Riley stood in the dark and the wet with his paws pushed deep into his pockets. He was fairly confident nobody would see him, and even if they did, in the pitch-black night, combined with the unusually heavy storm and on top of that his dark fur, there was no way they could make out who was underneath the waterproof hood. He was currently lurking outside the home of one Reverend Thompson G. Marks. Commander of the Anti-Pride Pride (A name which Riley hated to no end, simply because of it’s stupidity), the lion was in the fox’s opinion a complete bastard, totally lacking of empathy. He deserved any hardship that came his way, and Riley was more than happy to send a little of his own. His dickhead of a son had broken Riley’s laptop, and beaten him up, for no reason other than a narrow-minded hatred of gays. While the father may not directly be aware of the incident, he would no doubt condone such acts, after all, the junior lion had learned his hate from somewhere.

Riley was putting the final pieces together for his war, and wanted to see where this kind of fur came from; as it turns out, they came from upper-middle class suburbia. He’d gained access to the Marks’ WI-FI network before leaving his home, and gone through most of the family’s emails and computers. There he’d found detailed plans and instructions on the home’s security system, which was state of the art. The fox had actually been taken aback, it was almost overkill; the house was a fortress. It was a two-story three-point-five bedroom carbon copy of a building, with large bay windows on both floors. All the doors and windows were alarmed, and all the ground-floor doors had deadbolts. There were hidden cameras inside and out, even panic buttons hidden in various places, such as bedroom wardrobes and bathrooms. In an emergency, the master bedroom could double as a panic room; the door featured a steel plate hidden inside it and two massive, cutting-edge lock systems operated by a coded keypad. The emails made no mention of the keypad codes, and Riley assumed only the family members would be aware of it.  

Any thoughts he’d had of a physical break in had been dashed, it would be insane. Not that the fox had been foreseeing that option, but he knew that especially paranoid furs sometimes kept totally-offline systems safe at home, for their more private indiscretions. He had no reason to believe that the Marks had any such system however, and imagined actually breaking in was too great a risk for little reward. Those decisions were all made earlier that morning; Riley had simply wanted to see where the proverbial lion’s den physically was. He wanted to know where, and why the Reverend would feel safe there. It was a very stereotypical, American-dream style setup, and the thought of it made Riley a little sick. The home was a good hour’s travel by car from the university, so it made sense that the eldest son would stay in a dorm, but apparently he regularly returned home for ‘quality’ time with his family. The fox wondered whether his plan would be more effective on one of those occasions, but he decided against it. His goal was to create chaos and confusion between the father and son, and that would be much simpler if the two couldn’t easily speak in person. Smiling to himself, the fox imagined how the future for the Marks might go, in the ideal scenario, the older lion disappeared into obscurity, to live alone, while young Jason would hopefully separate himself from the fundamental views and become a functioning member of society. In his cruellest machinations, Riley pictured a father and son murder-suicide.

Finally turning away, now completely drenched despite his waterproof clothing, Riley thought over everything. He longed to get back to his car and return home where it was warm, and more importantly, where Lars was. The fox had always been serious, but this new feeling of total infatuation with the tiger had him quite cheery. Just thinking of the drummer’s stupid grin made his tail twitch with excitement and a smile force it’s way onto his face. He wasn’t entirely used to smiling this much, but it wasn’t the worst feeling in the world.

On the drive back to the university, Riley tried to listen to a band Lars had recommended, but there was a tad too much bass and screaming for the fox’s tastes. Letting the metal song play in the background, albeit with low volume, he couldn’t help but think over their two-week old relationship. Almost everything was amazing; he couldn’t get enough of the tiger. The one part that was testing his patience was Lars’ shyness, he was nervous to see Riley too much in public, because of what furs might think. He was happy for the dalmatian, Jessie to see them together at their dorm, since he already knew, but nobody else was privy to their relationship as of yet. Riley was at least happy to hear Lars using the word ‘gay’ more often, and he was trying to be an understanding boyfriend, but it was often frustrating. When he had sought out Llewellyn for help again, the zebra had suggested introducing someone else into their relationship. As in making another fur aware of the two as a couple. Riley thought it was a pretty solid tactic, and when he got home he planned to introduce Lars to his dad. Riley’s family was a little strange compared to most; his parents had never taken the time when they were younger to think if they even wanted a future together. The two foxes had been so head-over-heels with each other when they first met, they moved in, got pregnant and had a young fox named Riley all in the span of about eighteen months. Shortly after, they both discovered they wanted different things out of life. They separated when Riley was very young, and now his mother worked in some other part of the country, doing something or other for the navy. She was never terribly interested in her son’s life, not to say she wasn’t protective or anything, but her career mattered more. His dad was a pilot, always flying somewhere and even though Riley lived in the same house he could often go almost three weeks without actually having a real conversation with his father (Which they were both okay with). He smiled to himself in the now-warm car, thinking over how convenient that had been for Lars. The tiger was actually at Riley’s home right now, watching movies by himself in the lounge room, waiting for his boyfriend to return. The fox had said he was doing a thing for their project, but not what exactly it was. He needed to do this part by himself, to think. One downside of his romantic obsession, he could barely think straight around the tiger.

