Everything Is Blue

by TrishaBeakens

Kimbra Wulfe was the head of the project department at EcoTech. She finally had gotten the chance to have her project approved. Sadly, her boss, Dr. Ainsley denied letting her choose her own sponsor. The scientist has to deal with a sponsor that Ainsley picks for her and get the project finished in the upcoming months, so she can leave St. Canard.

40. Chapter 40

Finally, winter fully gave way to spring. The bitter cold air left the city, being replaced by a warm breeze and sunshine. Today was a sunny, spring day out. Perfect weather for a picnic. One that a certain water bottle salesman had planned for two weeks.

Bud left work at two to make the date perfect for Kimbra. His eyes brightened with excitement as soon as his feet hit the sidewalk. He'd always been one to plan ahead and consider everything. It had been too easy to fall into a routine with her. Being with the scientist felt oh-so natural to him.

He had taken her to the outskirts of the city. Refused to give up details about their destination, despite her begging for a hint. She tried every trick in the book to get him to spill the details. But Bud Flud was a stubborn man. He wouldn't ruin the surprise he had spent two weeks planning.

Half an hour later, they arrived at a view of a sunflower field. A gentle breeze swayed the flowers in a sea of yellow. In the middle of it all stood Kimbra. She stood with her back to him, her hands clasped behind her, as she watched the waves of flowers. Her purple hair brushed off her shoulders as the wind blew against it. A light blue dress hung down her figure, barely reaching her bare ankles.

There was no one but them in the vicinity. Close to nature, with one of the most beautiful views the couple had the opportunity to see.

Bud stood from the picnic blanket he'd been sitting on, petals littering the red and white checkered squares, wine glasses, and charcuterie board he'd put together for them. Wind ruffled his fur as he walked towards his girlfriend, the hound's soft footfalls disturbing the flowers around him, and petals floated around his feet. He'd kicked off his shoes, only wearing white pants and a blue shirt that matched her dress.

He smiled as he brought his hands up to caress her arms, then snaked them down to pull her close by the waist. Kissed her cheek and turned his face to the warm, golden sun with a smile. The hound watched pink clouds roll over a dusking sky, squinting against the rays as they brightened for a moment.

Dropped his head onto the Samoyed's soft shoulder and chuckled. "Our picnic is all set out. Would you like to go sit with me? Though I do love standing like this with you, so either is more than fine with me."

"Yeah, in a second." Her eyes remained on the horizon ahead, focusing. "What does that cloud look like to you?"

His eyes squinted at the sky, inspecting the cloud she pointed out. "Looks like… a dolphin."

Kimbra's head shook, swaying her long hair. "No it doesn't."

"Then what does it look like?"

"A walrus."

It didn't look like a walrus in the slightest.

But he'd amuse her. "Yeah, you're right. It's a walrus."

Pleased with his answer, Kimbra turned to face the hound. A soft smile pulled at the corners of her mouth.

"You didn't have to do all of this for me, you know." She traced a single finger along the skin above the collar of Bud's shirt, raising goose bumps across his skin.

"I wanted to, but do you know what today is?"

"What?"

"Anniversary of the day we met." He drawled lowly, voice tapering to a whisper as he let a hand rest on her waist, the other coming up to cup her cheek. "A year ago today, we were in that conference room. And my eyes fell upon you for the first time."

Her stomach dipped at the look in his eye as he said that. Today was just perfect. No one had ever done something like this for her before. And he actually remembered the day they met?

"It's sweet you remembered that," Kimbra held on to his arm, as they headed closer to the blanket, crossing the field.

"Of course I did." He sat down on the blanket, patting beside him. "I even remember how cruel you were towards me."

Nothing in the entire universe could stop her from sitting next to him. She snuggled up close to him, intertwining her fingers in his. Began to argue how she was a saint, but remembered she did, in fact, despise the man at first.

But Bud had remembered being intrigued when he first laid eyes on the scientist.

He missed how her eyes would glare his way. How her tone sharpened when she addressed him. He could only think about begging Dr. Ainsley to let him sponsor the project, so he'd be able to talk to her again. Which he did. It had surprised him how easily the reptile caved in to his pleads.

"Son, I don't see why you're so desperate to sponsor this project. You can always work on another. It's not a big deal—" the elderly reptile began. He hadn't expected the owner of Sparkling Crystal Pure Flud Water to stop him on the way to his office.

"Sir, Mr.–Dr. Ainsley." Bud seemed to struggle to find the right words. "It's important to me, please. I'll even pay double what you're asking for."

Dr. Ainsley laughed. Not catching the desperation in the businessman's eyes. "It's not that serious. There are other projects you know."

