It was nearly six in the morning. Camo and Sodo, who had grown sober overtime, concluded the session they shared together. Lying down on the floor with wide eyes and heavy breaths, they possessed no words to describe what had just happened between the two. They couldn't speak to each other. They could only stare at the ceiling that was lit up by the magenta lava lamp standing straight amongst Sodo's small table.
"D-did we really just... do that?" Sodo whispered quietly, nearly sounding silent as he spoke.
"Yeah, we did," Camo responded. The opossum sat up, trying to think of what he could say to Sodo. "I guess it was like a drunk kiss, that you and I, uh, had."
"Yeah, I know. Why are you telling me things that I already know, though?" Sodo rubbed his palm against his aching head. He shut his eyes tightly due to the light emitted on the ceiling hurting his eyesight a bit.
"Are you alright, Sodo?" Camo asked.
"No, I have a splitting headache right now," Sodo whined a bit childishly, doing his best to breath properly. "Ugh, I shouldn't have drank that much alcohol. Are you feeling any pain, Camo?"
"My back hurts, but it's something I'm not surprised about given how poorly I take care of it," Camo stretched out widely.
"At least your head doesn't hurt as much…"
"Don't worry, the pain will go away soon." The possum put his arm around the hyena to comfort him, and ruffled the hyena's head in the process. "Get as much rest as you can. Sleep all day if you have to. The fact that we didn't sleep last night at all could probably be why your head is also hurting badly, so I would recommend getting rest. Usually when I don't get sleep my back hurts so badly that it'll feel as creaky as my bed."
"Yeah, I'll get some rest in a moment," Sodo yawned loudly.
Camo turned the hyena's face towards him and kissed the hyena on the lips, rubbing the hyena's belly in the process.
"Why do you keep doing that?"
"Doing what?"
"Like, why do you keep kissing me?"
"I mean, we were kissing each other just recently," Camo explained. "I don't see why this moment is any different really. Unless, you don't want to be kissed? Is it making your head hurt more? Because if so, I will stop."
"It's not that it's making my head hurt," Sodo said. "It's just, I don't want to be kissed. It feels weird."
"It's just a kiss, how is it weird exactly?"
"Well, I'm not like, into men," Sodo lied. "I'm not into kissing men, like, you know. You get what I'm saying?"
"Maybe if you stopped using the word like too many times in your sentences, then I would understand what you're trying to tell me," Camo called him out. "And also, what do you mean you're not into men? You literally asked if we could continue making out, and you kissed me as well, too.
Sodo panicked. "It's just, I think the alcohol was probably, uhh, messing with my brain or something like that. Maybe I wasn't like, thinking rationally."
"Well, I can understand that."
"Okay, thank you."
Although Camo comprehended what Sodo was trying to say, something still felt off about what he was trying to say. It wasn't the way he punctuated his sentences, but it was the way he told them to him. To add on to Camo's suspiciousness, he recalled Sodo saying he had dated other men before. Sodo denying his attraction towards men yet stating that he has dated men beforehand was a paradox within itself; the two phrases simply contradicted each other. It was like saying that in order to achieve peace, one must wage through warfare.
"Earlier you did say you had former relationships though," Camo pitched in.
"Yeah, what about them?"
"You specifically told me that you dated women, men, and people outside of that category," Camo went on. "Even if they didn't like being your date, you still went out with them nonetheless. So, are you lying to me when you're saying you're not into men?"
"I was uhh, confused during those times, yeah," Sodo proceeded to make excuses.
"Confused? Confused about what?"
"I was, err, confused about who I was into exactly. I didn't know what kind of person I wanted to be with. I wasn't like, self aware of my own preferences, the preferences I had towards other people and stuff, you know."
"So like, you were questioning as to what kinds of people you were attracted to and what not?"
"Yes!" Sodo exclaimed. "Exactly. I'm still struggling with that today, so forgive me."
"It's fine, no need to apologize to me," Camo stood up. He stretched his back, only to be greeted by a popping crack as he flexed. "Okay, I definitely need to go get sleep too. You heard that pop in my back, right?"
"Yeah, I did. Was pretty loud."
Camo was debating in his mind as to whether or not he should rest in Sodo's bedroom or return to his bedroom and plummet himself onto his bed immediately. He wanted to tell Sodo that he shouldn't worry about these kinds of feelings, and that it's perfectly normal to experience emotions such as these. Or, at the very least, he thought it was perfectly normal to feel these emotions. Despite falling for a hyena who shared the same gender as he did for a week now, the gentleman was still quite new to this whole thing.
"Alrighty then, I'm going to go to my bedroom and sleep until who knows how long?" Camo laughed.
"Have a good night, I guess?" Sodo told him.
