Octo sipped the hot chocolate in front of him quietly. He gazed over the street, people were walking and chatting with each other. The weather was cloudy and the temperature was not too hot, not too cold.

What a nice early autumn day.

He leant into the seat. He was done with college; he already defended his thesis yesterday and did his revisions. Technically, he has already graduated, but the graduation ceremony will be held next month. The storm had passed, and now, he was at peace.

College was exhausting, both physically and mentally. He appreciated his seniors whom he saw still laughing and joking around even when they failed their thesis. Or maybe they weren't really bothered with college and just want the title.

This was just the first strata; he wondered how would the second or even the third be like. If the first was this exhausting, then the second could be dangerous and the third could be hellish.

Okay, enough about college.

Where was James? He was doing his internship at the building just across the road from this café. It was past 15, his shift should've been over an hour ago.

He watched the television on the wall a bit far from his seat. It was broadcasting the result of the last two week's National Conference. Even though Tom was the third-place winner, the wolf was still happy with that. Some reporters even came to their uni to interview the wolf.

They celebrated it the night after Tom received the letter. It was a wild night, as wild as when they won the National College Football Championship. It was nice to see Tom happy and letting out all his emotions. He was so reserved most of the time and the panther was sure he needed to go for a while, well, Octo himself was reserved too but that was just him.

He even saw Tom being drunk for the first time. The wolf had to chug down three bottles of beer and rice wine to get drunk, which impressed all of them. Though, even when drunk, Tom was still cautious.

Oh, and he and Kevin almost fucked on the sofa. Well, while they had fucked thrice, they shouldn't really have snogged that night. However, that petrified but flustered look on Max's face that night was well worth it.

The following day, Max couldn't see him or Kevin in the eye.

Octo took a sip from his drink and chuckled. That night, they were all really letting out of their lesser animalistic side. Besides, despite how masculine and handsome was Max, he was cute when he was flustered.

“Sorry I'm late." James came to his table and put down a chocolate smoothie. “I had more reports to check."

He just flashed the tiger a smile. “Nah, that's fine."

“You really are taking your time, aren't you?"

The panther chuckled a bit.

James took his jacket off and sat down. “I won't be long, though. Gotta run some errands with my co-worker. She should call me any minute."

“Grocery shopping?"

“Worse. Market analysis." The tiger groaned. “It's the worst part of this internship, aside from the distance."

“Your office is that building." He said, pointing at the office building across the street.

“Hey, I'm used to walking to my classroom in, like, 5 mins."

Octo rolled his eyes and chuckled.

“You still promised me that chocolate cake when you said you're graduated."

“I'm not graduated yet."

“You've defended your thesis, so technically you're graduated."

“Aren't you supposed to buy me something as a gift for my graduation?"

“You're my senior, you know."

“Okay, here, I'll pay for your drink. Chocolate smoothie?"

“I've already paid for it."

“No buying you something then."

“You can give me back my money, you know."

“That doesn't count as buying you something."

They laughed a little.

Well, maybe it was official now, he had two pseudo-little brothers: James and Tom… or maybe just Tom because James was like his close friend. Probably they were analogous to Tom and Max or even him and Max, but without the sharp personality differences, past issues, and seemingly opposite sexual orientation.

Speaking of Tom and Max.

He gazed over James; he wanted to talk about them, but he probably shouldn't. While he trusted James to keep secrets, he didn't think Tom or Max would appreciate it if he told him that.

If only their seemingly mutual pining could go through their past insecurities and thick skulls.

“Oct, do you think maybe Tom and Max… kind of like each other?"

The panther's ears straightened in surprise at that. James knew?

But that shouldn't surprise him. Like him, the tiger had a strong sixth sense of reading people. Or maybe Tom and Max's feelings for each other were more visible than he thought. Could other people know too? Could Kevin know?

No, Kevin was too thick-headed to be able to read that.

“What do you mean?" he instead asked the tiger.

“Not that I'm against them or anything, I mean, they look like they like each other." James drank his beverage. “I'm a little surprised you didn't know about it."

“No, no, I do know but… honestly I wouldn't put it at mutual liking, at least, not yet, maybe. To me, it's…" he made gestures with his hands.

The tiger watched him curiously.

“…it's… more or less like a one-sided crush. Tom has a crush on Max, but Max only thinks of him as his friend." he leant forward. “That's a terrible thing."

“Why's it terrible?"

