AN: Hi guys! I am finally making another post! Isn't that exciting?! *crickets chirping* ...Oh well. Anyways, I really hope you all enjoy this chapter. The reason this one took so long was due to the sheer length of the chapter and the fact that I had to completely scrap my first rough draft of this chapter. It moved way too fast and quite frankly, I am extremely happy with that since I think the plot in this chapter is much better than the first one. This chapter was a blast to write and I sometimes got too carried away, so I had to go back and redo parts. Overall, I am quite happy with this chapter. Again, I hope you enjoy!

Warm. Cozy. At peace. These were all words that could describe Fox at the moment. He had just woken up and felt a warm blob that was rough against his back and incredibly soft around his chest. He didn't know why the warm blob was so comfortable, or why it made him feel safe, but he knew that he didn't want it to end. Suddenly the lump nuzzled into his head, causing Fox to fully awaken.

"What the hell?" Fox was about to make a run for it but heard gentle snoring and smiled. The warm blob was actually Wolf. A blush soon began to form on his face as he realized the position that he and Wolf were in. Wolf's body was pressed against him and his arm and tail were thrown around his body.

"I need to find a way out of this." Fox tried moving the appendages off him, but that only made Wolf draw the vulpine deeper into his chest, making the warm and fuzzy feeling in his chest skyrocket. "Oh my God, his fur is so soft... Okay, screw it. I'm going to stay here." Fox looked over to the alarm clock on his nightstand, which read 6:30 AM of November 16th.

"Damn, and I'm already wide awake too." Wolf shifted slightly in the bed, bringing Fox's thoughts back to the lupine. "God, I still can't get over how soft his fur is. It's like I'm being hugged by a cloud."

"Well I'm glad you like it," Wolf mumbled, nuzzling the top of Fox's head. Fox jumped at the sudden sound of Wolf's voice.

"H-How long have you been awake?" Fox asked, embarrassed that he had been talking aloud. Wolf groaned, clearly not a morning person.

"Ughhh... long enough to hear you compliment me. Can you just go back to sleep, pup? It's too early for this." Fox remained silent for a few moments.

"Sorry, but once I'm awake, I can't go back to sleep." Wolf released a sigh of disappointment. "But," Wolf's ears perked up. "That doesn't mean I can't lie here for a while."

"Hmm, well is that so? Who would've thought that you would be into cuddling." From the tone of his voice, Fox could imagine that Wolf currently sported a grin on his face.

"S-Shut it before I change my mind. You just keep doing what you've been doing." Fox's ears had a reddish tint and his cheeks were clearly red from his intense blush. He couldn't believe what he was saying to Wolf, but he didn't really care at the moment. Wolf must've picked up on this though since he began to chuckle.

"I have no clue what you mean." To further his point, he removed his arm and tail from around the younger vulpine's body, leaving it exposed to the cold room. "All you have to do is ask me what you want."

"Damnit, he's playing with me... though considering his condition, that isn't a bad thing." Fox weighed the pros and cons of asking Wolf to hold him, which summed up to either letting his pride go or freezing in the room... That and not being able to feel the lupine's amazing fur. He swallowed as he mentally prepared himself for his decision.

"Can you... can you please hold me?" If it was even possible, his cheeks became a deeper shade of red. He felt that he could've died then and there from sheer embarrassment.

"Well of course! All you had to do is ask." Wolf said playfully as he moved his tail and arm to their original places. Fox gave a content sigh of relief as their warmth and softness returned to his body, and Wolf's scent met his nose. It was an earthly scent with a mix of lavender in it; a combination that drove Fox crazy. Fox folded his arm over Wolf's so that their hands met over the vulpine's heart.

The two laid like this for a while. Wolf had fallen asleep within the first five minutes, but Fox had a much harder time doing so. He was thinking about all of the events that had led up to now. The more that he was with Wolf, the more he wanted to be in a relationship with him.

"I'm not gay, am I? No, I'm straight damnit!" Fox couldn't understand his feelings anymore. Throughout his entire life, he had always been told to find a girl that he loved and settle down with them. He had never once looked at another male and wanted to be with them, but Wolf was different, an exception. Wolf made his heart race. Wolf made him stutter. Wolf gave him butterflies in his stomach and filled him with a fuzzy feeling. Fox knew that the feeling was love. After all, he felt it with Krystal, but this was different. It was much more intense. If his love for Krystal was a campfire, then his love for Wolf was a bonfire. He didn't like it, but he also found it increasingly hard to fight as the feeling got stronger with each day. Fox stroked the lupine's arms.

