Hey all you empathetic eagles! I'm tired!

And... I've got another installment of Cafe Husky to show to your eyes! Sorry this took so long to get up. My life has been a roller coaster these past few weeks, and there was a lot of stuff I wanted to fit in this chapter. And fit I did. It's amazing how much you can fit into a story with 8000 words isn't it?

So, yeah, another long one. This one finally focuses on the process of relocating Husk from his house! I feel like I've been building up to this forever! (Because I basically have) So... this one beats out chapter three on the feelsometer. Like I said, a lot happens in this chapter.

This chapter holds a special place in my heart, because it is in this chapter that I realized how much I modeled Husk and Fen's story arc after my own life. A lot of scenes and things aren't really similar, but the core ideas are there. So... I hope you guys enjoy this one.

Anyways! I hope you all enjoy! I wanted to finish off the day, but my writing was starting to take a dip in quality, so I ended it after they pack up Husk. As always criticism is appreciated greatly. Like how someone secretly wants Husk to be their boyfriend. We are in a judgement free zone, it's perfectly fine to feel this (mostly because I believe that means I've made a convincing character!) Enjoy reading!


Café Husky
Chapter 12

You and Husk leave the apartment, and jump into separate vehicles. Husk said he was just going to have you follow him to his place, just in case there was a lot of things the two of you had to pick up. You insisted on him giving you the directions to his house, just in case you get lost. Husk said you guys could figure out how many boxes you needed when you got there, after the both of you survey how many you guys may need.

He drives off in his beat-up car, and you follow along behind him, in your much fancier car. You didn’t have much to do on your way to Husk’s… old house, so your mind began to wonder about your relationship.

Oh! Wait! Red light.

…Okay, green now.

There was a stark difference between the both of you, that you are surprised that your relationship is working out so well. The two of you do actually have a lot in common. From your general outlook on things, to the circumstances that got you both to move out. Husk’s circumstance just appeared later on in life, with his parents finding out he was gay, and almost immediately resulting in them forcing him to move out.

The circumstances that got you to move out were along similar lines. You knew you were gay starting out in high school, when you found out the girl you were dating was just dating you to get her rocks off. You were the type of person to get too attached in a relationship, so that slap to the face really knocked you off your feet. That one girl ruined your dating game for a while, and it wasn’t until you were in college that you tried dating again. You could never really find that one person who really clicked with you. You had small swings, a curvy deer here, a buff dragon there, but you could never find the one that suited you.

A roundabout? Really? These things are more trouble than they need to be.

Until you found Husk… no… Ezhno… that’s his real name. You knew how much he hated going by his real name, something… behind the etymology or something? You never really figured it out, and you haven’t thought to really look it up. Maybe it’s something you’ll ask tonight, once you get him all settled into your apartment. If he’s ready for something like that at least. It seems to be something he’s not too excited to talk about.

You can’t help but feel excited about the fact that your husky boyfriend is going to be living with you. You know that your apartment is a bit too small for two people, but when the two of you slept together on the Fourth of July, you knew you would never want to sleep alone again. Not with how soft and cuddly the husky is, your arms wrapped around him was the highlight of the night, which isn’t saying much, with the deafening fireworks going off near your apartment. Your sensitive fennec ears can’t handle that type of noise!

Left turn… Oh! This must be his neighborhood! You can see a lot of furs milling about outside of their houses, hanging out with their families, and generally enjoying the nice, crisp weather outside. There was a various amount of species outside. From cats to lions, to dogs and wolves, and even some species of Pokémon, with a family of Floatzels outside, splashing around in a kiddie pool.

This is quite the diverse neighborhood.

You follow Husk for another minute, going slow to make sure you didn’t accidentally have an accident with any of the kids milling about. Husk pulls into one of the house’s driveways, already filled with two other cars, one of which seems to be a truck, and parks his car. You park your car right next to his. Taking a moment to reflect on what could happen. His parents could instantly hate you. The whole day could be made awkward because of his parents. Are his parents even home? There are two other cars in the driveway, so you suppose they are home. What will they think of you? You consider yourself to be pretty likely, so probably not. Do they know about Husk and you…? No, Husk told you they didn’t know.

And, how will Husk’s parents deal with him leaving after all these years?

A knock on your window pulls you out of your trance, looking to see Husk standing there, peeking in at you. You breathe out a heavy sigh, trying to prepare yourself for the day ahead of you. Your paws were starting to hurt, and upon looking down, you see that you are gripping your fox necklace extremely tightly, and your paws were white from the overexertion. You release your necklace, letting it drop back onto your beige chest, before giving Husk a thumbs up, just to tell him you’re going to be okay.

Turning off your car, you finally get out of your vehicle, and lock up your car. Your husky is sitting there, staring at you, with concern in his eyes, obviously seeing how frazzled you were. He places his paws on your shoulder, before speaking up softly, “Hey, Fen. You gonna be okay? You look a little off.”