"You too."
Camo exited, and his bandaged paw was about to close the door completely. However, before Camo left off, a question popped up into his head, one which he wanted to ask Sodo before he left the hyena's bedroom.
"What is it, bud?" Sodo asked.
"Can I ask you a question? Just real quickly. Not a long question or anything of the sort."
"Uhhh, sure," Sodo accepted. "Knock yourself out, I guess."
"Okay, um, how much did you enjoy our kiss together?" the possum questioned.
The hyena scratched his chin as he tried to think of a way to answer Camo's question without coming off as an idiot. He enjoyed the kiss very much, but he didn't want Camo to think that he was into men. At least, not at this moment anyway. Sodo wasn't comfortable with who he was as of right now. Sodo proceeded to think of what to say, and the idea barged into his mind in an instant after the hyena gave the question some thought.
"Well, I didn't not like it," Sodo finally answered. The hyena gave the opossum a smug facial expression after replying.
"That's great to hear, hehe," Camo chuckled slightly. He didn't really understand the response he was given. To him, it implied that Sodo liked it but at the same time he didn't like the kiss. Confused, Camo didn't want to further this situation going on between them though, if there was a situation to expand on in the first place, that was. Camo nodded before closing the door and returning to his bedroom. He locked his own bedroom door and jumped onto his noisy bed. He pulled the blankets over him immediately and fell asleep quickly. Indeed, the opossum was very exhausted about the entire day that preceded this moment.
He fell asleep with food for thought in his mind. His crush on Sodo wasn't confusion at all; his feelings for the hyena was very genuine, and there was no point in denying such a strong fact.
One exact month had passed as Camo proceeded to focus on things regarding his personal life, including completing the work needed to be finished, and trying to juggle the frequent mood swings he had been experiencing. His feelings differed from anger towards himself about the things he had done in the recent past, such as scamming others, making Nono leave the house in anguish and kissing Sodo, only to be rejected as he attempted to make more romantic advances towards the hyena that he deemed attractive and lovely.
During other instances, however, the opossum would actually feel rather happy. The catalyst of these feelings mainly consisted of the memory of kissing Sodo during that one night. Alongside this, Camo had also spent the month intending to improve his personality a lot more, his goal of being a true gentleman being reached ever so closely. Integrating the way he acted towards others towards reducing his anger issues, he was pretty proud of himself. There were so many segments of his character that he needed to work on, of course; proceeding to act nicely a few times wouldn't automatically deem Camo a good person. This needed to be a character Camo had to establish permanently. Besides, Camo actually liked being nice for a change.
Camo had made up with T.O as well after the argument they had regarding Nono running away from home as a result of Camo's negative response towards him. It wasn't very easy though. T.O would usually curse at him in Spanish, demanding the possum to stop trying to reason anything with him and to simply not even dare think about trying to start up a conversation with him. Camo was motivated to earn T.O's forgiveness, even though he should sincerely owe an apology to a certain coyote; however, since his whereabouts were unknown, he lacked the ability to do so, however.
Camo and T.O managed to bond together for a bit during a novella sequence of Una Rosa sin Espinas. The series had finally come to it's concluding episode. As the opossum walked towards the black panther, who contained several boxes filled with tissues as soft as fur, he of course received harsh remarks.
"¿Qué carajo haces aquí?" T.O asked angrily. "Vete. No quiero ver tu cara."
"I'm just here to sit down with you, that's it," Camo answered. The opossum sat down beside the black panther.
"Váyase ahora mismo," T.O pointed towards the direction of the bedroom hallway.
"Don't think you're going to make me go away this time by saying rude stuff in Spanish," Camo snarled. "That isn't going to work this time now, so don't you dare even try it."
"Oh, so I can't say rude remarks to you but it's perfectly fine for you to do that to Nono, huh?" T.O argued. "Maldito hipócrita."
"Come on, that happened more than a month ago already, T," the possum groaned. "Give me a break. I've tried countless times to at the least apologize for what I said to Nono."
"Shouldn't you be apologizing to Nono himself? He's the one who got hurt after all, idiota."
"How am I supposed to apologize to Nono if he isn't at home anymore?" Camo yelled. "What, you expect me to drive all over Tropolis and search for him? There are a bunch of coyotes in this city, and looking for him all day would be hard. Why do you keep holding this grudge against me anyway, T?"
"Because it's all your fault that he left," T.O responded. "If you had just been a bit more nice to Nono maybe he wouldn't have had a breakdown and maybe he would still be home. He ran away because of you!"
"I'm aware of that, but you can't keep treating me like I'm some outsider. Besides, this situation between me and Nono does not regard you in any shape or form, so you shouldn't even be getting yourself involved in something that I was responsible for."
