One more after this. I promise, there will be a second one. I planned on doing this in parts from the beginning.
Chance closed the trunk door on the SUV and looked down. "What the hell?" He touched the sticker someone had put on the bumper, direct center above the license plate. It was white with the image of a fighter jet and in large bold words, it read NEGATIVE GHOSTRIDER, PATTERN IS FULL. Chance couldn't help the loud laugh that exploded from his chest. "Jake must've put it there. Come on, Charlie. Let's go get your boy."
It was the last day of school, a half day. So Chance had closed up the shop for an hour to pick the kit up and grab some lunch before heading home. It was going to be a busy day. After work, they were going over to his mother's for dinner, for Chance's birthday. He told her that she didn't need to cook, that he'd take them out to eat but she refused.
Since it was a half day, there seemed to be more students getting picked up rather than riding the bus. "Jeez Louise." Chance hissed. "I fucking hate traffic."
Charlie panted in the passenger seat, stretching to stick her nose out the partially open window. Chance made a face as she smeared drool across the glass with her nose. "Aw, Charlie, you're gonna make me have to make Jake wash the car."
Charlie turned her head to look at Chance. She licked her nose loudly and went back to panting, curling up in the seat and making a whining sound. Worried, Chance turned up the air conditioning and rolled up the windows. Charlie made a deep choking sound and then another. "Aw come on, Charlie. Please don't..." He winced as she upchucked her puppy chow and what looked like part of a sock. "... puke in the car." Chance sighed. The car was parked until the bell rang anyway, so he got out and went around to the back of the SUV where he knew there was a new package of paper towels. Afraid she was going to get popped for doing something bad, Charlie quickly darted to the backseat. "Don't puke back there either." Chance grumbled while he began cleaning up the mess as best he could. "Gross," he muttered. "How come you don't do this shit when Jake is around to clean up after you?"
Charlie laid down in the seat and looked up at Chance through the black lids partially covering her chocolate brown eyes.
"Yeah I get it." Chance glared. "You're sorry. I suppose it's my fault for not having the air conditioning on in the first place." Charlie looked away. "Way to go Furlong." Chance sighed. "Having entire conversations with the pet." He used a grocery bag to put the soiled paper towels in. Finally, the bell rang. It seemed as if students were waiting at the doors to be let out because they were immediately pushed open by eager teenagers ready to start their summer. Chance smiled when he remembered the surprise that was in store for Jake when he saw other kits carrying their yearbooks. "I bet he was so shocked when he got one." His shoulders sagged. "Again... talking to Charlie." Finally, he saw Jake coming out of the building, Jason on one side, Miranda on the other. All three of them talking at the same time. Jake had the thick souvenir tucked under his arm, along with a folder. In the other paw he held a soda.
"Hey Chance." Jake said as he opened the door.
"Don't sit there." Chance warned. "Your dog barfed in your seat."
Jake looked down at the leather, noting spots Chance had missed. "Thanks for the warning." He shut the passenger door and got in the back. "You knew about this?" He held up the book.
"Oh yeah! I wanted it to be a surprise. Did you find your picture?" Chance grinned.
Jake winced. "Yeah. I'm not very photogenic sometimes. There's a really good one from the talent show though."
"You get anyone to sign it?" Chance asked, moving out of the pick up lane.
"Yeah. I got a few kats." Jake shrugged. "They pretty much let us do whatever we wanted today."
"I figured as much." Chance shot Jake a look in the rear view before looking at the road. "You get your exam grades?"
"Ye-eah..." Jake drew out the word. "Remember what I said last week about hoping you'd still be really super excited about me signing up to play football so that you'd overlook a potentially really bad grade?"
"Come on, Jake." Chance chuckled. "Really, how'd you do?"
"No. I'm serious." Jake replied quietly.
"Okay." Chance didn't think he could ever match the tone of disappointment he heard from Jake. "Well let's hit the drive-thru for some lunch and then you can show me how you did when we get home."
"Sure." Jake slouched in the seat, stretching his arm out to scratch Charlie behind the ears. "What's up with Charlie? She's not her usual hyper self?"
"Eh I think I overheated her a little bit. You know I don't like running the AC." Chance looked a little sheepish. "Apparently, she's not fond of the heat."
