You wanna go to Dance with me Friday?”

“Wait,” Dane tilted his head up toward Bridget, “to Dance the club, or go somewhere in town for the purpose of dancing?”

Bridget twisted her wrists while bouncing gently, “Yeah the specific place called Dance because it’s a dance club. Do you want to go with me? Friday, eight-ish?”

Dane looked at Marcy: she was running a finger around the rim of her glass. “Don’t look at me,” she quipped.

The wolf turned in his chair to face Bridget. “I would love to. But, may I make a request?”

“Of course,” Bridget glanced toward the other side of the restaurant and gave a satisfied little nod before looking back at Dane.

“Can we stay for like, thirty minutes and then do a check in to see if we both want to leave so it’s not both of us awkwardly waiting to ask the other?”

Bridget nodded, “Yeah! That’s a great plan, actually.” She patted the wolf’s shoulder, “Let me go check on my table folks, I’ll be back in a bit.”

He nodded, “Sure.” The moment Bridget walked through the doorway to the back room, Mari came from the kitchen with a tray of steaming food. “Looks like us,” Dane said, licking his teeth in anticipation.

Mari slid their plates onto the table easily, “Anything else sir, madam?”

Marcy shook her head, already slicing into her two enchiladas with a fork. Dane took a deep breath and sighed, “That’s the stuff. I’m good, thank you Mari.”

The meerkat smiled and added, “I’ll be around, just wave me down if you need me. Marcy,” The raccoon looked up, mouth full. “Nice tits, girl.”

Dane couldn’t stop himself from glancing down only to find Marcy brushing a napkin across her chest. She laughed at herself after finishing her first bite, “Of course I drop food on me right off the bat. Typical trash panda, I am.”

Dane coughed and looked away, taking up a taco and biting off nearly half of it. Marcy ate for a few minutes before looking at her dining partner to ask, “You got quiet. Something wrong?”

“No,” he answered quickly. “Just… Never heard anyone call themselves that.”

“Oh,” Marcy laughed, “Oh Dane, honey, at a proper family gathering that gets thrown around so much you’d think none of us had names. Think nothing of it.” Marcy took another bite, bouncing her fork between her fingers as she enjoyed the food. “You’re going to hear that occasionally, is what I’m saying. I hope that’s not a dealbreaker.”

“It’s not… I mean, it’s your phrase, I don’t say that. I-” Dane looked away again. “I would never.”

Marcy reached a hand across the table again but left it open for Dane to take himself. “Hey…” Dane looked back and laid his hand gently on top of Marcy’s without closing it. She said, “It’s alright. Be honest, Dane: does it make you uncomfortable?”

“A little,” he sighed. “It’s just something that my dad was always saying. That our words have power even over ourselves. It stuck with me.”

Marcy lifted his hand and shook it once. “I’ll try and remember that. I agree with your dad. I’ve been working on watching what I say about myself. It’s much easier than it should be to fall into a cycle of self-deprecating, and I’ve been there and I do not want to go back.”

“You’re right about that,” Dane said, shaking his head slowly. “Been there, done that. Wouldn’t recommend it.”

“Oh yeah?” Marcy picked up and bit off some of the fried relleno, “ike wuf?”

Dane snickered, “I don’t think that’s restaurant talk. But, I can say I used to define myself in a really one-dimensional way that left no room for personhood.”

Marcy set down her glass after almost draining the beer. “I get that. I would argue we were in very similar boats, though probably very different waters.”

“Dysphoria versus trauma, all-out war in the ring, tonight at nine central!” Dane joked, holding up his spoon as a microphone.

Marcy laughed lightly before finishing off another portion of her dinner. Dane lifted the last taco and stuffed the entire thing into his muzzle. Both of them slumped back in their chairs a little and then smiled at each other. “This is great, Marcy. Thanks for the suggestion.”

“You’re welcome. It’s the A team cooking tonight so that helps, too.” Marcy added, mixing her rice into the remaining sauces on the plate. “Want to make plans after this, or are you ready to unwind?”

Dane swallowed and then drained the soda below the ice. “What’d you have in mind?” he said after taking a breath.

“Nothing,” she admitted. “I was going to do my laundry and move some stuff around my temporary apartment. Maybe lay around in my underwear if I’m feeling spicy.”

Dane snickered, “Oh cool, pantsu party?”

Marcy laughed as Bridget appeared over the back of her chair. “Aww, what’d I miss?”

Marcy explained, “We were joking about going home and doing domestic stuff like laundry and lounging around in our underwear. Dane called it a pantsu party, which is like a Japanese pervert thing, I think.”

“Yeah, basically,” Dane agreed.

“I’m down, let’s party,” Bridget nodded, taking another chip from the forgotten basket on the table.

