The Morning After the Spook
Jean-François was just a bit restless once the morning rolled around, the weird feeling rolling around in his head and gut, it felt dissatisfied? He wasn't sure. He looked at Stan, the one he had so vigorously cuddled the night before. That feeling came back a bit stronger, he moved a hand, smoothing it over Stan's body. It paused at his neck, feeling it, feeling around the jawline to the front of his throat, he very gently squeezed for just a brief moment and the odd feeling was barely subsided. He moved his hand lower, petting and smoothing over the Tanuki's fur, briefly gripping his hips, groping the base of his tail, squeezing along his ass and thighs. All the while staying silent.
The feeling tended to slightly calm around some areas, the neck mostly, the inner thighs, the dock of the tail, Stan's wrist and hands. Jean-François had no idea he was being stared at by a very awake Stan until his hand had moved to his throat and he gently pressed against it, he heard the slight huff and wheeze and was startled out of the odd trance he was in, looking a bit spooked when he looked at Stan.
"J-Je-Jean-François, Jean-François" Jean-François apologized profusely, flustered and more than a bit freaked out and embarrassed.
Stan had woken up the minute Jean-François had started petting him. He at first had simply peeked an eye open, finding that odd, still kind-of scary look on his face. He felt the pressure on his throat and almost panicked then and there. Then he felt the hand move and he got flush, he felt it on his chest, going around to his back, ghosting along his spine, groping his ass, his tail got a slightly strong grip for a moment. It wasn't enough to hurt or be uncomfortable but it was definitely noticable. He felt it going back up and he was looking at Jean-François the whole time. He hadn't even realized when he had fully opened his eyes. Then he felt that grip on his throat, the stronger squeeze and push on his windpipe that forced a bit of air out of him in a wheeze. He was a bit scared and oddly aroused, Jean-François had that look in his eyes. He still couldn't decipher it and it unnerved him to a degree but the minute Jean-François seemed to snap out of it and start apologizing, he noticed how panicked he sounded.
"Hey hey, Jean-François we'll figure it out, don't worry about it. I'm fine, it's a little spooky but that's okay. It's okay Jean-François." Stan was quick to hug onto Jean-François, nuzzling against him. A mix of trying to comfort and seeking comfort.
Jean-François's ears pressed flatter against his own body, a stressed sigh leaving him. He hugged Stan back tightly after a bit of working out of his mental funk and nuzzled him happily. The tiniest noise left him, eyes closing while he nuzzled Stan. His tail lightly thumped against the bed after a time and he looked at Stan.
"Jean-François?" Jean-François asked in a low shy tone, flushing lightly.
Stan's eyes widened a bit, he realized the position they were in. How close they were. How he was being held. He blushed darkly and nodded. "I think... I think I'd like to try that, I think I'd like that a lot actually. We'll uh... figure things out together then." He knew he sounded shy, small, vulnerable.
The pleased purr that left Jean-François was completely unintentional. He was a bit embarrassed by the noise, but he wasn't going to physically be shy about exactly how he felt about the acceptance. He gave Stan a brief peck on the lips, nuzzling his cheek after and let his arms wrap around him. He sighed happily, tail thumping wildly on the bed.
He made of noise of surprise when he was kissed, this time Stan initiating it first. He flushed, blush growing darker when Stan didn't exactly pull away. He made a pleased sound in his throat and kisses back happily. The two of them found themselves a bit lip-locked at the moment and completely zoned into it. So much so infact that the pressurized hiss of his door opening didn't even register... Bunny's words however did and Jean-François sperated with a small gasp.
"Well well well, lookit the two lovebirds! Didn't know you twos was datin', good on you guys but ah, we gotta get to cleaning ya know. Maybe try not to get your drool on everything?" Bunny grinned cheekily, leaning against the doorframe as he spoke. He pointed out the drool on Stan's chin before he left to go clean, leaving the door open. "Hey Candy you'll never believe it! Jean-François hooked up with Stan! Took Stan long enough after that first broad a' his, yeah?!"
