34 An Unexpected Reunion Pt. II – Black and White
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I realize that, like in most of my stories, I have managed to focus on the main characters, namely Nick and Judy, with very little time being given to any of the supporting cast. I'll try to do better, especially in this chapter. Those of you who may have been pulling for Midnight and Sabine to have a bit of alone time … here you go! Sorry, no lemons here… and a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
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Waking early (0500 hours as has been her custom for years – ever since being imbedded in a combat unit in Iraqistan as a matter of fact) Sabine Growley instantly recognizes the smell of coffee, fried eggs, sausage and toast.
There is however, one pressing need that has to be addressed before all else…
After finishing her morning constitution, Sabine makes her way to the kitchen.
"GOOD MORNING MISS SABINE!" comes from the twins, with Midnight standing at the stove suppressing a short laugh, but smirking nonetheless.
"Morning cubs… Jerry." returns a shyly smiling Sabine.
"Morning Sabine…" comes from the widely grinning Midnight.
"What?" she asks, slightly confused at the broad, toothy smile.
"I hope you're in for a snarky first day!"
"What? Why?"
"The rabbit family next door … Clarence Hopps is one of Judy Wilde's many brothers, and his wife Annabelle, well, she's the neighborhood gossip."
"Which means what … exactly?"
"Which means that I'm newly single, you're new in town, and you stayed the night soooo…"
"Oh crap!"
"Exactly."
"But dad, since you and Miss Sabine didn't actually sleep together-" suggests a now sympathetic Kitara.
"The mammals at work will understand when we tell them the truth" Midnight tells the cub "but it won't stop them from teasing either one or most likely both of us."
"But that's just mean!" remarks Kimba in full support of his new friend.
"Yeah, it kinda is" agrees Midnight "But that's how we let each other at the shop know that we like them and that they're accepted into our little pride!" *
"Grownups are weird…" states Kitara rolling her eyes, with Kimba agreeing.
…
Relishing the home cooked meal (it wasn't half bad by the way) Sabine has a few questions for her old friend and new mentor.
"So" she begins, "I guess that I can look forward to a shitload of … opps, sorry about the language cubs!"
Looking at their dad, both cub's kind of cringe, waiting for him to berate their guest … but to their surprise (and relief), none was really forthcoming, only a mild rebuke.
"It's okay this time, just please watch it from now on. I know that it was a hard habit for me to break after spending so much time overseas, so I understand."
"Thanks. I'm kinda surprised to see the cubs up this early. Any particular reason?"
"We'll need to be leaving for the shop before long and they'll be spending the day next door. Annabelle has been kind enough to volunteer to watch the cubs while I'm at work, both after school through the week and on weekends."
"You really are on great relations with the prey community here, aren't you?"
"Pred, prey, it makes no difference to us. Like I told you before, Nick helped Judy's folks avoid disaster twice without batting an eye, and they were barely even dating the first time. It's what Nick has always done, so it's just what we all do."
"After being in the city and seeing how little most mammals actually care about each other, even their next-door neighbors, I can see that it's a breath of fresh air … literally."
Finishing up his meal, Midnight places his dirty dishes in the kitchen sink.
"I'm gonna head out now. I'm sure you'll probably want to go to your motel and get a good shower and some clean clothes before you head in." he states.
"Yeeeeaaaah, that would probably be a great idea, otherwise with me sleeping in your bed last night, I'm sure that every pred in the building would be getting the wrong idea." affirms the snow leopard.
"And most of the prey as well. I think you'll find that the prey out here in the country have much better noses that the ones in the city. All of this fresh air and no smog does wonders for the sniffers." he adds with a gentle laugh while pointing at his nose, which adds a touch of color to the snow leopard's ears.
"Great… I just hope I remembered to pack my Musk Mask…"
"Just a friendly reminder, if you overuse the Musk Mask, it would be the same as a confession of guilt to the mammals at the shop. Just take a good shower and put on fresh clothes, with maybe just a light touch of perfume if you feel like it." advises Midnight.
"Thanks for the heads up. Maybe I'll try some of that new Sauvage perfume by Johnny Deep that Fabine got me for our birthday a couple of months ago." (Sabine and Fabine are twins remember, so they share the same birthday)
"Sounds like a plan. Well, I'm off … gimme a quick hug cubs. Behave for Mrs. Hopps, I'll see you tonight!" Midnight tells his cubs.
After getting a quick hug from his cubs, Midnight heads towards the front door, when he suddenly stops and turns around.
