Kevin turned the motorcycle engine on. He looked at his reflection in the rear-view mirror and readjusted his red t-shirt. He didn't look too bland, did he? “Tom, come on!"

“A bit!" came the reply.

For some reason, Octo wasn't happy with them leaving the villa for a few hours. He asked the panther about that, but he just gave him a cold shoulder. That was really curious, but, well, Octo didn't joke a lot when it came to things like that. He doubted anything would go wrong. Besides, they had each other in case something went wrong.

They weren't going that far, anyway. They were just going to a restaurant in the city centre on a motorcycle, maybe also driving around the city afterwards. The weather was great, albeit rather hot for his taste. Summer could sometimes be a bother since he couldn't wear jackets without feeling too hot while wearing them. Thankfully, they were still in South Iceland. He heard stories from other wolves he knew who spent summers in a Mediterranean country, saying that they had to trim their fur there.

He loved his thick fur, thank you.

“Right." Tom then came outside and put his sandals on.

Kevin let out a chuckle. “Dude, you seriously going out with that outfit?"

“Shut up. I look good."

“Yeah but the t-shirt is the same color as your fur. I thought you were naked under that jacket."

The smaller wolf growled in embarrassment, making him laugh. “My chest is light grey!"

“Yeah, sure. Come on." He saw Tom closing his jacket. “Wait, no, don't close your jacket! I wanna see you naked!"

Tom got onto the backseat and pulled his fluff. “Piss off, red shirt. Get going."

“Helmet?"

“On. Go."

“Wrap your arms around me first~"

Tom put his arms around the bigger wolf's waist. “There. Now go."

Kevin laughed, then pulled the gas.

As they drove into the city, the weather became hotter. Kevin drove under the tree shades, enjoying the scenery. Weather aside, Westeravne looked great. It looked much like Barrowisle but with ocean touches to it. Many of the buildings were still traditional and almost like Barrowisle, there was no building taller than 5 storeys here.

Having lived in Barrowisle for so long and understood its beauty, Kevin appreciated the height limit. Sadly, the public transportation here could use some refinement. There was no metro in the city and the tram only had a few lines, though there were many buses with dedicated bus lanes. They could've gone by bus, but they were renting two motorcycles anyway so he wanted to ride one. Besides, he could have Tom clinging to him.

The smaller wolf lessened his hold but did not let him go. “Anyway, where did he want to meet again?" Tom asked him, a bit muffled by the wind.

“Sunfish Restaurant near the city square. Dunno where that is but at least the road signs point to the city square."

“You don't know where that is?!"

He laughed. “Relax, wolf. We can still explore the city if we get lost."

They were going to buy a phone for him. His phone finally broke when it fell into the sea yesterday. It had been cracked for about five months and he had been having issues with the battery anyway, so maybe a replacement was long overdue. He spent last night browsing for a good deal on a used phone to find something his wallet could swallow.

He knew he was pants in tech stuff, so when he remembered that Tom knew a thing or two about tech, he asked him for help and he was thankful when Tom didn't mind. They spent the morning finding a good deal. On another side, Octo was very intent on buying him a new phone instead, even if it cost a thousand euros, but the red wolf couldn't take it. They were just boyfriends; while he very much appreciated the gesture, he didn't want to use the panther.

Admittedly, this phone he was going to buy was a bit above his budget. While he wanted to buy another phone instead, Tom highly recommended this one. After a few rounds of negotiation, they agreed on 300 euros. He hoped the owner would accept 20 euros less, or he'd need to rearrange his spending more.

Tom said, “You got the money, right?"

“Yeah…" He trailed off. “I'm 20 euros short, though."

“What? You're 20 euros short?" Tom sounded surprised. He then sighed, “You could've told me, you know. We could've looked for another one."

“Nah dude it's fine. You recommend this, don't you?"

“Aye but you said it was in your budget."

“It's fine. I just hope he accepts another kind of payment. You know what kind."

“Kevin, did you really think that's going to work?" Tom said, exasperated.

Kevin shrugged.

Tom pulled his fluff gently. “Horny wolf."

Kevin just laughed.

They passed a petrol station, then Tom tapped his shoulder. “Wait, wait, wait, go there."

The red wolf did so. He pulled over and went into the petrol station. “Why're we stopping? We're driving an electric motorcycle." He asked the smaller wolf as they entered the petrol station.

Tom directed him to stop in front of a minimarket. “Wait here. Eh you wanna get anything?" Tom got down from the motorcycle.