"Still though, in the end I feel this way towards Wolf and nothing can change that. Maybe I should give him a chance. After all, Dad did always tell me that I should follow my heart." By this time, the heat radiating off Wolf had lulled Fox into a drowsy state and he closed his eyes, taking in the way that Wolf's body perfectly conformed to his.

"You know, maybe I could get used to this." Fox thought, before sleep overcame him.

"What's this feeling of warmth? Oh yeah, right, I'm in Fox's bed. He's letting me stay with him." Wolf thought. Wolf opened his eyes, expecting to see Fox, but frowned when he saw that it was only a pillow.

"Weird... he must be downstairs," He thought. Wolf slowly rose from the comfortable bed and stretched. He looked around and saw a purple t-shirt with black baggy pants on the dresser for him, so he grabbed his crutches and put on the clothes, looking at himself in the full-body mirror. The clothes were too small for him length-wise, but he had no problem fitting into them due to his weight loss. Wolf shuddered as he saw how thin he had gotten and a tear formed in his eye as he thought back to his time with his captors. He suppressed the memories and headed towards the stairs.

"Fox, you here?" No response. Wolf grew worried and moved down the stairs as fact as his crutches would allow him to. He looked around the kitchen and the living room area, but there was no sign of the vulpine. Wolf started to panic thinking that the fox had been kidnapped when a green note on the glass coffee table caught his eye. He moved over to couch and picked up the note, reading it.

'Hey Wolf! Sorry I had to leave you at home alone, but I kinda have to go to work. I am already 2 hours late, so Peppy is not going to be happy with me at all. Anyways, work ends at 4 and I should be home by 4:30, so don't worry. If you get hungry or thirsty, there is food and drinks in the fridge and snacks are in the pantry. Feel free to do anything you want. Just don't break my stuff. After work, I was thinking that we could go to the mall and get you some more clothes that fit as I can imagine that mine are too small. We could also do some other things, but we can discuss that later. I really need to get to work, so I'll see you soon. From: Fox.'

Wolf smiled as he read the vulpine's message, glad that he wasn't kidnapped. Over the past few days, Wolf's had grown extremely fond of the fox. Admittedly, he was bi and had liked Fox for quite some time now, but it isn't exactly easy to confess to your long-time rival that you are in love with them.

"Maybe someday I can tell him...But what if he rejects me?" Wolf's ears drooped. He wouldn't be able to bear Fox rejecting his love. Besides, wasn't Fox straight? He did end up dating Krystal for a while. Wolf was well aware that Krystal and Panther were in a relationship, and he was quite happy about it too since it meant that Fox was open.

"I need to do something for him. He's letting me stay with him, even though I'm just wasted space." Wolf looked into the kitchen and got an idea. "This is the least I could do for him."

Like Fox said in his note, he arrived back home at around 4:30. He parked his car and fumbled around for the correct key on his keychain. Once he found the key to his front door, he unlocked it and entered the home. Fox's maw dropped.

The house was absolutely spotless, even sparkling in some places. He gently shut the door behind him and looked around. The floor was completely devoid of debris and looked like you could eat off of it. The mound of dishes and utensils was gone, giving sight to a clean and shiny sink. The granite countertop didn't have a speck of dried residue on it and looked almost exactly like it did the day he bought the house three years ago. Looking into the living room, the black carpet had been thoroughly cleaned and the couch didn't have a single hair or stain on it. The shelves on either side of the TV lacked any dust. Overall, the place was pristine.

"Did Wolf do all of this? Holy shit, I have never seen my house this clean before. It's even cleaner than the day I bought it," Fox thought, wondering how much work Wolf had to put in to clean his house to this degree in only five hours. A soft snoring brought Fox out of his thoughts. He looked over to the couch and a smile creeped onto his muzzle. Wolf was sleeping soundly on the couch holding a duster in his hand. Fox walked over and gently shook the lupine awake, temporarily mesmerized by his deep amethyst eye that lazily stared back at him.

"Oh hey Fox. Back already?" Wolf asked.

"Yeah," Fox spoke softly. "You know, you really didn't have to do this. You're my guest. If anything, I should be cleaning the house for you." Wolf sat up and began to fidget around.

"It's the least I could do for you. After all, you are letting me stay here," Wolf nervously said.

"Well why wouldn't I?"

"Because I'm just wasted space that no one wants," Wolf replied sadly. Fox was shocked. He sat down next to Wolf and hugged the lupine tightly, deciding that this would be a good time to confess his feelings.