"Opps, I almost forgot…" as he steps up to Sabine and plants a quick kiss on her shocked lips.
"See you in a short beautiful!" he snarks as he hurries out of the door.
"Why that sneaky…" exclaims a totally shocked leopard.
"That's our dad!" remarks a suddenly grinning Kitara.
Turning and seeing two cubs grinning like tomorrow was Christmas, Sabine can't help but wonder what's gotten into them.
"Don't worry about your dishes Miss Sabine" says Kimba "Kitara and I will take care of them along with dad's and ours."
"Thank you cubs, and you have my permission to just call me Sabine."
"You're welcome Sabine" replies Kitara "And … make sure you look and smell pretty for dad, ok?"
Staring at the cubs for a few moments, Sabine finally gets up the courage to ask them "You aren't worried that I'll take your dad away, or take your mom's place in your lives if I start dating him are you?"
"Dad fought tooth and claw to be sure that we could live with him, and since mom left without even saying goodbye…" answers a disappointed Kitara.
"That doesn't necessarily mean that she doesn't love you!" hurriedly cautions Sabine.
"If she loves us, why did she leave? And why didn't she even say goodbye?" asks a clearly upset Kimba.
Kneeling so that she can better console a pair of upset cubs, Sabine tells them the only thing she can think of at the time "I don't know sweety, but give it some time, I'm sure she'll call and let you know something before long."
"Do-do you really think so?" asks Kitara hopefully.
"I'm sure of it!" comes the swift and confident reply.
Without warning, Sabine finds two hybrid cubs firmly hugging her.
Returning the hugs, Sabine waits until the cub's grips begin to slacken.
"Okay you two, I know that you're supposed to be next door, so don't get Mrs. Hopps angry. Off you go."
"What are you gonna do today?" asks Kitara.
"I have to go to work, today is my first day."
"But you know that the mammals at the shop are gonna tease you, right?" asks a concerned Kimba.
"It's okay Kimba, I'm pretty sure that I can handle anything those mammals can put out." answers a confident leopard.
"Well, you let us know if they get too mean, we'll have dad take care of them for you…" declares Kimba.
I'll be sure to do that!" returns Sabine, barely able to suppress a short laugh as she heads out the front door.
…
After cranking the hemi engine of the Challenger and putting the 6-speed manual transmission into reverse then backing out into the street, Sabine hesitates for a few seconds, pondering the conversations and actions that have taken place, not only, this morning but last night as well.
"Jerry seems interested … perhaps more than just a little interested even, and the cubs seem to be fine with us maybe being together…"
Turning this type of thoughts over in her head while driving to her hotel, Sabine has managed to give herself a slight headache.
After taking a good shower, the leopard found herself replacing her Musk Mask with a light spray of Sauvage perfume, as suggested by Jerry earlier.
"Thanks for the suggestion Jerry!" she thought "anything to try to get ahead of the game."
…
Arriving at exactly 7 am, Sabine enters the main office of Wilde Ride Customs and finds a multitude of mammals, all female, very interested in her.
Judy, Tiffany and Skye have all turned from their normal duties and are giving her the furry eyeball while wearing very knowing grins.
"What?" she asks, checking her appearance not bothering to give herself the sniff test after a long shower and a fresh change of clothes.
"So, you and Jer-I mean Midnight huh?" asks Judy, whose snarky smile holds plenty of hidden meaning.
"I have no idea what you're even talking about!" denies a thoroughly embarrassed leopard, while turning very pink under her spotted white fur.
"You're new in town, you get a job here with Midnight vouching for you, then spend the night at his place…" infers Tiffany.
"I-I can explain!" sputters Sabine.
"This should be good." a smirking Skye comments with her arms folded across her chest, to further unsettle the frustrated snow leopard.
"I just … we never … I mean …"
Stepping close to the leopard, Judy gives the feline a few quick sniffs….
"Dang girl … you smell just like Midnight, are you SURE that you two didn't do the 'bedroom waltz'?"
"The what?
After taking a few quick sniffs of her own and smelling only her perfume, Sabine is hit with the sudden realization the Judy is referring to intimate bedroom antics.
Turning beet red and opening her mouth to refute the doe's accusation, Sabine is greeted with the sight of two fox vixens and a bunny doe, barely able to keep from laughing.
"You, you, you…." comes from the frustrated feline, realizing that she'd been pranked already and hadn't been in the building for five minutes on her first day at work.
Stunned, Sabine had to ask "Jerry put you up to this, didn't he?" with a half serious, half curious accusatory tone.