You nod your head, before looking into his eyes, and nervously respond, “Yeah. I… I’ll be fine. My nerves are just getting to me. I guess I’m just scared with how today will go… I’ve never met your parents… and we aren’t exactly meeting under the best of circumstances… I don’t know… Do you think everything will go well today?”

Seeing the look of nervousness in your eyes, Husk tries to lighten the mood, talking jovially, but you can still hear a tinge of uncertainty, “Yeah, I think everything will go great… Just be yourself, you’re pretty likeable. My mom is also working at home in my parent’s bedroom, and she’s the main reason they decided to… kick me out. So, it should be fine...” You can see the sadness in his eyes from saying that, but it quickly turns back into a smile, before he continues jovially, “My dad might want to talk, but he’s pretty great. He always fawns over my friends, mostly because I don’t have a surplus of those…”
You nod your head, understanding his predicament, at least a little bit. You never have many friends over either, as Jack pointed out. The most you had over was your sister, and that was so you could show her your apartment. Other than that, basically no friends.

Husk shakes his head to clear his thoughts, before he wraps his arm around your back, leading you toward the house, talking to you along the way, “Now c’mon! We should try and get this done as quickly as possible, so we can get all my stuff back to the apartment! I’ll try and only pick out the necessary stuff, that way we can actually fit everything inside the apartment. Is that fair?” You only manage to nod your head, still a little nervous about the ways that this day could go.

As Husk and you walk up to the house, you can’t help but notice all of the intricate wooden carvings littered around the yard. Almost all of the figurines around the house look like… Husk, oddly enough. They have the same general facial structure of the husky, and all of the things about him that you found attractive, from his button nose to his pointy ears.
It must be modeled after the family.

As you were admiring the figures, Husk removes his paw from your shoulder, and walks toward the door. As he approaches the door, it suddenly swings open, and there seems to be another husky waiting for him at the door.

Judging from looks alone, you could tell this was Husk’s father. Husk had the man’s general facial structure, and his eyes were the same color as Husk’s right eye, a deep earthy brown. He also had the same soft looking white fur that Husk had, just without the brown hue that Husk’s fur had.

That’s where the similarities ended though. Husk’s dad was taller than Husk, looking to be a little bit over six feet tall. He also had a fine set of muscles on his body. The husky obviously taking care of his body with hard work and dedication. His paws were covered in deep callouses, proof of all of the hard work that he must have put in over the years. He was wearing a red plaid shirt, with blue overalls covering up the rest of his body.

He just looked like a buff Husk.

Upon opening the door, the husky greets you kindly, with a slight southern drawl to his speech, “Well howdy! I knew Ezhno said you would be coming over early, but aah didn’t know he meant this early! C’mon in! Make yourself at home!” Husk looks to you, before walking inside, and you follow closely behind. The warm welcome helped you calm down a little, but you were still pretty nervous, despite this. His dad seemed really welcoming, and he seemed kind enough.

So… why would they kick Husk out for something so small?

You follow Husk inside the house, and he stops once you guys reach the living room area of the house. You examine the house, and bask in the warm and welcoming feeling that the whole structure gives off. From all of the family photos to the fireplace, to the TV on to some show about furs flipping houses. There were candles too, which apparently smelled like blueberries. You guess it runs in the family. There was a sofa and a love seat in front of the fireplace, perfect for relaxing after a long day of working. There were tiny clumps of fur littered around the house, which makes you think that this family either doesn’t vacuum a lot, or there is just too much fur to clean it all. Hanging on the walls were a lot of Christian quotes, ranting about accepting one another for who you are, and not judging people for who they choose to be.

Huh.

How ironic.

Husk’s dad joins the both of you in the living room. Standing closer to you than he is to Husk. You can’t help but feel intimidated by the tall man before you. The husky towered over you, even more than Husk did. He also had a more intimidating presence than Husk did, with bulging muscles that must have taken him years to sculpt, and giant paws that look like they have seen good and bad.

He reaches out his paw to you, before introducing himself, clearly excited to meet one of Husk’s friends, if the excitement in his voice means anything, “Hi there! Mah name is Elan! I’m Ezhno’s father! Ezhno said someone would be coming over, but I expected someone a bit… taller? No offense. Anyway, it’s nice to meet ya!” You reach out your paw to shake his, and he clasps your paw in a strong grip, and you get a strong feeling that this man could easily crush your paw. He releases your paw, and a wide smile spreads across his face, before he continues happily, “You got quite a grip there son! Now then, do aah git the pleasure to know your name, or are ya gonna leave me hanging?” You let out a light chuckle. Maybe this won’t be as bad as you think it will be.

You stand up straighter, before speaking up, a slight nervousness in your voice, “I guess I can tell you…” You let out a nervous chuckle, which he responds with a slight guffaw, “Umm… My name is Apollo, and it is a pleasure to meet you! I’ve always wondered where Husk got his welcoming personality from!”

