Feelings, they're impossible to decipher
So many things whirling around my head
What am I thinking? What's on my mind?
I'm scared... dark... cold
"Babe, wake up!"
Fox pushed the snoring form in their bed, but all he got in response was a growl and a curse.
Fox chuckled and climbed out of the bed. The cold air hit his bare skin and he shivered. He grabbed an oversized hoodie and slipped it on, but didn't make a move to grab pants to cover his briefs. He walked over and opened the balcony screen and stepped outside into a deafening roar of sound and kaleidoscope of colors.
It was the parade!
Fox laughed and sat on a chair overlooking the street. People shouted, laughed and danced while they drank all down the street as they followed the parade floats. Rainbow flags were everywhere, and Fox could even catch a few people with fur dyed to match. He was only on the fifth floor of the building which offered an amazing view of everything.
"What's going on?" A pair of warm arms wrapped around Fox and he leaned back.
"Did you forget? It's Pride month!" Fox grinned and tilted back to look at a purple eye.
Wolf smiled back. "That's great!" He sidled into Fox's lap and they watched the parade go by with grins on their faces.
"Wanna go join? I've got fur dye." Fox chuckled and stroked Wolf's bare chest. "You'd look really hot in rainbow." He winked.
Wolf held Fox's hand while he traced patterns on the light grey fur. "Tempting, pup, but not today. The parade is still going on tomorrow, right?"
Fox nodded. "Tomorrow and until the last day of the month." He hummed and watched another float go by with two avians dancing and singing some pop song. "I bet two famous mercenaries could get spots on one of those."
Wolf's eye widened. "You'd wanna do that?" He scratched his head. "Have we even…"
"It's the perfect place to." Fox leaned up and pecked Wolf on the cheek. "No judgment."
Wolf touched the spot where Fox kissed him. He nodded. "Tonight I'll start to apply the dye." Fox laughed.
"This is gonna be awesome!" He made Wolf get up and then ran back into their apartment. "I've wanted to do this forever!" He went to the kitchen and turned the coffee maker on.
"When did you first want to?" Wolf adjusted his briefs as he sat on the bar.
Fox hummed and pulled out two mugs. "I think… when I was fifteen?" He nodded to himself and looked at Wolf's handsome face. "Dad would've taken me but he was busy with work."
Wolf sighed and rested his head on the marble. "Damn, I'm so sorry about all that."
Fox handed him a mug of coffee and sat on the stool next to him. His ring clicked on the tabletop when we went to grasp Wolf's hand.
"It was never your fault." Fox kissed him on the cheek again.
Wolf returned the kiss. "Thank you."
They drank their coffee in silence, but the noise of the parade could still be heard from outside. Fox was glad to have seen so many people there; he couldn't wait for tomorrow.
"You'll seriously dye your fur?" Fox crossed his arms as Wolf took the mugs and placed them in the sink. He got up and walked across the living room to the bathroom door.
Wolf approached him and wrapped Fox into a hug. "As long as you get us a spot on one of those floats, babe." He kissed Fox and ran a hand down his back. Fox shivered.
"Perhaps we could 'plan our moves' in here?" Fox opened the door.
Wolf snorted. "You're such a damn dork!" He pushed Fox into the bathroom.
"Love ya too, fuzzball," was all he could get out before Wolf shut the door.
I'm hyperventilating
There's too much to process here
All of these feelings are stifling now
I'm drowning
"Ow."
Wolf held his rear and stumbled out of the bathroom with Fox trailing behind.
"You were the one telling me to go harder!" Fox grabbed a fresh pair of briefs from their dresser by the bed and put them on.
"I'm not complaining; I love when you get rough!" He grabbed a pair as well and slid them on, wincing as he went. "But damn it hurts."
Fox laughed and patted Wolf's back. "We've been at this… six months?" He sat on the bed and grabbed his PDA.
"I'm glad it never gets old." Wolf crawled over to Fox and snaked his arms around his waist.
Fox tapped away on his PDA while he leaned into Wolf. The morning sun was shining through the glass slide in front of them, and the parade could still be heard. It would be like that every day all month.
"What are you doing?" Wolf looked over Fox's shoulder. His voice rumbled throughout Fox's body and inclined him to snuggle closer.
"Calling in a few favors." Fox smiled and put the device back on his nightstand. He smiled and looked at Wolf.
