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Days passed in silence between the three as tensions between Eli and Max were still high. They had talked about what happened but the unhappy ending between the father and daughter had soured their moods back to before the confrontation. They talked sure but not on the level they were previously and this hadn’t gone unnoticed by their third wheel. Snowfall came heavier than it had in previous years in early October and almost trapped the small group inside the small home. While the two men worked outside to ensure that didn’t happen Ian broached the subject.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you two be so cold to one another. What’s going on man?” Max sighed as he leaned against the handle of his snow shovel. It only took him a moment before he started shoveling again.

“Yeah, you saw the disagreement but you didn’t see the outcome. The ‘too long; didn’t read’ is that we broke up a family. Damn deer are so stubborn when they want to be. I had no bet on either side of the table but it sure as hell doesn’t feel great that you split up a father and daughter. Seriously, how do you not have the idea to just…leave when someone threatens your family? Especially when the cops won't do anything in response to those threats.”

Ian nodded as he continued to throw snow off of the gravel driveway before looking back to the small home. “I wonder why Eli is staying. Seems to me she has reason enough to skip town and head somewhere warmer. Let us handle the heavy lifting.”

With a grunt, another heavy shovel full of powder was tossed to the side. The work continued as Max thought about Eli. Her reason to stay even after she saw what he was willing to do in defense of his home and those he cared for. It confused him, she was a civilian in the clearest sense of the word and it simply didn’t make sense for him. Sure he trained her a bit but she wasn’t conditioned like he was and didn’t make the choices he did. Lose a part of herself like he did. “I don’t know. I’ll talk to her about it and will probably get an answer I won't like but…that's the risk we take for love right?”

“Did you tell her that?”

“Tell her what?” The shoveling between them stopped as Max asked his question. Unsure of what his furry friend was talking about.

Rolling his eyes he just spat out the full question. “Did you tell her that you love her? I assume that you did, seeing how you’re talking about it.” Max stayed quiet as he shoveled more snow and gave his answer. “Look man I'm not here to judge but don’t you think that's a little fast? I mean, you know how attached anthros can get, right?”

Max rolled his eyes and dropped the scarf that was covering his week-old beard at this point. “If I didn’t know the risk I wouldn’t say it. You don't reach my age and stay a virgin if you enjoy anthro women like I do. Like how could you know how ‘whimsical’ human women can be if you didn’t go through that yourself.”

Ian blinked a few times, confused. “Wait, were you in a relationship with another girl before Eli? Like…an anthro girl?”

“A boa to be exact. She was a sweet southern girl in my last duty station but sadly I had to cut things off when she constricted a bit too hard and crushed all my ribs. That and we just…didn’t see eye to eye.” Max sighed as he leaned against a tree to reminisce. “She didn’t like the military or the fact that I was in it and I didn’t like her choice of…let's just call it ‘world outlook’.” He closed his eyes for a moment as he thought about what Ian was implying. “Should I tell her about it?”

Ian shrugged as he continued to shovel the heavy powder further into the treeline. Some were still stained by the scars of their recent conflict, scorch marks, missing chunks of wood, and small splatters of dried blood. “That’s up to you, do you think there's any chance that they’d ever meet each other? Eli and this other snake?”

“Hmm, I think it might just be a good idea for clarity. Let her know a bit about my lascivious past.” The two laughed as they shared in the irony of the joke before the work continued with simple conversations between them. They were well indeed friends at this point and were even ribbing and throwing good-natured insults at each other. But one thing stuck out to Ian.

“Quick about your ex, when you say she had a ‘different world view’ did you mean that she was…”

“Blisteringly racist yes.” Ian froze as he looked at his friend with a hint of worry as he thought of their past together and thought about what he called himself a mutt. “I know what you’re thinking and no it didn’t rub off on me. She wasn’t fond of mammals except humans, a weird double standard with her and body hair... weird.”

