Octo put the last box down and let out a satisfied sigh. He still had some more boxes in the student housing that he'd take later. He looked over the bare room as he gasped with his tongue out. It was still empty, but it was going to be his own home. What a nice way to start a new year.

It was rather hard to convince his parents that he wanted to move to Barrowisle. They didn't accept his decision at first, but he told them that he was an adult now and his decisions are his to make. He told them he'd still visit every month or so, but he wasn't really looking forward to it since his father… had been trying to get him involved with the drug operation of the family. He did not want to do that, no matter how many times his father urged him to at least take a look at the Barrowislander headquarter.

Octo undid the headband and wiped his face, shaking the thoughts away. After lifting those boxes, he was smelly. He'd asked Kevin to help him unpack his stuff and the wolf wouldn't arrive until later. He knew it wasn't a very good idea since he didn't want to disturb the wolf with his thesis, but the wolf didn't seem to mind.

The panther glanced at the wall… only to find that he had not installed a clock.

Chuckling a bit to himself, he took his tank top off and sat down on the floor, taking his phone. It was almost one in the afternoon, apparently. He was getting hungry, too.

Kevin Huntington: “u want sumthing to eat? Im otw now"

Well, that would be nice. “Sounds good, thanks." he typed back.

After spraying the room with some freshener to get rid of his smelly musk, the panther stood up and walked to the bedroom. The bed had already been installed, fortunately. Digging into his suitcase, he took a fresh towel then went to the bathroom. He would put his clothes into the wardrobe later.

As water rained down upon his body, the panther let out an exhausted sigh and leant against the wall. This flat was half furnished, which he didn't mind. He'd like to add a personal touch to it, though it wouldn't really be a lot since he liked vanilla anyway. Grandiose wasn't really his thing despite his family's wealth.

Although this flat was far from a bus and a tram stop, he could walk to Hallestead metro station in just a few minutes. This flat was close to the Ancient Town district. Despite the occasional flock of tourists, he liked it here because it was less dense and quieter than the city centre.

He still remembered the first time he arrived at Barrowisle. He'd taken a train back then. Wolvessye Station was big, as befitting a central station, but sometimes it was not enough. In fact, there were so many people using public transportation that they had to build Legerville Station in the Legerville district next to Wolvessye. He appreciated that Barrowisle kept a strict law about the building height, confining skyscrapers to the Legerville district. That law made Legerville the de facto business district of Barrowisle.

He took the shampoo and applied it to his body. His biceps and triceps seemed to have gotten a bit bigger. Hmm, he didn't do any weight training lately… well, those boxes could be considered weight training. Going lower, he poked his chest and abs. His abs seemed to be a little less pronounced now. Maybe because post-graduation stuff had really been stressing him over, especially that family matter. He needed to get back in shape soon.

He heard someone opening the door, followed by a familiar voice, “Octo, you here?"

Eh, just ignore him. The wolf could hear the shower running anyway… wait, he didn't lock the door?!

At least it was just Kevin. “Kev, lock the door!" He shouted, hoping that the wolf heard him.

He applied the shampoo to his tail. Kevin was nicer now, certainly a lot nicer compared to the first time they met. His personality appeared to have changed a bit. Whether that was just with him or with anyone, he didn't know.

And really, he had to wonder, why were hot guys like Kevin tend to be arseholes? He knew there were exceptions, and he definitely knew that was a huge generalisation, but he couldn't help but wonder. Really, many hot gay/bi guys he met were Kevin material. Could it be because many nice hot gay/bi guys didn't like to come out?

The panther had wondered about this so many times, but it seemed like he liked guys more than girls. He wouldn't turn down a girl, but he didn't know, guys just seemed hotter.

Being in the football club left a pleasant taste in him. Aside from the obvious Andy, they were all really hot. It had taken him a lot of willpower not to confess to or ask anyone out or suggest a circle jerk or something like that. Yet, he knew his limits. At first, he told Max that he was bi. The dog was surprised, but he said he didn't mind. He said just go ahead and tell the others, and after he did, they all still trusted him despite his sexual orientation.