Dane laughed again, “I don’t think your cousin would like a strange man in his underwear being there on his night back.”

Marcy scoffed and Bridget answered, “Jack’s gay, it would probably be fine.”

Marcy and Dane looked at each other and snickered. Mari appeared a moment later and gathered up the two mostly empty plates. “Anyone interested in some dessert, hmm?” Mari offered with a sly expression.

Marcy narrowed her eyes in turn, “Are there any wrong orders back there?”

Mari put a finger to her lips and mouthed, “Yes.”

The raccoon stood up and stretched, giving Bridget a hug after. “Is it a sopapilla?”

“No, tres leches,” Mari answered.

“Dang. No thanks on that one.” Marcy let go of Bridget. “How much time?”

Bridget looked toward the clock above the bar and then back to Marcy, “Two hours and forty minutes.”

“Done at nine, got it,” Marcy said, raising herself on her feet to kiss Bridget’s chin sweetly. “I’ll be back then.” She tiptoed up again to whisper, “I love you,” into the pig’s ear.

Bridget smiled and mouthed, “I love you too,” in return as she walked backward toward her section.

Dane stood up and brushed his clothes down with his hands. “So, plans?”

“Wanna show me your dorm? Harass your roommate a little?” Marcy offered.

“If I’m honest: not really. It’s not you Marcy, the dorm managers are just absolute hardasses about guests and hours and a lot of tedious crap. It’s easier to just not,” Dane shook his head and then crunched another chip dipped in salsa.

Marcy nodded, “Sounds like a pain. Well, we’ll get together again. And of course, your date Friday.”

“Will you be there?”

Marcy smirked, “Worried about something, Dane?”

The wolf’s cheeks and muzzle lit up dull pink again, “N- no. I just didn’t want anyone to have fomo or anything.”

“Yes, I will be there. Bridget doesn’t have her license yet,” Marcy explained.

“Oh hey, speaking of: I’ll drive,” he offered.

Marcy nodded slowly, pursing her lips, “That would be awesome of you, actually.”

“Does Bridget drink at all?”

Marcy shook her head, “No. She’s been kind of turned off alcohol before trying it because everyone at her meetings and care appointments and such all warned her excessively about it, because everyone gave some kind of warning, and there were dozens of people…”

“Ah, yeah, okay,” Dane nodded, “I get that. Maybe down the road.”

“Anything’s possible.” Marcy headed for the door, stopping to give Benji a side hug while he tousled her short hair. “Come sit with me for a bit in my truck. We’ll listen to each other’s songs, ask one deep question each, and call it a visit. Cool?”

Dane smiled and held the door for Marcy, “Cool.” They rounded the back of the building and climbed into Marcy’s brown truck cab. She turned the key over and tapped through her phone to put on Dane’s texted song choice. It was a chipper dance tune with a nice string interlude. She spent those four minutes swaying in her seat, Dane humming along with the melody. When it was time for her song, she sang along to the first verse and was surprised when Dane sang the chorus. Marcy hollered and clapped during the pause, and they both sang the rest of the song. Dane laughed at himself for forgetting a few of the lyrics but managed to finish just fine.

“You’ve got a good voice, you know that?” Dane complimented.

Marcy pushed a hand toward him dismissively, “Aww, psh. It’s good enough for this steering wheel and the shower, at least.”

“If you say so. Were you ever in choir?”

Marcy shook her head, her cheeks feeling a bit warm, “No… Just sang to myself and some very, very trusted friends. I’m not nearly as guarded nowadays, but thank you very much all the same.”

Dane turned sideways to face her in his seat, “So, who asks the deep question first?”

“Since it was my idea, I can bare my soul first. Go ahead Dane. Lemme have it, and don’t hold back.” Marcy held her fists together in a dramatic pose.

Dane looked at her for a long time. He took a deep breath through his nose and asked, “What was the moment you understood love, and what was the moment you understood yourself.”

