Max looked up from his mug of hot chocolate, smiling into Brady's eyes. The wolf smiled back, before breaking the contact to sip his coffee. He moaned a little as he drank the hot liquid, inhaling the very essence of the caffeine. Max sipped his own drink, slightly less intensely, but still smiling as he downed the sweet beverage. They lowered their drinks at roughly the same time, smirking a little awkwardly.

“So, not a coffee fur eh?" Brady asked jovially, raising an eyebrow. Max grinned, it was clearly a question he got often. He shook his head and clicked his tongue.

“No, unfortunately not. Every time I try to drink it, I end up all jittery. I think it has something to do with the caffeine in it." Brady shrugged.

“That's fine I guess, more for me." He said, before sipping his drink again.

“Look." The cheetah began. “I uh…really dislike small talk. It's just not my thing, I'm really bad at it and uh…I dunno. Do you mind if I ask you something a bit…forward?" He said quieter than usual, coyly biting his bottom lip in anticipation of the answer. Brady felt his face go red, embarrassed that he'd been pointlessly trying to make small talk, no wonder he'd had such a hard time.

“Um, sure I guess. What did you have in mind?" He said, staring down at his drink.

“When did you know you were gay?" The cheetah followed up. Brady instantly looked up, his eyes wide with shock. Not that he had any issue with the question; it just wasn't what he was expecting.

“Um, when did I know, or when did I come out?" He asked, trying to buy himself more time to think of an answer.

“When did you know, for sure? Was there a moment or…?" He trailed off, holding a paw up and indicating Brady should continue.

“Um, it was a slow process, I remember that. It's not like I had anything against it, I just…didn't think I would be one of the gays, ya'know? He explained, laughing uncomfortably, Max just nodded in silence. The wolf seemed to think for a minute, before continuing. “Okay, there was this one time when…well I mean afterwards it got me thinking…about boys…about everything like that."  

Twelve-year-old Brady trotted out of his house in nothing but his bather shorts, a bag slung over one shoulder, before climbing up into Oliver's Mum's car. Oliver and his mother were in the front, and Jackson Miles and a fur Brady didn't know were in the back. The young wolf hefted himself up into the SUV, buckling his seatbelt as Oliver's Mum took off.

“Happy birthday Ollie." He said, digging a card out of his bag and handing it to the Labrador. The pup accepted the card with a big grin, tearing it open to receive something about how twelve was the best age. Inside was a $30 gift voucher for a games store.

“Thanks Brady." The pup said, clearly chuffed with the gift, before stuffing the card and voucher into the glove box. He turned back, gesturing at the unknown fur in the car, another Labrador, this one with shiny black fur. “This is my cousin Adam, he's staying with us for the week." He said. Brady grinned, waving at the quiet black lab on the other side of the bench seat.

“Hey there." He said. The dog just waved back meekly.

“He's a little shy." Oliver said. “But he'll warm up to you." Brady just grinned right back. The furs in the car chatted the whole way to the pool, all dressed in bathers and ready for their swim. They were excited and bubbly, ready to jump out and start playing. Brady had never been to a pool party before, and he didn't mind having to drive all the way In Town to do it. He loved the whole thing. They even had cake, a huge mudcake that Brady was allowed to have three pieces of, plus an entire section of the pool dedicated just to them. A few other furs that were driven by their own parents showed up too, and in the end roughly twenty-five twelve year olds had a swim. In the later half of the day however, guests began to slowly trickle away until only the original carload was left.

“Alright boys, c'mon out you get. Get dressed, it's time to start going home." Oliver's mother called, packing up decorations and snacks. The twelve year olds all whined and complained, before trudging out and picking up their respective bags and dragging them to the changing rooms. They all stripped down without any self-consciousness, they were twelve years old and didn't care. Nobody else was at the pool either, so there was no worries about a stranger wandering in to see them showering. They all jumped under the shower heads, joking and laughing. Adam had long ago given up his shyness, happily joining in and laughing with the others. Purely by chance, it ended up that Oliver and Jackson finished their shower sooner, moving to the rear part of the changing room to get dried and dressed. Brady had his eyes closed, standing underneath the shower and letting his fur soak silently. When he opened his eyes, Adam was standing much closer, smiling shyly and looking right at him. Brady suddenly felt very self-conscious, looking down at his own naked body in nervousness. He laughed, unsure of himself.

