Kevin wanted to go back to sleep, but the sun was already up in the sky. Arm over his head, the red wolf stared at the ceilings. There was a hole there, one that he always promised to fix when he had the money. Somehow, he never had any to fix it. It wasn't very big anyway, so he'd fix it later when he had the money.

The wolf turned to lie on his side and found a red-furred back and fluffy black-and-red tail. Right, he had a client last night.

Sitting up, he gripped his head, then felt a sting in his arse. Right, last night he agreed to be the bottom, much to his partner's delight. It didn't hurt now, fortunately, just uncomfortable. His partner's dick wasn't small, but he was glad it wasn't very big either.

What day was it today?

Groggily reaching for his phone on the nightstand, the wolf yawned and saw two unread messages from Yiffr along with many other notifications. Right, he forgot to reply to them last afternoon. His phone had been forgotten since he met this red panda in a Chick-er-ed last afternoon. This red panda was Esteban, a rather regular partner of his. He was about 20 years older than the wolf, but somehow, he was still single.

Kevin put his phone back on the nightstand and stood up. He stretched for a bit, his body feeling tired from last night. There was fur everywhere on the bed and his fluff was a mess. They went for… three rounds? Four rounds? He wasn't sure, though the ache from his backside suggested they had been rather intense.

Grabbing the towel from the chair, he turned to go to the bathroom, but when he saw cum streaks there, he put it back. There should be another in the cupboard. After taking the fresh towel, he headed to the bathroom to wash up.

On another thought, he turned around and took the cum-streaked towel and brought it with him to be put in the laundry basket.

Closing his eyes, he let the water rain down on his body. His fur softened and flushed, revealing the contour of his muscles beneath. Wolves had such long fur, he thought, but he didn't really want to complain when it made him look even hotter. He then opened his eyes and saw lots of red and cream fur on the floor. Letting out a sigh, he realised he wasn't done shedding for winter. Maybe out of stress rather than coat change since it should've been done about one or two weeks after the first snow.

He got to work to clean his body, wiping the excess fur and cum streaks on his abs, chest, arse, and the base of his tail. When he felt enough, he took the shampoo and applied it all over his body, taking his time rubbing his fur to get the loose fur off and wash the red panda's scent. The scars on his back no longer hurt, but the fur there had not fully regrown, making some fur gaps in the shape of four claw marks.

When he was done, he turned the water off and shook his body vigorously, then stared at the wall as he waited for the remaining water to drip.

What was he doing?

He closed his eyes. Esteban was a generous guy. He always gave him some tips after sessions. Yet, Kevin knew that he couldn't be the red panda's sex partner forever. He should get a job soon or he couldn't even pay rent. The following weeks after he got his problem with Tom sorted out, he had only been eating two meals per day. He had been miserable ever since he went back home; he hadn't really been able to get himself in check.

Some people asked him for sessions, but he could only refuse them with a heavy heart. He needed the money, but he couldn't even get hard. Only after a lot of small talks and casual conversations could Esteban ease his mind and get him into the mood.

At least Octo had generously paid for his food when he met the panther, but he knew that wasn't going to happen every day. The panther was crazy rich, but he knew he should make his own money. He should work his arse off to make a better life for himself and his mother.

Letting out another sigh, the wolf stepped out from the shower and wiped his body using the towel. A blower would be a nice birthday gift for him next year, but it was too expensive. For now, towels should be enough, no matter how soaked were they after he used them. It was a bit better, though, since he could leave his fur a bit damp to avoid getting too puffy after showering.

He put his pants on and exited the bathroom. Right, he had to do laundry. This flat had no laundry service, so he had to go out.

Esteban was already putting his clothes on when he saw him. Kevin threw the towel over his shoulder and took the red panda's wallet on the nightstand. “Don't forget it again." Kevin said as he gave it to him. “You don't wanna take a shower?"

“Heh, ye know ye're gonna give it to me anyway." Esteban took it with a grin. “Nah, too lazy. I'll do it when I get home."

“How about the smell?"

“I brought deodorant."

The wolf just sat down on the bed as the red panda opened his wallet. “So, here're four hundred and fifty silvor." He gave the wolf the money.

Kevin raised his brow. “Didn't we agree on four hundred like usual?"

“Ye let me fuck you, of course I oughta appreciate that." The red panda smiled and put the money in his hand. “And your arse is tight, kid."

The wolf looked at the money, then back at the red panda. “Thanks, man."

But he gave him another fifty euros. “And here's for breakfast."

“Hey, isn't it too much?"

“Heh, I just got my promotion, worry not. Besides, ye look like ye need some help." The red panda flashed him a concerned look.

He accepted the banknote and scratched his ear. “Uh, thanks a lot. Really."