“Well shit, I got what I asked for, didn’t I?” Marcy tilted her head back and forth as she thought. She gave a small huff and then started, “The moment I understood love was actually with Bridget. We had just finished a group therapy thing, and I just wasn’t feeling a connection that night, felt like a total idiot, I just wanted to walk out, go to my room, and fall into my bed for a week. I was frustrated because it was a mixed group that people drop in and out of, so some people were well on their way to progress, some people had plenty of it, and then a few of us, i.e. me, were new to therapy entirely. So, there was comparison happening in my head, and I was just ready to fucking fight someone. Well, Bridget and I had been talking for probably two weeks at that point, maybe a little longer. And she thinks the group is great, she loved it. And I just. Lost it. Something in my head snapped with all the anger I’d been forcing down for two years and I lost my absolute shit. I’m pretty sure I called her the c word. But she knew. She knew it wasn’t her I was angry at, she knew that what I was really doing was letting go, and she knew just what to say in that moment. “You never have to go back there, Marceline. You get to go home now.” And it broke me wide open.” The raccoon tapped her phone to put it on vibrate as a text from Jack pinged into the cab. “Sorry… I bawled for probably ten minutes. And she refused to let me go, refused to let me be alone in that absolute storm of everything I’d been holding on to and hurting from and so on. She never once asked for an apology, and wouldn’t accept one for my behavior. I told her she didn’t deserve what I said, and she just says, “No, but you needed it and I was there.” A few days later we were sitting on my bed talking about work and she just… laid back and let tears flow. No noise, no sobs, nothing. Just the most elegant little princess cry… And I just held her hand. She took much less time, but it hit me that she was doing the exact same thing I was, and the only reason I knew what she was doing was because of how she’d been there for me. Everything since then, everything I’ve done or thought about doing has included her. She saw the worst I’ve ever been and then held me while I picked up the pieces, despite some of the shrapnel being stuck right in her. If that’s not selfless, valiant love I don’t know what is.”

“Holy shit…” Dane whispered, his mouth remaining agape.

“Hah… You asked.” Marcy smirked and patted the back of Dane’s hand resting on her center console.

“I did. And the other one?”

Marcy closed her eyes, “Remind me?”

Dane smiled, “What was the moment you understood yourself?”

Marcy nodded, “Right. Gimme a minute, that’s actually harder.” The raccoon looked out her window at the forming sunset colors in the sky. She turned to face forward again after a few minutes and began, “Honestly, I wouldn’t say that I understand myself. I know who I am. I know what I like, where my boundaries are, what I can, and cannot, do. But even with all that, I’m still learning new things about me. Hell, today, literally, I had a mini-panic about this whole Bridget like-liking you thing. But,” Marcy reached over and held Dane’s hand gently, “at the end of the day, no pun intended, having you here, whether as a friend or more, isn’t less for me; it’s more for us. So, if I understand anything about myself, it is that I am always willing to try. And maybe that was fresh off the presses today.”

Dane smiled warmly and wiped his eyes on his arm. “That’s got to be one of the nicest things I think I’ve ever heard anyone say to me.”

Marcy tilted her head and said in a gentle tone, “Aww. Don’t worry, we will say lots of nice things about you moving forward.”

Dane nodded and then shrugged, “Alright. Your turn. I’ll bare my soul, and since I cheated and compounded my question, you can have two as well.”

Marcy stroked her chin between her thumb and pointer for a minute. “Has being a man changed you, personality or otherwise? And when was the first time you felt truly loved, truly cared for.”

Dane sat with his back to the seat properly and nodded slowly, “Mmm hmm. Alright.” He lowered his head in thought, crossing his arms to tap his biceps with each index finger. His head sprang upright, “Okay. I’ve got the second one. I had just gotten home for winter break. I had been on t for three months at the time. Not a lot had changed, but my voice had begun to drop. It wasn’t super noticeable unless I was laughing or really excited, because then I’d slip back into higher registers, and that was stark. But, my muzzle sharpened juuuust enough that my mom noticed. And she followed me into my old room, sat me down… And-” Dane coughed, his voice broke a little, “And she just asked me- “What do I call you… Son?” and I had been so- so fucking terrified that she would be the one to be cruel and deny me. But… No.” Dane wiped his eyes again. “No, after that quiet little moment, I told her my name is Dane. She hasn’t missed a pronoun or ever called me by my old name. She scraped off a “my daughter is a star” bumper sticker that had been there for twenty-one years and replaced it with a “let the boy be happy” one.” Dane laughed through a small sob. “And, my dad, he was on board from day one. He loved that I was a tomboy into sports and dirt bikes and dinosaurs. He was ecstatic. He demanded to take me fishing for the first time, again. He’s great. But mom, she grew up godly and conservative, she still doesn’t like visiting Basalt, you know? But… she just decided that she would let love dictate our relationship. It was the first time I really felt comfort in another person.” Dane snickered, “Not that she was a bad mom, far from it. But I was so worried because she watches Murdoch and all them. But for all their bs, they never got into her real heart.”

“That’s pretty damn amazing Dane.” Marcy smiled softly. “I am so glad you have that in your life.”