“Nah. All full."

Nodding at him, Tom then went inside the minimarket.

Kevin just waited outside. He checked his hair in the mirror, making sure he still looked good. He trimmed his hair a few days before they went here, to the point it might be better to call it head fur instead. Because he was going to ride a motorcycle, he didn't bother to comb his fluff. The wind would mess it up anyway.

He also looked hotter with it, anyway.

Neither did Tom care about his fluff. The grey wolf walked out from the minimarket with messy fluff, two cans of cold drink in hand. He gave the red wolf a soda can. “You sure know the weather, huh?" Kevin said with a grin, opening the can and drinking the soda.

Tom drank his milk tea. “Wolves in fluff are hot."

Kevin chuckled at the reference and threw his empty soda can into the bin. “You went there just to buy some drinks?"

“I took some money." He took a fifty-euro banknote from his wallet. “Here, for the remaining twenty euros."

Staring at the money, Kevin furrowed his brows. “Dude."

“Take it. Just think of me taking care of my little bro, 'kay?" Tom smiled and took his hand, then put the money in it.

“Uh, well… thanks, Tom." His ears went down embarrassedly, then put the money in his pocket. Octo he could refuse, but Tom could not. He felt like he couldn't just turn him down. “You wanna get some food with the remaining thirty euros?" He asked the grey wolf as he got on the motorcycle.

Tom put his helmet on. “Sure."

They continued driving till they arrived at an underground parking space near the city centre. Kevin parked the motorcycle in the available space and got down, then they walked towards the restaurant. The restaurant was just a short walk from there.

Once inside, they sat down at a table. “Where are they?"

Tom took his phone. “Haven't replied. Maybe still on the way."

Kevin shuffled on his seat to get comfortable, then took the menu. He huffed as he looked at the prices; they should've really chosen something that wasn't this close to a tourist attraction, shouldn't they? Just a watermelon milkshake cost 7,5 euros.

Could they get some plain watermelon instead?

It looked like Tom thought the same thing. He furrowed his brows and put the menu down. “How about we eat somewhere else later?"

“Deal."

“I'll get us some vanilla milkshakes instead. Excuse me!" Tom called a waiter, then made their order.

Not long after their order came, Tom's phone beeped. He opened it and fiddled with it for a bit, looking around the restaurant. “He's here."

Kevin perked up and looked around too. “What is he?"

“An otter with cream fur… there he is. Here!"

Said otter then came to their table and sat down in front of them. He smiled and extended his hand. “Clayton here."

“Tom."

“Kevin. So, what d'you wanna order?"

Clayton shifted to make himself comfortable on the seat. “Just a vanilla milkshake is well."

Tom called a waiter and gave another order.

“So, here's the phone." The otter took the box out of the fabric bag and put it on the table. “Masmung A34, Gooddragon 6 gen 2 processor, 8 gigs of RAM, and 256 gigs of storage. All accessories included."

“Can we see it first?"

“Sure, go ahead."

The red wolf opened the box. The phone looked like it was never used before, with no scratches whatsoever. He didn't really like the plain black colour or the matte plastic back, but this was the best deal according to Tom. No matter, at least it felt good in the hand and he could always get a skin later. He gave it a quick look, turning it on and checking the display for a bit. It was bigger than his old phone, but thanks to his big hands, it actually felt just right. He could reach all the corners without much problem.

He then gave it to Tom for a more thorough inspection, giving an amused chuckle at how big it looked in Tom's hand compared to his own. Turning back to the otter, he sipped his milkshake and asked him, “How much did it cost when you bought it?"

“330 silvor. Lucky enough to get a discount. It's originally 350."

“It's still under warranty, right?"

“Aye, one year eight months remaining." His order came, then he drank it. “There's still the reckoning in the box."

Kevin glanced at Tom who was… doing… something. He didn't know what he was doing, so he left it to the grey wolf. “That's still a long time. Why did you sell it, though?"

“I bought it for my grandma. She liked it not and wanted a flip phone instead. She gave it to me again and it's been sitting unused for three months maybe. I chose to just sell it back instead."

“She wanted a flip phone instead?" He chuckled a bit.

“Yeah. No idea but if she's fine with that, then okay." Clayton sipped his milkshake. “Anyway, ye two mates or something?"

“Nah, he's my big bro. Of the wolf stuff though, not the… y'know."

“Wait, really?" The otter furrowed his brows, a bit confused. He looked at Kevin, then at Tom, then back at Kevin. “That… doesn't really compute." He said with a small laugh.