Jean-François rolled his eyes, nuzzling Stan before getting up and stretching, popping a few joints and rolling his shoulder. A small flash of that weird feeling coming back for just a brief moment during his stretching. It was enough to jolt him full of energy, and weirdly enough some adrenaline to, it was definitely something that's gotta be checked out. He popped his neck, rolled his shoulders once more, then went out to go clean.
Stan sat watching Jean-François stretch in a slightly flustered trance. He couldn't believe he just did that... and get interrupted by Bunny of all people. He mentally groaned, knowing he was going to get teased relentlessly, and braced himself for it a little. A small tidbit in his mind picked up on a few different things, Jean-François had very briefly had that odd look in his eyes, it was difficult to recognize at first. The second thing was that he had gone out the door silent as a wraith, his body language had changed a bit. Some part of him was worried about that, another was a little entranced by the fluid-like grace, and a tiny portion of his brain said 'Red Flag'. He hummed, maybe Debilouman was pulling the whole clone thing again. If that was so, he's tempted to visit the villain himself and sink his sub.
Still though, aside from that possible anxiety-fueled thought process, he had to focus on getting up and helping clean last night's mess.
Time Skip to later in the day.
Stan watched Jean-François expertly dodge Mochi's pounces as he danced on the dance pad to his favorite game, Candy and Bunny had left to go out after to "Buy all the discount Halloween Candy". With the way they said it though it sounded like more but he wasn't going to complain too much. He got taken out of his reverie when Jean-François stopped for a break and flop on the couch next to him. He chuckled and pet his head.
"Jean-François!" Jean-François grinned at Stan, panting lightly from the exercise but he was pleased. He nuzzled against the pet, eyes closing briefly. "Jean-François?"
Stan blinked at the question before shrugging and nodding. "I wouldn't mind going out with you today. Goodness knows the house and Candy takes care of Mochi for you guys anyways. So, wait till they get back or?..." He let the question hang there a moment, silently wondering what Jean-François had in mind.
"Jean-François." He nodded, getting up with a small hop, happy to get going. He went off to the kitchen to grab a couple water bottles for them both, some snacks and candy, backpack to hold it all and the keys for his moped.
"Hey, Jean-François try not to go too crazy on the moped wherever you decide to take me, I'm still not sure if you picked your speeding habit from Bunny of if you gave them to Bunny, either way though I would very much like to not going flying off it." Stan was nervous about riding with Jean-François but curious as well. Not a word about where they were going was shared, it was both nerve-wracking and exciting!
Meanwhile, with Professor Debilouman and Modchi... (Time Skip/exposition)
A slightly high-pitched nasally voice rung out the submarine's main room. The voice of Professor Debilouman. Long black hair on the sides of his head that always swept upwards, large long rounded nose, balding, and plenty of bumps, bruises, and scars from how many times he's been blown up. "Hmmm, I know we spiked the right candy Modchi so why isn't Candy getting mad at Bunny? If he ate any of her favorite treats why isn't he acting weird?"
A very bored flat deep voice rang out next. Modchi, the 'dog' of the submarine. Purple in color with a scar on him, unlike his counter, Mochi, who was a bright pastel blue pup. "Well if you had paid attention to me last night instead of whimpering under the covers when those movies popped up on the camera, you would've seen that the blue one ate them all. Candy's favorite candy changed a few months back to that organic imported health food junk... it actually taste pretty good to."
"What!? Nevermind about how they taste, why didn't you tell me sooner, Modchi!?"
"Well maybe if someone hadn't been gazing at Candy while she was getting dressed at that time, you would've heard me then to!" If Modchi's seething looks could kill...
"Wait, did you say earlier that he ate them all?" Debilouman asked in surprise.
"Err... Yeah, all of them." Modchi nodded.
Debilouman turned on the cameras, reviewing footage and following where they were going, a chuckle started up, then a laugh, then a full-on maniacal laughing fit.
Modchi tilted his head. "What was in that stuff anyways, you never told me what it was for completely."