"Please." He asked, a little quieter this time. "I don't want anything else, but this one."

That caught Ainsley off guard. "Why do you want this so bad?"

Bud didn't reply. His eyes drifted towards the floor, his jaw clenching. Trying to think of any excuse. Nothing came to mind.

"Well?"

Bud still said nothing–he just lowered his head.

Oh… OH. That's why. It had nothing to do with the project.

Ainsley smiled. Knowing how things would escalate. A shame to put the poor hound through hell for his own amusement. He knew about Kimbra's hatred for the man. Yet here he was, practically on his knees at the chance to talk to her again.

"We'd love to have you as C.O.R.E's sponsor."

When Bud's thoughts were finally pulled back into the present, he noticed Kimbra weaving purple and white flowers through each other. Her hands braided the flowers together, creating a chain. Eventually, she had enough to tie together, creating a crown.

Kimbra gently placed the crown on Bud's head before he could stop her.

"Kimbra I don't–"

She smacked his hand lightly away. "Leave it on. You look very handsome."

"Do I?"

She took his face in her hands and kissed his forehead. "Very."

"I'll take your word for it, then." Bud's heart thumped beneath his ribs. Truly, he had nothing to complain about.

Truly nothing at all.

The following day, Kimbra was well aware that committing to months of working with River Reiff might not be good for her sanity. At this point, her and the fashion designer's bickering during the project had long since passed childish. He didn't want to be there. She didn't want to entertain him. But Kimbra had to, as it was her job.

And that's what it came down to. Her career. She couldn't afford to jeopardize it.

Sitting at this desk for the last three hours drained the scientist. In front of her sat piles of papers, they started to cover the entirety of the desk space. Schedules she had to fix, documents she had to authorize, and just more paperwork. Across from her, in a chair, sat River. Bored as ever. Kimbra hoped the man would stay silent, even though she knew he wouldn't. Just because she had to work beside the guy for a few months didn't mean she wanted him talking to her.

Ugh… I shouldn't think that or heaven forbid, say it out loud.

As if he could read her thoughts, River complained. "Kimbra, I'm bored."

And there we go.

A sigh. Kimbra signed off on a paper, setting it aside before moving onto the next. "You're the one who wanted to be a sponsor."

"No, my sister wanted me to be a sponsor. Get it right." River corrected her.

"Fine, then quit and take your money back."

"No. She'll beat me like the barbarian she is. Apparently, this is important or whatever." A pause. "Did you see what Valeria was wearing at the awards last night? I was like, ew."

The thinly veiled avoidance attempt fooled no one.

"I'm not gossiping with you while we're trying to work."

A huff. "Oh, wow. Sue me for trying to have some fun."

"We're not supposed to be having fun. We're supposed to be working." Her blue eyes finally looked up at him. Narrowing when she saw the feline pull his phone out. "What are you doing now?"

River paid no mind to her, typing away on the screen. "Calling my other friend to see if he wants to gossip." He held the phone up to his ear, waiting for an answer.

"River." Kimbra tried to get his attention. Tapping her pen harshly on the desk.

"Hey Holden," a genuine smile formed on his face. "What are you up to?"

She tried again. "River."

"Nothing, just sitting here at this dumb tech company. It's work related, I'm dying of boredom."

"Hello?" Kimbra waved her hand in front of the feline's face.

Still, nothing. River kept talking into the phone. "Yeah, the director over here is so annoying. She's a killjoy."

"I'm in the room."

"You and Tevin should have dinner with me sometime, it's been ages since we've spent time together."

Kimbra resorted to banging her hand on the desk to grab his attention. "Dude, quit making plans in the middle of work. Hang up."

"Okay, talk to you later. Buh-bye." He ended the call, raising his brows in a judgmental way. "Kimbra, that was rude. You don't interrupt someone while they're on a call."

You have got to be fucking kidding me.

"River, now is not the time for you to be calling up your boy toys or whatever you call them."

"That was my friend, Holden Holloway. I don't have any boy toys." He sounded personally offended.

"The actor?"

"Yes."

Waved him off. Picked up her pen and went back to finishing paperwork. "Whatever, you know celebrities. Big deal. Now can we focus on work?"

"I guess."

The whole day felt like she was trapped in the middle of a nightmare. One that would never end.

"River is getting on my everlasting nerve," Kimbra huffed out, plopping down onto her couch beside Bud.

After work, she immediately called him to complain about the current sponsor. Ranted about how immature he was. How it was impossible to keep him on task. That she wanted nothing more than for the project to be over with.

And Bud couldn't help but find it ironic.

He attempted to give Kimbra a comforting hug, but his hands drifting through her fur caused a bunch of it to stick to his fingers.

