Chapter 4

Preparations

Written by: FairlyOddFaller and SmilingDolphins

Crodut said goodbye to Vulperne and headed out of the motel. It was a Sunday, so the cafe was closed. Nevertheless, Crodut began to walk back towards the cafe, as he needed to grab his truck. He finally reached the building, just in time to see Simon and Lily drive off in their respective cars. Crodut waved to them as they drove past. Climbing into his truck, he fired up the engine and drove to Sangelui manor. Okay, maybe manor was a bit generous, but it was one of the nicer homes in town. He opened the front door and was almost immediately tackled into an excited hug by Alina.

"Crodut! I saw you last night outside the cafe window! I wasn't expecting you to be gone all night, but still, congratulations, C! Did everything work out? How'd it go?"

"Ach, Ma, air!"

"Oh, sorry." She released him from her unintended stranglehold. "So how'd it go? Wait! Let me get your sisters; I'm sure they'll want to know!"

Typical Ma, always getting excited when I find someone.

Crodut made his way into the living room, where he found his mother had already gotten his sisters, Sorina, who was a lynx like him, and Doina, a red squirrel they had adopted, seated on the couch. He took a deep breath.

"So, I suppose Ma told you what happened last night. Weeeellll, I can confirm that I did indeed meet someone. His name is Vulperne Tasso, a wolf-fox hybrid. I could tell he was gay by the way he looked at me, but he was really...insecure...about it, so I invited him to a private meeting to help him come to terms with it. It took a little coaxing, but I finally got him to say it out loud, and then…"

"What?" cried Sorina and Doina "What happened?"

"C'mon, don't leave us hangin'," Doina added. The little squirrel sat up on her hind legs with her hands in front of her. She only did this when she was excited, so Crodut was sure she had filled her head with plenty of different scenarios.

The biggest, brightest smile Crodut had ever worn split his muzzle. "HE KISSED ME!"

"Holy nuts! Just like that?" Doina asked.

"Yeah, just like that! I more-or-less asked him on a date after that, although we ended up having it in his motel room since he didn't want to be seen, but still, a date! Oh, man, he was so wound up, but he wanted it so badly. I did everything I could to make him comfortable. I even showed off my rugged good looks. We ended up falling asleep together, and, no, nothing happened. But just this morning, he, HE ASKED ME TO BE HIS BOYFRIEND!"

This prompted a round of cheers from the girls. From the sound of it, he'd finally found the one. Then again, it had only been one date, but it seemed to go much better than any of his other first dates.

"Oh, and get this! I think I worked up his courage more than I realized. He wants to come out to his friends, and he invited me to the slumber party Simon is throwing at his and Lily's new mansion to do it. Oh right, hey Ma, can I go to that slumber party?"

Alina smiled. "Of course you can go, honey. But you should probably get cleaned up first. You're gonna be getting a formal introduction, it sounds like, so you should give them your best."

"Oh, don't worry about that. I'm a master of first impressions." And with that, he went to his room to gather his workout clothes. Sunday was gym day for him, after all, but once that was done, he planned to spend the rest of the afternoon before the party making himself as presentable as possible, including getting his long-overdue fur cut.

Once Crodut returned from his workout and fur-cut, he took a shower and removed all the sweat and leftover fur from his body. He began to rifle through his closet in search of something nice to wear and finally decided on a light blue button-up shirt and beige dress pants, along with a brown belt and matching shoes. He was about to call Vulperne when the hybrid called him(they had exchanged numbers right before he left), his name lighting up the screen. Crodut slid the answer button across the screen.

"Hey, Vulpes, what's up?" Crodut said.

"I needed to ask you something."

"What is it?"

"You have a car, right?" Crodut frowned.

"Uh, yeah, I have a truck. Why?"

"I...I want to show up with you. I let Delphin take the Moucedes, so he won't be so cramped. There's ah, also, um, something else I want to do."

"And what would that be, my cute folf?" Crodut could practically feel Vulperne blushing.

"I...I don't want to say it here. But, the party starts in about an hour, so could you come to pick me up? I'll tell you then."

Vulperne ended the call. Crodut looked in surprise at the now black screen of his phone. He shook his head, chuckling, and continued to get ready. He finished up and said goodbye to his family, who wished him luck. Then, the lynx walked out of the house to his truck.

Vulperne paced the parking lot of the motel nervously. He checked his phone.

3:30 PM

Just as Vulperne looked up, a shiny black pick-up turned into the lot and stopped in front of him. The door opened, and Crodut hopped out, smiling. Vulperne eyes widened as he took in the beautiful machine. Crodut grabbed his bags and put them in the back seat.

"Hey, Vulpes, you there? Do you have any more luggage?." Vulperne shook himself from his stupor.

"Oh, um, no. That's everything." Vulperne turned to the lynx. He walked over and planted a quick kiss on the cat's lips.

"Now, let's go. I don't want to hide anymore."

Crodut nodded and led Vulperne to the passenger side of the truck. He opened the door and stepped back to let Vulperne in.

"Why thank you, my dear lynx."

"You're most welcome, my cute folf." Crodut closed the door and walked back around, before jumping in the driver's seat. He looked over at Vulpes, who still looked a little nervous. He reached over and placed his paw on the hybrid's thigh.

"Hey." He said gently. Vulperne looked over at him. Crodut's eyes once again seemed to be staring into his soul. "It's gonna be okay."

Vulperne got a look of determination in his eyes. He nodded, and Crodut turned the key, starting the engine. With one final look at Vulperne, he drove the truck out of the lot and began to head towards the mansion.

Vulperne directed Crodut on where to go, and eventually, they were at the gates of Simon and Lily's new house. Vulperne told Crodut the code, which Simon had texted him earlier that day. Crodut punched it in, and the gates swung open. Crodut drove through and parked behind Vulperne's silver Moucedes in the roundabout driveway. He cut the engine and looked over at Vulperne.

"Ready?" Crodut asked. The hybrid nodded.

"Yes, I am. But first...there's the thing I wanted to do."

"Oh yeah! So, what is-mnph!" Crodut was cut off as Vulperne grabbed his face and pulled him into a kiss. He was slightly confused about why this was so special when he felt Vulperne's tongue slide into his mouth, and begin to explore. Crodut groaned as Vulperne ran his tongue across Crodut's teeth. He felt the rough appendage meet his own, and they began to dance together. Crodut enjoyed the taste of his hybrid and already felt the burning desire for more begin to bubble up inside him.

Vulperne pulled away, much to Crodut's disappointment. He left out a soft mewl and sighed happily. Vulperne grinned at him.

"That is what I wanted to do."

The two mammals got out of the truck and walked over the beautiful doors that made up the mansion's entrance. Vulperne wrapped his tail around Crodut's waist and looped his arm through the lynx's. Then, he raised his paw and knocked on the door.