“Yeah, I know." Kevin laughed along. “I just lifted more weights. Ain't that right, bro?" He ruffled Tom's head fur with a grin.

“Shut up. Get off."

Tom's ear dropped, making him grin even more widely. This was the first time he told someone about that, and instead of feeling embarrassed, he felt proud. He patted the smaller wolf's shoulder proudly. “Yup, that's him alright."

Clayton chuckled.

Tom then gave him the phone, nodding at him. He then turned to the otter. “How long has it been in use again?"

“About two weeks, maybe. My grandma struggled to use it, so she used it not much. She later got fed up and gave it back to me."

Kevin looked at the phone again, turning it on and off. “Fine for me. Deal on 300 silvor?"

“Deal."

“Cool." The red wolf took his wallet out and gave the otter the money. “300 silvor."

Clayton took the money. He then pulled his wallet out and gave them the change, then shook hands with Kevin. “Pleasure doing business with you. If anything goes wrong, just give me a call."

Kevin smiled widely. “Likewise, otter. Thanks for the deal."

The otter nodded a bit to them. “I'll be going, then. Gotta run some errands." He smiled at them before standing up, then he took his milkshake and put five euros for it on the table. “Thanks, Kevin, Tom."

“Welcome, man."

“Ye're welcome."

After the otter left, Kevin shifted closer to Tom and put his arm around him. “Heh, thanks a lot, wolf! Now, selfie time with my new phone!" Without giving the smaller wolf time to react, he took a photo of them. Tom protested a bit, but just let Kevin take a photo of them.

He laughed. “Heh, big bro, huh?" said the red wolf as his tail wagged happily.

“Shut up… little bro." Tom looked away, ears down. He then sighed and sipped his milkshake, though his ears were still down. “Well… uh… thanks, I guess."

“Your phone is Masmung A54 Mini, mine is Masmung A34. Isn't that real bros or what?"

“Shut up. Now reset your phone."

“Wait, what?"

“That's a thing to do after getting a second-hand phone, you know."

Kevin looked at his new phone. It was still empty, anyway. He shrugged and went to the settings app, only to remember that he'd lose the photo he'd just taken. “Hey, how about the photo?"

“It has NFC, right? Just open the photo, tap share, and tap NFC, then put it close to my phone."

He did that and tapped share. It picked Tom's phone up right away and he tapped the icon to send the photo. “Oh heck, fuck yeah, I can use it for public transport now!"

A ding could be heard from the smaller wolf's phone. “Good, now go ahead and reset it."

As Kevin waited for it to reset, he sipped his milkshake and shifted closer to Tom. “Help me set it up."

“Yeah, yeah, wait, better set it up later at the villa with faster Wi-Fi."

The grey wolf didn't shift away, so he took the opportunity to stroke his fluff. Tom just let him do it as he looked at the city square beyond the window. Kevin rumbled a small laugh. Now, some bro time. Preferably in a cheaper restaurant, though.

That fish and chips stand on the square looked very inviting now with the big €5 sign in front of it.

Max put his cards down and groaned. Tom laughed, while Lucas crossed his arms smugly. He lost again, thrice in a row. He was so close to beating Lucas, if only the coyote didn't have that accursed +4 card. “You two are fucking cheating!" The German Shepherd said, collecting the cards.

“Mhm, maybe. Or maybe it's because you're a loser?" The coyote taunted him with a grin.

Max growled at him. It was their first night playing Um, but he missed playing Jenga already. At least he knew he wouldn't suck as much playing Jenga. This, though, Tom was cunning, and Lucas didn't let his guard down at all. That didn't help him with his bad mood at all.

The wolf chuckled. “Another round? But it's already 23."

“Another fuckin' round and this time I'm gonna fuckin' win!"

“We'll see about that." Lucas laughed. “Get ready to get fucked, eh?"

When he was collecting the cards, Kevin suddenly barged in. The red wolf threw himself onto the bed and barked, “Don't fuckin' ask!", then put the blanket over his body, his tail still waving in agitation under the blanket.

They three stared at him annoyedly. Max stood up, put the Um cards on the desk, and walked over to him. “Oi, the fuck are you doing just marching right in and throwing yourself onto the bed?!"

“Fuck off!"

“What th—eh, stertsniþer, go the hell back to your own damn room!"

He was about to whack the red wolf, but Tom put his hand on his shoulder, making him stop. Max looked at the grey wolf; Tom gestured at him to let him handle this. Grumpily, Max stepped back beside Lucas and crossed his arms. The coyote was only staring at Kevin, not knowing what to do.