“If ye will talk about it, just talk with me, kid. I'm not gonna complain." The red panda ruffled his hair. “'Sides, I'm not that old."

“I'll… uh, keep that in mind." He tried to smile back, but then he remembered something. “Hey, uh, is there… any openings at your workplace?"

“Not right now. Been a while since I saw a new recruit. I'll definitely let you know if there's one. Also, make sure to apply for unemployment at the city hall. Ye can't get money with that but at least the basics should be covered and they can help you find a job. Make sure to read the requirements first, though."

“Um, yeah, thanks."

The red panda took his small bag and walked away, giving him a smile. “Thanks for the night, kid."

After the door closed, the wolf let out a tired sigh. He looked at the money in his hand, at the colourful sheets of paper with numbers on it. “Five hundred for a night, huh?" He gripped the banknotes and smiled dejectedly. “Am I that hot or that miserable?"

Kevin kicked the laundry door open and grunted as threw a bag containing his newly washed clothes over his shoulder. Ever since he graduated from university, he felt like his life was becoming worse, even though it was just two or three months ago. It felt like he had been kicked out from the only safe place he knew and forced to keep standing without anything to help him.

He was glad the university accepted his scholarship application. That meant he had to work his arse off only to pay the remaining fifty per cent as well as keeping his grades up to pass his class without getting a single D as the scholarship terms said. He might not be the most diligent of students… okay, truthfully he was amongst the laziest, but he did keep his grades up because he really wanted to finish university with good grades, not just because he wanted the scholarship. That at least gave him a pretty solid GPA of 3,3.

This was so utterly laughable, really. The ace of the team who won the national university basketball championship was selling himself just to get by. While it was neither illegal nor looked down upon, at least not much, it was really unbefitting. Between sending job applications and rarely attending interviews, it was the only thing he could do to keep standing by himself. He just needed a job, then he could start piecing his life together.

At first, this was something he didn't mean to do. He was gay and he wasn't going to deny it. Yet, one night in university, this sexy girl was willing to pay him three hundred euros for a night because she was extremely horny for him. Kevin of course refused, but dang wasn't that easy money. In the end, he agreed, and although he did nothing more than just laying down trying to keep his dick hard as she rode him, it was still easy money.

As he began to get more desperate and stressed, even more so while he was trying to move on from Tom even when the grey wolf kept making him hope, he started to try to do it with guys. Then, what started as something out of necessity turned into something that proved that he was good at something… out of necessity. He'd always promised to himself that he wasn't going to make it his main source of income, that he was going to get a job that paid well, but it seemed like that promise wasn't meant to be fulfilled these days.

Almost all his national championship rewards had gone into paying the tuition fee—which while cheap, was still too much for him whose income was practically zero euros per month—with a small amount for his personal use and some more to have been sent to his mother. Good thing the dorms weren't very expensive; although his rent now was as cheap as his dorm fee, he'd far prefer the dorms to this.

Yet, he wasn't one to complain. After all, his life now was much better than back at home where his brother could make him even more miserable.

He was just starting to walk away when someone whacked his head from behind, almost making him stumble and fall. He turned around and growled, gripping his head, then saw a familiar dumb face.

“You look dead." Vilkas said to him with an easy grin.

The wolf punched him, maybe a bit harder than necessary, and picked his laundry bag up, cleaning it from the snow. Vilkas asked him to hang out earlier, but he told the blue husky to fuck off, then told him that he was in his usual laundry. “You will be if you fuckin' do that again."

“Heh, I'm still waiting for that day when you finally live up to your words."

He snorted at the husky, but it only made said husky laugh. He knew he wouldn't really do that; Vilkas had been one of his closest friends since university. While he didn't fully trust the husky, at least they knew they could depend on each other… sometimes.

Other times, he really felt like punching him. He did punch him once or twice, but often he held back because under all of that, Vilkas was a well-behaved but rebellious rich kid whom he didn't really want to get in trouble with. Although he was chill and really a great guy to hang out with, Kevin did not want to know what would happen if his parents got word that he hurt him.

Vilkas himself said his parents were strict, that was why he moved to the dorms for university.

The husky walked beside him. “The fuck are you so fucked up this early anyway?"

“Maybe because the one I called fucking hung up on me?"

“Ouch, mate, you're angry about that?"

He rolled his eyes. “No, totally not angry about that. I'm just bored, after all. I mean, I was just fucking waiting for an hour."

“Hey, sorry, wolf. I told you I was—"

“The fuck are you poking your nose on someone's ass this early anyway?"

Vilkas shrugged. “Just wanted to take a walk in the snow."

Kevin looked at him up and down, noticing that he was only wearing a t-shirt and a thin jacket, then huffed. “You really live up to your species."

Vilkas laughed. “You're even only wearing a t-shirt, y'know!"