Elan lets out a guttural laugh. He pats your back with his giant paw, causing you to almost fall flat on your face. He chuckles at you almost completely eating the dirt, before continuing on, as jovially as ever, “Haha! Yep! He definitely inherited my personality! He even got my good looks!” After saying that, he winks at you, before flexing his muscles, showing you how much he could realistically crush your head if he wanted to. You can’t help but chuckle at the display of athleticism before you. He really did look like Husk… How is he dealing with all of this?

You look over to see Husk looking around at the pictures, probably reminiscing about better times in the past, when things were better. You see pictures of Husk and his dad at a lake, holding up a giant feral fish by the mouth, with fishing rods in paw. Elan was holding the camera, taking the picture of the two of them. It looked like the ideal family scene. The only person consistently missing in a lot of the photos was who you assume to be Husk’s mom. She appears in a few of the photos, but not more than five or six. A lot of the other photo space was overtaken by pictures of Husk and Elan, with a lot of other white huskies, who you assume are his family.

You pat him on his shoulder, getting his attention. This causes him to look you in the eyes, and you can see the sadness in his eyes. Having your only support system turn on you after a life full of memories and love must be hard. From the photos of his family all together, looking happy and content, it’s only a wonder that something as simple as Husk coming out of the closet would cause his family to completely kick him out of the house.

You pat his shoulder again, more so trying to snap yourself out of it than him, before you continue on, softly, to show him that you are here for him, “Hey, Hus… Um, Ezhno. Come on, why don’t we go look at how many boxes we might need?”

Husk looks in your eyes again, before he smiles sadly at you, and nods his head, glad to have something to do other than stand here awkwardly.

His dad interjects though, a hint of sadness in his voice, “I, um, went this morning and picked up some boxes for you guys. I got some really big ones so you could fit all your clothes and things in there. There should be plenty. I bought five giant boxes… and that should limit how many… things you take.” Elan seems… unwilling to talk about all of this, as if… he really doesn’t want his son to go away.

Husk smiles, before talking to his dad, “Thanks Dad. We were going to go get boxes once we figured out how many we would need, but that really helps us in the long run. We should get started though. I want to get settled in my new apartment as soon as possible. So… c’mon… Apollo. Let’s go start packing up my things.” He starts walking away, and you follow closely behind him. You turn around to wave to Elan, only to see him frowning, and his eyes are full of sadness. He must really not want to see his son go.

Husk walks you down the hall, and turns toward one of the rooms, heading inside. You see some giant, folded up cardboard that you assume is the boxes, before you follow along, into what you assume to be Husk’s bedroom. It’s exactly what you would expect his bedroom to be like. His walls are painted a bright blue, with white trimming along the windows and doorways. He has a small mahogany dresser, which looks to be pawcrafted. There is a moderately sized tv sitting atop the dresser, with an old game console sitting right next to the tv.

Across from the dresser is a queen-sized bed, with the blankets seemingly thrown about randomly. There is a bedside table next to the bed that looks to be made out of mahogany as well, fitting in well with the dresser. On one side of the room is a big closet, full of Husk’s clothes and other belongings. Across from the closet is a window overlooking the outside. The blinds are closed, giving the room a very gloomy feel. On the small table is an expensive looking personal computer. The PC seems to be really decked out, with a lot of the components seeming to be of high quality. Husk has pictures scattered around his room, mostly of him and his dad.

They must be really close.

Husk sees you glaring at all of his possessions, and he rubs the back of his head, embarrassed by your gawking. You look at him, and see how nervous this makes him. You can’t stand to see him like this, so you decide to lighten the mood, “You know… I thought the first time you would invite me to your bedroom would be under brighter circumstances, but I guess this works just as well.”

Husk lets out a cough. Seems you caught him off guard with that one. He glares at you, before punching you lightly on the arm. You laugh at his misfortune, knowing that your joking has lightened the mood. He continues to glare at you, but you choose to ignore him, walking outside the door and picking up a box. You also see a bag from the local hardware store, HomeOutpost, and looking inside, you see a packing tape dispenser, along with some extra rolls, just in case you guys ran out.

You bring the materials back inside the bedroom, to see Husk laying down on his bed. He just seems to be staring at the ceiling, unmoving as you walk in. You place down the boxes and the bag, and you walk up to the bed. You can see the complexity of emotions on Husk’s face as he stares at the ceiling. He’s going through a lot right now, and the best you can do is support him in his endeavors.

You sit down on Husk’s bed, before lying flat on your back, with your head on his chest. He looks down at you, before his lips curl into a slight smile. He starts stroking your giant, pointy ears, causing you to relax. You both stay like this for a few minutes, just enjoying the warmth shared between you too. Husk stopped stroking your ears after a bit, and his paws just ended up resting on his chest.