"Aw." Jake leaned down so she could lick his nose. "Is the mean old Chance trying to kill my puppy?"
Chance cringed at the word 'old'. "Go easy on the old kat jokes, kiddo."
Jake simply chuckled in response.
"Alright." Chance said after sucking down a huge gulp from his milkshake. "Lay it on me."
Jake crammed a couple of fries into his mouth, sat the folder down in front of Chance and walked away.
"That bad?" Chance asked before opening it.
"Let's just say that it wasn't exactly the one I thought I'd completely blow it on." Jake looked out into the salvage yard. They were eating in the waiting room since they were technically still closed.
Chance pulled out the first exam. Advanced Geometry. Written in heavy red marker was a bold 100% and a capital A. "Alright," Chance said. "That I expected." Next was the actual written portion of the exam from Music Comprehension. Jake had aced that was well. "Nice!" Chance exclaimed. It was more exciting that it was something new he'd done a good job on rather than something everyone already knew he was a whiz at. Then there was German. "Hey you got a B in German! Guess you won't be switching to Spanish next year after all, huh?"
Jake didn't reply. Instead, he braced himself for what came next.
Chance felt his heart drop into his stomach. "You got a D on your History final? Jake..."
"I know what you're going to say, Chance. That if I would have spent less time ditching class and more time focusing on school then that wouldn't have happened." Jake sat back down on the old beat up couch. "I really thought I had it. And then we had to go to lunch in the middle of the exam and I took my notes with me just so I could be twice as sure that I had it. And when I came back... I don't know. It's like my whole brain just evaporated." He propped his elbows on his knees and let his head fall into his open paws. "The good news is that I've done well enough for it not to completely destroy my GPA."
"I don't know what to say." Chance shook his head. "I mean, you really just said it all for me. I can't say that you can make up for it because that's it. The year is over. But, next year, it won't happen again. For one, if you're going to be playing ball, they will make you keep your grades up. And for two..." Chance cuffed Jake on the back of the head. "Everyone knows you're smart. You especially know that you're smart. So I expect to see more of the genius I know and love instead of the moody, irritable teen that's been showing up more and more frequently. Got it?"
"Yeah I got it." Jake replied sullenly.
"Good. Now eat and go change so you can help me get some work done before we go over Mom's for dinner."
"Rita, this is really good." Jake said before washing down a piece of fried chicken with a gulp of milk. Then he dragged a large biscuit through his mashed potatoes and took a huge bite.
Rita laughed lightly. "I'm glad to have your approval, Jake. You better save some room for dessert though. I made Chance's favorite."
Chance's eyes lit up. "Banana pudding?"
"No dear, your other favorite." Rita teased.
"I have another favorite?" Chance played along.
"Lord have mercy." Rita sighed. "Of course it's banana pudding."
"Where'd you put the candles?" Jake asked.
"I didn't get any candles, Jake." Rita replied.
"Aw." Jake pouted. "I wanted to see if you could fit all 30 of them on a cake without it being a fire hazard."
Chance flicked a green bean across the table at Jake.
"You sure you aren't turning three?" Jake frowned.
"Oh would you two just eat?" Rita huffed. When the two toms traded their talking and goofing off for stuffing their mouths, she decided it was her turn to speak. "I spoke with your Aunt Mable this morning, Chance."
"How is she?" He asked with his mouth full.
"She's..." Rita sighed. "She's not doing so well. She wants to see us. So I thought it might be a good idea to spend a week up in Pawline Springs this summer, if you can manage to clear your schedule."
"The shop's no problem." Chance swallowed his food. "The other thing... well I guess I could just tell the Deputy Mayor that we won't be available. After all, aren't the Enforcers always going on about how they can handle it?"
Jake laughed lightly at the comment.
"Right. Well, I figured we could stay at your grandmother's place for the week. It could use the attention." Rita kept on.
"Is that the creepy old house with the graveyard?" Jake asked.
"It isn't creepy." Chance sighed.
"When did you take Jake to Grammy Furlong's?" Rita asked.
"Oh." Chance looked down at his food. "Well, you remember when the Enforcers dumped all that stuff on him about his dad..."
"Rita this is really good, but I'm stuffed." Jake interrupted.