"Wolf...Please don't say that," Wolf's scent filled Fox's nose, making him feel safe and comfortable. He ended the hug and looked straight into the wolf's eye. "I want you." Wolf had a look of surprise and hope in his eye.

The two canines stared at each other, each enjoying being in the other's presence. Slowly, their heads drew closer together until finally their lips touched. It was a gentle kiss, but still filled with love. Fox made up his mind then and there that he didn't want to be with a male or a female. He just wanted to be with Wolf. He felt nothing when he kissed girls and felt sick when he thought about kissing guys, but Wolf was different. When he kissed Wolf, it felt right, like they were made for each other. In the middle of the kiss, Wolf recoiled and pushed Fox away from him. His eyes were wide and frightened.

"F-Fox, I'm s-so sorry! I r-really don't know what c-came over m-me. I'm s-sorry, please don't k-kick me out!" Wolf frantically stuttered. Fox didn't know what to do, but his body had already decided for him. During Wolf's pleading, Fox leaned in and silenced him with another kiss. Once Wolf quit trying to talk, Fox separated from him and held the lupine's hand.

"Wolf..." A blush spread across Fox's face as he took a deep breath. "I need to tell you how I feel. I'm...I'm in love with you." Wolf looked at Fox with tears in his eyes and gave the biggest genuine smile the fox had ever seen.

"I love you too, Fox." He pulled the vulpine into a tight hug, extremely happy that Fox loved him back. Once he heard Fox gasping for air, he quickly released him and muttered an apology, which Fox happily accepted. Fox suddenly stood up and Wolf gave him a questioning look.

"You ready?" Fox asked.

"Ready? For what?" Wolf tilted his head sideways a bit which Fox found adorable.

"We need to get you some clothes that fit. Mine clearly don't fit you."

"Y-yeah, I guess so." Wolf scratched his head.

"Well let's go then." Fox extended his hand to Wolf and helped him off the couch. Fox gave him a quick peck on the cheek as they left for the mall in Fox's car, mad that they had to go get clothes when he could have stayed at home and made out with Wolf.

Fox and Wolf finally reached the parking lot to the mall. As Wolf was exiting the vehicle, Fox quickly pulled him back in, eliciting an inquisitive look from the lupine. Fox grabbed two jackets with hoodies and two pairs of sunglasses from the backseat of the car and handed Wolf one of each.

"If anyone recognizes us, we'll never be able to get what you need, nor will we even be able to get out of here," Fox quickly explained. Wolf nodded his head, and the two canines put on the disguises. Once in the mall, the duo walked amongst the crowds of animals until they set their eyes on the clothing department.

"Pick whatever you want. I'll be sitting on that bench over there waiting." The wolf nodded and disappeared into the racks of clothes, eventually coming back with 6 pairs of clothes.

"Are you sure you don't want any more?" Fox asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I don't wear much anywa-" Wolf's voice quickly vanished, and his body began to shake.

"Wolf? What's wrong?" Fox asked, concerned with Wolf's dramatic change in behavior. Upon getting closer, he could hear Wolf's rapid uneven breathing and smell the fear rolling off him in waves.

"It's h-him," Wolf choked out. Fox looked over to where Wolf was looking and saw a shady looking timber-wolf holding a picture of Wolf to the cashier with the cashier shaking her head. Fox picked up on the meaning of this instantly.

"That must be MY Wolf's captor. The fucking bastard!" Fox furiously thought, balling his hands into fists. If he weren't in public, he would have already pulled out the gun hidden beneath his clothes and shot the guy, but sadly that wasn't the case. The timber-wolf must have seen him looking as he began to walk towards them. Fox turned to Wolf.

"Hey Erik, why don't you go and look for some more clothes. You know that we also need some for Derrick," Fox said loudly enough for the man to hear him. Thankfully Wolf immediately caught onto his plan and tried to calm himself.

"OK," Wolf mustered a fake grin. "Besides, I seem to know what Derrick likes more than you do." Fox lightly punched Wolf's shoulder as he disappeared once again into the clothes. Once the wolf reached him, Fox took in the way he looked. He was only slightly shorter than Fox and wore a thick coat with very baggy pants, possibly to hide weapons. He also had two scars crossing his face in an X pattern which would be very helpful for Fox to identify the man later on. The timber-wolf held the picture of Wolf up to him.

"Excuse me, have you by any chance seen this wolf?" The wolf asked. Fox pretended to stare intently at the picture of what looked like Wolf but in much better condition.