Octo sighed and ran his fingers through his head fur. “I had my fair share of crushing on straight guys, even homophobic ones, and I'm telling you it's a special kind of hell to last even a day with your crush, especially when he's your best friend. Having him as your best friend is kinda a double-edged sword."

“Sorry, I'm straight so I couldn't see it the way you see it." James said, a bit apologetic.

“Well, it's kind of like… like having a crush on someone else's girlfriend, but multiply the pain by tenfold. Seriously, I'm really worried at Tom when Max went missing two months ago."

“He's the one who has a crush on Max, isn't he? How about Max? I also see him as liking Tom, though maybe that was putting it too far since I don't know him much personally."

He sipped his drink. “Max isn't gay, bi, or homophobic. He had gays as his friend, see Kevin, but he never messed around. We never did a circle jerk or things like that. Max knows that I'm bi and he's cool with it, he was even the one who made me get along well with Andy."

James chuckled. “What was with you and Andy?"

“We didn't have a good start. We often fought in the field or even in the changing room. I was stubborn, I know, but Andy could sometimes be even more stubborn than me." He shrugged. “I didn't like the way he handled problems, or rather ran away from them, while Andy didn't like the way I acted. It was Max who literally put us in a locker and forced us to make peace."

“Seriously? Did you do him?" the tiger leant closer in interest.

“I wish I did. He's got some big muscles."

James slapped the table with a grin. “I knew you had a crush on Andy!"

“Hell no!"

“You said he's hot, didn't you?"

“Well... yeah. Saying he's hot doesn't mean I have a crush on him, you know." Octo rolled his eyes. “How bothersome."

The tiger drank his beverage with a grin.

“What about you and Lucy? Care to explain that to me?"

“I told you I like her. That's not something I'm ashamed of." James laughed a bit. “Okay, okay, fine. What's next?"

He leant on the seat, a bit embarrassed. “Well... we made peace inside the locker. No, it didn't involve groping. We made a temporary truce there, but then we made a ceasefire and it made us forget our dislike for each other."

“And now Andy follows your orders… kinda."

“He already knew I don't mess around. When I look angry, I really am angry, or that's what Yohan told me anyway." He sipped his chocolate. It was warm now.

James chuckled.

His phone suddenly rang. The tiger took it out from his jacket and groaned. “Shit, it's her. I gotta go." He stood up and tidied up his jacket. “Sorry we only get 5 mins."

“No problem. Today's gonna be over soon anyway." He smiled at James.

The tiger chuckled and took his cup. “Thanks, panther. Catch ya later."

“Later."

Octo watched the tiger's tail waving around as he left. “Yeah? I'm going. I'm in the café in front of the building..."

Yep, heavens knew he had a crush on Andy ever since he saw him in the first days of the football club. The lion looked handsome, hot, and irresistible, not to mention his mane made him look regal.

However, as he got to know him, his opinion on him turned the other way around. He was loud, brash, liked to joke, and dumb. Like, really dumb. Octo even caught him “asking" his classmate to do his homework.

That had been the last straw. The fabled rivalry between Octo the Panther and Andy the Lion in the football club began at that very moment.

He had confronted the lion right there and told him to leave the poor zebra alone. Andy just rolled his eyes and said it was none of his business. The urge to punch him for having made the football club's name bad had been very strong in his gut, but he reeled himself. It wouldn't have made the situation better.

After that, the lion just walked away ignorantly and dismissed them as if nothing happened. Octo never heard of the zebra again aside from him enrolling in Business Administration class 1 the next semester, away from Andy in class 3.

Some said rivalry would make them closer. Both sides would realise that they had each other, and only each other. The rivalry would be fuel for their relationship. But for him, it only made his crush dissipate.

He was glad that it went away since as he knew the lion more, he discovered more bad traits about him. Sure, the lion was getting better and nicer with people, but his bad traits were a major obstacle for him. By the time Max shoved them into a locker, the locker accident, his crush was already gone. Not even being in intimate proximity with him made him happy.

Afterwards, while he no longer disliked the lion, he still held him as someone annoying, someone to whom he'd better not get too close. Aside from his excellence at football, he was really getting all the attention only from his good looks. His performance in classes was poor, his scores could be better, he even had several subjects to be retaken.

Then, his opinion changed after he heard about someone who actually managed to make Andy do his homework.

That was nigh-impossible. He couldn't do that after a year of trying. Max, who was the lion's close friend, couldn't even do that. Not even the coach could do that. So when he heard someone managed to tell Andy to do his homework and have him actually do it, he was more than intrigued.