"Ew," Bud shook his hand, trying to get the fluff off. "Why are you shedding so bad? It's worse than usual."

"I have to brush myself out tonight. My coat is blowing out, so I have to get it all out." She demonstrated by easily plucking out several wads of fur, dropping them onto the floor. "It's just my shedding season, pretty much."

"It doesn't look that bad."

"It takes anywhere from two to four hours to brush this all out."

At the sound of those words, and without a second's hesitation, Bud stood up, excusing himself for the night. He headed to the door, trying to hide the smile on his face. Only teasing her.

"Bud, please?" Kimbra knew it was something big of her to ask. That this sort of thing was intimate for their species. It might have been a big step in their relationship for her to ask, but there was just so much fur.

And she really didn't want to spend four hours brushing it all out.

He stopped, looking at her from over his shoulder. "You really need my help?"

She gave a mock long-suffering look. "Yes. I'll owe you one."

"No favor necessary. Where do you want me to start at?"

"Top to bottom."

"You just want me to brush everything while you relax, right? Come on, then." He scooped Kimbra up and grinned down at her with a dorky smile before slowly starting down the hallway.

"Yeah and–," Kimbra made a small noise as she was picked up. "Buddy, you're getting up there in age. Be careful, you might throw your back out."

"Smart ass." His feet brought him into Kimbra's bedroom, where he deposited Kimbra onto the bed and went to get a brush.

Bud returned from the bathroom, sliding onto the bed behind her. Hairbrush in hand. "Do you have any plans for next week? I was thinking we could do something. I know this nice restaurant down near the aquarium."

"Well, sort of." Kimbra sighed, taking her shirt off, so Bud could brush her back. "Okay, so… my brother is visiting soon. He's staying here."

"Adam?" Bud's face twisted into a grimace as he began to slowly and gently brush out her back fur.

"Of course that's your first guess."

"The tone of your voice was just telling of which brother you're referring to." Came his simple response as he brushed long strokes down her back and towards her hips.

"Or you miss him so bad and want him to come."

The brush stilled as he leaned to look at her with a disturbed expression. "I don't miss Adam. He's an aggravating pain in my ass." He then sighed dramatically while moving to brush her sides out.

The Samoyed didn't stop there. "I bet you miss him so bad that your little brain is just sparking with anticipation."

Bud coughed and scrunched up his nose as he carefully brushed her fluffy little tail nub out. "Did you just date me to press on my buttons?"

She nodded. "Yeah I totally did, it was all a revenge plot for you sticking your face on a billboard outside my office window."

"You just had to bag me before someone else saw the billboard and went 'oooh what a handsome man, I want to date him'," he grinned.

"I did not. I actually almost vandalized it that night."

"I think you would have fallen and broken your legs had you tried to do that. Here, lie down and I'll brush your tummy."

Kimbra laid down on her back. "I would not. I'm not that clumsy."

Bud started at her shoulders, brushing down the fur before leaning down to press a kiss to her collarbone. "Yes you are, Miss Safety-Training-Course."

"Did you only date me, so you could press my buttons?"

"Maybe." Bud shrugged as he gathered the fur and put it in the small pile he'd made already. He grinned widely as he brushed down her stomach before lying his face flat on her with a happy huff. "You're so warm." His voice was muffled through the thick fur, tail wagging happily as he cozied up.

"Yeah, it's because of the double coat. It's gonna kill me this summer, I bet."

"Nah, I'll let you borrow one of my freezers in the factory. You can use them for as long as you like, so you don't overheat. But I like your fur, I think you're perfect in every way."

That made Kimbra snort out a laugh. "Did you get that line from a Hallmark Christmas movie? It sounds cheesy enough that it did."

"No, I just thought of it. Eww, did Alaska really change me for the better right now?" He joked while turning his head to smile up at her.

"Ohmygod you're like the Grinch. Your heart grew and now you have feelings."

"I've always had feelings, Sun." Bud rolled his eyes before rubbing his cheek against Kimbra's stomach with a deep huff through his nose.

Kimbra laughed again. "Are you getting huffy?" Her fingers ran through his dark hair, a mistake as she realized he lathered it in hair gel. She retracted her hand with an ick expression, wiping her hand off on the back of Bud's shirt.

"I'm always huffy," he grinned before laughing with her. "I dunno. It's nice to actually get to do that without feeling bad about it, now." He wasn't sure why he said that last part.

"Why would you feel bad about it?"

"Because I was never really allowed to, in a way? It was frowned upon in the house." He sat up and went back to brushing her fur out, humming with a tilt of his head in thought.

Kimbra stuck her foot in his face. "Don't forget to brush my feet."