"I have told you this before, but I think about all of you, including Nono, as my family, and I wouldn't abandon them for the world," the panther revised an old quote of his. "And since Nono is a part of the family that I love with all of my goddamn heart, him running away from home and not returning for a long time is my business, Camo, and apparently you don't seem to get that. Peb has been depressed ever since Nono left; not once have I seen him go crazy this past month, and to me that's completely insane, especially since he can't control his own personality. Sometimes he isn't in the house though, so I can only assume that he goes crazy outdoors because Nono has been gone for such a long time. And that's another thing, he hardly goes outdoors on his own!"
"I didn't know he-"
"You know this family is like probably one of the major reasons, if not the only reason as to why I'm still alive today?" T.O interrupted the apologetic possum. "Despite the roughhousing and the annoying situations that go on here I have never experienced as much care as I have with you guys around me all day. Without all of you guys, I wouldn't have anything left to lose to be honest. And I don't ever want to lose you guys…"
The panther's voice cracked terribly though as he began to wipe a few tears coming down his cheeks. Concerned, Camo held his friend tightly.
"I'm so sorry," Camo whispered.
"I know," the panther whispered back.
A few minutes had gone by as the possum and panther physically separated from one another. Camo looked back at the activated television and saw a novella playing.
"Hey T?"
"Que?" T.O wiped a tear from his eye as he adjusted his tone to fit his next conversation.
"Is this that one show you were talking to me about a long time ago?"
"Ooh, ¿Una Rosa Sin Espinas? Yup, this is the show, hehe. This is the series finale, and I'm just in time to watch it get started."
"Dang, it's the series finale already?"
"Yeah, it had a good run but the network decided to cancel it for stupid reasons."
"Such as?"
"Making way for more seasons of novellas that should just end already, or other shows that have a plot that makes absolutely no sense."
"Well, who knows, maybe those new shows might peak your interest?"
"Probably not," T.O claimed. "Una Rosa Sin Espinas is one of the best novellas I have ever seen in my entire life. Nothing will ever beat this show. It sucks too, since the writers said they planned at least a few more seasons in a live interview."
"That is bad, to be honest," Camo agreed with the panther's somber statement. "I haven't caught up on the series at all, but I'll still watch this with you. I don't want you being alone."
"Thanks, Camo," T.O appreciated.
"No problem."
Camo and T.O proceeded to watch the final episode. When a commercial break took occurrence, T.O spoke out of the silence.
"I'm sorry for treating you like crap for the past month," T.O apologized. "I know you're sorry for what you did."
"You have nothing to apologize for, T," Camo insisted. "I'm sorry for being a terrible person. I've been doing my best to improve myself, I really have. I'm just hoping you can see my efforts, because I want to be a better person. Like uh, a gentleman."
"Hehe, yeah, I get it," T.O said. "And hey, I'm proud that you're working on your character. If all goes well, I most definitely will like this new Camo."
"I hope so."
The novella had come back on, and the two concluded their conversation. Despite the rampant noise being made by the Raggoons within the background, they were able to hear what was going on in the old, glitchy television. As the episode continued on, not only did the duo enjoy the course of the episode, but also the company they were sharing with one another.
Camo sat down at his desk pondering about his goals. In front of him lied dozens of sheets of notebook paper, and No. 2 pencils that apparently possessed teeth marks on the surface. He wanted to write a letter of passion to Sodo, who he continued to think about a lot. However, he wasn't exactly sure as to what he should write to Sodo. Should the letter be lengthy and integrated, or should it be short and simplified?
The opossum eventually figured that maybe communicating with Sodo more often would help Camo come up with a letter to write. This of course would turn out to be a rather difficult obstacle, since Camo and Sodo haven't really talked to each other that much during the course of the month. The most they'd ever discussed together was simply greetings and questions about how the other was feeling. Camo didn't appreciate the distance from his crush at all, but he understood why Sodo wasn't as talkative. He too, was also upset about Nono leaving the house in a hurry, and additionally the hyena felt rather awkward around Camo, believing that somehow or some way Camo was upset at him. Camo was completely aware of these exact feelings as well given that Sodo had told him about this directly, and despite his attempts to reassure the hyena that Camo was not upset at Sodo, Sodo found it hard to believe for odd reasons.
Camo's train of thought was briefly interrupted for a moment to the sound of someone knocking on his bedroom door. The possum got up to check on who it was. In front of the bedroom door stood T.O, who was wearing a stained and scratched apron.
"Can I come in for a moment?" T.O asked.
"Uh, sure," Camo accepted.
The panther took a few steps inside the room but concluded his walking as Camo interrupted him with a sudden question.