Wolf raised a brow but didn't broach the subject. "It's almost noon, want me to get some lunch?" He rolled his red-steel ring around in his hands.
"If you can survive that crowd, please do." Fox smiled and ran a thumb over Wolf's hand.
"The usual?" Wolf ruffled his head fur before he grabbed some jeans and a tank top.
"Of course." Fox kissed Wolf. "Be careful." He kissed him again. "And I love you." One last kiss.
Wolf laughed. "Every day I'm reminded how I fell in love with ya." He kissed Fox before he started out of their apartment.
Fox sighed with a smile. He walked out to the balcony and leaned over to glance down at the crowds.
"Hope it's not too hectic, babe." He crossed his arms and watched another float go by. Every color he could've imagined was flying through the air and thousands of people were packed in the streets.
Dark blue streamers flew over the crowd. Fox watched them scatter aimlessly through them, disappearing below their feet.
"It wasn't too hard to disappear for a while was it, Wolf?" He looked up at the sky. Vapor trails from ships made lines in the sea of blue.
He ran his fingers over the blue-steel ring on his finger. He could still barely make out a Space Dynamics insignia on its surface.
"Glad you came back on the radar."
The crowd continued to roar.
An Arwing made a lazy circle high in the sky.
Fox smiled.
A hand grabs mine
It leads me through the black sea
There's one feeling I can latch on to
But I'm not sure what it is
"It's a damn madhouse out there!"
Wolf threw open the apartment door and Fox laughed; he was covered in glitter.
"I told you Cornerian Pride is insane!" Fox walked over to Wolf and took the bag of food from him. He set it on the counter and rummaged through it for his sandwich.
"I'm gonna shower and get this shit off, you go ahead," Wolf grumbled while he peeled off his glitter-encrusted tank top. He set his ring next to Fox just after.
"I think you look cute!" Fox smiled and sat on the bar with his unwrapped sub. He could catch Wolf rolling his eye from the other side of the apartment.
"You think I look cute in anything." Wolf smiled and took off the rest of his clothing.
"It's an undeniable truth, Wolf," Fox mumbled between bites. "You're the cutest around."
"Can't be!" Wolf opened the door and looked back at Fox.
"Why not?"
"Because I'm the one looking at the cutest guy around!" Wolf grinned and shut the door while Fox's face caught fire.
"You dummy." Quit making me fall in love with you for the millionth time.
Fox finished his sub in no time and threw his plate away. He grabbed Wolf's ring and walked to the living room where he sunk into their sofa and switched the television on.
There was a news report talking about the Pride festivities taking place all throughout the city and all over Corneria, and Fox felt a warm sensation overtake his chest as he listened.
"Three years ago, Corneria was still trying to recover from the devastation of the aparoids and the transformation to a much more democratic form of government. Pride celebration was the last thing on anyone's mind, but now people enjoy a life of prosperity here, and technology and culture have exploded in growth," a feline reporter with a strong voice explained from her desk as a slideshow of pictures was changing behind her.
Fox looked down at Wolf's ring. The red metal glimmered in the synthetic light of the apartment, almost as if it still held that deadly intent from over three years ago.
"Messy times." Fox ran a finger over his own ring.
"But that's all ancient history."
I can breathe again
I'm blind, but it still feels brighter here
That hand belonged to a person
He helped me
I know what I'm feeling now
"This is horrible!"
"Hey, you wanted to do this."
"But it's so… sticky, and it's getting everywhere!"
"That's what it does!"
Fox laughed and slathered some pink dye on Wolf's head fur. The tub was stained with yellow and red already, and Wolf's arms and most of his head had been covered with dye.
"I feel waterlogged, damn!" Wolf looked down at his arms while Fox finished with his head fur.
"Keep still and we'll get done faster!" Fox started to spread green on Wolf's upper back.
"I don't see you dying your fur." Wolf snorted and looked down at his feet.
I'm considering an outfit or two." Fox smiled.
"So I'm supposed to walk around this float naked?" Wolf rolled his eyes, but Fox hummed.
"It would be great for me, but I don't want anyone else seeing what you're packing, babe." Fox winked and lathered some more green around Wolf's thighs.
Wolf glanced down at his hands. "Where's my…"
"Both of them are on the nightstand. Moved them for this." Fox changed his gloves and delved into the mixture of blue dye.