"Nope!" admits a still chuckling Skye "He's been getting his time in with the guys in the shop. But you gotta admit, we had you goin' for a while."
FINALLY able to smile knowing that it was all just a prank, an initiation of sorts, the leopard admits "Yeah, you did. I'll have to be truthful though, the thought of doing the 'naked tango' with him has definitely crossed my mind more than once."
As the three conspiring females step forward, they take Sabine again by surprise by gathering her into a tight hug.
"Welcome to Wilde Ride Customs, Sabine." says Judy "I think we'll all get along just fine."
"You know, I think you're right" answers the feline, just as the door to the shop opens …
…
"Jerry?" asks a shocked Sabine, while Judy, Tiffany and Skye all have to lean on various pieces of furniture to keep from falling down from laughing so hard.
There, standing in front of the four females, was one Jerald 'Midnight' N'guma in all his glory(?) wearing the largest scowl that anyone had ever seen, as well as…?
"Glitter? Really?" asks a stunned Sabine.
"And the dunce cap" adds Judy when she can finally catch her breath "what's up with that?"
*Heavy sigh* "Where do I start?" asks a by now totally humiliated Midnight.
"How about the cap!" suggests Tiffany.
*Another sigh* "I guess that's as good a place as any …" addressing Judy "Judy, my actual name, as you know from the lodge ceremony, is Jerald."
"So why-" begins a surprised bunny.
"Did I first tell you that it was Ronald? Ron was my brother, two years older in fact. While I was born here in Animalia, Ron was born in the old country, before mom and dad moved here. We were living in Chikago at the time … Ron and I were playing in the front yard one day when someone, no one ever found out who or why, drove by and took a bunch of shots at the house we were living in at the time. One of the shots hit Ron in the head … he was killed instantly according to mom and dad. Evidentially because of the trauma of the loss of a kit, mom kept calling me Ronald until I was in middle school when dad and I finally got her to stop. Sometimes … sometimes when I'm under stress I resort to calling myself Ron. I wasn't sure at the time that I formally introduced myself to you and … Nick made me wear this until I apologized to you."
Staring at Midnight until the proper lever of unease was accomplished, Judy stepped over to the panther and delivered three quick and very hard punches to his thigh.
"OWW, OWW, OWW! Dang Squeak!"
Without speaking, Judy simply crooked a finger, motioning Midnight to come down to her height,
As Midnight attains her level, Judy reaches up and grabs one ear and twists… "Midnight, I'm sorry that you lost your brother, but if you ever, and I mean ever lie to me again…"
"I won't Squeak, I promise!"
Letting go of the feline's ear, Judy steps back. "Fine. Now, what's up with the glitter?"
"I guess that it's for Sabine staying the night at my place last night. And I want to add that nothing, and I mean nothing happened between us. She slept in my bed and I slept on the pull-out. That's it, I swear!"
"Since your story has already been confirmed by Sabine herself, I believe you. What else? What's with the glitter? Did Nick do this to you?" Judy asks while cocking an eyebrow.
"He swears he didn't, and you know as well as I do that Nick will fully own up to any mischief he does."
"So, no one told you but you have your guesses, right?"
"Yeah … but I'm not sayin' anything in case I'm wrong. Nick gave me the rest of the day off so I can go and get this cra-stuff out of my fur."
"Go ahead and take off then, we'll see you tomorrow." says Judy, telling Midnight to go home.
As Midnight leaves the office, four sets of female eyes follow him.
Turning her attention to Sabine, Judy then asks bluntly "What do the twins think about your spending the night last night?"
"I don't see-" was all the leopard could get out before Judy interrupts forcefully.
"I know that you've been told that we're all like a big family here at the shop, so I'll tell you what business it is of mine." interrupts Judy right back "I love Midnight like a brother especially after he, along with the rest of the shop, helped my family, and during lodge, and by default I love his cubs as if they were my own. You can either volunteer the information or not, but however the cubs feel about you is what concerns me. If they're good with you like I think they are, then we don't have a problem. Seeing Midnight and the cubs happy is my only concern. If they're all happy then we're good. If not, then you and I'll have a problem. And trust me when I tell you that I'll know one way or the other."
"First off" answers a slightly miffed Sabine "I know that Midnight is neighbors to one of your brothers and that his wife is the neighborhood gossip. But believe me when I tell you that my intentions toward Midnight are indeed less than honorable … I came here because I was led to believe by nonother than his sister, that he and I had a chance at happiness by being together. That said, I would never do anything that would come between Jerry and his cubs.