"What are you doing here?" Camo asked.
"Just wanted to check in on you and see how you were doing," T.O explained.
"I'm surprised you'd come in to check in on me, to be perfectly honest."
"Why?"
"No one has ever done that casually to me before."
"Well, even though I'm aware that you're changing yourself for the better, I still felt a little less nervous about coming to chat with you before the food is ready," T.O said. "Don't get me wrong though, I was still a little anxious."
"I'm not going to yell at you, so you don't have to worry."
"Okay, good."
T.O examined Camo's bedroom for a little while before proceeding to speak again.
"Your room is more organized than it used to be," T.O complimented. "Less dirty. I really like that."
"It's been a habit I've been getting into for a while," Camo explained. "I threw away trash and other things that I didn't really need anymore, and I put away some of my other belongings into their proper places. It was a horrendous sight to see before, but that's all changed now surprisingly.
"When you say surprisingly, do you mean that in a good or a bad way?"
"I mean it in a good way of course, but it just feels so abnormal to me. I feel like a completely different person with these new habits I'm getting myself into. I kinda like that surreal feeling though, hehe. Besides…"
Camo changed his voice to a somewhat fancier tone.
"A true gentleman would never have such a dirty bedroom!"
T.O laughed a bit at Camo's moment of enthusiasm. "So uh, what are you up to this time around?"
"I'm trying to think of how I can start off this letter."
"Oh, you're writing a letter?"
"Yes."
"To who?"
"I'm writing this to Sodo…" Camo answered hesitantly.
"Wait, why are you writing a letter to Sodo?" T.O questioned. "He doesn't live far away, he's just a few doors down the hallway. Just talk to him in person, mi amigo-"
"I'm writing out what I want to say to him on paper because I don't think I'd be able to talk to him without stopping myself from continuing on," Camo interrupted. "I have some ideas in mind that I could write down, but I want to seal this letter in a decorated envelope."
"How do you want to decorate it then?"
"I wanted to draw some lovely details, or patterns you could say? I don't really know the name as to what I have in mind. That's why I was planning on talking with Sodo later today, so I could somehow get some more brainstorming down for my letter, as well as being able to decorate my envelope."
"Is Sodo some kind of expert on drawing?"
"Yeah, I've seen some of the drawings he made when we came home from the carnival a month ago. He showed me his sketchbook and everything, and that sketchbook is a creative heaven, and creative heaven is an understatement of how much I think his drawings are amazing. I'm proud of him for doing such a good job."
"That's really sweet," the panther enjoyed hearing. "I never knew he was an artist."
"He's a very good artist," Camo told the panther excitedly while wagging his tail. "You should check out his drawings some time!"
"I sure will. Anyways, if you're gonna talk with him later today why not just tell him how you're feeling then? I don't think it'd be a good idea to hold in these emotions of yours any longer. At some point you need to pour them out for him."
"I'm aware, but I just think writing him a letter would do better than me saying it out aloud," Camo whimpered. "Besides, I think that would be the better option for me."
"Why's that?"
"I never told you this before, but me and Sodo made out a month ago in his bedroom," Camo confessed.
T.O facial expression had changed from a sense of curiosity to utter shock of what he had heard. "Okay, I seriously did not expect those words to come out of your mouth."
"Sorry if I surprised you."
"It's fine," T.O reassured him. "Please, continue."
"I tried to make more official moves on him but he kept rejecting my gestures."
"Yeesh. Didn't you say the two of you made out?"
"Yes, and I find it weird how he denies that he is into men, since he did tell me that he has dated men before," Camo added on. "I think he's just not accepting of himself and he thinks I'm angry at him because of how awkward things can go between us and he believes it's his fault."
"So, that means Sodo is gay then!" the panther shouted.
"Not completely, I believe," Camo corrected him. "He said he's dated women before, but without a doubt I still believe that he is attracted to men, meaning my chances of being with him are… higher than it was initially."
"Aha, Camo this is just amazing!" T.O exclaimed. "You just need to show him that there's no point in denying how he feels, and then boom, you've earned yourself your first boyfriend."
"Sodo is going to be the first person I end up in an actual relationship with if all goes well," Camo smiled.
"Let's hope for the best then, bud. You got this. I believe in you."
T.O sought to encourage the opossum standing right in front of him a little more but he had overheard the timer in the kitchen blare loudly.
"I guess I have to go, since the food is ready," T.O said. "It was nice talking with you, though.
"It really was."
"See if you can wake up Sodo by any chance for breakfast, and maybe try to talk with him a bit," T.O suggested. "He's probably awake right now, but give him a visit still, yeah?"
"Will do."