You don’t have much time though, if you want to get everything packed up and moved back to your place. So, you sit up, and grasp Husk’s paws on his chest, staring into his eyes. He stares back at you, and you can see the sadness in his eyes. You squeeze his paws in between yours, before speaking up, softly, “Hey, are you ready for this? I know you’re going through a lot right now. Do you need me to walk out for a minute so you can take a moment?”

Husk just stares at you, before letting out a heavy sigh. He sits up next to you, and he leans his head against your shoulder, resting there for a moment. Seeing an opportunity, you kiss his snout, making him smile. You sit there for another moment, Husk resting on your shoulder, before he sits up. He turns his body towards you, and stares into your eyes again, before he starts speaking, a slight tinge of worry on his voice, “No… I think I’ll be fine. Let’s just… start packing things up, and I’ll figure it out from there…”

You turn your body towards him as well, staring into his eyes. He is trying his best to look stable during this terrible situation, but you can see him stating to tip and fall. You move your paw to caress his cheek, before speaking up, trying to calm him down, “Husk. It’s okay to be upset. You are going through a lot, and I’m here for you. You have to tell me what’s going through your head. If we’re going to be living together from now on, we have to be each other’s support system.” You give him a gentle kiss on the nose, before continuing, “You can’t hide anything from me anymore. After everything we’ve been through, do you think I’m really going to start giving up on you now that life is getting harder for you?”

He shakes his head, and you can see he is on the verge of tears, and you continue on, “Good. That means you can be open with me. I know this is hard-“

“How do you know?”

Him suddenly cutting you off leaves you at a loss for words. You can hear the quiet anger in his voice, obviously having reached that tipping point. You may have to tread more carefully from now on.

Before you can respond though, he speaks up again, a bit louder this time, “Well? How could you possibly know what I’m going through!?”

You shrink back in the bed, distancing yourself a little from him, you can see Husk getting really mad, his teeth bared at you, and you can hear a low growl emanating from his chest. The height difference is really prominent between you now, with your body shrunk back in the bed, and him standing dominantly over you. You try to answer him, not able to keep the fear out of your voice, “Umm… I- I don’t know. I was h- hoping I could try and calm you down a little… I’ve been through something of a similar standard, so… I thought I could offer some assistance… I don’t know… maybe relate a little…”

That apparently wasn’t what he wanted to hear, because he somehow looks even angrier than he did before, with his sharp teeth suddenly showing up a lot more than they did before. He growls loudly, before he continues on, basically yelling at this point, “YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I’M GOING THROUGH! I’VE HAD EVERY SINGLE PERSON IN MY LIFE LEAVE ME! AND THE ONLY PEOPLE IN MY LIFE WHO I THOUGHT WOULD NEVER LEAVE ME ARE GETTING RID OF ME! HOW COULD YOU EVER RELATE TO THAT!?”

His outburst infuriated you. And you can’t help but yell back at him, standing up and pacing around the room, “AT LEAST YOU HAD SOMEONE TO SUPPORT YOU! I HAVEN’T HAD ANYONE TO SUPPORT ME SINCE I WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL! DO YOU KNOW HOW TERRIBLE IT IS TO FEEL LIKE YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE ON FURTH WHO HAS YOUR BACK!? I’VE HAD NO ONE IN MY LIFE FOR YEARS! AND MY SISTER WON’T EVEN TALK TO ME ANYMORE! I FOLLOWED YOUR ADVICE AND CALLED HER THE OTHER DAY, AND SHE DIDN’T EVEN PICK UP! I CALLED HER THREE TIMES! And she didn’t answer any them…” You feel a tear fall down your face, and when you move a paw to wipe it off, you notice your cheeks are drenched.

When did you start crying?

You flop down on the bed, having gotten the anger out of your system, all that’s left is the sadness, and you continue on, looking at the floor, and trying to hold back the tears, “I haven’t had anyone to support me… And then I see you in that café… and I thought, ‘Why not, you haven’t met anyone new in a while. What’s the harm in making a new friend?’ So, I took the chance to talk to you, and it paid off… but now… I just feel like I don’t deserve your affection… I’ve gone through my whole life being alone, so what’s another year…?”

You can’t keep the tears from falling down your face. You sit there for a moment, basking in your sadness, before Husk puts his paw under your chin, and turns your head toward his. You look through the tears at Husk’s own crying face, staring into his mismatched eyes, before he pulls you into a hug, embracing you in the warmth of his fur. You can’t help but cry into his shoulder, letting the waterworks go. He pats your back, while speaking to you, trying to calm you down, speaking softly, but you can still hear him sniffling, “Shhh, it’s okay. I- I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled at you. You don’t deserve that… You’ve been nothing but good to me… and all I’ve done is make you cry.”