"That's alright, baby." Rita resisted the urge to scold the teen about interrupting when someone was talking. "You just rinse your plate off in the sink and go get Chance's presents together. There's a small box up there from me. Would you grab that one too?"
"Yes ma'am." Jake said politely before quickly leaving the dining room.
Chance let out a low sigh and dragged his paw down his face, pausing it over his mouth for a moment.
"It's going to take time, son." Rita put her paw on his arm. "It might seem like it's been a while, but it hasn't even been a year."
"Yeah I know." He grasped her paw in his for a moment before standing up. "What do you say to me and Jake taking some of these leftovers home with us?"
"Take all you want!" Rita replied as she stood as well. "Lord knows I can't eat all this food by myself."
Jake found two boxes with tags reading 'from Jake'. He'd had to have Rita go back to the mall and pick up what he'd purchased after what happened. Chance just wasn't letting him out of his sight. She'd said she'd wrap them up along with what she got. Then there were two other boxes. One very small with a card taped to it. The card was actually larger than the box. Curious, Jake shook it. It jingled.
"What are you doing shaking my birthday presents?" Chance hissed playfully, causing the teen to jump.
Jake looked sheepish. "Sorry. Your mom wouldn't tell me what she got you because she thinks I can't keep a secret from you."
"Depends what the secret is." Chance picked up the other box. It was small but had a little bit of weight to it. "Wonder what this is." He looked at the tag. "That's weird. She must be still getting things confused."
"Why?" Jake managed his two boxes and the small one as he left the room.
"Says it's for you." Chance laughed.
"She probably just got ahead of herself wrapping presents. She wrapped yours for me and wrote 'from Jake' on the tags. Maybe she just got it mixed up when she was wrapping that one." Jake rationalized.
"You can bring those in the den." Rita said, turning on a light as she went.
"Right. The room with no television." Chance pointed. "Bet you've never even been in that room."
"I didn't even know there was a den." Jake smirked.
"Alright." Rita took the gift out of Chance's paws. "I hope you don't mind, sweetie, but I picked this up for Jake."
Chance gave her a mock pout. "But it's my birthday."
"And you'll be just fine." Rita patted Chance's cheek before sitting down, hanging onto Jake's gift. "Go ahead and give him yours, baby cakes."
Jake handed Chance the two boxes and settled on the couch.
"Does it matter which one I open first?" Chance asked. Jake simply shook his head.
Chance excitedly tore the paper off, drawing an amused chuckle out of his mother. The first box was smaller than the second, but square in shape, like it would contain a shirt or a hat or something. He used his claws to slice through the tape and then moved the tissue paper. A loud laugh erupted from his throat. "That's going up in the waiting room at the shop first thing." He pulled out the clock. It's face represented an altimeter that was off center; the red tilted almost 90 degrees to the right while the black had been moved in the opposite direction. In bold white letters, it read BAD ATTITUDE. "That about sums it up, huh?"
"Well, the really bad attitude starts to show about the time I'm going to pass out from the Gs." Jake joked.
"True." Chance smirked before tearing into the other box. This one did contain a t-shirt. He unfolded it and admired the graphics on the front. It was shiny black jet imposed onto a plain black shirt with blue lettering reading "This Is How I Roll."
"Right on." Chance laughed and pulled it on over the shirt he was wearing. "These are really great, Jake. Thanks!"
Jake's ears turned pink at the compliment and he ducked his head shyly.
"You know he wanted to use the money his dad left for him." Rita added. "But he ended up using the allowance money you gave him."
"Even better." Chance grinned. "I'm probably going to wear this everyday. Hey, did you put that sticker on the car?"
Jake laughed out loud. "Yeah. I did. Did you just notice it today?"
Chance nodded.
"Jeez, Chance. I put it there, like, a week ago." Jake rolled his eyes.
"Okay." Rita interrupted. "This is from me... and someone else. Open the box before you read the card. I want to confuse you a little bit."
Chance easily pulled the paper off the small box and opened it to find a pair of keys on a very old key ring. The leather ornament was cracked and faded to where whatever it once said was now unreadable. He held it in his palm, feeling like he recognized it from somewhere but couldn't place it. He gave his mother a suspicious look before removing the card from the envelope.