T.O left towards the kitchen as Camo made his way towards Sodo's bedroom door. Camo knocked gently on Sodo's door, but the hyena wouldn't answer. He knocked on the door more loudly and even started calling out for Sodo's name. The spotted hyena eventually came out of his bedroom.
"Oh, hi Camo," Sodo blushed.
"Hey bud, how are you holding up?"
"I'm doing fine," he answered. "Whatcha, uh, doin' here?"
"Well, T said that the food he was cooking was ready, so I decided to call you so we can go eat."
"Oh, alright, I'll be there then."
Camo walked off without responding and sat down at the kitchen table. He watched as T.O grabbed the pieces of chicken he had been cooking for quite a while now, as the aroma of the chicken had filled the air around the opossum. T.O placed the chicken he made onto a piece of bread, making chicken sandwiches for anyone wanting to come by to eat.
"Here, take one," T.O offered a sandwich to the possum, who was simply admiring how well the sandwich was made.
With the sandwich in hand, Camo took a large bite out of his food. The chicken sandwich had tasted as amazing as it had smelled.
"T, this sandwich is amazing, holy hell!" Camo exclaimed with his mouth stuffed with white bread and chicken.
"Don't talk with your mouth full Camo, that's disgusting," T.O was grossed out. "Eat first and then speak. A gentleman such as yourself should know this."
Camo could only express an expression of shame as Sodo walked into the kitchen shortly after.
"Hey Sodo, sit down," T.O pulled out the chair for the hyena. Sitting down, Sodo glanced at the possum across from him eating his chicken sandwich, but then looked away in an instant. Camo was able to take notice of this though, and from time to time Sodo would look up and examine the possum's face, enjoying the sight of it momentarily.
"Here's a sandwich for you. If you guys want any more just let me know and I'll make some for you."
"Thanks, T."
"No problem, bud."
T.O kept making visual cues towards Camo, indicating that the panther sought to encourage the opossum to at the least talk with Sodo. Camo really wanted to talk with Sodo.
"What do I say to him?" Camo thought to himself, stressing out in the process. "What if I say something bad to him and I screw something up with him the same way I screwed things up with Nono?"
Camo kept tapping his foot against the floor. Needless to say, he was exceptionally nervous, but on the contrary he had to say something. Anything.
"This is just like the breakfast me and Sodo had more than a month ago. Maybe just approach this conversation similarly to the way you started it a long time ago…"
"So, Sodo," Camo began.
"Hmm?"
"How do you like the food?" Camo asked.
"It's great," Sodo answered. "Thanks for making this for me by the way, T. I uh, I really appreciate the sandwich."
"Aww, why thank you," the panther was flustered.
"You really like T.O's cooking, huh?" Camo mentioned.
"Yeah, I think it's pretty neat."
"Whose cooking do you like better? Mine, or T's?"
"I mean, I'll eat anything you guys make so long as it's good, but personally I do love when it's T.O's turn to cook food," Sodo answered honestly. The panther couldn't help but smile widely in the background.
"His cooking isn't that good…" Camo jealously muttered.
"Excuse me?" T.O gasped.
"Yeah, you heard me."
"Oh, that's so funny, since I just remembered you calling my chicken sandwich amazing a few moments ago," the panther crossed his arms.
"Chicken sandwich? More like frickin' blandwich, because that's what that thing tastes like.
"Oh really? Okay then, I guess I'll take what's left of your sandwich and eat all this chicken by mysel-"
"Okay okay okay I was just joking," Camo swiftly clarified. "I was just joking, hehe."
"Vas a ver, hijo de puta madre," T.O cursed. The possum and the panther were chuckling to themselves over this little quarrel they were having. Weirded out, Sodo laughed aloud as well.
"This conversation went a whole lot better than I thought it was going to," Camo reflected. "Just stop being nervous and just talk like you would normally do to others."
Camo was thinking about what to say next, and so he just came up with a random question.
"How does your hair look as amazing as it always does?" Camo loudly complimented out of the blue. "Like what's your secret?"
"Well, this is kinda how my hair looks like when I wake up?" Sodo wasn't sure as to how to answer his question. "Uh, but to like, keep it the way it is throughout the day, well, I can't tell ya. An artisan never reveals his secrets, hehe."
"I thought magicians weren't supposed to reveal their tricks," Camo corrected.
"Artisans don't have to either, and besides, if I told ya how I keep my hair good I'd have to kill ya," Sodo winked. He proceeded to eat his chicken sandwich while Camo couldn't stop feeling flustered about the wink.
"That wink is going to be enough to make me combust."
As time passed, Sodo eventually finished his sandwich, and despite craving some more of T.O's food, he decided to get up from his chair and leave the kitchen.