"Hmm, I can't I have," Fox said.

"Darn, I really need to find him. You see, he is actually my brother." Fox pretended to look shocked.

"Oh really? But you two look nothing alike." The wolf simply chuckled and looked him in the eyes.

"We really are. You see, he was actually adopted a few years ago, but unfortunately, he has never really considered himself a part of the family. He sometimes runs off, but he has never run off for this long. As you can imagine, I am quite worried about him now," the wolf explained.

"Oh I see. Well I hope you are able to find him. Unfortunately, I need to pick up some birthday presents for a friend whose party we are late to, so I really need to go."

"Oh so that explains why your friend was in such a rush. For a second I thought he was running from me." Fox narrowed his eyes at the wolf which his sunglasses thankfully blocked. He needed to get out of this situation fast.

"Of course not. Erik might be a little shy, but he doesn't run away from others. Anyways, I really need to go now. Have a nice day." Fox turned around and walked away from the male, disappearing into the racks of clothes. Once he was sure that the male was gone, he began to look for Wolf, which didn't take long. He was sitting on a different bench fiddling with his thumbs.

"H-Hey, thanks for that Fox." Wolf said as he hugged the vulpine.

"It's not a problem. Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah, I think so."

"That's good. Here, let's get these clothes ringed up." Wolf nodded his head and the two went to the register. Out of the corner of his eye, Fox noticed that the timber-wolf from earlier kept stealing glances at him and Wolf.

"Shit, he's onto us. We need to get out of here now!" Fox worriedly thought.

"Wolf, we need to go now," he quickly whispered to the lupine. Wolf realized why and trembled slightly, tail beginning to puff up. He stuttered out an OK and the two left. They walked as fast as Wolf could limp along with his crutches until they reached the car. Fox placed the bagged clothes into the trunk and joined Wolf in the car.

"Hey Wolf, how about we go to the park? There's usually no one there at this time and this way, we can pass some time until dinner." Wolf pondered over this for a few moments.

"Okay, if you say so." Fox smiled and pulled out of the parking lot, driving to their next destination.

As Fox had said, the park barely had anyone in it. The two walked on the Flower Trail, a not-so-creatively named path that had all sorts of flowers and greenery lining the path. Besides the bad name, it was actually a pretty popular path due to it's beauty, though most people went to it during the day when you could see it better. Fox personally liked it during sunset when the flowers all had a beautiful orange hue covering the plants' already vibrant colors. It was also barely used during this time, which was a definite bonus. The path eventually ended at the center of park where a statue of Fox and his team was situated.

"You know," Wolf began to speak. "I haven't had this much fun in a long time. Thanks Fox. This means a lot to me." He quickly kissed Fox.

"It isn't a problem at all. I've actually had a lot of fun being with you." Fox and Wolf stopped at a vending machine to get something to drink. On their way to the car, Fox suddenly stopped and felt his pockets.

"Damnit! I left my wallet at vending machine. Stay here Wolf. I'll be right back." Fox ran back, disappearing from the lupine's sight once he went around the corner. Wolf sighed, sat down, leaned against a tree, and closed his eyes. Once he heard someone clearing their throat in front of him, he opened his eyes.

"Hey Fox! What took you...so...long..." Wolf stared in terror as he recognized the timber-wolf from earlier standing right in front of him. The male grinned at Wolf, but not a grin of playfulness like he and Fox did to each other. It was a grin filled with sick ideas.

"Well hello, my little puppy, I am so glad I found you!" Wolf went to grab his crutches, but the timber-wolf quickly kicked them away. He slowly trailed his callous finger down Wolf's chest, making his fur puff out to its maximum amount. Wolf couldn't move. Simply looking at this person made him think back to all the things done to him, including what happened if he misbehaved. All he could do was tremor violently.

"Aww, how cute. You're scared. Good, you should be." The timber-wolf looked at Wolf's chest. "I see that my handiwork is being healed." Wolf gulped and tried to talk, but he was only able to choke out a few words at a time.

"H-how?... How did...you..find me?" Tears were forming in his eyes. This couldn't be happening to him again. He never wanted to go through THAT again. The timber-wolf laughed.

"How? I admit that finding you in the mall was pure coincidence, but once I saw you, I immediately knew that it was you." He slowly pulled a syringe out of his coat. "Once we get back to your cell, we are going to have a wonderful play date!" Wolf could do nothing to stop the impending needle as he was totally frozen in fear. The timber-wolf jabbed the needle into Wolf as he pushed the contents into the lupine's body. Wolf relaxed the sedative began to take effect.