Debilouman eventually wiped away the tears that left him during his fit. "It was to raise aggression, just a couple would've been enough to cause arguments at the the house, a tiny bit more and it would escalate to hitting, the last straw for any relationship! Then Candy would come crawling to me after such a horrible thing happened to her, and I'd get all her attention, maybe... maybe even a hug or kiss for being such a good emotional support!" He huffed, still grinning but it obviously sounded displeased. "If it was all eaten by Jean-François though... Well, the bunnygangers will be no more! And neither will their mech maker! The idiots are both together, heading to some place nice and secluded, and I'll be there to watch the carnage in person! Spies!" Debilouman called out for his spies.
"Follow Jean-François discreetly and give me their location when they settle down, I'll come over after that to watch everything unfold! Even if this plan didn't go as planned it's almost as good of a result!" Debilouman started manically laughing again.
A few moments later, Modchi started laughing as well.
Time Skip done
Jean-François was still a bit of a speed-demon but he still mostly held back for Stan's sake. Even then though his foot wanted to weigh like lead today he held back. Something kept crawling up and down his spine throughout the trip, it was unsettling him greatly and whatever it was seemed to grow in anticipation as he went farther and further away from the city with Stan. When he got off of the highway and onto more residential roads, he spared a glance back at Stan, who was looking around with a pair of goggles on, it both offset the odd feeling but made it worse to. Like patting your hand into something that looks like water and finding out it's some oil, and when you try to wash it off it only spreads more onto your hand before it can finally go. It feels like an unturned violin being played by a child but crawling on his skin and senses. He grit his teeth a little and kept going.
Eventually the road turned to dirt, then to patchy dirt, then to a myriad of winding grass-patched dirt paths. He chose one and kept a much lower speed on his precious moped. He made the ride in silence to concentrate on driving on the path. They had made it to a very very small field on the hill with a large tree in the center of it and an over-grown decrepit bike rack that blended almost too well with the bushes nearby. He parked his moped there and got off, locking it up securely before he turned to Stan with a grin.
Jean-François gestured around himself. "Jean-François!~" The feeling calmed a bit when he was actually able to look at Stan fully. The look on Stan's face and in his eyes made his heart do a bit of a squeeze. He moved towards the tree in the center of the clearing, gesturing for Stan to follow.
Stan looked around at the scenery, a small bit of wonder in his eyes. Going outside was rare, going outside of the city even rarer, going into any kind of place that wasn't any kind of man-made structure was so rare he could honestly say he forgot what grass and dirt under his feet felt like. He forgot what fresh air and the smell of grass was like. He felt things kinda melt away, he still had some anxieties, but for now he followed Jean-François and decided to sit under the tree. He gripped the grass a little, feeling it over and sighing happily.
"Thanks Jean-François, this, this is actually pretty great. I...hehehe... I actually forgot what dirt felt like that wasn't weird unidentifiable crust, dust, or muck from a city drainage ditch... or concrete dust, that stuff's horrible." Stan got a small almost breathless chuckle in, laughing a bit at the end. He looked up at Jean-François happily, his tail wiggling and thumping the ground lightly.
Jean-François ear twitched at the soft thumping on the ground, something about it set what felt like a lick of flame up his own tail and over his skin, making his ears burn. Something was wrong, he could really tell now. Something was off. He shouldn't be so agitated. The fact he even was agitated, now that he noticed it, only set him off more, but he suppressed it tight, not willing to lose it right when he got Stan to one of his favorite private spots. His head tilted and he gave a small lopsided smile to Stan as he scooted himself closer to him, tail laying over Stan's, partly to stop the thumping, partly because it felt nice to be close without prying eyes.
Stan saw the look in Jean-François eyes again, but it shifted a bit as he watched his friends body language, he seemed startled and while it worried him, it got smothered by the slight flush that took him when Jean-François practically cuddled up to him. He smiled broadly, eyes closing as he nuzzled against Jean-François, he relaxed against him. The fast exhilarating ride here and now just resting with Jean-François, partly on a tree but mostly leaned against him. He still had his eyes closed as he nuzzled him again, sighing as he relaxed further, focusing on the feeling of the fur.
Jean-François smiled, a tiny purr leaving him for a moment. He looked down at Stan for a bit before sliding his arms around him, shifting position a bit to have Stan facing his chest a bit more, back no longer supported by the tree behind them, but rather by Jean-François hands and arms. He was quiet for a bit.