“Hey, Kev… what happened?" Tom sat down on the bed, softly stroking the larger wolf's lower arm.

“Mrf."

“Kev, come on."

Kevin suddenly turned his head to them, surprising them all. “We had a fight, alright! Can anyone just shut up for a second?!"

Max growled at him.

Tom instead let out a breath and turned to him. “Max, Luc, would you mind getting out for a bit? I need to talk to him."

“Uh, okay, okay." Lucas simply replied.

He grumbled, but then huffed and walked away. “Make sure that asshole learns. Also, fuck you, Kev." He flipped the bird at the red wolf.

In the living room, Lucas turned on the telly to a football game. Max plopped down next to him on the sofa and groaned. “Sorry about that. Kevin's a whiny bitch sometimes."

“Yeah, I can tell…" replied the coyote, his attention wasn't really on the football game. “But really, looks like he's got more than just a bad day."

“Probably. Hopefully they're sorting things there. I just wish that doesn't involve fucking."

Lucas looked at him funnily. “Fucking?"

“Kevin's an ass who fucks everything that walks." He huffed, then let out a sigh. “Okay, maybe not that far. Fuck, I'm really feeling like shit right now."

“Still bitter about losing, eh?" The coyote asked him with a soft grin.

“Probably. Dunno, I've felt this way ever since Tom and I went to the night market earlier."

“Oh, your date." Lucas chuckled a bit, then turned concerned. “You had a fight with Tom?"

“No, just…" He wiped his face, the tiredness coming back. “Don't tell anyone, okay, but I'm feeling like I'm cheating on Tom. I mean, he does allow me to do stuff with other people, but I'll never do that. He's my boyfriend, for fuck's sake! But there were so many hot girls back there." He whined. “Feels like I'm cheating for looking at them for too long behind his back."

Max didn't expect Lucas to understand, but right now he really felt like shit. It had been eight months since he dated Tom, and never in that timespan did he feel like wanting to go to a bar to get laid. He was committed to starting fresh in a new relationship. He didn't care that he was a boyfriend to a guy; he only wanted to finally be a good, faithful, committed, and understanding boyfriend.

He used to feel like he wasn't being a good boyfriend. Some of his friends placed the blame on the girls for being too clingy, but he still felt sad knowing that he couldn't satisfy them. Being popular meant he had to try to please as many people as possible, but later he found out that it was simply impossible.

With Tom, however, he could try to be a better boyfriend. Tom was a man of his word and they were starting a new thing together. Max wouldn't say that his faithfulness was waning, but… it seems to be that, and it itched him. He was happy with the wolf and he didn't want this to end so soon.

He didn't want to break someone's heart again.

“Hey, don't worry." Lucas said, waking him up from his thoughts. “People do that sometimes. And I… have to admit… I was guilty of that too…" the coyote looked away, his ears going down. It then went up again as he looked back at the shepherd “But that's beside the point. The point is people do that sometimes. What you need to do is to bond back with Tom! Do things together, spend some time together! Hell, tell Kevin to sleep on the beach if you have to."

Max imagined Kevin sleeping outside. “That's harsh, though."

“If that means you two can have some privacy, why not?" Lucas laughed. He then continued with a more serious note. “I mean, if you tell me to leave you two for a night, I will do so, Max."

The dog cracked a smile at the coyote. “Thanks, man. That really means a lot."

“You're welcome. Now, go tease me or something." Lucas shrugged.

Letting out a more honest chuckle, Max pulled the coyote closer to him. “Heh, you really wanna get teased that badly, huh?"

“Wait, lemme go!" Lucas laughed. “No, please! Don't! I don't know anything!"

“Tell that to you checking me out on the beach!"

“No! I wasn't checking you out! I swear!" The coyote laughed harder as Max began messing his head fur. “Okay, okay! I was checking you out! Don't violate me, please!"

“I thought you two were already sleeping."

They looked up. Octo was walking towards them with a glass of water in his hands, exhaustion on his face. Max let Lucas go and furrowed his brows. “You okay, Oct?"

The panther yawned and sat down on a separate sofa. “Not really." He drank the water, then sighed heavily. “Is… is Kevin sleeping in your room?"

Max exchanged glances with Lucas, then shrugged. “Yeah. What happened?"

“Nothing, just… you know. We had a fight." Octo pinched the base of his muzzle and growled a little. “And Lucas, feel free to sleep in my room. I'm really sorry about Kevin."