“Thank you.” He took some time to steady himself while thinking about his other answer. “I don’t think being a man has changed me all that much really,” Dane said, still brushing his eyes with his thumb. “Not in the ways that matter. I’m still brutally anxious. I still hate balloons. I still love seeing a nice, full rose bush. I’m still an awkward twerp who overshares and craves connection. I still like dirt bikes and dinosaurs and playing hockey. I’m still willing to stand between my friends and their bullies. I still feel like that first breath after jumping into a pool is some of the sweetest, most air-air in the world. I’m still emotional and fiercely loyal. I think the only thing that really changed was that I finally feel like a person alongside all that other stuff. Which just made everything else so much brighter and come easier.”

Marcy nodded as Dane answered, a smile on her lips the whole time. She giggled at the pool comment, and turned herself to face Dane toward the end. Marcy stretched her arms forward with a satisfied sigh, turning the ac blower on low after. “I think it’s insane,” Marcy added, “that people will hear something like that from a trans person and still manage to call them evil, or whatever new adjective they’ve death-gripped that week.”

Dane rolled his eyes, “Hah… Evil is such a mild word now, in comparison and because of just how often so much vitriol is levied at us.” He shook his head vigorously and blew out a breath toward the floorboard. “Good talk.”

Marcy laughed, “Yeah, definitely. Game time?”

“Nah,” Dane smiled and sat back against her seat properly again, “I’ll probably write something. I’m feeling inspired.”

“Because of this?” Marcy brushed her hand around the cab.

Dane shrugged, “I’m sure this is part of it. I haven’t reflected and thought like this in a while. So thanks, classy girl.”

“Classy woman,” Marcy winked.

“Classy woman, then.” Dane opened his door and stepped out. Marcy met him in front of the truck. She offered him a hug which he readily accepted. “See you Friday.”

Marcy slowly let him go and said, “Until then.”

. . .

Bridget had just finished counting up her cash tips when Gary and the night manager Antoine rounded the corner into the kitchen. Bridget stood up from the half-table and waved to them both, “Hey boss mans. Gary, you sure you don’t need me on? Last call before I’m out like bad trout.”

Gary patted her shoulder gently, stopping to chat, “I’m sure girlie. Go on, get off my clock and on home. There’s two tables left, no reservations, and it’s Wednesday. Laura can handle the rest. How’d you make out?”

Bridget beamed, “I got money!”

The two men laughed, Gary shaking his head slowly. “Alright, go on. Tell that Marcy thing I want to talk to her about sending her to school, will ya?”

Bridget tilted her head, “What school?”

“Culinary school,” Gary said. “Better cooks, better food, people come back, everybody wins.”

Bridget smiled big again, “Yes sir! Y’all have a good night.”

She clocked out on the little laptop in the hallway that led to the office and headed for the door. Marcy’s truck was waiting in one of the curbside spots. Bridget climbed in and sat down with a huff. “Good to be off my feet.” She laid over the console so her head was upside down in Marcy’s lap, “Hello beautiful stranger. How was your day?”

Marcy stroked Bridget’s cheeks in turn with the back of her hands, “It was great. Played games with some friends, had two nice meals, and had a startlingly revealing chat with a cute guy.”

“Oh?” Bridget pulled herself back upright. “With Dane?”

“Yes, with Dane,” Marcy said. “Hopefully you’ll hear some of it from him Friday. And, if not, I’ll tell you what I can.”

“I’m so excited, Marcy!” Bridget bounced in the seat, struggling to get the belt buckled in doing so.

“I can tell.” Marcy looked behind her and backed out once Bridget was bucked in. “Let’s get home, Jack and Gabe are there, they had a night in instead of going out. Gabe cooked, according to Jack, and I’m kinda curious to see how that turned out.”

“Mmm hmm.” Bridget fingered the bills in her apron front, “I’m just gonna keep the cash from tonight for Friday. Is there a safe place to put it?”

“Yeah,” Marcy nodded, “just put it in one of our drawers. Jack doesn’t use them so no worries.”

“Good. Very good.” Bridget stretched as much as she could, the cab being too low for her to get in good range of motion upward. “Babe, will you rub my feet tonight?”

Marcy nodded again, turning the truck toward home, “Sure. As long as you wash them first. Or let me wash them. Long as they’re clean, you get the idea.”

Bridget giggled, “I do.” She yawned softly and laid her head against the seat, closing her eyes. “We really have something wonderful, don’t we?”

Marcy smiled, reaching over to pat her lover’s thigh, “Yeah, we do.”

Bridget turned her head without opening her eyes, “Do you think if we lived with Jack for a bit, he could see that and maybe that would help him choose Gabriel?”

Marcy snickered into a full laugh, “Devious. Wholesomely devious, but that is funny. I don’t know, though. He very well might.”

Bridget settled into a light nap, stirring each time Marcy had to come to a full stop, but she rested until they reached the lot. Marcy parked under the guest awning and turned off the truck. She shook Bridget awake gently. “Come on, bed’s just up a few stairs now.”