Stan was only slightly surprised at the position shift, but he let it happen, simply moving with it and looking up at Jean-François. The new position made him flush a bit. "Hey Jean, hope you didn't mind the nuzzling too much."
"Jean-François.~" He smiled at Stan. Reassuring him that it was perfectly okay. He tilted his head a bit to the other side, ears shifting over his back. He picked up a small snicker behind them, it made his fur bristle a bit that they might be interrupted or caught. He decided to do something before whatever it was had a chance to interrupt them. He leaned forwards, kissing Stan, which according to the squeak from him was unexpected. His tail shifted and wiggled behind him, balancing him as he gently pushed him back, one hand going down Stan's back while the other went to his shoulder. He had gently pinned Stan to the ground while making out with him, not willing to breaking the kiss for quite a bit, even as the odd somewhat agitated feeling arose along side a feeling of pleased satisfaction that wasn't quite there but close.
Stan was happy that Jean-François liked the nuzzles. He was tempted to nuzzle him again but was caught off-guard by the kiss, practically melting the moment it registered with him that it was happening. He briefly saw something shifted in the trees but the view of Jean-François overtaking his vision as they made-out pushed that out of his mind. He moaned lightly as the kiss went on, it just felt good, so he felt the sound was warranted even if it embarrassed him a little.
Jean-François hummed into the kiss, melting a bit himself as it went on. The hand that had been on Stan's shoulder before, now moved along the Tanuki's chest, simply groping at the fur a bit, trying to work out the slowly growing mix of simultaneous stress and happiness. It was grating on his nerves hard he couldn't enjoy this. He heard the branches above them rustle just as his hand started going up. The snap came just as he had very gently pressed against Stan's windpipe, and had him on his feet with an enraged fire in his eyes. He heard Stan squeak in fear below him and it only further stoked the fire in him.
When who fell out of the tree registered, the fire felt like it had been doused with ice. It was still stinging, but the feeling had gone from a raging inferno to a cold calculated fury as everything happening clicked into place. Debilouman was on the ground in front of him and Stan, trying to catch his bearings. Jean-François waited for him to do so.
Debilouman was mentally cursing at the branch breaking just when the best part was coming. He groaned, getting up and shaking his head a little, eyes blinking as everything reoriented itself. He silently hoped the branch crushed them both as he looked around first before turning to what he was gonna assume were two unconscious bodies. That however was not the case, what was however, was him seeing Jean-François staring at him. He couldn't discern the look and backed up nervously. "Hey Jean-François, you come here often for- for bird watching to?" He grinned nervously, hoping he'd fall for the poorly crafted lie, the fact he was met with silence unsettled him.
Stan saw the look in Jean-François eyes, the depths of the black voids feeling a bit like a cold vacuum... he was only barely able to discern a feeling of coldness and anger from that look and part of him was wondering why that look was directed at him that night, and all throughout the day. Maybe he's misreading it but at this point he was too scared to do anything but watch what was about to happen. He watched Jean-François step over him and silently walk after Debilouman. The fact it was with that odd feline-esc grace only cemented the feeling of unease of the parallels from last night.
Debilouman sweated; he chuckled nervously, backing away for each step Jean-François took. "H-Jey no need for any violence, it's a chill day. It's nice weather today, not my fault you just so happen to be under that tree... You... You uuhh, gonna answer me any time soon, respond maybe?" Debilouman swallowed a lump developing in his throat. After that he didn't get a chance for much else as a foot was quick to target his head, whipping it to the side violently and sending him a good foot or two to the side, nearly down for the count with just that.
Jean-François waited for him to pause his stupid rambling, waited for him to pause in his stride, before he took the feelings that had been bugging him lately, and with a quickness he twirled onto his hands as he kicked Debilouman as hard as possible in the head. He heard his body thud and his body leapt onto the opportunity before he could even think about what he was doing, solid thwacks of flesh hitting flesh and bone were heard. He didn't notice anything too off until he heard the wheeze and felt the blood on his hands, and his brain couldn't even comprehend any kind of horror at the moment, so it went with satisfaction. He grabbed Debilouman by the ankles, dragging him off even as Stan started to scramble after him. He violently swung the mad scientist into a tree at the edge of the clearing, he heard a few cracks and a wheezing groan and then dropped him on the ground, hard. He hadn't made a single sound himself that entire time.
