FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

This story will probably get some sex in the next chapter, but for now I’m just trying to flesh the characters out a bit. Just a little side note - I’ve set up a twitter since my last story, and although I haven’t used it at all yet I’m planning on getting a little more active (maybe I’ll post snippets of stories or polls up there, who knows). Feel free to follow me over there if that’s something you want. As a final little announcement, I hit seven thousand views a few days ago! I don't know about you, but that just feels unreal to me. Thank you all so much, I hope I'm keeping you happy. Enjoy a cute little bat-date!

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Elliot’s backpack swayed from side to side as he quietly stepped into the lecture. The professor had already started, and was drearily monologuing about proteins that were projected on a screen at the front of the room. The human scanned the back row, his eyes quickly falling on lisa’s curled blonde hair. She’d put her coat over the seat next to her, and was taking notes as the professor continued on.

Elliot walked over to her, picking up the coat and putting it rightfully on the back of her chair. She glanced over to confirm that he was the person she’d been saving the spot for, and smirked.

“Hey there,” she spoke in a whisper.

Elliot sat down next to the other human, scooting the chair forwards and pulling out some of his own books and stationary.

“Hey,” he replied.

Elliot briefly looked over Lisa’s notes, making sure he hadn’t missed anything vitally important. As he did, she began teasing him quietly.

“So, you didn’t reply to any of my texts last night, and now you’re showing up late? Sounds like your date went pretty well.”

Lisa began winking excessively. Elliot looked her over disgustedly, eventually having his mocking face broken into a smile as she pulsed her eyebrows up and down rapidly. Elliot gave her a quiet laugh.

“Yeah, it was amazing.” Elliot’s eyes were hazy as he thought about Simon. Shortly thereafter, he realized that Lisa was referring to the date he’d planned to have last night.

“Oh, no, that actually went really poorly. I got stood up.”

“I don’t think I would have gone with the description amazing, then.”

Lisa watched him confusedly. Elliot began to reply even more quietly than before, not wanting to be a distraction.

“The waiter asked me out as I was about to go home.”

“Was he cute?”

“Very.” Elliot’s face twisted into a stupid smile as he pictured the bat.

“Did you go?”

“You betcha.”

“What’d you do?” Lisa’s questioning pace was getting faster.

“Walk and talk.”

“Did you kiss him?”

“Mhm.”

“Did you do anything else?” She winked at Elliot, looking a little silly as she did.

“No,” Elliot said sheepishly. He tilted his head down and looked up at Lisa.

“Well then, get on that.”

Lisa smiled, seeming pleased with herself. She turned her head back to her notes, lazily digesting the professor’s ramblings. Elliot started to copy over her sloppily written bullet points, catching up on what he’d missed. As he wrote, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He was suspicious about the sensation; He’d been feeling phantom texts all morning. Elliot wasn’t going to risk missing a text from Simon, though, so he pulled out his phone under the table and peered down at it.

Simon: i’m not working tonight. do you want to go see a movie with me?

Elliot’s heart picked up its pace as he began to compose a reply.

Elliot: That sounds great. Where should we meet?

Simon: i’ll pick you up

Elliot typed seven different fruit bat puns, quickly deleting each of them as he went.

Elliot: Looking forward to it.

Although he’d ended the sentence with a period, it was an exclamation mark in his mind.

Simon lay on the small porch of his apartment, feeling the cool tile on his back. His wings were loosely fanned out, making his body into a sort of solar panel. Warm rays of sun heated him, sinking into his leathery black skin. He smiled to himself, feeling his tired muscles stretch out and thinking about his date.

Simon scratched his neck, trying to relive the feeling he had when he was around Elliot. He struggled to recreate the feeling of tingly excitement, just feeling happy as he recalled memories from the night before. He knew that he was supposed to wait a little longer before asking someone on a second date, but he couldn’t resist. He figured Elliot wouldn’t mind.

Later that night, Elliot stood in his shared apartment. In front of him was a mirror, and in it was his reflection, preening at his hair, looking himself over to ensure Simon would find him attractive. Simon had prepared himself similarly, although it was a little less effort on his behalf. Having a face covered in fur made skin quality a non-issue.

Elliot felt his phone buzz excitedly in his pocket, signalling the bat’s arrival. He sprinted down the stairs of his apartment building, descending quickly. He reached the bottom, letting the door swing open as he burst out. It hadn’t even been a day, but Elliot was getting tired of not being with Simon. Seeing the bat standing before him brought a shy smile to his face, looking him in the eyes bashfully for a moment.

“Hey,” Simon said.

Elliot meekly replied, saying the same thing. Simon extended his hand, feeling as if it was aching to hold the human’s fingers between its own. Elliot smiled, interlacing his digits with the bat’s and feeling their warm leathery skin.

Simon guided them to his car, asking the human about his day at university. Exchanging pleasantries felt shallow and insufficient, but they’d only known one another for a day. Elliot let his mind wander as they drove, admiring the bat from the passenger seat.

“So,” Simon scratched his neck fluff, “what’s your major?”

Elliot smiled, the subject of school feeling a little dreary in his mind.

“Microbiology. Bacteria are neat and all, but I feel like I’m missing out on all sorts of great bat facts.” The human’s grin turned to a smirk, looking excitedly at his date to watch his response.

“Well then, that’s a coincidence. I’m a bat!”

Elliot laughed at the stressed delivery, each syllable deliberately shaped to optimize the ridiculousness of the conversation. Simon continued, doing a shoulder check between his words.

“Don’t worry Elliot, I’ll teach you every bat fact you’ve wanted to know.”