“And the reason you called me mutt?” He tried to keep his tone level and not betray the anger he felt welling up in his throat.

“Oh, that was because you had been following me all day and I perceived you as a threat. I don’t use that kind of stuff unless I need to antagonize the person. She on the other hand would just use the most hurtful words she could. Guess it was because she was from the south.” Max shrugged as he took a short break to reminisce. “Ah well, water under the bridge.”

Ian nodded as he decided he’d grill him about it later, really try and get to the bottom of this new issue between them. Currently content with each other they continued to work in silence until the gravel driveway before making their way inside the repaired and warm house. Eli was keeping herself busy inside letting the two men come in and drop their snow-caked boots off at the door before Ian moved to the corner of the small house that had been fashioned into a makeshift bed on the floor. The loveseat was smashed but the cushions could still be used to keep him relatively comfortable during his stay. “How much longer do you think you’ll be hanging around here?”

Ian shrugged as he slumped down onto the collection of cushions and blankets before rolling onto his back. “When this whole situation is sorted, I’m not letting you fight my family alone. You may be good but you’re not a one-man army.” Earbuds found his ears before he said one last thing whilst lying back. “Got a little dizzy so I’ll be taking a breather. Let me know if you need help with anything.”

He was unconscious in moments allowing Max to motion for Eli to follow him. They were back outside moments after he had just come inside. Dark overcast clouds painted the sky in a sickly gray as a light flurry began to descend upon the couple. “So what do you want to talk about? Must be pretty important if you need to be alone at the start of another snowstorm.”

“About Jeffery,” He started before Eli just lunged at him to wrap her arms around him. It had been a day since they last embraced but to Max it felt like a lifetime. Her touch was intoxicating and in response, he simply wrapped her in his arms. Her breathing was shallow before it shuddered into near-silent sobs. “I’m sorry Eli, I shouldn’t have made you go through any of this. I should have shielded you from all of this, protected you better.”

Her tears stained his flannel shirt as he held her close, letting his arms rub up and down her back. Trying to soothe the pain she had been holding in for the last few days. They didn’t need to share words just yet, content to comfort her and be comforted. He just needed her in this moment and he hoped that he was all she needed. They lost track of time, so much so that the light began to fade from the gray sky, and snow accumulated on their shoulders. Max ensured that Eli’s head remained snow-free while they remained out in the bitter cold. “I’m sorry too.”

Eli spoke for the first time since she broke down in his arms. “There’s nothing you need to apologize for. You were never in the wrong and if anything you have every right to be mad at me. I held the truth back from you and I’m man enough to admit when I messed up.” His lips met her forehead as he continued to comfort his distressed lover in the light snowfall. “So…do you think that my plan for a date tomorrow night will work out?”

Eli just smiled as she pulled Max tighter into her embrace. That's when she gave a light chuckle into his chest. “God damnit Max. I wanted to apologize and you just pulled out a date. How am I supposed to compete with that?”

Max simply let his lips rest on her forehead, kissing her as tenderly as he could. Her cool scales seeped the heat from his kiss in a perfect symbiosis of chemistry and care. “You compete by being yourself. All I need is to know you’re happy and safe and sadly it seems that I only seem to do the opposite.”

“I'm not going to Florida so don’t even ask. Sadly for you, you’re stuck with me.” She chuckled into his chest before her ruby eyes met his. “I chose to stand by you and I’m not backing out now. Especially when the work is only half done.” She leaned in letting her thin scaled lips meet his in the dim light of the setting sun before pulling back from their intimate embrace. “I could go without the nightmares but I don’t regret standing by you. Was I mad? Yes. Am I still mad? Yeah, but it’s more directed towards Jeffery now. I’ll be alright, all I need right now is my rock in the storm. I just need you.”

“Love you too Eli.” A few more moments passed as they just enjoyed the private moment in the fading light. “Let's get you back inside where it's warm, snow’s starting to stick to your scales.” Eli nodded before yelping lightly as Max scooped her up into his arms. “Thought about what you want for dinner?”

