Epilogue
10:25 PM
Sitting on the edge of his bed, Durham felt his eyelids getting heavy. After breaking off their hug, the 701 Boys had welcomed the triumphant coyote into their guys' night revelry. The intervening hours had been a whirlwind of fun, and were still technically ongoing. Across the room, Jack and Legosi were still glued to the television set. Seated in front of Durham's bunk were Miguno, Collot and Voss, enjoying their snacks and engaging in witty banter. Even so, Durham could sense that their energy levels had dropped like a stone.
"As much as I'd love to keep the party going, I think it's time for us to turn in," the coyote said, yawning and stretching. The yawn quickly became contagious, as it was reciprocated by all of his roommates. Jack stood up and switched off the TV. "He's right guys, bedtime." The other boys groaned in protest, though their yawning made it much less convincing. The six friends got to work cleaning up their room; putting away their game console and gathering up the empty chip bags. Soon enough, #701 was back to its normal state: livable if slightly disheveled.
The job of sanitation behind them, the boys changed into their boxers and began retiring to their bunks. Collot lifted Voss by the loose skin on his nape and placed him in the upper bunk. "There you go, little guy," the sheepdog said as the miniature fox scurried under his covers. Collot wore a relaxed smile as he clambered into the lower berth. To his right, Legosi was doing the same. As they closed their respective curtains, the sheepdog and wolf spoke in unison, "Good night, Guys." Jack, climbing up the ladder to his own bed, stopped halfway up, "Tonight was really fun, see you in the morning." The labrador resumed his climb and crawled into his bunk, closing the curtain behind him.
Across the room, Durham was lying sideways in his own berth. His eyes were firmly on Miguno, who was at the front door switching off the lights. Durham felt a mix of emotions: the view of the hyena's slim figure was certainly enjoyable, but also made the stark disparity between their sizes all the more obvious. The coyote looked down at his stomach, which looked no less rotund from a sideways angle. Lost in thought, Durham failed to notice Miguno walk over to his bedside. Miguno reached for the ladder to his bunk, but stopped after spotting the frown on Durham's face. The hyena turned his full attention to the coyote, "You okay, Buddy?"
Durham was jerked out of his sulky state by Miguno's voice, "Huh?" Miguno's face contained no hints of sarcasm, a significant break from tradition. "You look like you're upset, which is surprising given everything that's happened today," the hyena said as he crouched down to the coyote's eye level. "Oh, I didn't realize it was that obvious," Durham said as he propped up his head in his right hand. "It's just that…now that I'm…," he stopped to take a deep breath. "You didn't agree to all of this," he said, gesturing to his plump torso. "It feels like I'm not the person you fell in love with anymore." Durham closed his eyes in embarrassment.
Miguno was taken aback by his boyfriend's confession. He reached out with both hands and caressed Durham's cheeks, "You don't really think I'm that shallow, do you?" Durham opened his eyes, caught off-guard by that response. Miguno continued, "You're still you, at any size." The coyote could feel the unabashed sincerity in the hyena's voice. His confidence rekindled, Durham smiled as he wrapped his free hand around Miguno's left wrist.
The hyena reciprocated by planting a zealous kiss on the coyote's lips. Durham's eyes went wide at first, but quickly closed in contentment. Upon breaking off the smooch, Miguno released his grasp on Durham's face. "Was that convincing?" the hyena said, his playfully snide streak creeping back in. Durham tried to hide his exuberance, but almost instantly gave up and wrapped Miguno in a loving but gentle embrace. The hyena returned the gesture, enfolding his arms around the coyote's shoulders.
As the hug continued, Durham could sense a spark. Still riding on his resurgent confidence, he slid his hands down the hyena's bare back. Miguno sighed calmly, reciprocating the advance by reaching down and lightly clasping Durham's ample butt. The two pulled their heads back slightly and made eye contact. Both smiled enticingly. The coyote scooted backwards as the hyena clambered into the bunk. Miguno slid underneath the covers, closing the curtains just as Durham began kissing his neck.