“You nearly done too?" He asked, since he had to say something. Adam didn't reply, he just took a step forward, his right paw tightly gripping Brady's right wrist. Before the wolf could stop him Adam pressed up and kissed him on the mouth. Brady let out a cry of surprise, muted by the blockage of the Labradors face. Eventually the other boy pulled back, grinning, before he span around and ran off back to the changing area with the others. Brady stood in shock, confused as to what had just happened. Adam was a boy.

Max nodded slowly, letting a small but sly grin creep out as he lowered his empty coffee mug.

“Hot, kissing naked in the shower." He said, grinning. Brady smirked, before shaking his head.

“No, no it wasn't like that. It was a really sweet moment, nothing sexual about it." He said. “It was just this little escape, the only time we were alone." Max nodded.

“Yeah, I get it. It's adorable really, that pup stealing a kiss from you like that. Did anything end up happening between you and Adam?" He asked, folding his paws on the tabletop.

“I never saw him again." Replied Brady. “We had the car ride back to my house from the pool, then Adam just vanished as far as I knew. Back to the town he came from I suppose."

“That's a shame." Brady shrugged.

“Maybe. I don't know, I wasn't really aware that being gay was even a thing. I can't say that anything more would have happened, even if Adam had been around."

“Yeah, but there's something to be said for teenage experimentation. Would've been nice to go through all that with someone else too." Max said, a sad look in his eyes. Brady nodded; they clearly both understood the challenge of realising you were gay in a small town, where you're the only one for miles.

“Yeah. I guess so." Brady said. He didn't really need to say much else, they both understood. The wolf could feel a kind of warmth in his chest, knowing that there was someone else, even in his own tiny small town, who got it. He'd found that a lot of furs he met didn't. Straight ones had no clue, they thought they did, but they didn't. They didn't know what it was like to question your identity like that, to feel ashamed, confused, angry and lonely all at once. Even city furs that were gay frequently couldn't grasp what it had been like growing up gay in the country. Brady found that a lot of them grew up in upper-middle class areas inner city, cosmopolitan locations where people didn't really care all that much. They didn't get the isolation that a rural town could bring. After five minutes of silence, Brady had to do something to break the awkwardness and move on.

“You know Marley, right?" Brady said, changing the subject. Max nodded. “She lives at home, but her folks are going away soon. Her and Oliver are throwing a party there. Why don't you come and keep me company?" He suggested. Max shrugged, looking more apprehensive than the wolf had been prepared for. The cheetah paused for a second, clearly thinking of something to say. Eventually, he sighed and spoke.

“I dunno. Oliver's crowd can be pretty intense."

“Yeah exactly, that's why it would be nice to see a friendly face." Brady said, leaning down so he could peer into Max's eyes. Feeling a little daring, he darted a paw out, resting it on top of Max's own folded set. “Really, I'd love you to come." He added.

“Mm. The only thing is…I mean Oliver and I don't really get on very well." The cheetah confessed.

“Oh." Brady said after a minute, slowly pulling his paw back. “How…how come?"

“I dunno. I don't join in with all his bullshit, y'know?" Max said, looking up suddenly, his face tense.

“What…what do you mean by that?" Asked Brady, swallowing.

“Oh come on, always trying to get people into new shit. Always going further, being better. He's that hyper-masculine kind of douchebag that just loves to one-up the next guy. Plus he's way too into drugs for my liking." Max said, his tone harsh. “Surely you must see it, I mean I know you guys used to run together, but you've been down in the city right? He's not fooling you too?" Brady sat back in his seat, suddenly feeling awkward. He felt his face grow hot, he was unsure how to best respond.

“I mean, Ollie is kind of full-on I guess…" He started.

“Ollie." Smirked the cheetah. “Fucking hell."

“Look, you don't even know him. We've been friends for years okay, you don't understand. Oliver…he tries, he makes mistakes but he fucking tries alright?" Brady said, starting to get irritated. Max realised he'd made a mistake, holding up his paws.