“Yes, but Ian’s here so I’ll have to settle on those juicy venison steaks you make.” Her sly smile snuck up on him causing a fierce blush to grace his cheeks. “Guess it’ll have to wait for us to be alone.”

“God you are such a tease sometimes.” Rubbing his stubble against her cheek he pulls a fit of chuckles from her before heading back inside. “Venison steaks it is then, want to pull them from the fridge for Ian, what's wrong?”

Standing in the center of the room the wolf was as still as a statue with Sig and Sauer trying to comfort him at his feet. Light licks ran up his exposed lower legs as he stared at a still image on his phone. “Trevor…he’s gone mental.”

Before either of the other two parties could ask what he meant he turned the screen towards them letting them see the new horrors that Trevor decided to enact. Jeffery’s outdoor store was in flames before he swapped to another image with a threat directed toward the stag. ‘I will find you’. Max’s brow lowered in a scowl before he spoke. “Guess my timeline is going to have to move up. Damn it.” Clenching his teeth he swore under his breath as he set Eli down. “I'll run through the plan over dinner. For now, let's just enjoy our company together.”

Ian and Eli shared a nervous look before they relented with a sigh between them. Ian finally lowered himself down to the dog’s level and reassured them silently that he was right with a heavy helping of pets and scratches. “Hopefully he won't be too drastic.”

-

“You’re insane.” Ian spat out across the table over their half-eaten meals. Max’s unmoving face only cemented his concerns about what Max had just brought up to the small group. “Oh my Gods, you’re serious. I can’t believe this.”

“It’s the fastest way to reach the end of this conflict without getting the feds involved. Besides I wouldn’t trust those nut jobs as far as I could throw them so that’s a last resort type of plan.” Max rolled his eyes as he took another shred of steak into his mouth. “Just look at what happened at Ruby Ridge, all of the involved officers were given the death penalty for that blunder. At least they restructured the whole system after that and the next situation was resolved peacefully.”

“The standoff in Waco? I thought that it ended in disaster too.” Eli inquired as she savored the steaming meal in front of her with her flicking tongue.

“Better than Ruby but I mean the one up in the state of Ontario where no lives lost on either side, that's the best case. In our case, however, I highly doubt It'll go that route. Too easy to paint me as a crazy vet that lost it in the woods.”

Eli nodded as she agreed with him. “Honestly I could see that. Before I got to know you, no offense hun, you did give off the crazy mountain man vibe. You were just…ready for anything. Saving my life did help with that perception though.” Her laugh was infectious between the two not in question leading to a harsh blush racing across Max’s face. “It’s alright sweetie, you know I love you.” She leaned over and flicked her tongue against his cheek in a sweet gesture of her genuine affection.

“Otherwise do you two have any real objections to what I have suggested-”

“Yes, I have objections! You’re practically threatening to bomb a hospital!” Ian’s fury spiked as he threw an accusatory finger his way. “Not only are you threatening my brother with this dumbass scheme, you're also threatening everyone else there! You don't want to be a target for the feds but this will put the biggest target on your back yet! Yes, this will drive my brother mad but it will also get you into federal prison for life!”

“Who said anything about bombing? I am just gonna call him from the side of his brother’s medical bed. Give a couple of vague threats and boom I've got a one on one. No one else gets hurt and we can finally settle this.”

Ian just rubbed his eyes as he leaned back from the other two, Max just motioned to ask if he had a better idea before Eli cut in. “Max, do you think that threatening his brother is a good idea? We’ve seen what he does with a slight altercation pisses him off.”

“Hmm…Think he’ll go for an implied threat?” Max tapped his chin as he thought about the logistics of his original plan and the fact that it included a lot of unnecessary risk. “You’re right though, the hospital might be a bit much.”