“Mkay.” The pig balled up her apron and stuffed it under one arm, swung her legs out of the cab and dropped onto the asphalt with a huff.

Marcy locked the truck and wrapped her tail around Bridget’s waist as they walked up to the door. Marcy found the door locked and twisted her key in to unlock it. Jack and Gabriel were spooning on the couch, the horse’s feet hanging out of one of Jack’s navy blue sheets they’d covered themselves with. Both men smiled as Marcy padded inside and Bridget trudged off to the spare room with a tired little wave. Marcy set her keys on the small stand near the door and dropped herself onto the nearest couch section. Gabriel laid his head on the end of the couch, and Marcy could see him caressing Jack’s upper arm beneath the sheet. Marcy smirked at Jack, who fluffed the sheet up to reveal both men were covered: Jack in shorts, Gabriel in a blue and white tartan kilt.

Bridget returned a minute later wearing tight black shorts and a matching camisole. She dropped herself next to Marcy and looked toward the tv. The boys weren’t watching anything, just listening to a music channel with a label that moved around the screen to fight burn-in. The pig looked back to the cuddling pair and asked, “How was the trip, Jack? And how was the evening?”

Jack reached a hand up and caressed Gabriel’s neck behind him, “The trip was long and interesting. I’ve got an easy week though, since I was able to finish all my notes and such in Canada. So I’m done for a while. Nice to finally meet you by the way Bridget. And the evening was-”

“Sublime,” Gabriel murmured, kissing the back of Jack’s head.

Jack nodded once, looking over his shoulder so Gabriel could kiss him properly, which the horse did tenderly. “Definitely.”

“That’s some high praise,” Marcy added, leaning against her lover and caressing Bridget’s arms.

“Well, we- we’re… official,” Jack said with a nod. Gabriel wrapped his arms under and around Jack, cuddling into his back.

Bridget and Marcy exchanged looks, Marcy smirking and Bridget slightly shocked. “Well well,” said the raccoon, “many, many happy days ahead for you, then.”

“Thank you Marcy,” Gabriel cooed, face still in Jack’s back.

“Of course,” she said, linking her fingers with Bridget’s. “I’m very happy for you two.”

“We’re happy for you,” Bridget asserted, bouncing their linked hands in emphasis.

Marcy nodded, “We are.” Bridget beamed and then let herself fall against the side of the couch, dragging Marcy with her by the hand. Marcy nestled herself into Bridget’s side and sighed contentedly. She tilted her head up and kissed her lover’s chin. Bridget dragged Marcy beside her, with a protesting giggle from the raccoon, and kissed her properly, wrapping her in an embrace and holding her tightly. Marcy sighed through her nose and put her free hand on Bridget’s cheek.

Jack snickered and rolled himself toward Gabriel, “I think they’re challenging us.”

“Well, we can’t have that,” Gabriel murmured, sliding his hands up Jack’s back to hold him closer and kiss him deeply.

Marcy had already broken her kiss, and snickered into Bridget’s neck. “They’re adorable,” she whispered.

Bridget just nodded, and then jerked her head toward the guys. “Hey, I heard there was food.” All three of the others had a beat and then laughed. “C’mon y’all, I’ve been around it half the day and all I had were chips.”

Gabriel lowered Jack onto the couch again, “I got you Bridget, come on gal.” The horse lifted himself from the sheet, brushing down his body with his hands as he stepped into the kitchen partition. Bridget struggled her way up to follow, Marcy flattening herself to the cushion to be out of the way.

Gabriel lifted the lids off two containers, revealing a potato casserole and a pair of salmon steaks. Bridget grabbed two plates from the cabinet, “You want some Marcy?”

She called back, “I’m good, thank you.”

Bridget put the second plate back and stepped over to the dishes to serve herself. Gabriel leaned against the wall, “Let me know how I did, will you?”

“Of course,” she agreed. The pig opened the fridge to look for a drink and set one out for herself next to her plate. She skipped over to the couch and leaned over Marcy. “Hey.”

“Yes?”

“Can I have one of your beers?”

Marcy rose up on her elbows, “Yesss? Are you sure?”

“If I don’t like it, you can finish it, right?” Bridget added.

The raccoon nodded, “I can.”

Bridget pranced back into the kitchen and picked up her things, bringing them over to the table to eat them. The food was still warm, the casserole was even wisping a bit of steam. Bridget took her first bite. The sauce seemed to be sour cream, the potato crumbled nicely, and it was seasoned well. She savored the bite before swallowing and saying, “Gabriel Cedric Matthias.” The horse guffawed. “This is great. Rivals Marcy’s work.”