Even Andy, who he thought might be a bit bigoted at first, continued to act like nothing was wrong. They kept hung out to do homework, although understandably he was curious. Good thing he told them after the locker incident, so explaining some homosexual things to the lion didn't make him feel funny.

He heard some noises from the bedroom, and his ears went up. What was Kevin doing?

“Taking shower all by yourself?" The wolf then said as he opened the bathroom door.

Octo didn't turn around; he just shrugged. “I'm smelly."

“Good kind of smelly." Kevin said, stepping under the water. He put his hands on his waist and hugged him from behind, sniffing his neck. “Good kind of smelly."

The panther rolled his eyes. “Get out, I'm taking shower. You're gonna get all wet."

“So what? Tell me to stop and I'll stop."

If there were one thing the red wolf learnt from him, it would be his preference for directness.

He just grunted and washed the shampoo away. Kevin kept hugging him, this time rubbing his chest and abs. This actually felt nice, until his hands went lower and groped his equipment.

However, they went up again as Kevin pulled himself away. “Give me the shampoo." Kevin said. “I'm gonna wash your back."

“Oh? Decided to be useful?"

“I gotta be useful if we wanna keep fucking, right?"

Octo snorted at that, while Kevin laughed.

As silly as that sounded, that raised a red flag for him. Were they now… something? Certainly there was something between them, but they seemed to put that aside.

Was the feeling mutual? He was not going to deny that he might have developed feelings for the wolf. However, did the same happen with the wolf?

Octo just pushed those questions aside and sighed. It had been a long time since he dated someone, so maybe this was just his horniness talking. He did have some one-night stands, but properly dating someone? The last time he had a date was way back in the first semester. After that, he did not want to date again for a while. Instead, he focused more on his studies.

“Kev," he said as he handed the shampoo to the red wolf.

“That's me." The wolf said as he put some shampoo into his hands and began cleaning his back.

He washed his face. “What did you buy for me?"

“Just some roasted ducks. You like 'em, right?"

“Yeah." He stared blankly at the shower knob as Kevin washed his back.

The wolf's hands were actually pretty reflexing. The panther found himself closing his eyes and enjoying the massage. His paws were gently massaging the sore muscles on his back, making him let out a pleasant sigh as the wolf used his thumbs to press on his wing muscles.

Of course, Kevin had to ruin everything. After a while, the wolf's hands moved lower and lower until they cupped his arse in a definitely not-safe-for-work way.

“I wonder." Octo said as Kevin rubbed the base of his tail. “You came here just to be able to grope me in private, didn't you?"

“Definitely." was the wolf's answer.

The panther didn't answer, but he did feel something. “Is this your dick I'm feeling between my legs?"

“Maybe?" The wolf laughed.

Octo turned around and saw that stupid horny grin plastered all over the other's face. He then washed his back and shook his body, taking the towel afterwards. “Go fuck yourself."

“Oh, come on! That didn't even turn you on?" asked Kevin, trying to sound like he was the victim.

The panther exited the shower area and turned the blower on—good thing his fur was short so he got dry quickly. “I called you here to help me unpack, not to get horny." He said while putting the towel around his waist, leaving the apparently naked wolf in the shower.

“Octo, get back here! Let's fuck in the shower!"

“Not a chance." He said as he turned the blower off and left the bathroom. “Where's the food?"

“Right here, along with some cream~"

“I'm gonna go to the nearest restaurant, then."

“Fuck no!" Kevin's head popped out from the bathroom door. “Um, towel?"

Octo just stared at him, then shook his head amusedly and threw him the towel, but not before he turned around.

Whatever was between them, maybe it was better this way for now. He'd ponder about their relationship some other time. He had boxes to be unpacked, but before that, food to be eaten.

“This towel smells like you. And it's all wet! Where's the blower?!"

And apparently, a wolf to be annoyed of. How troublesome.

A scream echoed in the dark, secluded alleyway, piercing through the silence of the night.

Tom grinned wide as he tossed the clothing piece from his claws. The snow around them was red, painted by blood. The wolf's eyes were fixed at Rodrigo, who was wise for staying out of the bloody fight. They then fixed back at Rodrigo's boss, a horse.

“Come on! Fight me! We haven't gotten all bloody here!" he said as he walked towards them, ignoring the blood dripping from his own fur. “You're just a bunch of fucking dogs or not sih?"

