Chapter 6: Stripe
It was early the next morning and the camp was in its usual routine. The group that had gone to Darwin was expected back either later that day or the next, so the remaining dogs continued as normal unless there was reason to the contrary. Muffin was at school with the other kids, and Trixie was helping Chilli teach first-aid (it was decided that it is a necessary skill for the children to all possess) leaving Stripe and Nate alone together in the center of camp while Wendy took care of some odds and ends.
Stripe was sitting at the bench next to the fire pit fiddling with one of the shotguns that the group had gotten. It had been part of the requirements from Chilli that every adult learn how to shoot a variety of weapons, but before doing that they had to be able to safely assemble, disassemble, clean, and repair the firearms. Stripe had managed well enough with the smaller handguns, but the shotgun had been presenting a few challenges. He knew it was safe, as it was unloaded, but it was still a pain to work on. The gun had an intentional malfunction in it from Chilli, which she refused to tell him-it was the final challenge for him to identify and fix before he could use it.
He sighed and the light blue heeler placed the weapon on the ground in mild frustration. I need to take a break, maybe I'll figure it out later if I clear my head first. He stretched and glanced Nate standing hesitantly a few yards away at the other side of the fire pit. He was holding his arm by his side and Stripe could tell he was mumbling to himself. It was a tic that Nate had, verbally rehearsing before he said something that was important or difficult.
"Hey Nate, everything okay?" Stripe smiled as he patted the seat beside him. "Come on over, I have a feeling you want to talk."
Nate nodded and walked over before stiffly sitting down, notably avoiding Stripe's gaze.
"What's up kid?" Stripe patted him on the back.
"Look, I've had something on my chest for a while, and, like, I need to be honest with you." Nate exhaled.
"Sure, what is it mate?" Stripe asked.
Nate chewed his lip, "I need you to promise me that you won't hate me, and that, like, it won't change anything between any of us. I love how things are right now. I never thought I'd be able to have anything like this ever again, and like, I don't want to ruin it… But I've had this on my chest for fucking too long and I need to be open about it."
"I promise. I wouldn't be a very good father if my love was conditional, would I?" Stripe smirked, "Well, surrogate father, in your case."
Nate breathed out slowly, "Okay. You know how back when I first arrived, way back when it was still Max and the others and when they did that trade?"
"Yeah."
"Well, I saw you."
Stripe shrugged, "Makes sense. I was there."
"And I kinda wanted you…"
"Oh." Stripe's brow rose slightly. "Like, wanted wanted?"
Nate reddened,"I didn't know you were married, or that you had kids, or like anything… I just thought you were some single dog, and like, you're kinda a total DILF, and…" Nate was nearly hyperventilating before he stopped himself. "Look, you're hot, okay? Like, and I hadn't had any for a while, so I kinda whacked off to you when we got back to camp. I know it's messed up, and you probably hate me now, but I'm sorry, I couldn't keep it to myself, I had to be honest it's been eating me up." He whispered the last part quickly; shutting his eyes from the glare he was sure was aimed at him.
Instead he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Open your eyes Nate, I'm not angry. I don't hate you."
"You don't?" He hesitantly opened his eyes to see Stripe still sitting beside him, a look of comfort on his face.
"If I'm honest, I'm a bit flattered. I always thought Bandit was the handsomer one."
Nate couldn't believe it. "Wait, you don't care that I batted off to you?"
"Do you anymore?"
"God no! Even if I could still the same way I had, you're married, and basically my stepdad. This isn't porn, that's majorly fucked up if I did! I mean, you and Trixie have Muffin. She's basically my little sister. And you're basically my parents."
"Then I don't care. If you still did, we might have a problem, but you don't, so it's okay." Stripe shrugged. "It isn't like we all haven't had crushes when we were teens. Your hormones are crazy right now. You'll find someone; you're just figuring yourself out."
Nate scoffed, "Yeah, in the post apocalypse there's a great dating pool."
"What, there's got to be a guy out there for you somewhere…" Stripe scruffed the top of Nate's head, causing the teen to slightly glare at him in a playful way before batting his hand away.
"What are the chances I run into someone else who's 1. Gay 2. Interested in someone without a dick and 3. Not a zed?"
"Some guys are into that sort of thing." He scrunched up his snout slightly as he thought, "I mean, there are plenty of men out there who like trans-guys."
"Well, I'm not really trans…" Nate gestured toward his waist, "I mean, I'm still a guy, just not with the 'equipment' to match."
"I know, but I've spent enough time online and I figure that it's the closest term at the moment." Stripe replied.
Nate tilted his head slightly, "Wait, are you bi? No offense, but most straight men don't watch that kind of stuff online."
"Yeah, though we didn't really use that word when I was a kid." He paused, "I guess I never really thought about it too much, given how it runs in the family. Hell, I think the only straight one is my mum, all the guys'll fuck just about anything."
Nate immediately blushed, imagining any of the brothers with a man. "Wait, have any of you ever been with guys?"
Stripe chuckled. "Let's see… Rad's been with at least four different guys that I know of. One of which lasted a few years, hell, I thought they were gonna end up together, but it broke off because of some reason or another. Never did find out exactly why. He was one helluva stud-a Dalmatian on top of it. Woof!" Stripe waggled his eyebrows, causing Nate to immediately hide his face in embarrassment.
"Oh my God, dad…" He shook his head.
"What? He was. Anyway, your Uncle Rad's had a few flings on the rig here and there too, but I think that's more situational than romantic."
Nate's brow rose, "Wow."
"You think that's something, wait 'til I tell you about Bandit." Stripe grinned. "Promise me you'll use some of this as blackmail one day, alright? You've gotta get one up on your uncles somehow."
Nate nodded, "Will do."
"Well, Bandit definitely has, and back when we were teens on top of it. Rad didn't come out 'til he was 20… I had the misfortune of sharing a bedroom with him and accidentally arriving home early one time to find him and a friend from the touch football 'touching a lot of balls' in our room, if you catch my meaning." Stripe paused, "But as soon as he met Chilli he fell head over heels for her, so it's just been the two of them ever since."
"What about you?"
"I always thought about it, but no." He shook his head. "I never really was serious about dating until college and by that point I met Trix. I mean, don't get me wrong, there was plenty of times I thought about it." Fuck, I jerked off to plenty of it, including all that tentacle yaoi stuff Bandit stumbled on that one time. "But I never did. I don't regret it though, Trix is all I need."
Stripe clasped Nate on the shoulder, "You'll find the right person, just give it time. You can't force these things. You're a good dog Nate, there's definitely a guy out there for you. Or girl, or whatever." Stripe shrugged. "I'll love you the same regardless."
"Thanks dad. I love you too." Nate smiled. "I definitely like you better as my father than my 'daddy'."
Stripe rolled his eyes, "I'd hope so." He stood up, "Now come on, we've got stuff to collect for that castle of yours."
"What about your gun?" Nate glanced at the weapon.
"I can't figure out what your aunt did to the blasted thing." Stripe waved a paw at it, "I'll figure it out later."
"It's the same thing as when she did it to me, I bet." Nate said, looking at the gun.
"Ah! Don't tell me! I'm not supposed to get help."
Nate chuckled, "Alright, let me get dressed and we'll head out."
***Author's Note***
Hello everyone! I wanted to try something a little different here and try and resolve some of the stuff mentioned back in Outbreak with Nate's infatuation. Hopefully this was okay… In any case, if you liked it or have suggestions, feel free to review! I read them and take them into consideration. Thanks again!