The human’s face contorted slightly as they drove.

“Hey Simon?” He asked pensively.

The bat made a little noise, confirming his attention.

“I actually cannot tell if that was flirting.”

Simon laughed in his chirpy way.

“Well, that’s one bat fact you’ll never learn.”

Simon was beaming, clearly far too impressed by his response. Elliot smiled, letting him get away with it.

Eventually, they arrived at the movie theatre. From the outside, the building was a grey monolith, its rough concrete exterior seeming to constrain warmth or freedom, but the inside of the building was decorated with movie posters, colorful carpeting, and arcade machines. Elliot took Simon’s palm in his as they walked towards the concessions.

“So,” Simon squeezed Elliot’s hand, “What do you want?”

“I’d usually just get popcorn, but I don’t know. What can you eat?”

Simon smiled.

“Well, I’m a fruit bat, so I usually get gummies or something.”

Elliot seemed pleased, but his expression soon grew quizzical. A moment later, he laughed a little.

“What?” Simon said, staring down at him.

“Sorry, but I feel like you don’t have the right teeth for that.”

Simon smiled softly, soon baring his teeth in front of the human (a spectacle that Elliot found oddly arousing). He had two rows of fangs going down the sides of his mouth, each tooth hanging down like a stalactite from his upper jaw. The pointed teeth seemed like they might be okay for biting into an orange, but Elliot couldn’t imagine how this bat could eat gummies. Simon sensed his dubiousness.

“I’ll show you.”

The two slowly passed up the line to the small concession counter, stained with fake butter and littered with straw wrappers. Simon ordered popcorn and his fruit-flavoured gelatin candy, refusing Elliot’s attempt to pay.

As the starting time approached, the human and bat began pacing towards the theater. Their tickets were checked, and they walked to their seats near the middle of the theatre. The rows of seats were dimly lit, their shiny faux-leather seats softly shining in the glow. Simon gestured for Elliot to sit, soon sitting down next to the human.

The theater dimmed, the projector whirring to life as it began to show a set of asinine pre-roll ads. Simon looked over to Elliot and smiled. He didn’t have a reason to in particular, but he hadn’t felt this way about anyone in a while, and he intended on savouring it. The bat tore open his plastic foil packet, careful to keep it upright as he exposed his snack to the air. In the corner of his eye, he noticed Elliot watching him. He grabbed a gummy in his short claws, releasing it in his mouth before making a tremendous act of eating it. His jaw flailed, his fangs stabbing in and out of the gummy, perforating the candy rather than chewing it. He stopped, smiling and looking at the human. Elliot was doing everything he could to not burst out into laughter. Simon found the display unbelievably cute.

After a torrent of ads bleached the screen of anything interesting, the movie eventually began to play. Simon didn’t much care for the film. He’d been happy to let Elliot choose what they would watch, though, so he paid attention to the plot so they could chat about it later. The human munched softly away at his bag of popcorn, amusing both his mind and palate within the theatre.

Elliot took note as Simon yawned, stretching his arms out above him. His wings spanned from the side of his chest to his forearms, their leathery skin almost translucent in the reflected projector light. Slyly, the bat brought his arm down overtop the human’s shoulder. Simon pretended it was no big deal, but his heart was hammering in his chest. Elliot’s heartbeat began to resonate in time with his partner as he furthered their embrace, leaning his head into the crook of the adjacent bat’s neck. Suddenly, Simon was finding the movie a lot more enjoyable.

The film concluded about an hour later, the two staying in their embrace the whole time. The credits rolled for some time, neither Elliot nor Simon wanting to disturb their position. Eventually, Elliot stood. He extended a hand out, feeling Simon’s digits intertwine with his. Simon, too, stood up, and they headed to the doors.

Simon held Elliot’s hand tightly as they exited the theatre. They had entered it when the sun was brightly illuminating the streets and trees, but now there was only a harsh floodlight illuminating the parking lot. The two slowly walked to Simon’s car, recounting the events of their respective days.

Simon opened the passenger door from the inside, leaning over the console to let Elliot in. The human happily entered, enclosing himself with the bat readily. He was still leaning towards Elliot’s seat a bit, his upper body lingering and staring at his date.

“I’ve had an amazing time with you, Elliot.”

The human smiled. Something about hearing his name from the bat’s lips reminded him that this wasn’t a dream. Elliot laced their fingers together, looking back into the bat’s eyes.

“I’m really glad you asked me out.”

Elliot closed his eyes, leaning in and giving the bat a kiss on the lips. After his initial excitement faded, Simon followed suit, closing his eyes and continuing their kiss. They’d shared a quick peck before, but this was so much more. It was only their lips at first, but soon Elliot let Simon’s probing tongue into his mouth. Being a bat, his tongue was thinner than Elliot’s, but not unnervingly so. Elliot savoured in the bat’s subtle taste, hoping his breath was okay as they made out. Simon could feel his pants swelling slightly, but he had trouble bringing himself to care. The kiss was long and passionate, Elliot quietly screaming his growing love for this other man with the ministrations of his tongue. He felt desperate to have Simon just hold him and make everything okay.

After a few moments, Elliot pulled his head away. A string of their mutual saliva was drawn between their lips, Simon resting his forehead against the human’s as they both panted softly.

“I don’t want today to end.”

Simon’s voice was almost melancholy, and Elliot shared the same view. He felt so close to the sweet bat before him, his mind swarming with lustful ideas and desires. He wanted to go so much further, become so much more intimate with Simon. Despite this, something within him wasn’t ready to go through with it yet. They embraced again, wordlessly admiring the night as Simon drove the human home.