-o0o-
Fox woke early in the morning as the alarm sounded for he and Wolf to start the day. The vulpine groaned, cracking his eyes open and taking a moment for them to become adjusted to the bright light. He sat up, and after gaining his bearings and hearing Wolf shut the alarm off, the conversation of the night before hit him like a truck.
Wolf thought he was gay.
Fox groaned again, covering his face. Why would the lupine assume that? Did his other friends think that, as well?
More importantly, did he think that? That's not something he wanted to debate at the moment, actually. There were way too many questions on his mind, and he didn't think he had any answers to them. Not yet, anyway.
Fox climbed down from his bunk and noted that Wolf had already darted away to the kitchen, because the vulpine heard the oven being switched on. He sighed, grabbing his uniform and changing into it, grimacing slightly at the sight of the green apparel. He checked the time after he had changed. About seven thirty, just like yesterday.
The vulpine sighed once more, his mind racing with plenty of incomprehensible thoughts. He grabbed his PDA, walking into the living room and sitting down heavily on the couch, turning the television on to a news channel.
Fox flipped his PDA open, finding Bill's contact and pulling up the messaging screen. He might as well start looking to see if anything thought the same as Wolf.
Speaking of Wolf, the vulpine wondered why the lupine would have even brought that up last night. There was absolutely no need to do so, but apparently he did anyway. It was strange, since the lupine ended up dodging telling him something for the whole day. That was another thing to figure out. How fun.
Fox turned his attention back to the PDA in hand, and he debated on what to text his friend for a moment before deciding to be direct.
TO: BILL G.
Hey, can we talk? Just the two of us, during lunch? There's something eating at me.
The vulpine took a breath, tapping a foot in impatience. He smelled bacon cooking from the kitchen, and suddenly hoped he hadn't wrecked his and Wolf's relationship. They'd talk soon. In a few minutes, actually. Fox's PDA buzzed a moment later, startling him. He glanced back down at the screen.
FROM: BILL G.
Of course, dude. I'd be good to talk, but is it Wolf? Did he hurt you?
The vulpine smiled at Bill's caring nature. He was a great friend, Fox thought.
TO: BILL G.
No, he didn't hurt me! It's about him… but I'll give you details later. I swear he didn't hurt me. Okay?
FROM: BILL G.
Alright dude, sorry for jumping the gun! I'll meet you at lunch, then. Cya there!
Fox turned his PDA off, setting it on the coffee table. He sighed, marveling at Bill's protectiveness. He may be a very cool individual, but he loved his friends more than what seemed humanly possible. That was both a good and a bad thing for him.
The vulpine crossed his arms, blankly staring at the news story on the television, not really caring about what the anchor was talking about. A moment later, Wolf came in and set a plate of pancakes and bacon down in front of him. Fox smiled his thanks, momentarily forgetting his worries and grabbing the plate, starting to dig into his pancakes. Wolf had already provided the syrup for them.
"Hey… Fox. I'm sorry about that whole conversation last night. It was wrong for me to assume…" The lupine trailed off, starting to eat a strip of bacon. Fox looked at him with an understanding expression.
"Wolf, it's okay. You didn't harm anyone; you just… opened my eyes a bit. I've got some things to figure out on my own. Honestly… if you hadn't said anything, this would've happened anyway. I'm just going to deal with this, alright? It's not your fault," Fox said, smiling softly. He truly did have some things to think about, however. Like if he really was gay or not.
"So I didn't wreck our friendship, right?" The lupine questioned I'm between bites of his pancakes. Fox merely grinned.
"Of course not, Wolf. I wouldn't ever think that," the vulpine replied. He chuckled a bit as he noticed some syrup dribble down the lupine's mouth to the edge of his snout. The lupine lapped it up with his tongue before it could drip to the floor, and he snickered. Fox thought that was…
Was what? Funny? Stupid? Cute?
He couldn't tell anymore. Wolf had opened something up that the vulpine couldn't close, no matter how hard he had tried. It made him rethink everything he'd said and done at the Academy.
Fox chose not to say anything, and quickly finished off his breakfast, marveling at how good it tasted. Every dish Wolf cooked up seemed to taste better than the last. The vulpine wanted his meals for the rest of his life.
Fox got up to set the dirty dishes and silverware in the kitchen sink, and after finishing the chore, he walked over to the bathroom, where he brushed his teeth, applied deodorant, and ran a comb through his headfur. He was ready for his second day of classes.
The vulpine walked back out, checking the time on his PDA as he sat back down next to the lupine. It was a few minutes before nine. They still had another half hour before they needed to start making their way to combat training.