The first time he saw Tom, he had already seen him in high regard. This was the wolf whose insightful and outstanding presentation won second place in the provincial conference. He had been there, watching him—maybe if he had done his own essay in time, he could've also been on the stage. The wolf might be small, not muscled like them or tall like them, but he knew not to judge people by their looks. And when Tom made that pick-up line flawlessly, he knew they were going to be close.

No, it wasn't that he had a crush on Tom—how cheap was he, getting crushes on everyone he met? It was just… Tom was almost everything he could wish from a little brother.

He hadn't always been a single child. When he was six, his little brother was born. He was very small, fragile, and Octo wanted to protect him with everything he could do. His parents were very happy that he got along well with his new little brother. They went everywhere together. He loved his little brother with all his life and swore to protect him from whatever happened.

Yet, he could not.

When Octo was twelve, his brother was diagnosed with brain cancer. Though it could be suppressed, it wasn't curable. His parents had done everything they could to save him. But, nothing was enough. He remembered spending the nights in his brother's bedroom with his brother slowly shedding more and more fur each day, trying to make him forget his cancer, reliving their good times.

After almost a year of fighting cancer, his brother passed away at the age of seven.

His family had been utterly devastated. He locked himself in his room the next day after the funeral. His parents never planned to have a baby after that, and he had come to terms with the fact that he was going to be a single child.

Sometimes, he missed his brother. It was natural, after all. However, he let him go. His brother was not in this world anymore, so he stopped crying for him in order not to make him even more miserable. He still reminisced about him, but he had accepted the fact that his brother was no longer here.

Tom wasn't a pantherine, but aside from that, he thought the wolf was what his little brother could be. Smart, cunning, sharp, cautious, but also friendly and nice at the same time, precisely like him. They had so many similarities in personality which made them get along very well. He had also come to realise that Tom saw him as his big brother, which made him happy.

That was why he wanted to help him in every way he could. True, they knew that they weren't family, but he tried to be there whenever the wolf needed him. Octo didn't want to admit this loudly, but his inner desire to be a good big brother was still there.

Getting closer to Tom also turned out to make him get closer to Andy since Andy saw him as his “mentor". He wanted to know how was this “new-and-improved" Andy like. And what he discovered pleased him. Andy was more diligent, smarter, and nicer to people. He might still brag around about how awesome he was, but it was nice to wake up to a call from him asking for some help to do his homework.

Octo was more than happy to help, even though he did not understand most of the materials.

They ended up hanging out more and more. It started with the lion asking him to get something to eat while doing his homework, and as time progressed, they kept going out even when he had no homework. The other members of the football club had joked about them having made peace and “rekindled old friendship".

He could just go and hope that the lion started to “like" him, but heh, the panther only thought of him as his friend, nothing more. Besides, he had Kevin now. While they weren't boyfriends, they were certainly… something…ish.

What were they? Friends with benefits? Fuckmates? Wait, they didn't fuck every other day. They only did it when Octo was in the mood, which wasn't very often.

He let out a small chuckle and drank his drink empty. As he looked out the window, he wondered why did his thought delve so deeply. Maybe it was the chocolate; he really liked hot chocolate from his café.

He turned around to call the waiter, but he saw someone. He saw Tom was walking into the café. Surprised a bit at seeing the wolf here, he furrowed his brows in curiosity. Their eyes then met, and the wolf was visibly surprised as well. He smiled, beckoning him to come to his table.

Tom smiled at him as he sat down in front of him. “Hey, Oct." He said, starting a conversation.

“Hey, Tom. Didn't think you'd be here."

“This is the closest café I can find." Tom shrugged. “Besides, I want to explore the area a bit more. Who knew the food and drinks here could be delicious."

He chuckled. “They are, trust me. Though, you might want to stay away from the chocolate cakes since to me they don't taste very good."

Tom chuckled along.

“You here long?"

“Long enough. James was here earlier but he left early to do some work stuff." He leant into the seat. “You just got off from work?"

“Ya, a while ago. I wanted to get something to drink before going home."

A waitress came into their table and greeted them, putting down the menu.

“I'll just have another cup of hot chocolate." He said as Tom looked over the menu.

“Okay, one more cup of hot chocolate. You, sweetie?"

Tom gave her the menu. “I'll have hot green tea latte and a baguette, please. Oh, also some butter for the baguette."

“A cup of hot chocolate, a cup of hot green tea latte, and a baguette serving with butter, got it. Is there anything else you need?"