Ian slumped in his seat as his reasoning was seen and a dangerous path was avoided. “Threatening might not be enough, you'll have to take something he cares about. Show him you mean business.”

“You already said that I shouldn’t threaten his brother and at this point, I think using you might be a moot point seeing that he tormented you for years, so what do you suggest?” Max pinched the bridge of his nose trying to think of anything that could be used as leverage.

“I think I might know,” Eli spoke just after she swallowed nearly the whole flank steak in one gulp with a few choice cuts of meat Max knew she was saving for his dogs. “I mean it’s just a hunch but he does seem pretty fond of his truck.” Ian and Max simply stared at her with empty expressions as they thought about her reasoning. “O-or we could go after his rep…he does seem pretty fond of that…maybe. Never mind it was a stupid ide-”

Ian cut in looking between the human and snake at the table. “That’s not a bad idea on its own but-”

“Together,” The same smile that Eli had seen at the range spread across her lover’s lips prompting the same chill of nervousness to run up her spine. “They could make him snap, start acting recklessly. That’s brilliant Eli, great idea.” He leaned over and placed his lips on her cheek and she leaned into wholeheartedly. Both were happy that the past two days had run their course and made their relationship all the stronger for it.

“I'm glad you two aren’t upset anymore but do you have to act so…sappy around me?” Ian just turned his head away from their shared affections.”Speaking of how did that talk go earlier? About your ex?”

“You have an ex?” Eli’s eyes widened as Ian accidentally let the cat out of the bag a bit too early. Is this something I have to worry about?”

Max simply shot a glare for just a moment, truly letting him know that they’d have words later to Ian before turning back to his partner. “It was a long time ago and we didn’t mesh, I don't want to get into the details but the most we did was hug. Hell, she almost killed me when she constricted around me.”

“So it was another snake?” Max pursed his lips shut as Eli’s eyes narrowed. “Am I a fetish to you? Just another crack at a snake woman?”

Max rubbed his eyes and sighed before looking into her eyes with conviction. “Eli, you're the first girl I ever kissed. I don't know what to tell you other than you are way better than I deserve. I never told another woman I loved her besides my mom and sisters. You’re the only woman I’ve felt actual genuine love for and to have you say I’m ‘just into snakes’ stings. Like you don't think what I'm feeling is real.” Eli was stunned by how open Max was being. She knew he was honest to a fault but to open up this deeply spoke to how much she meant to him and by extension his relationship with her.

“Max, I didn’t mean it that way.” Her cool digits wrapped around his hand to try and show that she truly didn’t intend her words to hurt him. He let her hand stay but didn’t squeeze back. Her brow softened as she could practically feel his pain. “Am I jealous I didn’t get to you first? Yes, I am but I'm more jealous I wasn't the first to wrap around you tight enough to crack a rib or two more. Seriously, I wanted that milestone.”

Ian broke the tension in the air with a hearty laugh that surprised the two. “Oh my god, you two are made for each other! I've seen other couples break up over sharing a toothbrush and you two just can’t stay mad at each other.”

Eli huffed and crossed her arms. “I was upset with him for two whole days. That has to count for something.”

“Just means we’re not perfect Eli, to err is to be sentient.” They shared another tender moment between them before his phone rang. Shattering another intimate moment between them makes Max squint his eyes shut. “If this happens one more time I'm throwing it out into the snow.” He moved from the table as he answered the call and went silent after the unintelligible words entered the air. “Understood. We’ll meet tomorrow, no tricks.”

Ian was the first to speak as he hung up the call and turned towards the other two. “Who was that?”

“Your mom wants to discuss what's been going on and Trevor’s recent actions.” Dropping back into his chair he let out a heavy sigh as he looked between the two. “Seems like things might finally go in our favor.”

“Let’s not count our chickens, hun. We don’t know what this will bring.” She tossed the strips of meat down to Sig and Sauer and gave them their favorite dessert with a wide smile.

“Yeah, hope for the best, prepare for the worst.”