They lapsed into a comfortable silence while Fox applied the storm of colors to Wolf's fur. He couldn't help but pinch and grope a few areas while he did it, much to Wolf's surprise.
Twenty minutes later, Fox peeled his color stained gloves off and tossed them into a trashcan by the toilet. "All done, you can shower the excess off now." Wolf stood up and turned to face the mirror.
There was no trace of grey fur anywhere on his body; every color of the rainbow swirled and melded into each other in perfect compliment on his body, and his head was green, purple, and red with his pink headfur.
"Damn." Wolf grinned and turned to observe his back in the mirror.
"The color is gonna be darker than you think." Fox smiled and leaned against the counter. "How do you know so much about all this fur stuff?" Wolf stepped out of the tub and turned on the shower to warm.
Fox shrugged. "Somebody had to be in charge of grooming and cutting of fur and feathers on the Great Fox." He gathered the tubes and boxes of dye and started to place them away in cupboards above the sink.
"Cute." Wolf smiled and stepped into the shower, drawing the curtain closed behind him. "Third damn shower today," he grumbled.
Fox left the bathroom with a smile on his face and walked into the living room. He looked on the work table in the corner by the television to see a metal sculpture.
It started with a black base that narrowed and spiraled into a bloody red Wolfen with exaggerated and demonized wings and G-Diffusers, making it look like something that came straight from the darkness.
The front tip of the Wolfen vanished into a flat mirror, and on the other side of that mirror was another Wolfen. This one had softer features and curved edges, while the paint was darker and duller. It's exhaust spilled from behind it in a blue cloud, but it wasn't quite finished yet.
Fox didn't quite understand it, but he knew it was stunning.
A pair of multi-colored arms wrapped around Fox's waist and hugged him tightly. "You like it?"
Fox grinned. "It's gorgeous, babe." He turned around to see Wolf's naked and… "Holy shit, so are you." He ran a hand down Wolf's chest.
Wolf laughed. "Glad you think so." Fox rested his head in the crook of Wolf's neck. "I like this look too."
"I think you're ready now." Fox smiled and kissed Wolf, pushing him into the sofa.
"Any news on our float?" Wolf asked between kisses. Fox lay on his chest and hummed.
"Should get some tonight." Fox rubbed Wolf's blue shoulders.
"How long does this last?" Wolf looked down at his arms and raised a brow.
"However long you want. I've got a solution to remove it, but…" Fox kissed Wolf's cheek. "You look incredibly sexy, babe." He snaked a hand down to Wolf's thigh and squeezed it.
"I'll consider keeping it." Wolf grinned and wrapped his arms around Fox's neck. "My turn?"
"Whatever you want." Fox winked and leaned in again.
I wouldn't give this up for anything.
But I gave up everything to have it.
There's just one thing in my mind
It's floating around with no purpose
Alone and untouched
The maelstrom is locked in a box
Only love remains
"How's this?"
"Do you really want me to go down on you this early in the morning?"
Fox looked down at his exposed stomach. "A green crop top makes me that much more appealing?" He put his shoes on. "And look at you!"
Wolf was just wearing a pair of short white shorts and some sandals, along with his black eyepatch. He scooted closer to Fox on the bed and licked his neck.
"Sorry, you're just so…" Wolf kissed Fox. "Adorable." He then blew a raspberry on Fox's neck, which made Fox burst into laughter and push Wolf away playfully.
"Dork!" Fox laughed and got up from the bed. He offered his hand, and Wolf took it. "You ready?"
"As I'll ever be." Wolf smiled as Fox led him into the kitchen. Their rings were lying on the bar, and they took them and put them on.
"Remember when we made these?" Fox rubbed his finger over the blue metal.
"Yeah, just before everyone's ships were retired." Wolf loosely wrapped his arms around Fox's back. "But we needed to keep a piece of the past with us."
Fox nodded. "And that promise we made?" He rested his forehead against Wolf's.
"To push to the future together." Wolf kissed Fox.
They broke apart and held hands as they walked to the front door of their apartment. "Let's get to it then!" Fox exclaimed. "Parade won't wait for us!"
He went through the door with Wolf.
"Hey, Fox?"
"Hmm?"
"I… I love you."
"I love you too. More than anything in the Lylat System."