“That's all." The wolf smiled at the waitress. “Thanks."

“You're welcome! Please wait for your drinks." She then took the empty cup and left.

He looked at Tom watching the waitress intently as she went away. Tom's eyes were mesmerising.

How quaint were those eyes.

What was it with Tom's eyes? Max said his eyes were beautiful—yeah, those were his exact words—and his friends said his eyes were unusual. The eyes really were unusual. They had a distinctive colouration, one that he was sure he'd never seen before. A half-finished mix between brown and red. One couldn't see it from afar, but face-to-face like this, it was easily visible.

“You know, I actually wanted to call you to hang out." The wolf said, making him look away from his eyes.

“What do you mean?"

“Well, I, uh…" Tom scratched his nape and looked away. “I need some advice."

Octo smiled sweetly. “Anything for my clueless, honest 'lil brother."

“Dih!"

He laughed a bit.

“Well… um… don't laugh, okay."

“I won't laugh."

“I need advice to…" Tom was still looking away. “chat someone up. I-I mean, to hit on someone."

Octo wasn't laughing, but he was close to doing so. Tom was growing up.

When Tom turned to look at him, he chuckled a little, trying not to laugh. Fortunately, the waitress came and put their orders on the table, saving him the awkward moment of laughing at Tom and his innocent request.

“So," he started, leaning on the table and took a small sip from the cup. “you wanna get closer to someone."

“I-iya, okay?! I just…" Tom took one of the baguette pieces and ate it unenthusiastically. He was really cute like this. “I… want to get closer to someone. Well we are close, but I want to… properly g-get closer rom-romantically to him—her."

Octo noticed the slip in his pronoun usage, and it could be a confirmation to his observations. Tom was crushing on Max. He smiled in understanding at the wolf and ignored the slip in order not to make the wolf realise he knew. Probably also to let him know that he had no problems with whomever the wolf had a crush on.

Wait, Tom knew he was bi, didn't he?

“So, you wanna flirt with someone, don't you?" asked the panther.

The wolf was red. “Not flirt! I want to get closer, to properly court someone, not just flirt with someone!"

“Court?" Octo chuckled. “What species is this someone?"

Tom looked away. “Um… a dog."

The panther smiled as another validation to his observation was unfurling. “And what breed?"

“Uh… I can't tell you."

He almost laughed. His sixth sense was still working.

“You're growing up." He petted Tom's head affectionately. “Well, that's fair enough. So, I need to know this someone's personality first." While he genuinely wanted to help him, he also would like to see how Tom handled his pronoun usage.

“Well... uh... um..." Tom took a sip from his cup. “This someone is… she's easy-going and nice to people."

The way Tom said “she" was peculiar, hesitant, as if he didn't want to say it. Octo just looked at him with a friendly expression.

“B-but I'm worried because I know that she's… she's not really fond of relationships. Not because she doesn't want it, but because she has a… history."

My heart goes to you, Tom, Octo thought. This was Max, he was sure of it. Max had a history with homosexual relationships, so Tom was worried. Wait,

Now that he thought about it, Tom was between a rock and a hard place. He was going through a fire. It was almost impossible that Max would accept him in case he confessed. Sure, Max wouldn't hate him, but what happened before was something they should consider. That would be the worst-case scenario, the best would be Max just turned him down and their relationship continued as best friends like him and Lucas. He saw no way would Max accept him.

He now saw Tom in a different light.

How could I not realize it?! Tom is in the exact same position as me when I had a crush on William!

Yet, when he saw Max with Tom, the shepherd was all friendly and touchy-feely. He often hugged, embraced, or even piggybacked Tom. Max even told him he snuggled with the wolf when he was staying over.

Could Tom have a chance with him?

Even if he could, he needed to be careful. “Well, you can start by being clear about what you want."

Tom, who was about to eat a baguette slice, put it back down on the table in surprise. “Being clear about what I want?!"

“Not by telling her that you want to get closer, that's ridiculous." Octo rolled his eyes. “I mean, you drop a few hints, like touching her more, or be there when she wants, small things like that."

The wolf seemed uncomfortable.

“I notice you don't usually touch people, Tom. Does that make you uncomfortable?"

“No, not uncomfortable, just… not really used to casually touching people." He looked away.

The panther smiled. “That's okay, you can start by simple gestures, like… well, touch her. Give a handshake or high-five when you meet her, pat her shoulder to stress a point, or embrace her if you dare. She's not opposed to being touched, does she?"