He backs up from you, still holding your arms in his paws, and turns toward you, so you are now facing each other. You notice that tears are still streaming down his face, matting down his white fur, and you can feel the tears rolling down your cheeks as well, making your face feel damp. He moves a paw to your cheek, before brushing away the tears with his thumb.

You can see a smile spread across his face, as he continues on, his paw resting on your cheek, and his voice soft and calming to your frazzled brain, “Fen… I want you to know that I will always be here for you, from here on out! I can’t promise that you won’t ever cry again, with how much of a crybaby you are!” He pokes your stomach with his other paw, making you let out a small laugh, before he continues on, “But I will certainly try my hardest to keep you happy. I know this isn’t the brightest situation, but I’m glad you are here to get me through it. I can’t imagine I could get through all of this alone, so… thank you. I know I probably sound like a song on repeat, but I really mean it. My life was so dull and boring before you came along, and you somehow found a way to brighten up my life, even with everything going on. You gave me something to live for.”

You stare into Husk’s eyes, and you think for a moment. Is now a good time? Is it too soon? You know he has feelings for you… but is it too the same degree?

You know what.

It’s now or never.

You hype yourself for a moment, before beginning to speak, not able to keep the stutter out of your voice, “H-Husk, you k-know you don’t have to thank me… Everything I’ve done for you… has been on my own volition. I’ve wanted to make you happy because I love seeing the look on your face when you’re happy, and from the first moment in the café when I saw you upset, I knew I would never want to see that side of you again. Every subsequent day with you has made me want to spend even more time with you. I know we have only known each other for a few days now, but every day with you has felt like an eternity.” You clutch your necklace between your paws, your paw beans rubbing against the fox attached to the end, trying to build up more confidence, “And… that is why… I want to always be there for you. I want to be that person you can come to when you’re feeling down… I want to be your rock in a flowing river… I want… to be here for you.”

Husk looks at you, with anticipation in his eyes, before he speaks up, seeming just as nervous as you are, “W-what are you trying to say, Fen?”

You take his paws into yours, before you look into his eyes, and you are reminded of everything that you love about your husky. His smile that could light up the darkest of rooms. To the black, extremely boopable nose that is on his shapely snout. His charming personality that always seemed to find a way to make you laugh. His pointy ears that looked perfect atop his head. And his eyes. The one thing that made you love this dog more than anything in the world, from the shimmering light blue of the left eye, to the earthy chocolate colored right eye. Those eyes that have pulled you in ever since you first gazed upon the magnificence that is the differing colors. That is what has brought you here today, to say this one amazing thing.

“Ezhno. No… Husk. This might be coming out of left field, but…” You take a hard gulp. When did your mouth get so dry?

“Husk… I love you.”

Husk stands there in shock for a moment, and you can’t help but feel like you’ve said the wrong thing. You release Husk’s paws, and your paws dart straight to your necklace. Maybe it was too soon… You’ve only known him for three days, but everything seemed so perfect… Were you the only one who saw that though?

You turn away from Husk, sighing heavily to yourself, before you gain the courage to speak up again, sounding a lot weaker than you were hoping too, “You know… that was stupid. I must have ruined it didn’t I? I’m sorry, I’ve just gone and made things awkward.” You feel tears rolling down your cheeks again, “I-I’m gonna go. I don’t want to make things worse than I already have…” Before Husk can stop you, you are already rushing out of his room and out the front door. You see Elan watching you exit, but right now, you really couldn’t care less. You shut the front door behind you, and quickly run to your car. You go to reach for your car keys, but your mind isn’t ready to deal with that kind of algebra, and you can’t seem to get your paws to stop shaking. You give up, and move over to the other side of the car, slouching down, and covering your face with your giant ears. You really don’t want anyone else to see you right now.

Your cheeks are damp with tears, but right now, you don’t really care. You just want to be alone, to wallow in your pity. Why were you really upset? You just met the fur three days ago. Did you really expect him to say yes? I mean… everything seemed to be going amazing… Was that really all in your head? Was all the flirting between the two of you made up in your mind?

Did you ruin the only relationship you had on Furth?

You don’t know how much time you sat there. You could have been there for a few minutes, or even a few hours (It was half a minute). But you couldn’t care less. You just wanted to be alone. That’s interrupted by a poke to the top of your head though. You release one of your ears, to see who interrupts your ear asylum, to see Husk crouched down in front of you. You don’t give him a minute to respond, and go back to your dark dome. He stops that by taking his paws and grabbing yours in his. Your ears flick back to their natural position, and that shows off your face in all of its glory. Your cheeks are matted, and your eyes are puffy from crying. You know you aren’t that attractive currently, but Husk still looks straight into your eyes, undisturbed by your currently unattractive look.

He moves his paws to your face, before speaking up softly, “Now where did you think you were going to go? I have big ears too you know. I could hear you breaking down as soon as I got outside.”