Bud whiffled as she stuck a foot in his face before grabbing her ankle and tickled her foot. "Oh, I won't!"

Kimbra laughed, trying to pull away from him. "Buddy, no!" Her hands pushed against the man, trying to shove him away. It was really no use.

"Buddy yes!" He laughed as he tickled her, ignoring the hands she pushed against him while putting her in a leg lock.

"You're supposed to be brushing my fur out! This is unfair!" Kimbra tried to bite him, but couldn't due to laughing so hard. "Please, stop, I promise—I swear I'll do whatever! I'll even be nice!"

"Whatever? Even being nice?"

"Yes whatever you want– PLEASE."

Bud stopped but kept his hand hovering over her foot and leaned in close with a malicious, evil smile. "Promise?"

Kimbra let out a deep breath. "I promise."

"Even go with me to the first Jackals game of the year?"

"Hey, I said anything, but it doesn't have to be downright torture."

"If you don't want to go with me to the game, I suppose I could just…" He made a tickling motion with his fingers and let out a snicker.

"No, no." Kimbra swatted at the hound's hand. "Don't you dare. I'll go to the game with you, I swear."

Bud sat back with a smile, picked the hairbrush back up. Pulling loose clumps of white fur out of it. So he could continue brushing out the Samoyed.

Maybe there's hope for them after all.

Bud Bernard Flud had the perfect plan to surprise his girlfriend for dinner. Drop by her apartment before she came in from work. Cook dinner for the two of them. Just a nice, quiet night for the both of them. Thoughts of work and responsibilities out of their minds. But by the time the hound had reached the apartment complex lobby, he realized everything he had planned was just thrown out the window.

"Oh, if it isn't Bud Bernard Flud!"

Adam, the ever-loving dumbass of all dumbasses, as if on cue, came down the stairs, and hopped off the last step. Like a child.

The water bottle salesman made an annoyed sound through his nose. "What are you doing here?" He shifted his weight as he stood in front of the lobby doors. Wondering if he was still asleep, stuck in the middle of a nightmare.

"It's my annual visit, duh." Adam stated it as if it were obvious.

Bud couldn't help but worry that he had made a terrible terrible mistake coming here.

Why today, of all days?

"God, you're so despicably annoying."

Am I ever really gonna be able to handle that? Most likely not.

"But you adore me."

The man grimaced fleetingly, as if he might have made some comment but thought better of it. "I do not." He brushed past the Samoyed, towards a small seating area.

"Where are you running off to?"

"To call your sister."

"Alrighty, see you when you're done, water boy." And Adam left, back up the stairs to the apartment. Once again, not using the elevator.

Bud waited until the man's footfalls disappeared before he dialed Kimbra's number.

He already knew how the conversation was going to go. Kimbra would ask him to humor the man. Keep him occupied and out of her stuff until she could get home from work. And Bud Flud would say yes because he's so hopelessly in love with his girlfriend that he'd do anything she asked of him.

At least, he was sure he could.

"Hello?" A feminine voice answered.

Bud quickly got to the point of the call. "Your brother is here. When you said soon, I didn't think you meant in three days." He heard nothing but silence for several seconds.

Kimbra seemed to weigh her next words carefully. "Just… entertain him until I get there, okay? Can you please do that for me?" Her tone somewhere between delicate and patronizing, like she was talking to a child.

He silently scoffed at the suggestion. But agreed nevertheless. Only for his Kimbra. Adam wouldn't be there for much longer than a few weeks. The hound could tough it out. He had survived Alaska, and he can survive Kimbra's freak of a brother.

Bud Bernard Flud definitely wouldn't survive this.

Heading towards the apartment, Bud felt a feeling almost like dread stirring in the bottom of his belly. His hand stilled on the doorknob, willing the canine on the other side to just disappear. Opening it revealed Kimbra's apartment. She kept a clean, comfortable home. Like anyone was hardly ever there.

Stepping inside, Bud shut the door behind him. Disappointed to see Adam sitting on the sofa.

"Ah, I see you didn't run off after all. Thought you got scared and ran off." There was an odd, amused expression on Adam's face, though his voice was simply sarcastic.

Bud grumbled. "Because your sister told me to make sure you don't burn the place down."

Not like he had anything better to do on Friday night.

"Me? Burn down an entire building? Buddy, I'm shocked you'd think I'd do such a thing."

"You might. Dunno what's going on in that twisted head of yours these days."

"Out of the both of us, I think you're the one most likely to burn down a building."

"Absolutely not, don't be absurd." He glanced at his watch. Still half an hour before Kimbra came home. Just had to stick it out until then.

"My second guess was just that you forgot about Kimbra. I would."

On purpose.