By his estimations, he should be back to cuddle with Lars by twelve A.M., and his dad would be home roughly forty minutes later. Eric Wilson was fully aware of his son’s sexuality, and had never really been bothered by it. The man was quirky like his son, but not quite so asocial. Riley felt it would be a good step forwards for his boyfriend, to really show him that people didn’t care who he dated. At least, the ones worth keeping around didn’t.

When he finally pulled his car into the driveway, he saw it was indeed almost midnight, grimacing at what it must be doing to their sleep schedules (What sleep schedule, he thought, we’re uni students) as he pushed inside, fighting the wind and rain. Stripping off his coat, and shaking a little to rid his fur of the wetness, Riley entered his lounge room to see Lars asleep on the couch. The credits of a film from the fox’s collection were rolling, and with a smirk he realised it was Zero Theorem. He briefly wondered if the tiger had enjoyed it, but quickly pushed that thought aside as he lay down on the couch next to the big cat. Lars had found himself a blanket somewhere, and Riley felt incredibly warm and protected once he climbed inside. Attempting to be cute, he rubbed his snout against Lars’ face, smiling as he watched the young male’s eyes drift open.

“You’re back?” He asked, sleepily, yawning.

“Yeah.” Whispered back Riley. “All good.”

“What time is it?” Asked Lars.

“Almost twelve.”

“I guess we should go to bed.”

“Well…not yet.” Riley hesitated, he hadn’t told Lars that soon he would get to meet the older fox, and quickly tried to think of a way to broach the subject.

“What? Why?” The young drummer rubbed his eyes as he sat up on the couch, Riley and the blanket still draped over him. The fox sat up slowly, trying to be comforting. He put an arm around the sleepy tiger, pulling him close.

“Well…a…err, friend of mine gave me a suggestion.” He began awkwardly. “I thought, since you’re kind of shy about, y’know…us…” Lars’ eyes instantly turned sorrowful.

“I’m sorry I know, it’s really hard and unfair on you but I just…” Riley put a paw over his muzzle, silencing him.

“I thought it might be nice to introduce you to my dad. As my boyfriend.” The tiger’s eyes widened anxiously. They’d never even really talked about Riley’s family before, what if the older fox didn’t like him?

“Does your dad know…that you are…?” Asked Lars, still nervous.

“Yeah, yeah. He’s not around all the time, but you remember last week? When you came over and we watched all those shows? He was actually here, just asleep in bed. His work schedule is really weird, and tonight he gets home in about…” The fox glanced to the clock on the wall. “Twenty minutes or so.”

“Oh god…uh, why did you just spring this on me? Like, what about a warning?”

“I knew you’d be nervous, thought it better to wait.”

“Oh, right.” Lars panicked, his brain trying to find a way out of the situation. He began to fidget a lot, but his boyfriend just pulled him in closer. It took him a moment to think outside himself, that panic was the old way of thinking. That wasn’t who he was, Lars was gay and he knew it for sure. He really liked Riley, and Riley liked him, and he started wondering to himself why he was ashamed. He wanted furs to know he was dating this incredible black fox, and he realised…he didn’t care what they thought.

“Lars? Is…is everything okay? I didn’t go too far did I?” The fox stared at him, suddenly really worried. He recognised a few frightening signs in the tiger, and didn’t want to push him too fast. This was all new for the drummer.

“Yeah…yeah it is, I’m not embarrassed by you, Riley. You’re my boyfriend, and that makes me so so happy.” He replied, smiling. The two kissed, it was brief, but sweet.

They sat like that for a little while longer, just cuddled up on the couch, enjoying nothing but each other. They chatted about very trivial things, minor issues and dramas.

And then Eric Wilson, Riley’s father came home.

Lars instantly failed his strategy. He had planned to remain calm, confident and polite. He was going to project what he wanted to be like with others, treating Eric as a test subject for his boyfriend news. However the second he heard the elder wolf open the door his brain tried to explode itself. He started fidgeting and shifting his weight back and forth, he was sweating and that annoying dry mouth came back. What made it slightly easier, was the fact that when a fur entered the Wilson house, they couldn’t see into the lounge room, at least not where the couple was currently sitting. Since he went straight to the kitchen, Eric had no idea Lars was even there. The tiger shut his eyes and tried to relax, breathing slowly.

Riley watched as his boyfriend went through some kind of mini-episode, having a tiny anxiety-attack and then instantly calming down. After Lars opened his eyes, which appeared somewhat more relaxed than before, Riley stood up, pulling the tiger to his feet. He firmly attached his paw to the tiger’s, practically dragging the male into the kitchen. Lars felt like he was floating as his favourite fox dragged him into see Eric. He realised with a shock how similar the two looked, the only major difference was that Eric was a very light grey. Apart from that, they looked almost identical. Up close Riley was clearly much younger, but if the two stood next to one another, from a distance…a fur could be forgiven for mistaking them for brothers.