You shrug your shoulders, still sniffling from your self-pity session, before speaking up, “I don’t know… somewhere where my ears could hide me from the world… I just wanted to get away… I was so embarrassed… I just couldn’t stay in there with you…”

Husk looks at you, with eyes full of joy, as he continues, “Oh really? Well… what I saw back there wasn’t anything to be embarrassed about. What I actually saw was my cute…” He boops your nose, “…lovable…” he pokes your chest, “and charming…” he caresses your cheeks, before continuing on sweetly, “…boyfriend confessing his true feelings for me. With your cute big ears…” he caresses the inside of your ears, relaxing you a little, “And an even bigger heart to go along with it. And if that’s something to be embarrassed about… then I don’t want you to ever feel embarrassed again.”

You look at him tears starting to form in your eyes again. Was he trying to let you down easy? Because it wasn’t working. You find the courage to speak, despite yourself, stuttering along your sentence, “W-What are y-you trying to t-tell me?”

He smiles slyly at you, before he continues, “I’m just trying to say that I don’t want you to ever go through that type of rejection again. That’s why I followed you out here, just to say…”

He grabs your paws in his, before he continues, his voice a little shaky, “Apollo… no… Fen… I just wanted to say…” He clears his throat, is his throat dry too?

“Fen… I love you too.”

You look at him incredulously, before you throw yourself onto him, tackling him and sending him sailing into the ground, with your arms wrapped around him. You have never felt so much joy in your life!

YOUR BOYFRIEND LOVES YOU!

WOOOOOO!

You suddenly remember that you just full body tackled your husky into the ground, and you quickly jump off of him, wiping the dirt off of your clothes, and allowing Husk to sit up. He looks at you, a smile spread across his face, watching you freak out, and happy to see you smile again. Even if there were still tear streaks across your face.

You finally admitted your love.

And he actually loved you back.

What a day to mov…

AH! You look at your phone, noticing that it was noon! You still haven’t packed anything yet!

You stand up quickly, wiping away the tears from your face, before grabbing Husk’s paw, and pulling him off the ground, you drag him along beside you, heading toward the front door. You swing it open, and drag Husk along behind you. Elan see you enter, and calls out after you, “You boys okay? Aah saw you guys run outside!”

You quickly call back to him, trying to alleviate his worries, “We’re perfectly fine Elan! I just had a… mishap, and I had to go out to my car! We’re going to go clean up Husk’s room now!”

You run off with Husk following closely behind you, and you head towards his room. Once inside you quickly set him down on the bed. You’re panting as you sit down beside him, before falling back, and laying on the bed to catch your breath. Husk lays down next to you, not even winded from the short rush back to his bedroom. He looks at you confused, before speaking his concern, “Hey… ummm… you okay? You took off real quick without explaining anything. What’s up? Is everything okay?”

You, having recovered from your twenty second sprint, sit straight up, and get up from the bed, before turning back to Husk. You look him in the eyes, before explaining yourself, “Yeah! I feel great now! After that whole endeavor, I feel like I could take on the world!” You spread your arms out, before bringing them back to your sides, “Plus, we have been here for an hour and a half, and we haven’t made any progress to moving you out! If we are going to have you in my apartment by tonight, we need to get started yesterday! So, get up and start helping me pack!”

You tug him to his feet, and he has a giant smile spread across his maw. Your new bubbly demeanor obviously making him feel better. You start building a box to put clothes and other belongings in, and the both of you get started, relocating everything you can from Husk’s bedroom.


You and Husk spent the time you had picking up his bedroom. Eventually, Elan came in and started helping pack up too. Things have been really awkward between the both of you. You were a little intimidated by his imposing stature, and you were walking on eggshells to make sure you didn’t say the wrong things. He was helping you pack down clothes into a giant box, really compacting it down to fit as much as you could, and even with the both of you carrying it, the box was heavy. You both take your time moving the box to your car, and setting it in the trunk. While walking back inside though, Elan sits on the steps to his house, and pats the space beside him, motioning for you to sit beside him, “Come take a gander! Aah would like to talk to ya for a minute!”

Oh no.

You sit down next to him, and once again his size intimidates you. He is towering over your meager size, and his paws alone look like they could crush your head. He wraps his arm around your shoulders, and pulls you closer to him.

Now you really look small, cradled in this brute of a man.

He pats your shoulder, before speaking up, his gruff voice sounding intimidating, “Hey Pole, aah appreciate you helping Ezhno with this. The boy needs someone to keep him sane. He’s been alone for a while, so aah’m sure you’re helping him cope with a lot.”

You nod your head, before speaking up, “Yeah… he’s definitely dealing with a lot right now. It’s the least I could do to help him out. He deserves someone who’s willing to help him. I’m just glad that I met him when I did. Otherwise, who knows what could have happened.”

He nods his head, agreeing with you, before he continues on, “So… how did you guys meet? You guys seem ta be really buddy buddy to have just met recently. So, what’s the story?”