The horse gritted his teeth. One of his underlings said, “He's dangerous!"

Tom heaved, stepping on a not-dead-yet cheetah from the group.

Too bad Lain was not here. He'd be happy to fight.

He sensed Rodrigo staring at him, but he ignored it. The bison had nothing to do with this, that he knew. This was all purely his boss' doing. For what purpose, he didn't know, but he guessed his popularity gained more traction these past few months.

Tom took his wooden staff, almost red with blood. Good thing it hadn't broken into two yet, or he'd have a more powerful weapon. He played with it as he walked even closer towards them. “A wooden staff versus knives, daggers, guns. You sure you didn't sleep in the fight class?"

The horse growled.

“What the fuck are you?! Five-fucking-year olds? Come and fight me! It's what you want, kan?"

His ear twitched a bit as he heard snow crushing several metres behind him.

How many people was he fighting? Ten? Twelve? He didn't really count, but it was just a small party. A bit larger than Rodrigo's but certainly had pushed him almost to his limits. His legs almost gave up, as did his heart. He earned new slash marks; his right eye was even kicked so hard it almost went blind. If this last show of strength didn't scare them, then… well, hell would be a better place for him.

If Hell even accepted him, anyway.

He stopped, then quickly turned around and ran as quickly as he could when he heard a crack. Someone tried to ambush him from behind, heh, funny.

Rule four: do not hurt people without valid reason/s.

That someone, a rabbit, went wide-eyed as the wolf kicked the gun away, almost lightning fast. He punched his chest, it sent him flying several metres. Tom launched his staff, and it landed on that someone's chest as he landed on the snow.

“Fuck!"

“Boss, he's crazy!"

Before the rabbit could sit up, Tom was already on top of him. He pulled him up and pushed him to Rodrigo's boss. Size really was a chore sometimes. He was smaller than them, which made him very agile, but he'd like to be able to toss someone like they weighed nothing.

The rabbit landed on the horse's arms. “Rodrigo, get your ass here and help Miguel!"

The bison quickly did what he was told, not without averting his gaze from Tom.

Tom stopped and gasped for air. His legs should give up anytime soon. He then took the staff and put it on the snow next to him.

The horse roared, but he didn't attack. “We will kill you for this! Fucking son of a bitch!" he then turned around. “Retreat! We can't lose any more of our men!"

Tom bit his tongue hard to prevent himself from saying anything that might rile them up again. Maybe he bit too hard, but his mouth was already full of blood anyway so he couldn't tell. He leant on the staff as he watched them retreat with cautious and loathing stares directed at him.

When they were out of sight and he heard cars heading out, he allowed himself to sigh tiredly. He walked to a wall and threw himself onto it, sitting down almost topless in the snow. Those bastards nearly ripped his shirt apart.

Fuck Rodrigo's boss. Horse kicks were powerful. He held his head, trying to refocus his vision from his right eye.

When he couldn't do anything, he howled into the night. He tried to make it sound scary, but it came out hurtful, sorrowful.

Fuck it, his throat burned.

“Tom."

He stopped howling. There was Rodrigo in front of him, face pensive.

Tom just smiled at him, but it came out as a pained smile. “If this weren't the best time to kill me, then I didn't know what was."

“I'm not here to kill you."

“Glad to hear." He turned his head away and looked at the cheetah. “You should probably help that cheetah; he lost a lot of blood. Don't leave him to freeze to death here."

The bison didn't say anything, but then he picked the cheetah up and carefully put him in his arms. “Stay with me, Charlie."

Tom saw the cheetah's heaving chest, and a feeling of relief washed over him. He hadn't killed him.

He had hurt too many people; he did not want to add more.

The wolf looked away from the scene. The pristine white snow was now red. If someone walked here, they might think that a massacre had just taken place. That wouldn't be wrong, considering.

Someone dumped something next to him, and he looked up.

“Don't you dare die here." Rodrigo said, eyes full of anger.

Tom stared at him.

They stared at each other until Tom looked away. “Thanks." He said, really meaning the word.

That took the bison by surprise judging by his slight gasp. The bison then walked away from the scene, his admiration and respect for the wolf radiating in the air.