At the present time, the father had still not noticed the two standing there; he was far too busy leaning into the fridge. Searching for food by the looks of things. He was mumbling to himself, and quietly swearing.

“There’s no food. There was pizza leftover, but we ate it.” Said Riley, as if answering a question. Eric’s face and tail fell, disappointed.

“Damn it.” He stood up, then realising what his son had actually said, he turned to look at the couple. “We?” He asked, slightly surprised. He never usually got to meet his son’s boyfriends; it was all very private for the young fox. He did remark to himself they looked very cute, standing there, holding paws nervously, as if waiting for his approval. Like little kits again, he thought to himself nostalgically.

“This is Lars. My boyfriend.” Said Riley, matter-of-factly.

“Hi.” Said the tiger awkwardly, waving with his free paw. Eric walked forwards, outstretching one of his own.

“Nice to meet you Lars, I’m Eric.” Said the older fox, shaking paws with the young tiger. “You want a drink or anything? Did Riley feed you?”

Yeah.” He laughed, relaxing a little. “He’s taken care of me just fine, I’m good.”

“Good. You never know with that one.” Eric happily poured himself a glass of milk and sat down at the kitchen table. Riley and Lars joined him, after a moment of uncomfortably standing in silence. “So how long have you two been going out?” He asked casually.

“Uh…two weeks now, I guess.” Replied Riley. Lars knew this kind of conversation was typically a test, or more of an interrogation, but with the older fox it sounded much more casual. Like he was genuinely interested in their answers.

“Oh, so it’s real serious huh?” He snorted. Then, noticing his son’s glare, added, “Ah, I shouldn’t make fun.”

“Probably not.” Replied the fox icily. His father’s typical attitude in these situations was to get a bit too informal. This approach had always irritated the younger fox, and right now was no exception. He felt protective of the tiger, considering he knew how nervous he was.

“Sorry. What do you around here Lars?” Said Eric, quickly moving the subject on.

“I’m studying at the same place as Riley…uh, music production though.”

“Oh? Do you play an instrument or something?” The fox coughed as he caught another glare from his kit.

“Yeah I’m uh, a drummer.”

“Oh fantastic! In that case I love the name!” Eric winked, laughing excitedly. Lars was having a little difficulty in his head connecting this fur to the one sitting next to him. The two seemed so different, both weird, but so unlike one another it was bizarre.

The three furs continued their conversation for another hour or so. Luckily the next day was a Saturday, and nobody had to get up early. As the time ticked on, Lars became more and more relaxed. It could always be like this. He thought to himself, realising the positive sides of sharing the news about him and Riley outweighed the negatives…by a lot. Eventually, the older fox claimed he was totally exhausted, and required sleep before he died. The two younger males were wrecked as well, so they also begrudgingly took themselves back to Riley’s room, falling asleep in each other’s arms. As they were drifting off, Lars kissed his boyfriend gently on the muzzle.

“Thank you.” He whispered sweetly.

“Anytime.” Mumbled the fox, already falling into a deep sleep. Listening to the heartbeat of his partner, the tiger felt amazingly calm. It had been a long time since he felt so…safe. So relaxed, and carefree. Kissing Riley again, despite the fact that the fur was asleep, he let himself drift off into pleasant dreams.

The next morning, the Reverend Thompson G. Marks climbed out of bed at nine A.M. His wife had cooked him a hot breakfast, and the two laughed over trivial life problems while they ate. He first logged onto his computer at eleven, hoping to get a little work done now and free up his evening. The first few emails appeared to be minor issues he could handle later, but one stuck out to him, sent approximately one hour previously. It was from an email address belonging to the university his cubs attended, so he opened it quickly. The email was titled ‘Student Health Concerns’. The Reverend wondered to himself if one of the cubs had gotten into trouble of some kind, but opening it he was shocked.

Dear Mr Marks,

I am writing to inform you of the recent events regarding your eldest son, Jason Marks. It was brought to my attention recently that Jason has been following some poor health practices. As a member of the faculty I decided to attempt to deal with the problem here personally, but I’m afraid young Jason had no interest in what I had to say. I thought perhaps you might speak to him? I am passing on this information in the interest of Jason’s health and wellbeing.

I’m regretful to inform you that various faculty members, on numerous occasions, have caught Jason attempting to solicit sexual acts in exchange for money from some of the other males in his social circles. A student, who confides in me and shall remain nameless in this situation, has brought the issue to my attention. He felt uncomfortable by Jason’s advances, and was also concerned the young male was not using any kind of protection or safety. In the interest of your son’s privacy, I will not be divulging this information to any other staff or students within the school.

However, I feel you should be made aware of a few things. The first is that whilst sex work is not illegal here, unlicensed prostitution is and your son could be vulnerable to various legal troubles.  The second is that sexual fraternisation between students (and in this case, on one occasion, staff) in exchange for money is against the university’s code of ethics. If this behaviour is to continue, it is possible Jason’s enrolment at the school may be withdrawn.

Regards,

Henry Leonard