Stan had nearly scrambled back at the very sound beating Debilouman was taking. From the occasional crack he wasn't it well either, it was more than surprising that Jean-François was capable and willing to do this. It only spooked him more when he saw Jean-François start to drag Debilouman away, he had to scramble and scamper after them both, witnessing Debilouman being picked up and hearing the loud resounding crack when he was slammed against a tree trunk. It made him wince. He backed up a bit, he didn't want to get in the way. He stepped on a twig and it snapped in the small moment of silence. He barely registered Jean-François turning towards him let alone the fact he went past him until he heard panicked minions yelling out "Mission!". He turned his head, surprised and shocked at the speed of Jean-François. He mentally reminded himself to never get Jean-François to snap.
Jean-François had whipped around the minute the stick snapped, eyes meeting those of the small Mission Men often hanging around and working for Debilouman. He growled viscerally and darted over fast. His fist was flying towards the first ones face so fast and hard he heard the glasses snap, before he started after the others. Violently dashing them against the ground, kicking, punching, or bludgeoning them with his tail, by the end he was panting, exhausted, and everyone aside from Stan made a slow limping exit, save for Debilouman who was already being carted away on a gurney.
Jean-François slowly turned to Stan, calming significantly, he moved over to the tree in the clearing, flopping onto the grass under it before weakly calling out. "Jean-François..." He waited... then he felt the familiar weight and fur of Stan settling up next to him. He sighed in relief, hugging him close suddenly and shaking a little. He usually never lost his cool, at least never that badly, and never so violently. "Jean-François..." He said very quietly, ears pressing hard against his own head, upset. He felt Stan start to pet him.
It took Stan a moment to formulate a proper response. "Maybe since you got it out you'll feel better, don't worry Jean, I don't judge you. It was just scary... There was a lot of cracks. Maybe I should call the pod and I take us and your moped to the hospital to get your hands checked out?..." He didn't get a response. "Jean? Jean-François?" He looked at Jean-François, finding him passed out. He decided to call the pod to pick them both up, the signal taking a moment to go out.
Time Skip - The Hospital
Jean-François woke up to soft electronic beeping, and a very worried Stan cuddling close to an arm that was lacking IV tubes. "Jean-François?" He murmured, shifting a bit. His body felt a bit clammy and cool, it was a bit uncomfortable so he cuddled closer to Stan, silently awaiting an answer.
Stan stretched a little, adjusting himself after Jean-François settled down. He yawned, eyes fluttering open as the question didn't quite catch him. "Hm? Oh, hey Jean... Jean-François!" He shot up in excitement, grinning as he hugged onto Jean-François.
"Jean-François! Jean-François!" He laughed a little, nuzzling against Stan. Things felt so much better, more normal, but he still reiterated the question for Stan.
"O-Oh yeah. Debilouman had put something nasty into your system, it was supposed to raise aggression little bit by little bit, but you had a lot of it in your system and it had to be flushed out. The cops searched the penthouse and your moped and found it mixed in with some Halloween candy. It was a high enough dosage the doctors were surprised you hadn't actually killed anyone the minute you woke up in the morning when it went into full effect... also surprised you didn't kill Debilouman but aaahhh you did hospitalize him and a good deal of his spy's for the foreseeable future..." Stan paused a moment. The fact he could've been next, the fact he could've most assuredly gotten his neck at some point under Jean-François's hands. He idly traced a hand over his throat, Jean-François had kept getting a bit squeezy there... he cleared his throat, eyes flickering between the floor and Jean-François.
Jean-François's eyes were wide at the explanation. Head nodding slowly as everything settled in. He sighed slowly, pulling Stan closer when he noticed the nervousness wash over Stan. The weight of everything hit them both and they were suddenly clinging to each other, nuzzling, and crying softly. Neither were very loud rambunctious criers; instead it was simply whimpers and soft whines, and the very rare and very light gasp.
At least it was over... they hope.