"Wait, where are you going, Sodo?"
"Uh, to my room. Why?"
"I was gonna ask if you wanted to talk for a while longer?"
"Hm, I'd like to, but… I'm busy finishing up a new drawing I've been working on for a week now," Sodo said. "It's been taking me way too long to finish."
"Aww, that's okay then. Can we t-talk later then?"
"If I have time, then yeah, we can talk."
"Oh yeah, Camo did tell me you were somewhat of an artist," T.O interrupted. "I was wondering if I could see some of the things you drew, if that's alright with you, of course."
"Sure, I can show you some right now," Sodo answered. "I don't want you coming into my bedroom but I can bring out my sketchbook. I can't show you the drawing I'm working on right now though, since it's not even, uhh, complete? So yeah, don't even try to look."
"Um, okay then," T.O gulped. Sodo went into his room and exited out quickly to show T.O his sketchbook in the living room. While T.O was completely mesmerized by the designs he was seeing for himself for the first time, Camo decided to leave the kitchen and enter his bedroom so he could start working on his letter.
"Alright Camo, let's do this," the possum spoke to himself. He set down the paper, and with his pencil in his left hand, he began to write some rather complex emotions Camo had been feeling towards Sodo and the whole situation regarding the first kiss they had shared together. The possum immediately began to write.
Dear Sodo, I have been meaning to talk to you lately regarding what happened last month between you and I when we returned home from the carnival. I know it seems off that I'd write out this letter to you instead of coming to you in person to discuss our solutions. However, since socializing with you has grown to be rather awkward recently, I figured resorting to handwritten dialogue would be the best method of conversing with you.
Camo paused. He wasn't sure if this sounded like a greeting people would normally write in a letter. His choice of vocabulary was just fine, and he saw no problem with it in any way. However, it's possible that the importance of the letter would be ruined if he continued writing down the letter as if he was back in an AP English class. He crumpled up the letter, and threw it in the trash bin next to his desk; grabbing another piece of paper, he began to write again.
Dear Sodo, I wanted to talk to you about what happened last month when we had come home from our hangout at the carnival. That being said, I am writing this letter to you so I can figure out whether or not we can talk about this later, because I really want to tell you so many things.
To Camo, this introduction seemed completely better than his first one. It was less wordy, and it got straight to the point. Camo sought to write more however; he felt the need to add more to this letter, believing it wasn't finished just yet. He knew what he wanted to write, but he wasn't so sure as to whether or not it'd be fitting for the letter. Nonetheless, in order to ensure if this idea of his would work, he decided to simply write it down.
I know you might deny the fact that you're gay, but you don't have to. You shouldn't have to. You just need to accept yourself for who you are. It's that simple really. You don't have to make things hard for yourself all the t-
Camo immediately stopped. He shouldn't be writing something like this at all. He erased the entire paragraph but then he proceeded to rip the paper apart. He hated the fact that that idea popped up in his mind, since he is well aware that he shouldn't be informing others how to feel about certain situations. Just because the opossum was able to accept that he was attracted to men and women didn't mean it was easy for others to perform the same. And besides, Camo technically assumed what Sodo's orientation was; he possessed no actual knowledge as to what Sodo identified himself as. It was rather very rude.
This made Camo wonder as to why he was struggling to accept himself though, especially since he did his best to make Sodo well aware that he would be accepting of him no matter what. Maybe he just can't accept himself because he is unable to do so? Or maybe there was a reason behind why Sodo continues to do that? He was curious to find out. He grabbed a third piece of paper and rewrote the same introduction he preferred using, and this time he wrote a different paragraph. A more kind paragraph to be exact.
In case you aren't aware, I just wanted to let you know that I am completely accepting of you. You don't have to hide yourself from me, because I ain't going to hide myself from you. I just really want to talk to you is all. I want you to explain to me why you deny yourself the way you do, and I want to tell you how I feel about you, and I'm hoping you feel the same, especially after the kiss we shared together a month ago. Sincerely, Camo.
The paragraph wasn't the worst thing Camo has ever written. The whole thing still came off as awkward to him. Looking over it, Camo noticed that a segment of the second paragraph was bunched up into one run-on sentence. In addition to this, it sounded like he was forcing Sodo to tell him why he doesn't think he's into men, and the last thing Camo wanted to do was to come off as aggressive or controlling in any way.
Writing this letter surprisingly came off as exhausting. Camo couldn't even dare write another word on his flawed paper. He just decided to let the letter be the way it was for now, and if he came up with any alterations to improve the letter's message, he would execute it right away. For now, he just wanted to take some time to think for himself and not be occupied by a somewhat difficult task.