"Adam, I'm literally the best boyfriend. I would never forget about her."

Adam covered his mouth with a hand, pretending to be admiring a painting on the wall to hide his snickering. "Best boyfriend, my ass. You're like, maybe the 7th million best." Then, he looked back over to Bud. A fake smile plastered all over his dorky face. "Not that anyone is counting, of course."

Bud squinted over at Adam. He couldn't deny the hurt he felt by that comment, but shrugged it off. Wouldn't let that remark about how good of a boyfriend he was get to him. That wasn't for Adam to decide.

A familiar wave of shame prickled his skin. The worst part, of course, was that it was true.

Kimbra could do better than you.

He ignored the thought, along with the painful squeeze beneath his rib cage. A relative silence settled on them after that.

Adam rubbed his face, beginning to regret the visit. Wishing that Kimbra would hurry home soon, so he didn't have to deal with the businessman all by himself. He then sighed, openly growing bored with the water bottle salesman. Walked around the apartment. Huffed. Mostly at Kimbra for leaving him alone with something more fragile than a houseplant.

This could easily be so much worse .

Adam's head turned to the door once he heard a car pull into the apartment parking lot. "Oh hey, Kimbra is back."

There, it just got worse.

Bud let out a woof of happiness, running to the small mirror in the hall as he tucked his shirt in and smoothed down his hair. The hound's tail wagged behind him while he groomed himself. Finally.

Adam raised an eyebrow and leaned forward. "Ohmygod Bud, are you really fixing yourself up?" He almost made a wisecrack about how girlish that was, but shut his mouth. Didn't want to upset the man again, least, not right now.

Even Adam being a butt couldn't wipe the beaming smile from Bud's face. His dark eyes were practically gleaming as he gave the other man a small nod. "Well, she is my girlfriend after all. I'm just very happy to see her. Maybe you'll know the feeling of love one day, Adam."

Adam rolled his eyes, not bothering to hide his smile. "You're both gross." He then listened as the car door shut, footsteps approaching the lobby door.

The man watched as Bud pulled a comb from his back pocket, and began to run it through his hair. Squinted as the dog smoothed down his shirt. Made a face of disgust at how fast Bud's tail was wagging.

"Love! Welcome back, I missed you!" Bud greeted, nearly slamming face-first into the door in his rush to get to Kimbra.

Kimbra stopped for a moment, a bit in shock at her boyfriend stepping out to greet her. "Fine? A little bit of a pain, but not that bad." She glanced at the door and back to his face. "Do I even want to ask what you and the moron back there have been up to?"

Bud pressed a kiss to his girlfriend's muzzle before pulling back. "We've been up to moronic things. Can I hold your purse, dear? You deserve to take a load off."

Kimbra patted his cheek softly, "yeah, thank you. I appreciate it." She then sighed. "Having to deal with interns and lab boys today has just… stressed me out. It's so nice to be home and not have to deal with anything else."

She handed her purse to him without another thought.

"They're so stupid," he pouted with a nod of understanding before leading her into the apartment.

Adam had stood up from the couch to greet his sister as well. "Are you talking about yourself there, Bernie boy?" Couldn't help but to snark out a remark at the hound.

"Stop calling me that," Bud frowned. Took wider steps to get away from Adam's big mouth that usually said a lot of words he didn't want to hear.

"Dude, calm down. You're acting like I killed you or something." Adam followed a little farther behind the hound. Not paying all that much attention to Bud's demeanor as he scrolled through his phone.

Telling Bud to calm down was like talking to a brick wall. It wasn't happening… at least not mentally. The hound sighed in a way that did absolutely nothing to conceal his own anxiety. Which continued to rise as they approached the dining table. Likely because he didn't want to sit across from Adam for an entire meal.

Which he ended up having to do.

With a small prayer and a hope of survival, Bud made it through dinner with the annoyance of a canine. He flipped through one of the Nightingale books that Kimbra kept in her bedroom. Sitting on the right side of her bed with a frown.

"Your brother gets on my nerves."

She snorted, standing in front of a tall mirror as she tied her hair into a loose bun. "I'm well aware of how Adam is."

"I think you should ship him off somewhere."

"You weren't saying that when you ditched me to go on that Fairbanks trip with him last year," she said, rolling her eyes in playful exasperation.

Time to change the topic.

Bud began to leaf through the first few pages for the fifth time. "Your dad is a hell of a writer, by the way."

"I guess so." She replied, not really thinking about it. It had been awhile since she read any of her father's work.

"You know how to read?" Adam gasped out, poking his head into the bedroom.

"Shut up," Bud snipped at Adam. Didn't look at the older Samoyed.