He just snorted. That was because all his jackets were in the laundry bag. It wasn't that cold, anyway…

“Anyway, wanna go do something today?"

“Like?"

“You know, going somewhere, maybe the cinema." He shrugged. “Or a concert, I just found out there's one near the city square."

The wolf looked at him. He envied Vilkas, really. Coming from a rich family, Vilkas was spoiled at times. Kevin even doubted he had ever thought about not having enough money for anything. He found out about his family when he took a look at the husky's photos, one that showed his “house".

Heh, more like a palace.

He really wanted to go somewhere with him, to make himself feel less miserable, but he knew he could not, should not if he wanted five hundred euros to last a month. He'd buy supplies later, and maybe it would be a good idea to delete protein powder from his shopping list. He even cancelled his gym membership in fear he could not afford it in the long term.

“Mate, you in?"

Letting out a sigh, they stopped at a tram stop. “Would like to but got stuff to do."

“Aw, come on!"

“Fuck off, Vil. I got stuff to do." said the wolf as he sat down on the available bench.

The blue husky didn't answer.

Kevin looked up and found he was staring at him curiously. “What?"

“Ate you breakfast?"

“No, why?"

“That's why you're grumpy." Vilkas ruffled his hair; Kevin just mrf'ed. “Come on, let's get some breakfast."

His stomach rumbled. Perhaps the husky was right, he needed breakfast… at 11 in the morning. Truthfully he wanted to skip breakfast and just eat lunch later to save some money. “You haven't had breakfast?" he asked the husky as they got on the tram.

Vilkas chuckled and sat down. “Nope, I woke up late."

Kevin shrugged.

“Where'd you wanna get breakfast?"

“Wherever you want."

“How about that restaurant near my place?"

He looked at Vilkas again. “Oi." Last time he ate there with the husky and some more from the basketball club, he spent seventeen euros for just one meal. Admittedly it was very good but no way was he going there again.

“Okay, okay. Kebab sounds good?"

Eh, whatever. As long as he could get a decent snack for two euros or less. “Sure. By the way, give me fifty euros on Owo or Shoppy. I'll give you the cash."

“Sure, sure."

Vilkas then told him to get down. Kevin complied, and after a bit of hassle of getting his e-money card from his wallet, he got down the tram. The husky seemed to know this area, so he just followed him as he walked. The laundry bag was starting to feel heavy; he might need breakfast sooner than later. “Is it far?"

“Nah, I know where. Just one more turn then straight down the road."

“Why didn't we just get off at the next stop?"

“Next stop is over 750 metres, dumbarse."

They took a turn, then he noticed two figures exiting a building across the road.

Were those… Tom and Max?

Yes, those were Tom and Max. They looked so happy. Max's hand was on Tom's shoulders, they were laughing and joking. Somehow, their laughter made him smile a little; they looked so good together.

That jealousy came again, and his smile faltered. No, he was not jealous of Max being boyfriends with Tom, but at them. They looked so good together, and that was a reminder that he needed someone. He wanted to be able to look like that. Fuck being poor, at least he had someone to be poor with.

Sometimes Octo came to his mind, but no. Like Vilkas, compared to Octo, he was a no-one. He was too low for the panther. He couldn't afford to make the panther look bad, so he shrugged it off. Besides, he wasn't great at relationships anyway; the last “boyfriend" he had dumped him because he kept having fucks with other people.

The harsh reality was he needed to do that because of money, not because he wanted to. There might be other reasons, but that was the most important.

Maybe he shouldn't call him his boyfriend while they only went on three or four dates. In fact, he shouldn't call any of them his boyfriends when they only went on three or four dates. That was why he always considered himself never having a boyfriend.

“Hey, Kevin!" he heard Vilkas yelled at him.

He wanted to come there, to give a punch at Tom's and Max's shoulders and laugh with them. The grey wolf was his big brother, not biological, but at least he was there to make his days a lot more bearable. Max was a good friend of his.

However, he couldn't. He could risk a tooth or two if he came close to Max. He angered the shepherd the last time they met, and while he had made up with Tom, he hadn't done so with the shepherd. He knew that he was on the shepherd's bad side, and it still made him angry at himself when he realised that he had said those things to Tom.

So, no, maybe not. He'd need to make up with Max first.

“Hey, you okay?" Vilkas punched his shoulder softly.

Kevin looked at the husky, then beckoned him to walk. “Yeah, just thought I saw someone I know."

“Who?" Vilkas looked in the direction he'd been staring, but Tom and Max had already gone out of view.

“Dunno. Told ya I thought it was someone I know."

“On one winter morning, Kevin thought he saw someone he knows." The blue husky said with a small laugh, ignoring the offended glare the wolf gave him. “Come on, I'm hungry."

Tbh I feel bad for Kevin after writing this