Unfortunately, he couldn't find any way to improve his third letter and crumpled it up as a result. Two days had passed as he continued to try to write more lengthy and detailed letters, all to no avail. Many papers found themselves thrown into the trash bin, and many pencil shavings were scattered across the once clean desk of Camo's. Camo was afraid that maybe the reason why Sodo kept denying he wasn't into people of his own gender was because maybe he actually isn't, and that it was all the alcohol's doing. Needless to say, Camo had found himself within a limbo of trial and error.
The following morning, Camo decided to confront the spotted hyena in his bedroom. He didn't intend to confess his emotions to him at all, despite possessing the need to commit such an act. He instead wanted to gain artwork tips so that way he could design his envelope at the least, since working on the letter was wearing Camo out more and more each time he thought about it. The opossum proceeded to knock on the door and out of the door came Sodo in a dark gray tank top and flannel boxers.
"Camo, what are you doing up this early?" Sodo yawned. Camo couldn't help but stare at the hyena's clothing, since he lacked a lot of the clothing he usually wore during the daytime. "Is everything alright?"
"Yeah, everything is fine," Camo told him. "I just wanted to ask for a favor from you. Can I?"
"Uhh, sure thing I guess," Sodo allowed.
"Could you give me some tips on how you design your drawings?"
Sodo's half asleep eyes widened immediately after he received the question.
"You want me to tutor you on drawing?"
"Yes. Could you do that for me, please?"
"I-I-I, I don't know if I c-can do that," Sodo stuttered. "I'm not much of a teacher, you see. I'm not used to that if you get what I mean."
"Of course I understand what you're trying to say, but I just think that maybe you should at the least try to give me some tips. It's best to try new experiences ya know?"
"Hmm…"
Camo didn't want to come off as forceful so he decided to reassure the hyena a bit. "You don't have to teach me if you don't want to, I'm not going to pressure you into doing that. I was just hoping for some advice, but I perfectly understand if you don't want to teach me. It's totally fine, bud."
Sodo didn't say anything for a good while. Camo was about to leave his bedroom but Sodo interrupted him.
"Could you come by later today, and maybe I can try to help ya?" Sodo asked Camo. "It's very early in the morning and I'm still a bit sleepy."
"Alright, I'll come by later then," Camo said. "Get some rest, bud. You deserve it and more."
"Hehe, thanks.."
A few hours later, Camo returned to the bedroom. Now that it was barely the afternoon, Sodo surely should've been more awake than he was earlier, and indeed he was. Sodo allowed Camo to enter his bedroom, which was very different when the sunlight entered the room. Since the lava lamp was off, the room had of course shined a bright yellow and orange, with dust coming from the glass window.
"So, ya ready for my horrible class today?" Sodo giggled with stress.
"It won't be horrible," Camo contrasted. "This is your first time doing something like this, so you're bound to make a few mistakes."
"I guess, but uh, I'm definitely not gonna be good at this, soooo…" Sodo said. "Don't say I didn't warn ya, though."
Sodo had gone to the back of his sketchbook so he could find a blank paper to work on, but to also avoid showing Camo his recent drawing. He grabbed out one of his drawing pencils and tried his best to teach Camo what he could.
"Uhh, what kinda designs are we like, talking about here exactly, bud?" Sodo asked before he got started. "Are we talking character designs, backgrounds, or…?
"Well, like creative designs you would put on an envelope or something like that," Camo did his best to explain. "You know, like, d-decorations and stuff? Hearts, symbols, etcetera."
"Oh, yeah, I do that stuff sometimes. I could help. Uhh…"
Sodo did his best to flip through his sketchbook pages to see if he had any examples to show Camo so that way the possum could understand what Sodo wanted to explain to him. He found one page where he had drawn a detailed background. The hyena was hoping it would get whatever point he was trying to make across to Camo.
"Is this what you're talking about?" Sodo pointed at his drawing. Camo was able to see a background of medieval architecture, with a bunch of symbols and decorations amongst several segments of terrain. These details were consistent in many of the buildings and objects appearing within the drawing. In a way, this was what Camo was trying to learn about for his envelope design.
"Yeah, that's it!"
"Okay then. Okay, usually I use references to capture the designs I want to make. So uh, I'll go on the computer and I'll look some stuff up. Sound good?"
"Mhm."
After a few hours of searching up examples to inspire the two to come up with designs, Camo had gotten to work on coming up with designs for his envelope. If he needed any help, he simply asked Sodo to assist him with something he was having trouble with. A lot of his concepts felt rushed and messy, though, and Camo felt as if he was under pressure, like time was running out. He was understanding what needed to be done, but he wasn't sure if the concepts he had in mind would turn out to be perfect for him. In addition to this, he didn't really want Sodo to see what he had in mind for the envelope.