Adam just mocked him before bidding the two goodnight and retreating to the guest bedroom. Much to Bud's relief. He didn't know how much longer he could take the man's taunts.

Once the guest bedroom door had closed shut, Kimbra sat down beside Bud, an idea clearly on her mind. "So, what are you doing tomorrow?"

"Uh… going golfing with the guys. That's pretty much all I have planned, why?"

"Well… Adam is visiting, and I was hoping you could spend time with him. He likes you, and he needs more friends here instead of following me around whenever he visits."

Bud took a deep breath and pasted a wide smile to his face. "Ah, no. Sorry… I already promised Samuel that I wouldn't cancel. Maybe next time."

Thank god for Samuel.

"Oh! Maybe he can go with you?" Kimbra smiled at him. Hopeful.

Bud couldn't help but throw his arms out wide in disbelief at her words.

"Yeah, sure. I'd love to take him along." It was said in a joking manner, though Bud's smile was slowly dropping the more he thought about it. "You aren't serious, are you?"

Adam Arthur Wulfe. It's really the last thing he wanted to deal with.

"Yeah… but you don't have to." Her fingers picked at a piece of lint on the quilt. "I just, I have work in the morning and I don't want him stuck all alone here. Or wandering around the city by himself."

Bud didn't particularly want to, all things considered, but if they were going to make this relationship work, he might as well try to make a good impression on Adam.

He glanced at her, crinkling his nose. "Spend the day with Adam? That sounds like a terrible idea. Did you have a bad day at work or something? Taking it out on your poor defenseless boyfriend?"

"I just figured you could take him golfing or something to bond like you and your boyfriend do every weekend." She then laid back into the pillows, sighing. "It was a really bad day. The administration yelled at me for something the lab boys did, and it's just been…stressful."

"I can bite them all for you. And get them fired. I know how to dig up dirt that people think they've erased," he chuckled lowly as he brought a hand up to run through her hair. "I don't know why Ainsley keeps those snot noses around if they keep treating his employees like garbage. And–wait, I do not have a boyfriend!" He protested, looking up to give her a half-hearted glare. Because really, could he actually stay mad at her for long?

The answer to that was a definite no.

The Samoyed shook her head, but smiled. "It's fine, really. I'm used to it, and they just dislike me is the only reason they do it. It's nothing. Really." She then laughed at his glare. "I'm just saying that you and Samuel spend a lot of time together, and he isn't known to be the most monogamous man."

"Okay that may be so, but I'm not dating him. I make one friend, and you always spin it into me dating him, whyyyy?" He finished in a whine. "Listen, if I was actually good friends with one of your brothers, as close as Samuel and I are, would you say that we're dating, hmm?"

She let out a small giggle. "Maybe." His hands brushed against her hair and she leaned into the touch. "So, can he go with you? Please?"

Bud glanced at her big blue eyes. She knew what she did to him, didn't she?

He opened his mouth, hesitating. Not that Bud knew what he was going to say, but still. He had to say something at the very least.

"Sure."

Dammit. Why did you just agree to that? Idiot.

It would have been easy to say no. Avoid spending time with the other man as much as he could. Save himself the trouble.

But he remembered he was trying to have an actual relationship with Kimbra. If this was going to work out between them, he had to get used to her idiotic older brother. They'd be seeing each other again anyway in December.

Potentially for years and years and years.

Adam woke up the following morning, and had the immediate thought to stick his face right in front of Bud's. Waiting for the hound to wake up.

Was it weird? Yes. Has he already done this before? Yes. Would he do it to Kimbra? No. Not since he punched him in the nose the last time.

Adam let out a loud huff in Bud's face. He wanted to know if Bud wanted waffles. Waited for the hound to wake up. Kimbra had already left for work an hour before, begging her older brother to not torment the hound. Some fun she turned out to be.

Bud groaned at the air being blown into his face. He pressed his face into a pillow and mumbled something akin to 'go away' beneath his breath. Wanting to sleep more.

"Do you want waffles for breakfast?" Adam huffed at him once more.

"Waffles? Stop huffing at me." The hound took the pillow with a hand and in one fluid motion smacked Adam in the face with it.

Adam let out an oof at the impact, stepping back a few steps. Rubbed his face.

"Fine, if you didn't want any, you could have just said so!" He huffed, heading into the kitchen as he muttered in Yupik. Dug around the cabinets for something to make waffles with.

After a brief look around the kitchen, he deemed there were indeed the ingredients to make waffles. He pulled everything out, and before the Samoyed knew it, there were two plates full of fluffy waffles. One plate chocolate, the other plain.

Maybe Bud would want some.

What had finally awoken Bud a few moments later was the very loud noise of a pan crashing to the floor. It echoed throughout the apartment, forcing the man's eyes to snap open.