Fox was wondering something else, as well. It was now a Friday, wasn't it? The weekend started tomorrow, and he didn't have any plans. What could he and the lupine do? He wanted to spend some time with Wolf by doing something other than hanging out at the dormitories all day.
"Hey, Wolf. Since today's Friday, and we have the entire weekend off, I was wondering if you wanted to… do something with me? It doesn't have to be anything big, but we could just hang out. I… I mean… a bus comes around on the weekends to take students to the town by the Air Force Base… and maybe we could do something there. Together," the vulpine managed to say as he face heated up, looking at the lupine's shining purple eyes for an answer. He found a bright smile and nod.
"Of course we can do something. I'd love to," Wolf replied, his ears perking up.
"Great!" Fox exclaimed, grinning. His face heated up slightly as he realized how eager he sounded.
The two then sat in silence for a while, simply waiting for the time when they'd have to start heading to combat training. Fox was still incredibly confused about himself now. After Wolf made that assumption, it felt like all of the choices he'd made in life, he didn't really know the consequences to. If he was gay, then did he feel any sort of attraction to a girl whatsoever?
Well, he could base that upon Fara. She was a very pretty vixen, and smart too, but could Fox see himself dating her, or going even further than that?
He knew if he answered that right away, it'd be a yes. So he forced himself to think upon it. Would the vulpine want to go out with Fara and get to know her? Date her for a long time until the point where they professed their love for each other? Went even further than that, in bed?
When Fox really thought about it, he knew what his answer was, and it shocked him to learn how stupid he'd been.
Fox would be disgusted.
The vulpine could handle being good friends with Fara, but dating? No, he couldn't do that. It didn't sound right.
Maybe he was gay. But strangely enough, Fox could live with that if it was so. He would be comfortable with that, even. The vulpine still wanted to have a word with Bill about what he and his friends thought about him. That would settle things, hopefully, and set some finality in his mind. He already suspected he knew the answer to his question, but he still wanted absolute confirmation.
Either way, Fox was confused about his behavior towards the lupine. He wasn't sure what he felt towards Wolf at all. That was something to keep in mind, as well. One thing was for sure about that, though; he'd have to figure Wolf out.
The vulpine suspected he was hiding something. Something pretty big. He wouldn't talk about his past at all. It was as if the lupine was trying to erase it altogether. Maybe Fox could pry something small out of him. He had an idea to start the process, actually.
"Hey, Wolf? Do you miss your family?" Fox asked slowly, looking over at the lupine. His face dipped into a scowl.
"Uh... I don't miss them. I don't want you being all nosy about my life, either. It's mine to divulge if I want to. Got it?" Wolf asked with such fierce anger that Fox visibly cringed, whimpering slightly. That was completely uncalled for from the lupine. The lupine's expression immediately softened, and he lay a comforting hand in the vulpine's shoulder, moving closer to him.
"God, I'm sorry I snapped at you, Fox. It's just a sensitive subject, my past. I'll share it when I'm ready. I'm sorry. I won't be like that again," Wolf apologized with such sincerity Fox couldn't help but smile.
"I… I understand, Wolf. I won't pry anymore," the vulpine promised, staring into those concerned purple eyes. His ears heated slightly when he realized how close the two were, and he turned away.
"It's about time to get to combat training. Want to start heading over there?" Wolf questioned after a second of silence. Fox nodded shakily, shoving his PDA in his pocket and standing up.
"Y- Yeah, let's get going," the vulpine replied, starting to head for the door.
The two canines exited their dorm room, and the lupine locked it behind them. They then started off towards the combat training center, heading down the flights of stairs to the first floor. Fox whistled softly as the two walked, eyeing some of the passersby as he went along, Wolf at his side.
The vulpine wished he understood everything happening around him, but he knew he couldn't change anything. At least, not at the moment. It was the second day of the school year and he was already freaking out and having an internal crisis when his life had been relatively boring all the years beforehand. Everything was so simple until Fox met Wolf, he realized with a start.
Fox remained quiet the entire walk to the combat training center, his eyes cast towards his boots, afraid to look anywhere else. He needed to let off some steam, and ground fighting sounded like the perfect opportunity to do so.
The two canines eventually reached the entrance to the center, and went ahead and walked into the massive classroom. There didn't seem to be anyone else in the place besides the instructor, Sergeant Myers, who was standing near one of the small fighting areas with a clipboard in hand. It was pretty early, after all. Fox and Wolf had only walked for five minutes.