He heard the sound of a car driving away, leaving him alone.

Now that he was alone, he allowed the tears he had been holding. He allowed himself to cry at this joke of torture people called life.

Death called him today for a dance, and he had no choice but to provide.

It might have only been soft sobs, but his poor heart almost gave up as he cried. He had enough, too much of this. He thought his university life would be better, that they would stop hunting him. Instead, they fucked him up right at the end of college.

He should be at his professor's room right now, consulting about what kind of topics should he read. What books should he borrow. What kind of pizza did he want to eat to accompany his night writing session.

Instead…

He looked down. His chest was smeared with red. Though his torn shirt, he could tell that almost half of his upper body was covered in blood, though many of it was not his. There was a pretty big slash mark on his upper left arm. His right eye was blind.

Looking at what Rodrigo dumped, he saw his coat, his scarf, his staff, and a bottle of water. He opened the bottle and washed his hand and face from the blood. It wouldn't do much, but it should be enough for him to get home. He then gargled with the water and spat it out.

Enough blood taste for one day.

When he was done, he took a grasp of snow and put it on his scars. It hurt like fuck, but he was quite used to it. The coldness stung, then stung some more, then all he could feel was a dull pain. It should help stop the bleeding before he could wash it with clean water.

The wolf closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. Letting the snow freeze the scars, he couldn't help but wonder. Life was quite a gift, wasn't it? He sobbed, letting his emotions flow as the dull pain throbbed.

Cleaning the snow away, Tom cringed. His fur was wet now, but that would help mask the scent. Taking the staff, he then stood up and leant on it, ignoring the screams for relief from his body as he put his coat on. Its inner part was going to be dirty, but he had no choice if he did not want people to see… see this.

The scarf…

The wolf hugged it dearly, still sobbing softly. He wiped his tears, not wanting Max to see him in such a low state like this. The scarf was Max, and the warmth it gave was Max.

Max was a warmth in this cold world he lived in.

“I'm sorry," he whispered to it.

He then put it around his neck, trying to appear as normal as possible. He checked his trousers and shoes for blood streaks, and when they were clean enough and the blood was no longer dripping, he walked away from the scene, limping against his staff.

Go, lest die.

The wolf only managed to exit the dark, grim place to a decently-lit intersection before his legs gave out and he collapsed. He didn't stand right back up, mainly because his legs felt like they were not attached anymore.

They were still attached, right?

“Are ye okay, young one?"

Tom looked up. An elderly tiger was looking down at him, face filled with concern.

The wolf took the offered hand and leant on him to walk to a bench nearby. “I'm okay, I just tripped." He sat down and looked at his legs. “Well, probably also bruised my ankles." He added with a small chuckle.

“Need ye me to call the doctor? I smell blood."

“Thank you, but I'm fine. Maybe just a bruise." The wolf smiled at the tiger. “I'm just waiting for the bus; it should be fine by then."

The tiger didn't appear convinced, but he let it go. “Ye're welcome, young man. Please be more careful." Said the elderly tiger as he gave him his staff, then walked away to the night.

“I shall. Thanks a lot."

He sat there on the bench, staring at the dark sky, waiting for the bus or tram to arrive or for his legs to start responding again, whichever came first.

Octo leant back on the driver's seat, humming a happy tune. It turned out that spending a day with Kevin was not bad. The wolf was a really social person; they never lost a topic to talk about. When they didn't talk, he felt a comfortable silence.

Like now; he was driving Andy's car back to his new flat. Kevin was in the passenger seat, looking slightly nervous in his opinion but content. Maybe they had run out of topics, but to him, the silence was comfortable.

He had picked up several more boxes from his housing. When he left the housing for the last time, his remaining housemate bid him farewell and a good luck wish. He was kind of glad Kevin did not try to flirt with his friend since he knew his friend was hot. Probably the fact that Kevin already had a name as the basketball ace meant that he couldn't simply just flirt with other students… or he supposed that was the reason.

“What do you want for dinner? Some spaghetti maybe?" he said, just blurting out.

The wolf said lazily. “Mhm."

He chuckled a little. “Kev,"

“Spaghetti is nice."