What the hell was that?

Bud sat up in bed, being woken by a loud noise. He climbed out of bed muttering, leaving the bedroom and down the hallway.

He glanced in the living room, no one there. The hound padded into the kitchen, scratching the back of his head as he grumbled. "Adam, what the hell are you doing?"

"I made waffles," Adam peered over his shoulder from in front of the counter. His back turned to the businessman. "Don't be so grouchy. Not my fault, a pan slipped out of my hand."

"I'm not grouchy. Shut up," Bud snapped back at the Samoyed.

The hound made his way over to the coffee pot and put beans into the grinder, leaning back as it automatically ground the beans. Bud frowned as he poured beans into the pot and water into a filter. It wasn't until the thing was soaking and mere bits of paper until he realized what he'd done, and Bud sighed tiredly as he rinsed his hand off and grabbed another filter for the coffee. Got water for the pot and started it.

And Adam watched him the entire time with an expression of concern upon his face. "Dude, if you don't know how to make coffee, I can just do it."

"I know how to make coffee, Adam." Bud replied as he poured the water into the back of the pot and turned it on. Flipped the lid shut, and turned to lean against the counter.

"Apparently not if you can't even figure out how to use a filter."

"I know how, I'm just tired."

"Yeah, figures since Kimbra snores. We shared a room as kids, and it's a miracle I ever got any sleep."

The snoring comment irritated Bud a bit. Sure, he did hate Kimbra's snoring at first. He'd never been used to the sounds of another person in bed. But after several months of dating and staying the night with one another, he found it challenging to sleep without it. Even if he still had issues with it, it wasn't her fault. So he wouldn't hold it against her.

Don't worry about things you can't change, right?

"I actually don't mind her snoring, it's cute." Bud grabbed two mugs from the cabinet and poured them both some of the freshly brewed coffee.

He added creamer and several spoonfuls of sugar to his, taste testing it to make sure it was precisely how he wanted. Once he was satisfied, Bud sat in the living room with Adam. Not trusting the man's waffle making skills to even dare try one. He probably cooked a bug or something in one of them as a practical joke.

And Adam noticed the hound not accepting his offering. "I'm hurt you don't even want to try my waffles, that's not very host-like of you."

Bud frowned. "This isn't even my apartment. I'm not your host."

"Kimbra isn't here, so you're my host for the day." He attempted to throw one of the nearby couch pillows at Bud's head, but it went over the salesman's head. Missing him entirely.

Bud rolled his eyes as he cupped the base of his mug.

He took a long sip of his coffee before glaring at the dog. "That's such uncouth behavior. Or do I need to define that word for you? I forget how limited your vocabulary range actually is," he offered with a sickeningly sweet tone while smiling crudely at his girlfriend's brother.

Adam crossed his arms and snorted.

He glanced over at the salesman, eyebrows raised. "Uncouth? You actually know something without having to use a dictionary? What a surprise." Another snort escaped his mouth. "Uncouth… really?"

"I know plenty of things without using a dictionary. I'm not a preschooler like you, Adam." Bud took another sip of his coffee before holding it in his lap, tapping on the warm porcelain.

Adam groaned, dropping his head into his hands. "Apparently not if you can't even make coffee without ruining a filter." He looked up and frowned at the preschooler comment, but said nothing about it. Mostly because he didn't know what to say.

It was an accident. That didn't count.

Bud bounced his fingers nervously on the side of his mug. Unsure of what else he should say to the man. Their whole Fairbanks outing a few months ago had been fun, but that had gotten him in deep waters with Kimbra. He partially didn't trust Adam to not pull something like that again.

With a wince, Bud saw Adam drink his own coffee, unsweetened. How anyone could drink the stuff without creamer and spoonfuls of sugar, Bud had no idea.

Adam stuck his tongue out, having burnt it on the coffee. "God, that hurt. Why didn't you warn me? Thanks a lot, Flud."

Bud rolled his eyes.n"You were the one who started drinking it while it was still scalding hot."

"You're the one that smells like dollar store cologne."

The hound squinted at Adam. Trying to figure out if the Samoyed actually thought about half the words that left his mouth sometimes. "Adam, you truly are a special person."

"That's what my ma always told me. Betcha never heard that from your folks, did you?"

No, not really.

Bud's hands stilled around his coffee. He muttered, glowering at Adam over the rim of his coffee cup.

Was he already regretting this? Yes. Very much so.

"No, and I don't think I'm ready to dwell on the topic of my childhood just right yet." Came his short answer as he stood with a groan, knees and back cracking audibly as he rested his hands on his hips. "Do you want more coffee? I'm grabbing another cup." He asked, attempting to infuse the words with impatience.