“Okay, what…” protested Marcy, lifting herself from the couch. She padded into the kitchen and snagged a fork to taste.

Bridget watched Marcy do so and then turn to face her with a few slow nods. The pig raised a brow, “Did I lie?” Marcy skewered the last salmon steak and grabbed a plate, helping herself to a small portion and joining Bridget at the table.

The two ate without a word, occasionally sharing a smile or touching hands. Marcy finished first and took her plate into the kitchen to wash, draining the salmon runoff from the dish Gabriel had them in with paper towels and throwing it into the trash. Bridget followed in with her plate, holding her beer in the other hand. Marcy accepted the plate without complaint. “How is it?” Marcy asked, indicating the can.

Bridget shrugged, “It’s sharp and weird, but not bad. It tastes like lemonade, so.”

“Drink it slow is my only advice,” Marcy added, shuffling the plates into the dishwasher.

“It kind of makes me do that by itself.” Bridget took a small sip and grimaced, dragging her tongue against her teeth. “Yeah, that’s enough of that.” She offered the can to Marcy. Marcy took it and drained half of what was left. Bridget looked at her in disbelief.

“I’ve been drinking a while. I have some tolerance,” Marcy patted her lover’s head playfully. “I’ll be fine.”

Bridget shrugged, “If you say so.”

Gabriel had Jack sitting in his lap and was kneading Jack’s shoulders with his strong fingers. Jack had his eyes closed and was putty in Gabriel’s grip. Marcy and Bridget sat down on the couch again only to end up lying next to each other a moment later, Bridget running her fingers through Marcy’s hair. Gabriel gently said, “Sorry about keeping Jack here distracted, Bridget. I know this is your first time meeting him.”

Jack snickered as Bridget giggled and replied, “That’s okay. It’s your first night as a couple, after all.” She smiled, “You two look great, by the way.”

Jack’s cheeks got warm and Gabriel wrapped him into an embrace, brushing his lips on Jack’s neck fur before resting his chin on Jack’s chest. Marcy slid herself off the couch and approached Jack. She took his cheeks in her hands and kissed his forehead. He looked up at her with a raised brow.

“About. Fucking. Time.”

Jack rolled his eyes and slapped her wrist playfully, “Kiss. My. Ass.”

Gabriel reached out and lifted one of Marcy’s hands into his. She turned her attention to him. “Don’t punish the behavior you want to see, Marcy.” His eyes were serious, but after he’d said his piece he smiled.

Marcy kissed the back of the horse’s hand and lowered it back onto Jack’s shoulder. “You’re right, Gabriel. I’m sorry Jack. I am happy for you, genuinely.” She tousled his hair, tickling Gabriel’s cheek in the process and making him sneeze.

“Bless you,” the other three chorused together.

“Thanks, thanks, thanks love.” Gabriel replied, looking at each in turn and kissing Jack’s shoulder blade.

Marcy padded into the spare room to change. She lifted the henley by the hem, dropped it near the chest of drawers, shimmied out of her cut-off jeans, and picked out her “FUCK MONDAYS” shirt from her side of the drawers. She stepped back into the living room to find Bridget and Jack sharing a hug.

“Aww,” Marcy cooed.

Bridget let go of Jack, who looked slightly taken aback, and said, “Thank you for rescuing Marcy in her time of need. And thank you a whole whole lot for helping her be who she is today. I love her dearly, and she credits you with helping her be the Marcy she is. That means a lot to me.”

Jack laughed lightly and patted one of Bridget’s hands, “That’s sweet of you Bridget. You are most welcome, though it feels a little strange to say.” Jack glanced at Marcy and then back to Bridget. “We’re cousins, but we’ve always been closer than that. She’s my best friend and I love her too, very very much.” Jack hugged Bridget, “You saved her just as much as I did, at one point. Thank you Bridget. I don’t know what I would do without her.”

Marcy sidled along the couch and sat in Gabriel’s lap. He cradled her between his arms. The horse whispered, “Aren’t they precious?” Marcy nodded with a quiet, “Mmm…”

Gabriel snorted and swept Marcy into a carry as he rose from the couch. “Alright Bridget, good night. I’m taking my raccoon with me, you can have yours there, and we’ll cook breakfast in the morning, deal?”

Bridget petted Jack’s head lovingly, “Deal. Good night.”

Jack stammered and laughed at once, and then just kept hold of Bridget’s midsection as Gabriel walked toward the hall with a humming Marceline in his arms. “Marcy, he’ll break you if you let him,” Jack warned.

“Oh,” Marcy chimed, “I’ll let him.”