8:15 AM
Sunlight shone through the half-open blinds. The slight glare off the hardwood floors was unable to penetrate the curtains of the room's bunks. Suddenly, a buzzing noise came from inside one of the upper berths. Jack emerged through his curtain, eyes half-lidded but with a smile on his face. He called out, "Good morning, sleeping beauties!" One by one, the remaining shades slid open to reveal the other 701 Boys. Jack chuckled at his roommates' faces, all of which were much groggier than his own. His phone buzzed again, with the other boys' devices following suit. Almost in unison, they checked the notification:
CHERRYTON STUDENT ALERT!
A BURST PIPE HAS FLOODED HALLWAYS 100 & 200
ALL CLASSES IN THOSE AREAS ARE CANCELED FOR TODAY
In a flash, the boys' expressions went from sleepy to cheerful. Their ears were perked and their tails were wagging. Jack, his eternal buoyancy bolstered by the news, leapt down from his berth. "It seems the weekend has come early, Guys," he said with glee, "How about we celebrate with breakfast off-campus? My treat!" The other boys' responded with enlivened nods. Even the habitually maudlin Legosi showed excitement.
As Jack took note of their willingness, he finally noticed that two faces were missing from the group. Scanning the room, he detected something off on the far wall. The top bunk was empty, while the bottom had its curtains drawn. Jack instantly deduced what was going on. He turned his attention back to the other boys, "I think they're busy. Why don't we go wash up real quick?" The others nodded knowingly as they followed the labrador out the door towards the bathroom.
Inside the concealed berth, the happy couple were awake but still curled up in their blanket. Durham had his arms wrapped around Miguno, who was using the coyote's upper body as a head rest. Both canines wore contented smiles. Though his rotund frame dwarfed that of his partner, Durham felt no trace of the overwhelming insecurity from the night before. Miguno shifted slightly, "A day off and free breakfast is a pretty sweet deal, don't you agree?" Durham shrugged, "Yeah, but so does staying in bed all day."
The coyote tightened his grip, pressing the hyena's body against his. Miguno squirmed helplessly, "No fair!" Durham chuckled, "It's not my fault you're so scrawny." The still-struggling hyena retorted, "Just because you're big and comfy now doesn't mean you can use it against me." The coyote raised his eyebrow and scoffed with mock indignation, "Was that a fat joke?" Miguno swatted impotently at Durham's chest, "Let me go or they'll keep on coming." Durham smiled mischievously, "Well then, guess I'll have to retaliate." Tightening his grasp even more, Durham lifted his right leg and released a loud fart.
The smell hit Miguno's nose like a sucker punch. His struggle went from feeble to frantic. He desperately covered his nose and gagged as he tried to force his way out of Durham's grip. The coyote burst out in laughter at his boyfriend's hysteria but finally released his arms. Miguno scrambled almost hysterically out of the bunk, urgently fanning the stench away from the nostrils. Durham continued his robust laughter, "Every fat guy's secret weapon. Maybe now you'll know better than to cross me." Having finally escaped the stink, Miguno started laughing too.
The duo continued their adolescent guffawing as they went to join their roommates in the communal bathroom. Durham and Miguno entered to find the other boys toweling themselves off. As they made their way to the showers, the coyote and hyena's ongoing sniggering drew confused looks from their comrades. The twosome gave themselves a quick rinse, then dried off just in time to go back across the hall with the others.
Upon reentering #701, the boys swiftly changed into their street clothes. Predictably, Jack wasted no time taking charge, "Everybody ready to go?" His pals responded with either a "yes" or an affirming grunt…except for Durham. Instead, the corpulent coyote said, "I actually need to talk with Miguno about some stuff. It'll just be a minute, so we'll meet you guys downstairs." Jack looked slightly skeptical as he shrugged, "Fine by me." As the other boys cleared out, the hyena looked at the coyote with mild concern.
"If this is about what I said earlier, I didn't really…" He was cut off by a hug from Durham. Taken aback at first, Miguno soon relaxed and reciprocated the embrace. The coyote released the hyena a moment later, and the pair exchanged smiles. Miguno lovingly placed his hand in Durham's, and the pair walked down the hall beaming with contentment.
THE END