You chuckle nervously, you don’t see the point of lying to the guy. He seemed nice enough, and you’re pretty sure he won’t try to split you in two, so you decide to just be honest, “Umm… we actually did met recently. This Wednesday actually.” His eyebrows go up at that, “Yeah, I know. I was actually going to my favorite café around the area- Revitealize, I’m sure you’ve heard of it?”

“Yep, they got great teas there. Their blueberry muffins are to die for as well.”

You can’t help but laugh. Blueberries seem popular in the family, “Yeah, I know that’s how I got Husk to talk to me, believe it or not.”

“That was a lucky guess. The boy loves blueberries.”

“Yeah, I guess it was! He was just sitting in a corner alone, watching his phone, probably waiting for someone to call him. I noticed how sad he looked while staring at his phone. So, I bought him a muffin to cheer him up! It really perked up his spirits! From there we just talked until your wife called him. And that’s the short version of how we met.”

Elan fidgets uncomfortably, seemingly uncomfortable about what he is about to ask next, “So… uummm… are you two… a thing?” You freeze in terror, surprised by the sudden question. You didn’t expect anything like this! He senses your surprise, and quickly tries to alleviate it, “Woah, woah, calm down boy. Aah won’t persecute ya or anything! Aah would apprecate it if ya wouldn’t lie ta me though. Aah will find out eventually.”

You look up at him to see his eyes trained on you, but you can’t sense any ill-intent in them, so you concede, “Umm, yeah, I guess you could say that. We met up on Wednesday, and we have really hit it off since then. I’ve helped him cope with the forceful expulsion from his home, and he’s helped me out with a lot of things too. We really were put into each other’s lives at exactly the right moment.”

You look to Elan, and you can’t help but feel like he’s… sad. As if everything you told him would tear Husk out of his life. As if that wasn’t a surprise enough, the next thing shocks you even more, “Do you… love… Husk… as you call him?”

You look down at the ground, and you know that your cheeks are now cherry red. He squeezes you tighter to him, and he’s looking at you with a knowing look in his eyes, as if he already knows. You clutch your necklace, before responding to him, “…Yeah… I do. He’s such a wonderful fur, and I can’t imagine where I would be now if I hadn’t talked to him on Wednesday. I would probably be at my apartment, wallowing in my own loneliness without him. He has really turned my life around, and I can’t imagine being without him now.” You let go of your necklace as you continue on, gaining confidence, “And I know you don’t like gay furs, but… I’m hoping one day you can overlook that. My parents have never accepted me for who I am, but you still have a chance. If you can accept your son for who he is now, then… maybe I won’t be the only one to support him.”

He takes a moment to process all the information you gave him, before he continues on, as stoic as ever, “So, is he staying in your apartment?”

You nod your head, trying to stay calm, “Yeah… that’s right. He’s staying with me. He stayed last night to get a feel for the place. That’s why he didn’t come home.”

“Yep. He said he was staying at a friend’s place, but aah didn’t know he had basically already moved out…”

He looks down at you, a smile spread across his face. Are you dead? Did you say the wrong thing? Are you going to get killed today?

None of that is correct though, as he pulls you closer to him, before engulfing you in a bear hug. His strong arms nearly crush you, as he keeps you pulled to his chest. His muscles are way too giant for you to escape though, and you are forced to endure the giant hug.

After a minute of this bear hug, he finally lets you go, placing you down where you were before. He looks down at you with the same smile as before, and now that you know that’s not his, ‘I’m going to kill you’ smile, you can’t help but return the gesture, grinning broadly at the man before you.

He looks back toward the street, before he continues talking to you, “Aah never really did care for gay furs. But even so, my son has been coming home every day with a smile on his face like aah’ve never seen before, and it all started on Thursday. He left the house early that day, looking the worst aah’ve ever seen ‘im. But, when he came back that night, he was completely different. He was walking with a skip to his step, and he had a giant grin plastered across his face! He ran inside the house and started telling me all about Maws! You should’ve seen the look of wonderment on his face! The last time he did something like that was in high school when he told us he wanted to pursue computer engineering! He was so excited, aah could’ve sworn he would have taken off like a rocket, if he hadn’t been born a husky!”

His giant paw pats your shoulder, and he continues on, jovially, “And aah can only assume that’s your doing, am aah right?”

You can only shrug your shoulders. Have you really changed this dog’s life so much? How is that even possible in the short amount of time you’ve known him? You realize you were staring off into space, so you respond to his question, “I don’t know, honestly. I know he’s definitely made my life brighter, but I didn’t know I could affect him that much… So, maybe it is me that is making him bubblier.”

He nods his head, his giant grin staying on his face, before he continues on, “Okay then. That’s good enough for me. If you are the source of all of my son’s happiness, then aah guess aah could learn to like you.” He squeezes your shoulder, while looking down at you, and you can see the love in his eyes, whether it be for Husk or you, you had no idea, but either way you know it’s a good thing. You haven’t had a father figure in a while., so this could be a refreshing change.