Sergeant Myers perked up slightly when he saw the two canines. He waved them over, and the two complied, walking to him.
"Morning, boys! I wanted to let you two know that you can spar before class starts if you feel like it. I don't mind, since lessons don't ever actually get taught here. I'm just here to keep everyone from killing themselves," the tall wolf said with a grin. Fox smiled slightly, nodding.
"Sounds good, Sergeant Myers. You want to go ahead and start, Fox?" Wolf asked, looking over at the vulpine for confirmation.
He nodded, walking to one corner of the arena and standing there, taking off his uniform top, tying it around his waist. He didn't wear his scarf today because he forgot to put it on, much to his frustration. He supposed it was because of how frazzled he'd felt in the morning.
Wolf simply set his top on the ground outside of the ring, revealing a grey tank top that matched his fur. Fox tried his hardest to keep his eyes on the lupine's face, but they ended up drifting down to the waist of Wolf's uniform pants, which had slipped down a bit, revealing the waistband of a very… skimpy type of underwear. A jockstrap, to be exact. The vulpine swallowed heavily, his face heating up.
"Ready to go?" The lupine asked, grinning to expose his teeth. The vulpine raised his arms defensively, staying out on his corner of the arena.
"Yeah. Call it," Fox managed to reply without a shaky voice. He mentally kicked himself for getting distracted. The vulpine steeled his mind, closing his eyes. No distractions this time. Just the fight.
"And… go!" Wolf exclaimed. Fox's eyes snapped open, and they narrowed on the lupine's thick form as he started to rush towards the vulpine.
Fox took a step forward, keeping his composure. Wolf continued to run at him, and he raised a fist, coming in for a particularly hard punch. The vulpine waited another second until the lupine was in range, and then he made his move.
Fox ducked under the punch, grabbing the lupine's wrist with one hand and putting his palm on Wolf's stomach, pulling the wrist and pushing against the stomach. The lupine flipped over onto his back, and the latter pinned the former on the floor, grinning in victory.
"Jesus… what? That was amazing! How the hell did you do that?" Wolf asked, out of breath as he looked at Fox with a shocked expression. Their faces were dangerously close, and Fox's face heated.
"My dad taught me some self defense for about four years. Judo was included in that," the vulpine replied, keeping his cool. He got off of the lupine and helped him back up.
"That was amazing. I can't believe you got me like that. I'll have to watch out next time," Wolf replied, grinning.
The two both started back towards their sides of the arena, and squared off once more as the bell signifying the start of class rang. Fox spared a look around the room, and saw some people fighting, and other using the range. Sergeant Myers, however, was looking at Wolf and Fox with an impressed grin. He must've liked the display they put on.
"Ready to run it again?" Wolf asked, raising his fists. Fox nodded eagerly.
"Alright, go!" The lupine shouted, but this time, he only started to edge toward the center of the ring. Fox knew he was biding time now.
The vulpine did the same as the lupine, right until they weren't two feet apart from each other, waiting for someone to make the first move. Tensions were running high, and a few seconds felt like a few minutes of staring each other down.
Finally, though, Fox decided to make the first move for once. He slugged a punch straight at Wolf's face, but the lupine blocked, stepping to the left and kicking the vulpine in the side. He grunted, backing off. Wolf rushed at him, albeit carefully, and aimed a punch for his stomach. Fox saw this coming, and grabbed the lupine's wrist, putting him in an arm bar before punching him in the shoulder.
The lupine grunted, and wrenched his arm away. Suddenly, Wolf grinned fiercely, and before Fox knew it, he let out a startled cry as he was tripped, and the lupine held him in a pin, holding his arms away from his face while he straddled the vulpine. Wolf must've put his leg behind Fox without him realizing! Smart move.
"Not bad, but I got you this time," Wolf stated with a smug grin. Fox rolled his eyes.
"Good that you can see some of my moves coming, but I wasn't expecting you to be careful. Looks like I taught you well," Fox replied with a smile.
"I'd say the same for you, Fox. You should be aggressive more often. You've got damn quick reflexes; they'd be great for offense," the lupine said, finally getting off of the vulpine and helping him. Fox nodded.
"Thanks for the advice. I'll keep it in mind for next time," he replied with a wink, walking back to his corner to run another session.
As Fox took a moment to catch his breath, he thought upon how he and Wolf were sparring. They were so even that they were testing each other's limits and forcing each other to try new things. Fox was certain that Wolf was the only one who could keep up with him, and vice versa. He had to admit, he enjoyed this.