"My Dearest Son,
When your father left us, life became so much harder to live. But now we've found a way to make it. We have a reason to hang on and to live each day like he would have wanted us to. He said years ago that he wanted you to have this. I was just so afraid to see you on it that I kept it hidden. But you're an adult. And you've shown me you can be safe and responsible. So I had it restored. Happy Birthday, Chance. I love you. Please be careful.
Love Always,
Mama."
Chance looked at the keys one more time. "What is...?" He trailed off and his eyes got extra wide. "The Chief?"
Rita ducked her head to hide her sad smile.
"No way." Chance shook his head. "That thing was rusted and falling apart when he was alive."
Rita simply shrugged. "It's out in the garage."
Still not believing her, Chance jumped up and ran outside.
"The Chief?" Jake asked.
"His father's motorcycle." Rita whispered, her eyes filling up with tears.
Jake's ears flattened against his head. "Oh."
"Jake! Get out here! You're gonna want to see this!" Chance shouted from the door.
"It'll be okay, Rita." He reassured before leaving the house.
Chance had the door open on the detached garage, and the old work lights reflected off the new baby blue paint. "This is my pop's 1946 Indian Chief." He ghosted a paw over the motorcycle, which was on a trailer, ready to be attached to the SUV, and held in place with tie down straps. "The last time I saw this bike, I was..." He thought for a minute. "Eleven. And all the paint was rusted off. It needed new carbs and there was a hole the size of softball in the pipes. It wouldn't even start."
"Well are you going to see if it will start now?" Jake asked, shooting a look at Rita, who was standing quietly in the open doorway. "I think she'd like to see if having it restored paid off."
"Are you kidding? Help me get the tie downs off." Chance said.
Once the bike was in the driveway, Chance straddled it and slipped the key into the ignition. He furrowed his brow in confusion for a moment and then laughed.
"It doesn't run?" Rita asked disappointed.
"The thing about this motorcycle," Chance said as he stood up. "Unlike modern motorcycles where you just turn the key and off you go.." He turned the key on the side and then put his foot on a rod. "You have to kick start these." He kicked the rod down twice and then the engine purred to life. "Crud, Ma. I don't think this thing ever sounded like this. Dad would be... he'd just be out of his mind to see this... well... like this." There was a crack in his tone.
"Aren't you going to take it for a ride?" Rita asked.
Chance nodded his head and got on it. "Just a couple times around the block."
Rita and Jake watched Chance cruise out of the driveway and down the street.
"That's pretty amazing, Rita." Jake told her quietly.
"Yeah." Rita pulled the other gift out from behind her back. "Listen honey. I knew this was going to be hard for you. And I just want you to know that, well, if you could have known Thomas, he would have been so proud of Chance for all of this. And he would have been thrilled for you to be part of our family. I guess... well, I just don't want your feelings to be hurt if Chance gets a little caught up with this. So, think of this as my sucking up to you." She handed him the box and wrapped her arm around him while he opened it. Jake's ears perked up immediately. "Rita, you didn't have to."
"The boy at the video game store told me that everyone has one of these." She said.
Jake looked down at the box containing a brand new paw-held gaming system. "Thanks."
"I picked you up a couple of games too. And he said you'd need a memory stick?" Rita shook her head. "He helped me get all of that together."
"Chance is probably going to hate you for this." Jake joked. "That is... whenever he gets off his new toy."
"Oh he'll save that for when you aren't around." Rita scratched his head. "Why don't you put that in the car and go out back and play with Charlie for a little while?"
Jake nodded his head and gave her a quick hug. "Thanks, Rita. For everything."
"You don't need to thank me for anything, sweetie." She whispered. "Now go on. I can hear her whining at the fence."
Not long after Jake disappeared into the fenced in backyard, did Chance return to the driveway. "Mom..." he said as he cut the engine and got off. "This is the most amazing gift ever."
"Just do me a favor, Chance." She walked up to him and took his paws. "Please be careful on it. I know you do more dangerous things than just riding a motorcycle. But you boys... you two are all I've got. And if anything happened to you, well... I'm not the only one that would be devastated."
Chance nodded his head. "I'll be careful." He hugged his mother. "I promise."
"Good. Now let's get some banana pudding and head out back." She brightened.