“Uh, sure about that, Oct?"

“It's more than fine. I'm not really looking forward to sleeping alone."

Lucas opened his muzzle, then closed it back, then blushed and looked away. “Ah, right."

The dog wanted to ask Octo more about that, but seeing the panther's exhausted face, he reeled in. Maybe now wasn't the best time to ask that. Octo had been keeping tabs on them all during this holiday; he deserved some slack.

The coyote then stood up and walked away. “Gotta go to the bathroom."

Now with only the two of them, Max moved to sit next to the panther. “Hey dude, here, gimme your hand."

“Max?"

“Remember that rainy day after that match?" The dog asked him. “Now it's my turn."

Octo looked at him, surprise on his face. He looked down and let out a sigh, then chuckled embarrassedly. “You still remember that?"

“Like the back of my hand. Now, gimme your hands."

The panther gave him his hands. Max squeezed the hands softly, letting Octo regulate his breath. His ears went down, then went up again softly. He could feel the panther's anger, conflict, and regret. Max squeezed his hands, then softened his hold, then squeezed them again, telling Octo that it was fine.

He held back a chuckle; just a few minutes before, he was the one who felt like crap and Lucas was the one who calmed him down.

The panther then let out a huge sigh and squeezed his hands back. He looked up at him and smiled despite the tiredness. “Thanks, Max."

“You're welcome." He smiled back. “Don't hold it in, okay? Don't be afraid to tell me, I'll be happy to help." He ruffled the panther's head fur. “You've been too uptight these days, Oct, you gotta relax more."

“That's just how I do, Max."

“I know but letting go once in a while is okay. Hit me up whenever you want, 'kay?"

The panther smiled and squeezed his hands again. “Yeah, will do. Thanks, Max."

“Anytime." He let go of his hands, then looked at the clock. “Whoa, it's midnight already? You should go to sleep, Oct. You look like you've drunk three bottles."

Octo chuckled. “I know, yeah, I'll wait for Luc—ah, there he is."

Max turned to Lucas. “Oi, Luc, get this grandpa to bed, will ya?"

Lucas laughed softly. “You sure it's fine for me to sleep with you, Oct?"

“It's really fine." Octo stood up. “Come on."

They two walked away as Max watched them fondly. When they were out of sight, he then sighed and stood up. It looked like he also needed some mending with Tom. He returned to his room, leaving the empty glass on the table.

When he went back inside, he saw Kevin already sleeping on his side of the bed with Tom reading on his phone next to him. Only the small lamp on the nightstand was on. It looked like they were sleeping on the bed tonight. He was a bit apprehensive about sleeping with Kevin. However, with his current state of mind, he doubted the red wolf would do anything funny. It would still be a tight fit, though.

He let out another sigh and took his t-shirt off as he walked closer—wait, on another thought maybe it would be better if he kept wearing it. “Gotta admit, that asshole looks cute when he's sleeping." He said as he turned the lamp on the nightstand off.

Unexpectedly, Kevin bit him back. “I fucking heard that!"

He and Tom chuckled.

Max climbed onto the bed and made himself comfortable with the grey wolf in the middle. It was better; he'd prefer to sleep as far away from Kevin as possible.

Tom put his phone on the nightstand, uttering a small “sorry" as he hit Max's nuzzle. “Come on, Max, let him sleep."

“I don't wanna hear any mushy stuff from you two!"

Max slapped his shoulder, not too hard to hurt. “You're in our room and still protesting? Get the hell up and sleep on the beach."

Kevin growled a bit but didn't answer him.

It felt a bit awkward with Kevin here. He planned to snuggle with Tom tonight—actually it felt awkward even with Lucas, the coyote was thankfully a deep sleeper. Instead, he put his arm around Tom and pulled him closer, even when he could feel the embarrassment on his wolf's part.

As the clock ticked by, Max stared at the ceilings, sorting his thoughts. He and Tom needed some time alone again, just the two of them. He looked at the grey wolf in his arms and smiled when he saw his face. When Kevin started snoring softly, Tom's ear twitched in his sleep, ever ready and vigilant. Tom was a very light sleeper; waking him up was never a difficult thing to do.

Then, Kevin turned around and hugged his arm, still snoring. The dog grimaced and tried to pull his arm back, but at Kevin's soft smile, he reeled himself. Maybe the red wolf also needed some warmth.

He let out a tired sigh and closed his eyes. These two wolves were admittedly cute when they were asleep.