"Please Fox...Help me...Please..." Wolf thought slowly, closing his eyes in acceptance of the inevitable.

"Thank God, it's still here," Fox thought aloud as he grabbed his wallet from the vending machine. "I still can't believe I nearly left my wallet." If someone had grabbed his wallet, he would have to spend the rest of the night canceling all his cards so no one could use them. He lightly jogged to where he left Wolf, but as soon as he rounded the corner, he stood in shock. The same timber-wolf from earlier was sticking a needle into Wolf. Something inside of him snapped seeing the love of his life on the ground unresponsive with his fur puffed out in fear.

"I AM GOING TO KILL THAT SACK OF SHIT!" Pure fury coursed through Fox's veins and he quickly grabbed his blaster from its side holster, setting it to kill-mode and switching off the safety.

"DIE!" Fox screamed as he pulled the trigger. The timber-wolf heard the shot, but had no time to react as the shot ripped through his skull. The wolf slumped to the ground as a pool of blood quickly formed around his head. Fox wasted no time returning the gun to the holster and ran to Wolf.

"Wolf! So help me if you are dead, I am going to drag your soul back from the afterlife and kill you myself!" Fox yelled as he placed his ear to Wolf's chest, crying tears of relief once he found a pulse and saw that he was breathing. He took a moment to calm himself and called Peppy.

"Fox, what is it now that-" Peppy began, Fox cutting him off.

"-I witnessed an attempted kidnapping and killed the culprit. I have sent the location to your PDA." Fox heard a sharp intake of breathe.

"Hold on Fox! What are you talking about?" Fox took a deep breathe to calm himself as talking about it brought back his anger.

"Wolf's captors tried to kidnap him again, and I killed the captor."

"...*sigh*...I'm coming. I want to hear this in person." Peppy hung up.

A few minutes later, Fox heard a groan and looked down to Wolf, who in turn sluggishly looked up at him.

"Fox?" Wolf slurred. Fox smiled.

"Yeah, it's me. Don't worry, I took care of the piece of shit. He can't bother you anymore," Fox said, putting emphasis on the "piece of shit" with an angry voice. Wolf looked as if he was about to say something, but instead released one of his rare heart-filled smiles that filled Fox with incredible happiness.

"Fox!" Said vulpine snapped his head in the direction that the voice came from and saw that Peppy had arrived with a group of body guards.

"Hey there Peppy. How have you been?" Peppy didn't have a happy look on his face from the question, but he didn't look angry either.

"I've been drowning in paperwork. So explain." Fox tilted his head sideways at the statement.

"Explain? What do you mean?" He said innocently. Peppy merely pointed to the dead body on the ground. Fox sighed and began to explain what had happened from when he left Wolf to when he killed the timber-wolf. After the explanation, Peppy sighed again and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I am getting too old for this. Okay, I am going to allow this to slide, but don't expect it to slide next time. Lethal force wasn't necessary, but I understand where it was coming from. You and Wolf go home and get some rest. My men will take it from here."

"Alright. Thanks Peppy." Fox turned to face Wolf who was now leaning against the tree. "You heard him Wolf. Let's go home and get some rest. Guess we will have to push that dinner off." Fox muttered the last part so that only Wolf could hear it.

"What do you mean? I can move just fine!" Wolf slurred as he tried to stand. The key word is "tried" as the lupine couldn't even get off the ground. Fox sighed and picked up Wolf bridal style, much to the lupine's embarrassment. Wolf was about to fight the hold, but Fox whispered something into his ear that made him heavily blush and stop fighting. Peppy and his guards merely stared at the scene before them, trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

"By the way, could any of you carry his crutches for me. My hands are kinda full with him," Fox asked. Peppy looked at one of the guards, who simply nodded his head and grabbed the crutches. The group walked out of the park to his car. Thankfully, the car was right in front of the park, so the group only received a few odd looks. Fox gently slipped Wolf, who had already fallen asleep, into the passenger seat, and the guard wordlessly handed him the crutches and left. Fox entered the car and drove to the house.

"Wolf, I swear, you bring out the best and worst in me." Fox carried Wolf to the bedroom and plopped him down on the bed. He grabbed a blanket and placed it over him and Wolf. Once he was sure that Wolf was comfortable, he snuggled up against Wolf and put the lupine's arm over himself.

"Love you, Wolf," Fox said, before closing his eyes and falling asleep.