Jake wasn't sure exactly what woke him up. He blinked to clear his vision so that he could see the time. It was almost 2:30 in the morning. He moaned tiredly and reached to scratch Charlie between the ears. She was snoring softly, making whimpering noises in between. One of Jake's ears twitched out the sound of glass clinking and he slowly got out of bed. He grabbed a pair of sweat pants to pull on over his boxers and slipped out of his room. There was a lamp on in the living room, and a soft glow coming from the kitchen, meaning the light above the stove was on. "Chance?" Jake called softly, seeing a tuft of blond fur in the corner of the couch. "Please don't be naked," he pleaded, remembering the last time he'd walked in on Chance late at night.
"Jake?" Chance sat up. "What'r you doin' up?" He slurred.
Jake's eyes widened. "Are you drunk?"
"No." Chance lied. "I'm jus... reminisc... rema... remembering some stuff." He cleared his throat loudly. "Come on. Come sit down with me."
Jake looked unsure for a moment.
"Jus' come over 'ere." Chance waved his paw.
"Okay." Jake sighed and cautiously sat down on the couch, eying a nearly empty bottle. It wasn't the crystal decanter filled with scotch that his father had owned. No. This was something cheap, purchased on a whim.
"What are you looking at?" Jake asked, feeling nervous. He'd never seen Chance like this.
"This is a photo book from when I was a kit." Chance leaned forward and clumsily pulled it onto the couch and put it between them. He licked his lips as he turned it back to the beginning. "Check this out." Clumsily, he jabbed his finger at an old photo of a burly blond tabby in a thick leather coat, much like the one Chance had purchased for Jake. A pair of aviator sunglasses perched on his head. "Tha's my pops." Chance smiled. "An th' rusted piece he's sitting on is th' Chief." He slid his finger to the chubby blond kitten the tabby was holding in front of him. "An' that handsome little tom is me."
"That was you?" Jake asked, looking from the picture to Chance. "You were kind of a fat kitten."
Chance looked offended and then laughed loudly. "Yeah! Yeah I was." Then he flexed his arms. "But I think it all worked out okay." He hiccuped.
"Is that Rita?" Jake pointed at a picture of a beautiful blond she-kat in a sundress. Her hair was wild and curly and she had a very pinup figure.
"Yeah. Lemme tell you, something, Jake." Chance leaned really close as if he was telling a secret. "My dad... he loved that she-kat. I remember, we couldn't go anywhere without them acting like a couple of love sick teenagers. It used to gross me out something awful." He scrubbed a paw forcefully through Jake's hair. "But I'd give anything to see them together like that again."
Jake's ears flattened. "It doesn't ever stop hurting, does it Chance?"
"It..." Chance moved his paw to Jake's shoulder and gave it an almost painful squeeze. "It's like a scar, kiddo." He slid closer to Jake and moved the album to his lap. "Like the ones your pops left on you. After a while.." He shook his head and moved his other paw in a wide sweeping motion. "You don't feel a thing. But then you catch a glimpse of it in the mirror. An' then you remember how you got it."
Jake bit the inside of his cheek as hard as he could. "That's probably the most profound thing you've ever said to me."
"Really?" Chance breathed. "Should I write it down or something?"
Jake couldn't help the strangled chuckle that came out.
"Did I ever tell you that I was about your age when he died?" Chance asked.
Jake nodded his head.
"Well I'll never forget it." Chance kept one arm around Jake but sank into the sofa. "I was in school. And we were learnin' about Egypt. My History teacher was smokin hot. I mean, like, damn. And she was making us watch this video on how they preserved the body. You know, mummies and stuff." He eyed the bottle on the coffee table but didn't reach for it. This was important. And he didn't want Jake to see him like this. "Then she gets a call over the loud speaker. It's the office saying I needed to leave." Chance cleared his throat again. "Normally, I would have been just happy to get out of school early but, I dunno, Jake. I just... I felt like something was wrong. And then I saw my mother. Her normally pretty face was just matted down and smeared with makeup. And she took my paws and looked me in the eye and said 'Chance, your father got shot down.'"
Jake felt Chance lean into him.