“Hey!” Jack and Bridget said in unison, dragging a hearty laugh out of the whole group. Gabriel let Marcy down slowly as Bridget stepped aside so Jack could get to his lover while Marcy returned to hers. Bridget swept Marcy up in a carry with little difficulty, Gabriel hugging Jack at the waist. Marcy wrapped her arms around Bridget’s shoulder and kissed up her arm to her cheek. Jack raised his knee in front of Gabriel and ran his hands all over the horse’s chest.

Gabriel snickered and took Jack by the hands. “Come on, love. Your bed’s calling our names.”

Jack set his leg down and yawned on cue. “You are right,” he said, rubbing his jaw.

Bridget held Marcy and followed the men into the hallway, turning toward the other room without a word. Marcy tilted her head inward to avoid the door frame and then stepped down as Bridget lowered her once they were alone. Marcy laid her hands on her lover’s shoulders and gently pulled her down for a long kiss. As Marcy broke the kiss her eyes shot open. “Oh shit.”

“What?” Bridget asked with genuine concern.

Marcy clapped her hands to her muzzle, “I left my toy in there.”

Bridget turned toward the door, considering what to do. Marcy scoffed and shook her head. Just as Marcy started a step toward the door there was a soft knock and Jack’s muffled voice beyond asked, “Marceline?”

The raccoon cracked the door painfully slowly. Jack was holding the harness pinched between two fingers and out to his side. Marcy flushed a strong red and laughed breathily, “I’m sorry Jack.” She held out a hand and Jack cautiously draped the thing over her fingers.

“As long as nobody says anything else about it, I don’t care. You washed everything, right?” Marcy and Bridget both nodded. “Good enough. Good night.”

Marcy slowly shut the door only for Jack to hold it again. “Why glass?”

Marcy gripped the toy and held it up, “The way it’s cold at first feels awesome, and the hardness of it is really nice.”

Jack nodded, raising both brows and turning back down the hall with a quiet, “Huh…”

Marcy closed the door and shook her head slowly. Bridget sputtered out a laugh, trying to close her lips to contain it. The raccoon lowered her toy into her duffel without a word. “On that note… Sleep?”

“Yes,” Bridget cleared her throat to stifle the rest of her mirth, “Yeah babe, let’s get some sleep.”

Marcy climbed over the end of the bed against the far corner. She lifted her limbs as Bridget drew the comforter back and slid in, Marcy doing the same shortly after her lover got settled. The raccoon hugged Bridget’s side and shivered, the warmth of her body shattering the chill of the apartment’s AC.

Bridget kissed the top of Marcy’s head, “You okay?”

Marcy nodded, bouncing her hips slowly in a playful humping motion.

Bridget snickered and grabbed a handful of her lover’s ass. “Feeling some kinda way?”

Marcy murred, “I am now… But, we don’t have to.”

Bridget sighed dramatically, flexing her fingers into her lover’s soft cheeks. “I mean, we’re technically not alone tonight.”

Marcy ran her hands up and down Bridget’s neck and shoulders. “Technically…” she said quietly, “we were never alone.”

Bridget raised a brow and then smirked. “Uhh huh. Semantics.” She moved her hand back and smacked Marcy’s rear playfully. The raccoon’s eyes widened for a moment and then she showed a love-drunk smile. She crawled out of the blanket and hiked her shirt up her back.

“Do it right, make it even.”

Bridget sat up and hefted Marcy into her lap, brushing her legs out from under her so she laid across the pig’s lap. Bridget grabbed hold of the base of her tail and laid two strong, alternating swats on each cheek. Marcy shoved her face in the comforter to muffle her squeaking moans, wiggling her hips to invite more attention. “I think I need a few more. I’m still feeling naughty, baby girl.”

Bridget smiled, rubbing and squeezing the flesh of Marcy’s ass only to quickly rear back and smack the furry flesh sharply, the raccoon shuddering at the abrupt changes in sensation and whimpering out moans every time. Bridget carried on soothing and stinging Marcy’s ass for a few minutes until she could feel the heat of the agitated flesh on her palms. She let Marcy slide off her lap and positioned herself behind, slowly rubbing her palms over the reddened cheeks to soothe them. Marcy murred and moaned as Bridget worked her body. After a few minutes of gentle care, Bridget worked her fingers into Marcy’s cheeks, massaging and occasionally spreading them. Marcy sighed contentedly, rocking her hips gently against the blanket bunched up beneath her. Bridget took notice and slid one hand beneath Marcy’s groin, using her thumb to caress the raccoon’s wet lips teasingly. Marcy shuffled her legs to push back against Bridget’s tease only for the pig to pull her hand slightly further. Marcy whined but said nothing. Bridget wrapped her other arm under Marcy’s waist and lifted her up onto her knees.