"The cubs, especially Kitara, seemed to be egging me on when I left this morning so I'd have to guess that they're okay with us seeing each other. The fact that Nadine bailed on the cubs without so much as telling them goodbye probably played in my favor, but I'm not going to complain about it. In fact, Kitara actually had a small grin on her face when Jerry stopped at the front door, came back and gave me a quick kiss before he left."
"I for one have to agree." spoke up Skye "You and Midnight make a much better couple than he and Nadine ever did. The only good thing about the two of them was the twins. I'm just amazed that she left him have the twins in the divorce."
"She never seemed to want to spend time with them according to Annabelle." affirmed Judy "I guess it's a matter wanting her freedom to do what she wants to do rather than being tied down to a couple of demanding cubs, not that the cubs were ever really demanding, they're just typical ten-year-old's as far as I can tell."
"Well, I think they're cute and very well mannered." confirms Sabine.
"I guess there's only one thing I can say at this point!" says Judy, holding Sabine in a no-nonsense gaze.
"And that is?" asks a by now concerned leopard.
"Leave!" comes the single worded answer as the doe points towards the front door.
"W-what?"
"Leave now and maybe you can help Midnight get some of the glitter out of his fur…" infers Judy in a mildly conspiratorial tone.
Standing open mouthed in a mild state of shock "But-"
"Look, I know it's just your first day at work, and yes I know you two aren't 'officially' together yet" continues a smiling Judy using air quotes "but one of the standing rules around here is to not prank newbies for at least a couple weeks. We pranked you as soon as you walked in the door so I'm giving you the day off to make up for it. And yes I can do that, my husband owns the shop and he's good with whatever I want as long as it doesn't adversely affect the business. Now, get out of here and go get your guy, we're all pulling for you … just so you know."
"You're not worried that we're moving a bit too fast?" asks an astonished but grateful Sabine.
"Nick and I were a couple less than a week after we met. You two have known each other for years and have pretty much the same chemistry that Nick and I had. Now, get moving before change my mind…"
"Yes ma'am…" was all the doe and two vixens heard before the front door to the shop slammed shut.
…
"You were planning on doing that all along weren't you?" accuses Skye.
"Did you really think that you were the only matchmaker in the shop?" Judy asks, a Nick level smirk in full view.
"Wait … then you know who-"
Bolo and Lefty!" comes Nick's voice as he enters the office through the shop entrance.
As the females turn towards him, Nick fills in the blanks.
"When Annabelle called Judy, I knew that Bolo wanted to get Midnight back for the ribbing he got after lodge. Bolo came up with the idea to sabotage Midnight's tool box with glitter, and Lefty's experience with booby traps while overseas created the perfect prank."
"And when Midnight asked you directly if you had a paw in the prank-" begins Tiffany.
"I honestly told him that I didn't set it up. Plausible deniability."
"Sly fox!" says Judy as she hip bumps her mate.
"Pregnant bunn-OWW!" was all Nick managed to get out before a solid bunny fist connects with his hip.
"And what did I tell you would happen every time you used that on me?"
"Totally worth it... OWW, dang it Squeak! Still worth"- OWW! Okay, now not so much…"
"Dumb fox…"
"You know if Sheriff Creed ever saw you two acting like you do, you'd both be in jail, right?" comments Annabelle as she enters the office.
"First off Annabelle, what are you doing here? I thought you were watching Midnight's cubs today?" asks Nick.
"And secondly, Sheriff Creed already knows the bunny tradition of boxing mates to keep them in line, so there's no worry there." adds Judy.
"I am, sort of. When Judy told me about Midnight and that nice leopard girl, I had Clarence take the kits and the cubs out to Chuckle Cheese's for a long lunch. I figured my sister-in-law might be cooking something up to get the two of them some time alone. It's such a shame that the cubs mother up and left without even telling those darlings so much as goodbye!"
"Maaaaybe it'd be a good idea to have Clarence give them a ride to Fun World for a while as long as they're already out and about." says Nick.
Seeing the questioning look on Annabelle's face, Nick adds "Midnight got pranked with a glitter bomb earlier, and it's liable to take more than just a quick shower to get it all out of his fur. And unless I miss my guess, Sabine's liable to end up with a lot in her fur as well by now, thanks to my darling wife."
With a flash of understanding as to what could be transpiring, Annabelle quickly takes out her phone and sends a quick text to her husband.
"There, done."
"I'll send Midnight a quick text, letting him know that the cubs are being well looked after and being kept out of his and Sabine's fur for a while. I'll tell him to text you or Clarence when the coast is clear." suggests Nick.