“Look, uh, okay…"

“No, fuck off. Pulling shit like that on my friend. You don't have a clue about anything going on in his life." Brady said, leaning forwards.

“Don't bite my head off Brady." Said Max calmly.

“I'm not, just…I don't care about this high school kind of bullshit anymore, gossip and rumours." Spat the wolf. Max shook his head slowly.

“Dude this isn't gossip, Oliver's at the start of a serious habit here. I'd…I like you, so just get out of the way if you can. I've seen a lot of furs like him before man, self-destructive ones just like Oliver. He's a black hole, and everything around him is gonna get sucked down with him." Max finished, staring at his date quietly.

“And I take it Oliver knows you don't like him much?" Brady said quietly. Max nodded.

“Yeah." He said softly.

“Asshole." Replied Brady.

“Look, I…I'm sorry. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything." Max said, his eyes darting away.

“Yeah maybe not." The two sat for a moment in awkward silence, before Brady picked himself up slowly. He pulled his jacket on silently. Max didn't say anything as the wolf left, quickly paying for both their drinks and rushing out the door. Outside in the unusually chilly air, Brady zipped his hoodie up, his face red underneath the grey fur, burning with embarrassment. He felt so stupid.

The clock read 5:00am in bright red digital numbers. Jake was on his back, wearing nothing but his underwear underneath Wendy's sheets. He looked around groggily, examining the room. The deer was gone, and a faraway thought wondered where she'd gone. His question was quickly answered by the flushing of a toilet in the ensuite, right before the middle-aged fur came strutting out in nothing but fur. She smiled at the boy, slipping into the sheets next to him.

“Mm, you're warm." She whispered. Jake laughed.

“I have to get going soon." He said quietly, looking at her. Wendy smiled sadly.

“I know, you can stay a little longer though. Just a bit." She said.

“Yeah I suppose so." Jake added. The two went quiet, Wendy with a paw gently tracing lines on the teenagers chest.

“What are you thinking about?" She asked eventually. At first Jake didn't respond, staring straight up at the ceiling and processing the question. He tried to run a mental catalogue of his thoughts. “Jake?" Wendy pressed.

“I'm thinking." The wolf started. “That what we're doing here is wrong, and not allowed." He said finally. Wendy let her paw drift a little farther down to his stomach.

“But?" She asked softly.

“But I…" He glanced at the deer. “Don't care. I just…I know we shouldn't be. But…" He stopped, biting a lip anxiously.

“But we are." Wendy finished, sliding forward and kissing his neck. “Can you imagine what they'd say, if anyone knew?" Jake just nodded in place. “That I was a pervert, a manipulator…that you didn't know what you were doing. That I pressured you." She explained. As she spoke, Wendy let a finger slip just under the elastic waistband of his underwear.

“They might." He said, swallowing.

“Do you think I pressured you Jake?" Wendy asked sweetly, without breaking eye contact. The young wolf hastily shook his head. “Good, I'm glad. I don't want you to feel like I…like I used you."

“I don't." The teenager said meekly. “I…I like what we do." Wendy smiled.

“Good." She said, instantly retracting her hand and climbing up out of the bed. Jake watched as the naked deer wandered into the bathroom, pausing in the doorway to look back at him. “You better get going I s'pose, like we agreed, nobody can find out." She finished, pulling the bathroom door shut behind herself and starting the shower up. Jake sat stunned for a minute, as he did every morning at Wendy's place, amazed at what he'd done the night before. None of his friends had lost their virginity yet, but Jake still had to pretend he hadn't either…because Wendy was right, about what would happen if anybody found out. He'd probably get in loads of trouble, everyone would hate him at school. They'd all think he was disgusting, doing something like that with someone so old. It was a small town too, Jake knew there was no escaping history like that. No, he couldn't do it. He wouldn't.

Swallowing to himself again, the wolf pulled himself out of bed, slowly dressing. After he was done, he shot a quick look at the bathroom door, where the shower could still be heard running, before heading out the door and beginning the jog home, as always, careful to make sure nobody saw him leaving.