He stands up, and offers you his paw. You graciously accept it, and he seizes the opportunity to pick you up and throw you over his shoulder, you dangle there, helpless to do anything but sit there and accept your new fate as this muscled man’s weird looking parrot. He walks you inside, and you can only assume that you are heading back to Husk’s room, based on the view you have from behind Elan. Once you get inside, Elan continues to walk, and you wave at Husk as Elan passes him. Husk looks at you, obviously confused by what’s going on. All you offer him is a shrug of your shoulders, as Elan picks you up from his shoulder, before dropping you unceremoniously onto the bed. You bounce up and down for a bit, before sitting up, your mind still reeling from the sudden shouldercoaster coming to an abrupt stop.

Elan rubs his paws together, before explaining himself to Husk, “Aah found this slacker sitting outside in his car! So, aah decided to teach this boy a lesson! How did you like the life of a sack of potatoes son?”

He winks at you, obviously trying to get you to play along. You see only disadvantages to ignoring him, so you decide to play along, “Oh yeah… I definitely learned my lesson! I won’t take a break in my car ever again! Especially when my friend Husk needs me!”

Elan gives the both of you a giant grin, which causes you to laugh. Soon, the other two join you. You soon all calm down, and you get back to work packing up Husk’s things. The awkward air between you and Elan was gone now that everything was on the table, and you found yourself more comfortable around him. You are able to joke about things, and he took part in poking fun at Husk with you.

While Elan was taking a lighter box out to your car, you filled Husk in on the whole conversation you guys had, from your confession, to him saying that you might be tolerable. This catches Husk off guard a little, but he has no time to question it, as Elan returns from his tiny journey.

With you and Elan being buddy buddy now, it made the whole process of packing up Husk’s room a breeze, and you guys seemed to be finished up in no time, with all of the boxes packed up and moved to the car, with a much emptier room left behind. The only thing that was really left was the PC and the desk under it, and you have no idea how you are going to: A) put that in your apartment, and: B) move it to said apartment.

That worry is quickly squashed when Elan speaks up, “Okay… So… the computer desk is all that’s left? If you guys don’t mind company tonight, aah wouldn’t mind driving it over there in my truck. Aah could see the new place, and even help you move some of the boxes, if you guys want.”

You look at Husk, who just shrugs his shoulders. Guess it was unanimous then, you respond jovially, “Yeah, that sounds great! I could even cook dinner for us! My treat! I love watching cooking shows, so I could probably come up with something tasty!”

Husk and Elan stare at you, before bursting into laughter. You don’t think it’s that funny… Welll… yeah. It’s kind of funny. You laugh along with them, enjoying the time with your favorite husky, and your new second in command favorite husky, for whenever Husk isn’t there for you to love.

You all eventually stop laughing, and Elan gets you to help him lift the desk into his truck. It takes a minute to get it out of the door, and up into Elan’s truck, but you eventually get it there, and push it towards the back. Once it is as far back as it could go, Elan takes out some ratchet straps, and starts hooking the dresser down. By the time he is done strapping it down, the thing won’t move even if a meteor hit the truck, but even then, that’s debatable.

You go back inside, and help Husk carry his computer case and computer screen back to his car. You place both of them safely in the passenger side of the car, making sure they are secure just in case anything goes wrong.

Husk takes a moment to reflect on the day, standing in front of his house… his old house… You can see the sadness in his eyes as he looks over everything he will be leaving behind, from his family, to everyone he knew around the neighborhood, and the familiarities of an old home.

You walk up to Husk, and put your paw on his shoulder, trying to give him comfort in his time of need. Elan walks up to the other side, and places his much bigger paw on Husk’s other shoulder.

Elan is the first to speak up, “Hey, son. What’s with the long face? You weren’t born a horse! Smile a little! You’re about to start a new journey! And it’s with your second favorite person in the world! Right next to me of course!”

He slaps Husk’s back lightly, causing him to lurch forward. You make sure he doesn’t fall, as he glares at his dad. His dad just responds with a sheepish smile, before you butt in, “Yeah, your dad’s right Husk! We have our whole life ahead of us! We don’t have time to reminisce now! And besides, I’m sure your dad will let you return one day. He’ll always be here to help you. Even when times are tough.”

Elan holds up his paws, “Woah now, calm your horses! It all depends on the amount, you know what aah’m saying?”

He looks at your incredulous face, before bursting into laughter. You can’t help but follow along, and eventually Husk does too.

With the mood officially lifted, all of you check to make sure everything is secure, from the boxes in the back of the cars, to the computer in the front of Husk’s car, and lastly, the computer desk in the back of Elan’s truck. You give Elan the address to your apartment, before all of you get into your respective vehicles, and head out to your apartment, with you new roommate, and his dad in tow.