"That sounds like it'll work. Anyway, I need to get a few things from the store while Clarence and the young ones are out of my fur for a bit. See you in a bit…" as Annabelle heads out of the shop.
"Just so you all know," continues Nick, addressing Judy and the vixens "before Midnight got 'bombed' he told me that he thought that we should definitely include Sabine in lodge next Saturday. I guess she was involved in some intense paw to paw combat while she was imbedded in his unit overseas."
"I can definitely relate to that…" responds Judy with a somber tone.
"So" begins Tiffany "who's all going to be in the lodge?"
"With Sabine joining us that'll make her and Midnight, Judy and I, Bonnie and Stu have also asked to join, Lefty and Sally, Michael and Yvonne …"
"I'm pretty sure that Bolo is wanting to sit in on this one as well." adds Judy.
"Probably so" responds Nick "I think he's going to try to learn how to conduct lodge from Michael so there's that to consider, and according to Michael, he and Yvonne may be bringing someone else with them when they come."
"Really? Who?" asks Tiffany.
"I'm not sure, he didn't say. But if I had to hazard a guess, I'd have to guess that it'd probably be that wolf gal, She Always Laughs."
…
Just as midnight was about to get in a well-deserved shower while thinking "I know that Bolo had to be behind that damned glitter bomb, but who els-" and was interrupted when his phone chimes, signaling an incoming text message.
Picking up his phone and reading the text, the panther is puzzled by the message: "Midnight, your doorbell is probably about to ring. Be at least a little bit presentable when you answer it. Don't worry, your kits will be well taken care of in the meantime. Text Annabelle or Clarence when you're able. Nick."
Puzzled by the text, Midnight suddenly hears the doorbell. (I know, perfect timing, right?)
Without thinking, he opens the door covered in only his boxers and glitter, a second very welcome surprise greets him.
In front of the nearly naked feline stands a wide-eyed and suddenly only slightly embarrassed snow leopard.
"M-Midnight?"
"Sabine… I-"
"Ummm … look, I know this is sudden and more than a little awkward, but … I-I think this was all set up by-"
"Snow, it had to be Snow!" finishes Midnight, rolling his eyes, a blush showing underneath his jet black fur.
"Actually, I think it was Judy. And, who's Snow?"
"Firstly, Skye is Snow, mainly because of her fur color. Snow's full nickname is Snowflake, mainly because when she's really under a lot of pressure, the tends to get a little flakey."
"Okay, I get that, So, why did you figure it was Snow that set us up?"
"Because Snow is the resident matchmaker at the shop. The fact that Judy set us up speaks volumes about how they feel about us in general, and you in particular."
"I can understand that. The fact that she was so concerned about your cubs and whether they were on board with us being together makes more sense now."
As Midnight opens his mouth to answer, a car horn honks…
"Lookin' good dere Midnaught" comes a yell from a certain rabbit, who happened to be driving by in her VW Rabbit.
"Sylvia, don't you got anything better to do than harass me?" yells the panther in return.
"Not raat now, nope! Ba th' way, nice drawers…" the bunny comments as she drives off.
"Another of the Hopps clan?" asks a now furiously blushing Sabine.
"Yeah" sighs Midnight "Sylvia Hopps, one of Judy's more … unusual sisters."
"So …. Are you gonna … invite me in, or not?" asks Sabine, feeling a bit self-conscious standing on Midnight's front stoop with Midnight clad in nothing except fur, boxers and glitter.
"Oh, yeah, sorry. Come on in. Please, forgive my current state of undress, I was about to head to the shower to get some of this glitter off when I got a cryptic text from Nick, then you rang the doorbell …."
"I … understand, that's kinda why I'm here?"
"I-I don't-"
"Judy sent me over here hoping I'd catch you before you got in the shower…" admits Sabine, a fierce blush now spreading across her entire body.
"….. She what?"
"Judy-"
"I heard that part, I just wanted to be sure I heard correctly. So that sneaky bunny sent you here before I got in the shower so we could-"
"Gods I feel so ashamed…"
"Why? We sorta talked about this a little bit last night."
"But why do I feel so, I don't know … common?" confessed Sabine.
"Do you like me?" Midnight asks seriously.
"Of course I do, I said as much last night. I'm NOT about to just hop into bed with someone I don't have feelings for!" says the leopard, with just a touch of heat in her voice.
"Well, I feel the same way." admits Midnight.