Sodo got up and went to his window, which had an orange sunshine reflecting from it as the sun proceeded to set. Camo was curious as to what was going on in the hyena's head.
"Is something up, bud?" Camo asked.
"Nah, it's just, I feel that I kinda wasted your time with all this," Sodo stated. "I feel like I haven't really taught ya anything. Like I said, I'm not a very good teacher; I'm rather very bad at teaching others to do stuff Ya know, like drawing. But like, I think my drawings are good I just suck at helping others with this stuff, since I don't talk to others that much if you get what I mean?"
"You're not bad at being a teacher," Camo reassured him. "I learned a thing or two from you today, and for a beginning tutor you did a surprisingly good job."
"You ain't lying to me, are ya?"
"Why would I lie to you about this? You're my best friend, and I know how much this subject is touchy to you. I know what I drew wasn't like the best, but I feel like I'll get the hang of it the more I practice with this."
The possum put his hand on the hyena's shoulder.
"You're not a bad helper, you're a growing helper. You just need to continue working on this kind of stuff the same way I need to continue improving how I can design stuff. It's not healthy for anyone to doubt themselves in this way. I just want you to know that. You're gonna do great, bud."
Sodo smiled and the possum returned the same expression. Camo saw this as an opportunity to maybe kiss the hyena. However, he didn't want to ruin the moment, and he didn't want to come off as him saying it solely for the purpose of having some romance with Sodo. Instead, Camo simply decided to just hug the hyena tightly, and the hyena did the same. After a few minutes, they both concluded the hug.
"Keep what I said in mind, okay bud?" Camo reminded him.
"Of course I will, it means a lot to me," Sodo blushed.
Camo couldn't help but continue smiling at the happy hyena. He stayed a little longer before it was time that he decided to leave.
Camo was at his cleaned up desk, coming up with different concepts for the envelope. Using his pencil and a variety of color pencils he had borrowed from Sodo, he thought of placing around dozens of hearts, but the envelope looked like it had too many of them, and that it would give away what the letter inside was going to be like. As a result, he threw away that envelope. He grabbed another one and continued working through the night.
This time, Camo had drawn Sodo's sunglasses, which he wore outdoors during daytime hours. He had it drawn well, with the exception of a few crooked lines composing the shape of the glasses. The circles weren't so perfect, but they at the least looked good. However, the glasses appeared too small, and when Camo erased everything and tried to redraw the glasses it was too big for the envelope. In addition to this, Camo didn't see this as fitting, so he threw away the second envelope as well.
Luckily, the third time served as his charm. While daydreaming about Sodo's physique, he achieved the perfect idea for the envelope, and this time it might just work. Camo drew Sodo's radiation symbol on the envelope, but instead of the middle of the symbol being a circle it was a heart. Around the symbol, he drew separated pink polka dots to represent the spots Sodo had on his body.
This time, he actually liked what he ended up making. Sure, the circles weren't perfectly drawn, and the symbol was a bit off center. However, this envelope just had to do. It represented Sodo the way Camo wanted it to, and he was actually rather proud of what he had made in an approximate twenty minutes. Camo only had one thing left to accomplish. He needed to write a new, fantastic letter to put inside the envelope.
"You need to think, Camo," Camo told himself aggressively. "You need to seriously just decide on what to write to Sodo. Come on, you can do this. Think of something. Think of what you really, really want to say."
A majority of the letter concepts that had come to his head weren't straight to the point. A variety of these concepts made a point but was wordy and boring in managing to make one. Camo attempted to simplify his ideas, but he wasn't sure as to how he could say everything he wanted to say with a few words. But then again, what did he seek to say at all?
Luckily, his solution managed to hit him. He had a good idea come to mind. Now all he needed to do was to write it down, and examine it to see if it was any good.
Dear Sodo, I enjoy talking with you, and I would enjoy it if we could talk even more. I'm sorry that I acted like a jerk to you last month, and I really want to improve the friendship that we have now into something more. So long as you're into it, of course. :)
It was good. To Camo, it was very simple and it explained everything that Camo had been feeling towards him. This was it. A small, meaningful letter. It was perfect as it was, but Camo felt like he needed to add just a bit more to it.
I love you, Sodo. I love you so much that words cannot describe how much I care about your well being. I dream about you more than you could ever imagine.
Camo added a heart next to that extra piece of writing he had made. The letter of passion was finally completed. He had placed said letter into the envelope, and sealed it shut. Placing it onto his desk, Camo laid down on his bed. During late midnight, as the opossum drifted away to another one of his deep slumbers, he kept thinking about Sodo, enjoying every moment of imagining a life between the two.