King yawned sleepily, closing the paperback and setting it on his cluttered nightstand. "Next time, pick a more interesting book..." he muttered to himself. King sat up, stretching his small arms and yawning again. The small corgi had a terrible eye when it came to books, and he had started to amass a small library of books from the clearance section of the local bookstore. King checked the clock, it was a little past noon already, and Fox was still nowhere to be seen. Fox was never late for their little get togethers, and Fox had promised he'd be over by 11. However, King just wrote this off as him being caught up with something important, and decided that while he was waiting, he might as well tidy up a bit.

King managed to make his bed and pick up some of the loose garbage in his room, but then problems started to present themselves. His size prevented him from gaining any reach on anything, so if something was far under his bed or somehow above a few feet, King couldn't touch it. This was somewhat discouraging, but King just wrote it off as less work for him. Chuckling to himself, he took a quick break and got himself some kibble to eat for lunch. He had always had a taste for the stuff, even before his life started to turn around for the better, and if anything its only gotten better. Munching on the dry food, King noticed that he had made a small mess of crumbs that he at the very least could clean up. After searching for a vacuum cleaner, he soon learned that corgis were just not to handle a Hoover. Giving the clunky cleaning tool a kick, King flopped back onto his bed, rubbing his now sore paw, knowing that Miles would probably handle it eventually. Giving up on his venture in cleaning, King sighed, hoping his friend would arrive soon.

A few hours passed, King lazily moped around his room, checking the clock almost every ten minutes. He could accept that Fox got busy, but for this long? It seemed unlike him to do so, he'd at least stop by for a minute to tell King he couldn't stay. Not even television was interesting enough to keep his mind off of the fun he wanted to be having with Fox. Around 4, King heard a knock at the door and bounded towards it. Usually he'd let the wolves handle the greeting, but not only were they out doing... something, King didn't think he'd want to know what, but he also wanted to see his friend as soon as possible. Hopping up to fling open the door, King was greeted by... Fido?

The police dog instantly looked down at the confused corgi, waving weakly. "Hey King, have you seen Fox anywhere today?" Fido asked, peering into the living room. King shook his head adamantly, instantly realizing something wrong had to have happened. Fido cursed to himself, something that King had never seen the normally calm dog do, and he'd seen him angry up close and personal. King shook that memory from his mind as soon as he thought of it, not wanting to reminisce on the "old days". Turning his head back up to the taller dog, King gulped. Fido didn't look to good, his eyes were bloodshot and he didn't even manage to put on a smile today.

"Is everything okay with Fox?" King asked nervously.

"I dunno.. his father reported him missing earlier today, we at first assumed he'd gone off to play somewhere, you know like with Bino" Fido replied, a pensive look on his face. Something deep inside King was a little offended that he wasn't the first person they thought Fox was possibly with, but he let it go, focusing on the more important issue. "Bino said that he was with him earlier, but hasn't seen him since 10 in the morning, we've checked just about every place we know he likes to visit, so now we're going to organize an actual search."

"A search..." King thought to himself, flashing back to the last time this was necessary. The look on Fido's face said it all, he was already thinking that there was another kidnapping. No matter how much King wanted to push the thought out of his head again, he just couldn't, this was almost like some sick twist of fate, as if he hadn't experienced enough of those already. "I'm gonna keep a look out for him, I'll tell you the moment I hear anything" said King quietly, worries setting in quickly. Fido thanked the corgi and walked back out into the snow covered cul-de-sac. Fido's normally confident stride was a more somber walk, King could see him radio in to the station, and even though he couldn't hear it, he could already guess what the content of the call was.

King stumbled onto the couch, burying his face in his paws. His best friend was missing, possibly in danger, and he had no idea what to do. If he were looking on himself, he'd probably have been shocked that he was getting so emotional. Only a few years ago he wouldn't have cared that some dog was in trouble, but now he was on the verge of tears. Fox had become important to him, and now that there was a chance that he might not see him again; King didn't want to think about it. King also thought back to Fido, how upset he looked, how desperate. Guilt twinged deep inside of him, he knew that this wasn't the first time Fido must have felt this kind of stress. Quietly contemplating his life and Fox, King sat there on the couch for some time, not crying, but emotionally shut down for the time being. After what one could interpenetrate as an eternity, a soft knock echoed from the front door. King's ears instantly perked up, and he slowly went to open the front door.

And here King thought Fido had looked bad, but the miserable Husky standing on his porch just looked pitiful. The fur on his face was matted from tears, he was rubbing his eyes constantly, and looking around constantly. "F-Fox!" King stammered out "What happened? Fido is looking for you! He thinks you're in trouble!" Fox winced right when he heard this, sniveling quietly. "Never mind that..." King backtracked, grabbing Fox's paw, pulling him into the home. Blushing, Fox bounced onto the couch, not sure what to say, if anything. King instantly went to the phone and called the police station, asking for Fido. After a few minutes of waiting, Fido started talking, and after King explained what had just happened, the police dog asked for Fox. Almost like he'd been sentenced to death, Fox took the phone and went into the bathroom with it, telling Fido what had happened. Every word hurt, he didn't want to come out at all, and especially not like this. Fido was quiet as he listened to the younger dog, a faint yet audible growl escaping from his line when Bino's name was mentioned.

"I'll be sure to talk with Bino about this... situation." said Fido after some time

"Th-there's no need..." Fox mumbled quietly, yet Fido was having none of it.

"Yes there is, even if you don't want to pursue harassment and slander charges, my little brother still crossed a line, and I'm going to be sure he knows that"

"Okay... Is that all officer?"

"Um... yes, just... stay with King for the time being, I think it'd be for the best" Fido replied, slightly caught off guard by such a formal and dry question from the usually eager dog. "And, remember, just because people know about... this... it's not the end of the world."

"Are you sure?" Fox looked at his face in the bathroom mirror, and he sure looked like he'd been through the end of the world.

"Yes I'm sure." the other dog replied candidly "I may not be gay Fox, but I keep a secret too buddy, one that I'm sure not ready to share. But if it did come out, I'm sure that me and Sa- Er... never mind about that last part. Just know this Fox, things will get better. This was a big mistake, but every mistake can be fixed"

"I hope so... but to be honest... I'm not sure, not at all"

"Be safe Fox, for me, and for yourself"

"Goodbye Fido... and, I'll try to be safe." Fox hung up after that, setting the phone on the counter, and for what seemed like the hundredth time today, Fox cried.

"Dear Journal,

I'm so... angry. I want to scream right now. Bino is sometimes the biggest jerk in the world, I mean tonight is a key example if I've ever seen one. I introduce King to them, he's having fun for once with someone besides me... and then, boom. King's face was covered in catnip, and Bino was grinning like a massive jerk. And then King went nuclear... I've never seen anyone that mad. He starts cursing and yelling, and then just storms out. I wanted to follow him, to comfort him, but he told me no. So I just stood there and watched him walk away in tears. The worst thing is... I don't know who I'm mad at more Bino or me. Yeah, Bino was the one who did that to King... but who told him to come tonight? Me. If I had just left well enough alone, King wouldn't have gotten embarrassed and angry. I hope I can make things up to him somehow... maybe if he wriggles away from his owner tomorrow... I can apologize. I'm sorry to admit this, but I kinda... beat Bino up a bit... well a lot a bit. But can you blame me? Wait, why am I asking you? You're a journal, you aren't a person!"

Next Day's Entry

"Dear Journal,

He hugged me... He hugged me!"