“No. She… she touches me a lot."

Octo took a piece of bread and dipped it into the milk, silently laughing at his own mock-cluelessness. “That's good, then. You shouldn't have much difficulties here." He ate the piece. “When you feel like she's already used to your touches, you can invite her to hang out more, just the two of you. Do you hang out with her often?"

“Um… ya, we hang out often."

“Nice. What do you talk about when you hang out?"

“Uh… lots of stuff…" Tom sipped his drink. “Lots of useless stuff but sometimes deep questions like what to do after graduation, those things."

“Heh, you're already close to her, aren't you?" Octo laughed a bit, more at his own roleplaying than at Tom's words. He then sipped his drink. “Well, the next step is to make her comfortable being with you. Go to intimate moments together, like watching movies, going to her house—but don't fuck her, I know it's not really your thing. Drop some hints as you talk, shits like 'you brighten up my day' or 'today's been awesome with you around', but don't drop too much or you'll sound cringy. Don't forget to appreciate her."

Tom was watching him intently, but he could feel the unease around him. Octo just took another piece and ate it, leaning on the seat.

“You can judge her reaction, if she seems to be okay with that, you can go to the next step. If she doesn't seem to be okay, I'd recommend going with another route. Assuming she's okay with that, then you must strengthen your bond. When you feel she's all okay, you can then ask her out."

The wolf ate a piece and sipped his drink. They went quiet; Tom looked like he was processing what he said.

Eventually, he spoke up. “You make it seem easy."

“Believe me, it depends. It can be easy if she's receptive, and based on what you told me of her, she seems to be okay with that. But be careful, don't misinterpret the signs. You said she's not fond of relationships, then you must convince her that it's okay, it's harmless. You don't pose a threat to her." His gaze turned serious. What he said was just an overly oversimplified guide. He wanted Tom to be careful of hitting on Max. “Seriously, be careful. I don't want you to end up hurting yourself."

Tom looked to the road outside, his ears going down. He then took a deep breath and smiled at Octo. “I will. Thanks a lot, mate. That really means a lot to me. I'll be careful." He ate one piece. “The relationship we have now it's fragile. I know if I said something or acted wrong, it could mean the end of us. I'll be very careful."

Octo smiled fondly at him. “That's my wolf. If you need any help, just tell me."

“Thanks, ya." Tom laughed a little.

While Octo got the impression that the laugh might be a little forced, at least Tom understood the danger. If he played his cards right, maybe possibly chances were perhaps probably he could make Max his boyfriend.

The sheer impossibility of that sentence was overwhelming.

Heh, he would take that fact and slap the German Shepherd in the face if Tom did it.

“So, you with anyone now? Never seen you with a girlfriend."

The panther shrugged. “Nah. I was focusing on my internship and thesis last year, so I didn't really think about it. I had girlfriends before, though."

Tom laughed again, but this time it sounded more genuine. Octo just sipped his drink with a fond smile.

Did Tom know he was bi? Or did he just ask him about his girlfriends in particular? He remembered telling them when they were in his dorm, that day when Tom kissed Max.

“You want to order something else?" the wolf said instead, taking a menu from the table next to them. “I'll pay."

“I think I'll have more baguette. You don't need to pay, though, that's fine."

“It's okay. Just think of it as me buying you something because I won the Natcom." Tom leant on the table and finished his drink. “Also as a present for your graduation. Besides, I just got my last pay from my previous part-time job."

Okay, then. That must not be spent alone. “Last pay you say? How about going to my place and get us some dinner? My wallet is kinda empty." He grinned.

Tom just chuckled. “Anything for Mr Broke Panther."

Octo laughed at that.

“You don't have to do that, though, I was just kidding."

“But that's fine! We have to celebrate your graduation and my Natcom!"

“How about you celebrate your Natcom with her?"

“Already did, now let's get to your dorm! I want to play PS."

Octo just chuckled fondly and petted Tom's head again. “You really are a nice kid." He then finished his drink and ate the last piece of the baguette, then stood up.

Tom followed him and took his folded jacket. They went to the cashier and Tom paid for their snack and drinks. He also bought a cheesecake for them to snack as they wait for dinner later tonight.

The tram back to the uni was quiet, so Tom fell asleep. Octo just let him lean against him.

He really was a nice kid. Tom and Max, they deserved each other.

END This went somewhat sad .-. I swear I didn't really plan to write Octo's past.
Also I'm single so please don't at me for that trashy advice Octo gave xD