Marcy thought Bridget would get up and retrieve the toy. Then she felt her lover’s breath on her aroused groin an instant before Bridget dragged her broad tongue up and between the raccoon’s lips. Marcy felt icy tingling race up her spine and sighed out a long moan. Bridget held Marcy’s cheeks apart by her thighs and kept taking long, slow, wet licks the entire length of her lover’s sex. Marcy felt something else though. Bridget was going further up with each lick. Another four licks later, Bridget lapped at Marcy’s backdoor. The warmth of Bridget’s tongue went down Marcy’s pelvis into her knees and made her struggle to keep herself up. Bridget noticed Marcy’s legs giving out and crossed her arms under Marcy’s hips, lifting her up to Bridget’s face. She kept dragging her tongue upward, every so often delving into one hole or the other.

Marcy reached down her torso and crawled her fingers along Bridget’s arms to find her lover’s legs. As Marcy was walking her fingers inside Bridget’s thigh, the pig gave a quiet, “Uh uhh,” as she was giving her lover’s inner walls some attention. The raccoon ran her fingers back down to the covers, her eyes rolling back in her head as Bridget’s lips found and sucked her clit roughly.

Marcy turned her head back to ask, “You just going to spoil me, baby girl?”

Bridget nodded against Marcy’s body, running her hands up and down her lover’s thighs and the curve of her backside. She massaged her fingers into the raccoon’s cheeks, pulling them apart so she had access to Marcy’s body. She let her right hand slide down the back of Marcy’s thigh and back up toward the inside, her thumb finding her lover’s clit and flicking across it, varying the pressure from teasingly light to purposefully strong. Marcy sighed and sucked in breaths all the while, pushing her knees and hips back into Bridget’s affections.

Bridget turned her hand over and slid her two middle fingers inside Marcy and curled them against her walls. Marcy groaned out a little louder than she intended and put a hand over her muzzle. Bridget smirked and leaned down, took Marcy’s wrist and led her hand away. Marcy slowly turned her head back with a smirk of her own. Bridget slapped her hand into the raccoon’s ass again, then the other side, coaxing another forceful moan from Marcy. They both turned up their ears: they heard nothing from the other room. Marcy giggled and shook her head as she started shifting her hips to grind her sex on Bridget’s still inserted fingers. The pig curled and thrusted them inside her lover and she lowered her head back to Marcy’s body to give another long, warm lick to Marcy’s ass. She pressed her other thumb to the hole and gently slid it inside. Marcy melted again, slipping downward a bit and then adjusting her knees into place to keep her up, since her lover had both arms in use.

Bridget sat in the barest of moonlight for a good ten minutes sliding her fingers in and out of Marcy, using her tongue when her wrists got stiff, and listening to Marcy’s bliss-soaked breathing with the occasional soft moan. The pig slowly withdrew her digits and raised her head after giving each cheek a few kisses. Marcy rolled over and smiled, flexing her fingers toward herself to beckon her lover down to her embrace. Bridget lowered herself into Marcy’s arms and kissed her neck and the side of her muzzle. Marcy put two fingers on Bridget’s chin and guided their lips together, parting her own and sliding her tongue into Bridget’s mouth. Marcy kissed her lover passionately, wrapping her arms around her back and sliding one hand up the back of her head into her curly hair. After a long moment, they parted lips and Marcy said out of breath, “That was lovely, baby girl.”

Bridget smiled and tapped a finger on Marcy’s nose playfully, “I’m glad. I’m going to wash my hands.” She went to slide toward the edge of the bed, but Marcy grabbed her by the waist.

“Don’t be long, okay?”

Bridget smiled and nodded as she gently stepped out of Marcy’s hold and into the bathroom. She washed her hands and returned to the bedside within a minute. Marcy patted the pillow closest to the outside of the bed, the comforter covering her legs. Bridget got into the bed with her lover and wrapped her up in an embrace. Marcy smiled and cuddled into the arms holding her, laying her head against Bridget’s shoulder.

“I love you Marceline.” Bridget took a long breath in and let it out slowly. “I hope I have the time to show you just how much.”

Marcy reached an arm over Bridget’s side and hugged herself even closer. “I love you too. Our life together is getting started, and I want you to know that I will stand beside you the whole time. If I’m ever not in your corner, you tell me Bridget Moore. You say something. Okay?”

The pig nodded, resting her snout against the crown of Marcy’s head. She felt the raccoon tremble for a second and then settle herself. Bridget ran her fingertips along Marcy’s back until she fell asleep. Marcy wiped her eyes with her thumbs carefully, held a deep breath in, and let it out in her shirt. A single tear fell as Marcy closed her eyes to get to sleep herself. She slept feeling a little more proud of her personal progress.