"I just..." Chance heaved a deep sigh. "I couldn't handle it. My mom was falling apart and I didn't know how to deal with it. I just started taking it out on whoever was closest. I got in so many fights at school, Jake. It's like... I just couldn't think about what I was doing before doing it. And my poor mom. She became this..." He laughed. "You have no idea how mean she can be, Jake. You really don't. But she was on my case every second of every day. 'Clean this house' and 'clean your room' and 'like hell you're going out with your friends'."
Jake winced.
"Yeah you get it, kitten." Chance laughed, breathing whiskey in Jake's face. "It's really hard to be pissed off at you when I know exactly where you're coming from.." He narrowed his eyes at the teen, swearing he saw Jake's jaw twitch. "Your dad, damn, Jake. I mean... he was something else. I still don't know if I should hate him or not. I mean... up front... he was a grade A asshole. He treated you like shit! I mean, damn it, Jake. You got put through the ringer because of him! How much shit did I pull you out of in the Enforcers, Jake? How much?"
Jake cleared his throat. "A... a lot."
"You shouldn't of had to be there and take that. Adults shouldn't have to take that shit. They should know better than to pull that crap on a kitten! I was gonna make them pay, Jake. But Feral... he held up his end of the bargain with your father. The ones that beat you up... they got time." Chance told him, jabbing a finger in Jake's chest. "But the one responsible for putting you in that situation in the first place? That bastard just got to keep on putting his paws on you whenever he got the chance. And then to say he was protecting you?" He huffed. "It's like he just wanted to keep fucking with your head after he was gone. And it makes me so mad, I just want to bring him back to life so I can beat the shit out of him." He felt a tight lump form in his throat. "Look at me, Jake."
Jake looked upward first, willing his eyes to dry before turning to look at Chance.
"It's okay." Chance said softly. "All this hurt he left you with, forget it. Leave it behind. The way I see it..." He pointed at himself, jabbing himself in the chest. "I get to make up for it. I got the best part of your life. All the really important stuff, that's in my paws. And you know what? Instead of trying to decide whether or not your dad meant what he told you in that letter, about having your best interests at heart, you can just thank him. Because if none of that shit would've happened, then I wouldn't have met you. And you know what, Jake?" His blue eyes pooled with tears. "You're probably the best part about my life."
Jake watched the tears fall down Chance's light furred cheeks in shock. "That..." He took a calming breath. "That isn't the alcohol talking? Is it?"
"Jesus Christ, Jake." Chance whispered and pulled the teen into a tight hug. "I would never say that if I didn't mean it. No matter what state of mind I'm in. I mean that to the core." He could feel Jake's smaller frame trembling. "Hey." He pulled back. "I wanna show you what I was doing."
"Besides getting wasted while I'm asleep?" Jake asked, quickly wiping his eyes with the back of his paw and then his nose with his arm.
"Besides that." Chance looked guilty. "Which, I promise, has never happened before. I just... you know... today was hard." He patted the album with a heavy paw. "I figured, since, you know, this is a family album, it was missing a few pieces. I hope you don't mind." He put the photo album in Jake's lap and quickly skipped to the middle. "Remember what you said last week? About how I'm old enough to be your dad if I would have had a kit in my teens?"
Jake nodded.
"Yeah. And remember how when we were going through your dad's place, I took all those pictures he had?" Chance laughed.
"Yeah." Jake replied.
"Well I mixed them in with mine. So look. I think I was about fifteen when this picture was taken. Check it out. That pretty little number right there with me? What a babe, huh? I took her to this Halloween party. Then she dumped me for a friend of mine." Chance laughed. "It's funny now. But it really pissed me off back then. Anyway... I figure that's about when your time line starts."
Jake slowly turned the pages, taking the time to look at Chance's teen years while looking at pictures of himself he'd never seen before. "I didn't even know these existed." He touched one of his mother holding him. It was similar to the one of Chance and his father, except that his mother was sitting at a piano and had him in her lap, seemingly guiding his tiny paws on the keys.
"She was gorgeous, Jake." Chance said softly. "Easy to see why it hurt so much losing her."
Jake shook his head. "I don't..." He let out a shaky breath. "I have trouble remembering her face sometimes. I can't even remember the sound of her voice." He didn't bother fighting the tears this time. "The only really solid memory I have of her is her suspended upside down, covered in blood."
"Jesus," Chance whispered. "Jake, that's awful."