"Ready to go again?" Wolf called, squaring off once more.
"Of course I am, Wolf! Call it!" Fox exclaimed, raising his arms defensively.
It was going to be a very long and exhausting hour, but Fox was looking forward to it. He was looking forward to pushing Wolf's limits once more.
-o0o-
The bell rang to signal the end of the period, and the two canines dropped their guards, sighing in relief. The vulpine was drenched in sweat, thoroughly drained from the sparring session they had over the past hour.
Fox undid his uniform top from his waist and put it back on his torso properly, as did Wolf. The vulpine was relieved he couldn't see the waistband of the lupine's underwear anymore. Well… it was more a mix of that and disappointment. They both grinned excitedly as they started to head for the exit of the classroom.
"We need to finish our sessions quicker so we can shower before the end of the period. I'm sure our flight tactics instructor wouldn't be happy about us showing up like this," Fox remarked as the two exited, starting to walk down the halls to the next class.
Wolf sighed. "I know, I know. We just got caught up in everything. We can start that on Monday. They have showers and a locker room in there, after all," the lupine replied, pointing back behind them. Fox nodded, not sure what he felt about that statement.
"Alright, that sounds fine. One of us needs to start keeping track of time, then," the vulpine stated. Wolf stared at him pointedly.
"That means it'll be your job," the lupine said with a grin. Fox sighed, rolling his eyes and nodding in defeat. He knew he had to before he even asked.
The two continued their walk to flight tactics, with the vulpine whistling softly as they went along. He liked the class, and liked learning more about how strategy worked, but there was only one thing he didn't particularly enjoy about it. And that thing was Fara, the vixen Wolf seemed interested in.
Fox wanted to actually see if he could get to know her, as a friend, obviously, but the way Wolf acted around her made him feel something strange, almost like irritation. But why would irritation make the vulpine want to drag the lupine from Fara forever? He had no clue.
Wolf and Fox approached Room 306, but the lupine stopped before he went inside. The vulpine looked at him questioningly.
"I've got to use the bathroom. I won't be long; I'll be there before the bell rings," Wolf said suddenly. Fox nodded in understanding, signaling the lupine to start walking towards a nearby restroom. The vulpine stepped inside the classroom.
He noted that like yesterday, the instructor, Mr. Hemm, wasn't in the class. A few students were already there and scattered about the room, talking about whatever they pleased. Fox saw Fara sitting at the same place she sat yesterday, and his eyes narrowed instantly.
Fox reminded himself to stay calm. Maybe he could speak to the vixen now that Wolf was gone. Yeah. She seemed like a civil person. The vulpine started towards her, making his way through the other students.
The vulpine arrived in front of her desk a moment later, and Fara looked up at him with a mildly interested expression on her face.
"Hey there, we've met before. I just wanted to say hello," Fox said. Fara nodded, crossing her arms.
"Hey. You didn't come here to hit on me like your friend did, right?" The vixen asked suspiciously. The vulpine raised his hands in mock surrender, shaking his head.
"Absolutely not! I just had a question to ask," Fox stated. As he was speaking to Fara, he realized he really didn't want to date her. Even if he actually had a thing for her, he didn't like to think about dating her. It didn't sound appealing to him at all.
"And what question would that be, Fox?" The vixen questioned with a raised brow.
"When you were shutting Wolf down yesterday, what did you mean by there's someone better than you for him?" Fox asked. He was genuinely curious about this, and found it a little odd for her to say that when there wasn't anyone else around.
Fara looked at him with more than a little disbelief etched on her face. "You really didn't catch that? I figured you would've done so by now," She remarked. Fox shook his head. What was she going on about?
"Mind elaborating on that? I really am clueless about this," the vulpine said, placing a hand on his hip. Fara smiled almost imperceptibly.
"It's pretty obvious to me, at least. And-" the bell rung for the beginning of class, cutting the vixen off. "I'll tell you at lunch," Fara finished with a sly grin. Fox groaned in defeat, walking over and taking a seat at the desk where he sat the day before.
Wolf walked in not two seconds later, sitting down next to Fox. The vulpine was incredibly frustrated at the poor timing of the bell. He had nearly gotten an answer from Fara!
"You figuring things out?" Wolf whispered as he settled in his chair. Fox shrugged.
"Bit by bit. I think I can handle it, though. I'm not as freaked out as I could be," the vulpine replied softly. The lupine nodded in satisfaction, and the two turned their attention to the instructor as he walked in the classroom.
Fox still needed to speak with Bill, however. That would give him some finality with his own mind.