Octo looked at him, then flicked his ear softly.

“Hey!"

“Spaghetti is it?"

“Yeah, spaghetti." Kevin answered, looking at the road, then at a restaurant on the side of the road. “Here's fine."

The panther just drove away.

“Wait, wait, dude, there was a restaurant!"

Octo just shrugged it off. “I'll cook for tonight."

“Wait, you can cook?"

“It's for you helping me unpacking." He said, smiling. “And probably for holding back your lust this long?"

“So, that means we're gonna fuck later tonight?"

Octo's smile turned into a grin. “You think?"

The wolf grinned back and wiggled his eyebrows.

“Of course not." The panther laughed a little. “I just moved in, I'm tired."

The wolf's grin faltered. “Aw."

They went quiet again after that.

A while later, Kevin asked him again with a low voice. “Please?"

Octo laughed. “Did you just say please?"

“Pretty please?"

The panther looked at him, then rolled his eyes with a chuckle. “Did you help me today expecting a fuck later?"

“No! Uh…" Kevin trailed off. “I thought you want one."

“One day without sex isn't gonna kill you, you know." He said as he pulled the car over the parking space. “But we can cuddle later."

“Nope, no cuddles."

“Says the one who cuddles after sex."

“You are the one who cuddles me!"

They got off from the car with Octo staring at Kevin with a grin on his face.

“What?"

“You just admitted that we cuddled." The panther said simply.

Kevin opened the backdoor and took several boxes out. “Fuck you, dude."

Octo laughed and took the other boxes, then locked the car. “I think you mean, 'cuddle you, dude.'."

When they went inside, the panther dropped the boxes in a corner of the room. He'd install the television tomorrow. The clothes and books boxes should go to the bedroom, the laptop dock should just be here…

“Hey, where do I put this?"

Looking over his shoulder, Octo pointed at the bedroom with his muzzle. “Books go to the bedroom."

Kevin went inside. “I'm gonna put this next to the shelf, 'kay?"

“Sure."

He took the plastic bag containing food supplies and went to the kitchen. “Just watch some videos on my laptop or something, I'm gonna make the spaghetti."

Taking the ingredients, he took the pasta, meat, tomato sauce and put them next to the cooker. It had been a while since he cooked for himself and he was very excited, even more so cooking for his friend. He should probably invite them here soon—maybe he could host a flat-warming party here.

When he was simmering the sauce, he heard Kevin walk into the kitchen. The wolf didn't do anything, just watching him cooking. Amused by the curious stare, he asked, “What are you doing?"

“You never told me you can cook." Kevin said instead, not answering his question.

“We aren't allowed to cook in the dorms." He answered simply. “Just sit there and don't disturb me."

Instead, Kevin walked behind him and hugged him from behind, whispering into his ear. “And what if I don't?"

“You can cook by yourself." The panther batted the hands away. He turned the cooker off, then put the sauce on top of the still-hot pasta.

Kevin released his hug as Octo moved to take the plates. “But you cooked for two."

“I could eat it."

“Ugh, fine."

With that done, the panther turned around and offered the wolf the plate with a smile. Well, he tried to smile naturally, but he guessed it came out more like a grin. “Kev, here's your food. Thanks for helping me unpacking my stuff."

Kevin looked at him, then at the spaghetti, then back at him again, then he grinned and opened his muzzle as if expecting to be fed.

The panther just pushed him away and put the food on the table. “Eat."

“Yeah, yeah." Kevin snickered, but sat down, nonetheless. He took a bite and immediately his eyes widened. “Whoa!"

Octo sat down with his own plate, amused by the wolf's reaction. “I wasn't expecting such reaction."

“This stuff is so fucking delicious! What the hell, this tastes way better than the ones I usually get." Kevin took another bite and his tail wagged as he hummed happily. “How the heck did you make this?"

“Boil the pasta, make the sauce, and serve." answered the panther simply, taking a bite from his own plate.

“Fuck, I'll die happy if you make this for me every day!"

Octo just chuckled and took another bite, a bit red from the implied confession. At least the food was delicious even without cheese.

Oh right, he forgot to buy cheese. Damn horny wolf, distracting him too much.

END *UwU intensifies… the last scene, not the previous one