Reaching out and gently taking the more or less unsure female in his arms, Midnight softly asks the trembling leopard "C'mere."
Allowing herself to be drawn into a tender hug, Sabine simply enjoys the feeling of being held by the mammal of her dreams.
"Are you sure about this?" asks a suddenly very serious Midnight. "Are you sure that this is what you really want? Once we go there, we can never truly step back again."
Looking up into the panther's serious face, once again golden-yellow eyes meet forest green "Yes I am. I've dreamt about being with you like this" as a small smile creeps across her lips "minus the glitter of course," she admits "for a very long time."
"I sense there's a 'but' somewhere in all of this…" admits a slightly concerned Midnight.
"Your cubs … what-what will they think? I know they seemed fine with us being together when I talked to them this morning, but …"
Gently booping her nose with his own, Midnight tries to settle Sabine's mind "If there's one thing that can be said about my cubs, is that they aren't afraid to speak their minds. If they were okay with you this morning, they'll be okay with you from here on out unless you prove otherwise."
Placing a gentle kiss on Midnight's lips then drawing back just a bit, Sabine makes a not-so-subtle observation.
"Will you look at that" she says, casually looking down "… I seem to have glitter all over me as well."
"I guess we'll just have to do something about that, won't we?"
"I … may have accidentally have put an extra set of underclothes in my shoulder bag before I left this morning … just in case I might have to stay over again …" she admits with a light blush once again showing.
"In the interest of conserving water-" Midnight begins.
"We might as well share the shower!" Sabine finishes the statement.
…
Sometime later, Sabine moves around in Midnight's arms just enough to peek at the clock on his nightstand.
"I probably need to get dressed and get going, the cubs ware going to be wondering why Mr. Hopps is keeping them out so long." grouses Sabine lightly.
"I guess." admits Midnight, regret very plain in his voice. "Where are you staying?"
"At the Shady Rest. Why?"
"Sometime in the near future … would you-"
"I'd love to move in with you and the kits, but only after they and I get to know each other better. It'd be unfair to them to just move right in. you understand that, right?"
"Of course. It's only common sense after all. How about coming over for supper tonight? Say around six or so? It can sort of be our first real date."
"That'd be fine, as long as I can bring something for the meal."
"The cubs like cheesecake, strawberry if you can find some."
"That'll work. But … I expect to be taken on regular dates as well Mr. M'bai!"
"I wouldn't dream of anything less Ms. Growley."
Letting out a soft giggle then planting a soft kiss on Midnight's muzzle, Sabine reluctantly crawls out of Midnight's bed and moves over to her now discarded pile of clothes and reaches down to pick them up.
"Quite the view there Growler!"
"JERRY!"
"What? I happen to know that you did that on purpose."
"Oh, you do, do you?"
"Yep, and it was quite a lovely sight at that, I might add."
Rolling her eyes, Sabine's comeback was to be expected. "Only a male would think that a sight like my naked backside would be lovely."
"Then I'm glad I didn't disappoint."
Stepping back to the bed and giving her new lover a quick kiss, Sabine unhappily gets ready to leave.
"I'll see you on a bit sweetheart. Don't forget to call and tell…"
"Clarence."
"Yeah, Clarence that the coast is clear."
As she's headed to the door, Sabine hears Midnight "Go to Gideon's Real Good Baked Stuff for the cheesecake and tell him you're a new hire at the shop. We all get a bit of a discount there and it's the best pastry place in the Tri-Burrows."
"I'll do that. Bye, see you later … love you…"
"Love you too …" 'I really do!' thinks Midnight as he crawls out of bed and heads for the shower for a second time.
Picking up his phone as he passes by the nightstand, Midnight sends a short text to his next-door neighbor 'Coast clear, bring the cubs home please.'
~0~
AN: To begin with There is no specific term used to describe a group of panthers, likely as a result of the solitary behavior that the animal exhibits. The word "panther" is used as a general reference to the black cats belonging to the Panthera genus. It is not a distinct species. Both jaguars and leopards belong to the genus Panthera, which also includes lions and tigers. The cougar is also sometimes called a panther.
In short, almost all big cats are considered to be part of the panther family. Since lions are considered to be a subgenus of panthers and are referred to as a pride, I use the term loosely and with artistic license.
And yes, romance seems to come to mammals rather quickly in most of my stories. As I've explained multiple times, I for one am not a big fan of stories that take 200K words and 50 chapters for things to work out. In this case, Sabine and Midnight have known each other for years and now that Midnight's divorced, the mutual pining has come to a conclusion.