"I know." Jake choked out.
"You need to keep looking through these. There are so many pictures of her with you!" Chance turned a page. "Come on. Look at this! She looks so happy right there!" He pointed at a picture of her, frozen in time while spinning in a circle, holding her son up in the sunlight. "I bet, if she was still here, you'd be such a mama's boy."
Jake laughed through his tears. "Like you aren't."
"Yeah but you'd be worse. I bet she would have written your name on your underwear." Chance teased.
Jake couldn't help but laugh again. "Maybe. But I would hope not."
"Oh and this one has got to be my favorite." Chance turned the page again, finding a close up shot of Jake. "You had to be three or four from my guess. Look at the grin!"
Jake felt his nose and ears blush. He stared at the picture of him flat on his stomach across a tire swing, dirt smudged across his copper fur and the biggest smile ever.
"I don't think I've ever seen you smile like that." Chance sighed. "That must have been a really good day." They were silent for a few minutes while Jake kept looking. Another chuckle escaped his lips. "I see you put some that you took in here."
"Oh yeah! Look at you in your little karate gi about to kick some tail! God I'll never forget that day. What was his name? Francis? He talked so much trash about how he was going to give you the beating of a lifetime. It looked like he got his ass beat by a midget!" Chance laughed so loud.
"Yeah. Too bad I couldn't do that when I first got thrown into that mess." Jake said.
"Yeah." Chance smiled. "Remember we got ice cream after?"
"Yeah that was crazy." Jake laughed. "Those she-kats at the ice cream parlor thought I was the cutest thing."
"And they were hot too." Chance reminisced. "Too bad you were just a kitten. We could have double dated."
"Chance, I don't even think they were old enough to date." Jake joked.
"Yeah maybe not." Chance scratched his chin. "You know what I should get?"
"What?" Jake asked as he kept looking at photos. He hadn't realized Chance had taken so many pictures. And some had to be taken by Rita.
"I should get a video recorder." Chance said. "There's just so much stuff I wish I had on tape so I could just watch it over and over again."
"Like what?" Jake asked.
"Like some of your piano recitals. Your mom would be so proud I bet." Chance pointed out. "Oh! And that time you spent two days in the R&D department just building the craziest paintball gun ever? You tore us up with that thing. I don't even know what to call it."
Jake laughed. "I never came up with a name. What did I call it? A modified air-soft machine gun or something? I was so bored and they were so afraid to let me touch anything because they still thought I was a liability."
"That's when Feral got the idea to actually put you on the firing range. That got you in the air, kiddo." Chance reminded. "And I will never forget the first time I took you up in an F-14."
Jake groaned. "My stomach won't ever forget that. It was so much fun for the first twenty minutes. And then you started showing off."
"Heh. Yeah." Chance smiled. "I remember the first time you made it through the best of my moves without puking."
Jake smiled broadly. "Now that was definitely a good day."
"Now if you can just learn to take the G's without passing out on me, then we'd be good, huh?" Chance teased.
"Hey I'm working on it." Jake defended.
"Yeah." Chance agreed. "You are. You're doing good too."
"Yeah." Jake repeated.
"Jeez. It's, like, almost 4 in the morning." Chance said. "You should get back to bed. I'm going to clean up in here and do the same." He stood up and held out a paw for Jake.
Jake took it without thinking and felt himself pulled into another tight embrace. "I don't want you to forget this conversation, Jake. I meant everything I said."
"I'm not the one that was drinking." Jake replied, resting his forehead against Chance's warm chest.
"I'd have to drink a helluva lot more to not remember tonight." Chance confirmed. He rested his chin on Jake's head. "You're a good kit, you know that?"
"So you keep telling me." Jake mumbled.
"I mean it." Chance said. "Now go on. Before Charlie gets up thinking it's breakfast time or something." Without much thought, he gave Jake a light, paternal kiss on the top of his head. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Chance." Jake replied with a smile. "I'll make sure to have the aspirin ready for you when you get up."
"Chance Furlong does not get hangovers." Chance said proudly, walking away. "Unlike someone else who can't hold his liquor."
Jake rolled his eyes. "Trust me when I say I don't plan on working on my tolerance any time soon."
"Good." Chance said seriously. "That's good to know."
Excited? =D