Adam shook his head. "Isn't drinking a lot of that crap bad for you? Aren't you like… fifty-something by now? You outta be taking better care of yourself, you know. With your age and all."

"Fifty ?!" The hound sputtered as he grabbed his mug and righted himself slowly, biting back a dramatic groan as soreness seeped into the slim muscles. "I only sound like that because I carry the weight of my massive brain on my shoulders. And there's no scientific evidence that coffee is bad for you," Bud called as he walked to the kitchen to pour another cup.

"And don't forget about the wrinkles on your face!" Adam called out, much too loudly. He never knew how to use an inside voice, not that he particularly cared anyway.

He sat back for a moment, before yelling out again. "And yes, there is! Doctors looked into it! All you gotta do is look it up, you moron."

"I'm the same age as you!" Bud called back as he put the pot back on the burner. "And you don't have to yell, Adam. I know as the youngest you were probably talked over a lot, but we actually listen here. You won't be forgotten about if you use your inside voice." He smiled a bit too sweetly before taking a large gulp of coffee and promptly gagged. "HOT-"

"I'm several months younger! Get it right." Adam kept his loud voice (mostly out of spite), He knew the argument was pointless considering how stubborn the hound seemed to be.

A pause.

"Did you burn yourself? I hope you burned yourself. And Kimbra is the youngest, not me."

For one moment, Bud desperately wished he could say yes. That, yes, he had burned himself, and it was all the Samoyed's fault. A smile crept across his face.

"I did, actually, and I'm gonna tell your dearly beloved sister that it's your fault."

"My fault?"

"Yes. Your fault. That you tormented her poor boyfriend and threw boiling hot coffee at him."

"I only did that once."

Bud stared in Adam's direction with a dumbfounded look for a long moment. Until he realized the man was joking.

Of course.

With a sigh, Bud poured the rest of the terrible coffee down the sink. He knew he'd have to drive back to his place for a shower and change of clothes. Truth be told, he didn't really want the Samoyed in his house. His private living space. It felt like an invasion of privacy and the window into his soul. He didn't want Adam seeing that. It wasn't like Bud Flud of Flud Water was the most private person, but he still liked to keep some things in the dark.

But he didn't have much of a choice in the matter.

The CEO pulled the car out of the parking lot and onto the main road. Said nothing as he drove in silence back to Sunset Heights. He didn't feel like saying anything. His social interaction quota had already been filled for the day.

Bud kept his eyes on the road the entire drive, not looking at Adam even once. The silence in the car grew more awkward with each passing moment. Even Adam began to feel uneasy, focusing his attention out the passenger window to watch the city pass them by.

Bud still didn't look at him as they crossed the bridge. It wasn't a long drive to Sunset Heights from there. He could deal with Adam's usual level of insufferableness. Piece of cake.

Wrong.

To Bud's dismay, Adam started talking as soon as they passed through the Audubon Bay Bridge. And he kept talking. About literally everything. The weather, how his flight to St. Canard was. How terrible the coffee was that Bud had made. What he ate last Tuesday night. What Jax had been up to these days (something Bud actually cared about). And more.

He. Just. Kept. Going.

Bud's eye actually twitched. "Do you ever stop talking?"

"No," Adam said petulantly.

A few long seconds stretched on before Bud spoke again. "How's the ski resort doing, by the way?"

"Better than you."

Well, he tried. He really did. But making any sort of connection with Adam A. Wulfe was downright impossible. The man wanted nothing more than to get under his skin. Bud was done with that. No more.

Still didn't look at him as he pulled up to the community gate and had the guard wave them in. He didn't feel like saying anything to the ski resort owner. It made the ride terribly awkward, but the hound would rather have that than Adam's rambling.

As Bud slowly drove down the street, Adam glanced from the left and right. "Okay, which one is yours? I need to compare it to everyone else's."

"Do you always ask so many questions?" The hound asked, narrowing his eyes at the road.

A heavy sigh echoed through the car. Possibly, Adam's response to that, as he said nothing more.

The CEO finally pulled into the driveway and parked the car. Adam followed him down the walkway and to the front door. Without saying anything (possibly too invested with mentally criticizing the neighborhood and the front lawn).

Bud fished his key out of his pocket and unlocked the door. He pushed it open and flipped on the lights, smiling as he looked around the hall. Just as it had been. The hound tossed his keys into the bowl sitting on the side table and took a look at himself in the small mirror. He let out a quiet 'ew' at his unwashed hair.

"Home sweet home." He turned back to Adam with a forced friendly smile. "The living room is just to the right, it's an open concept." Bud accentuated with his eyebrows.

Adam stepped inside, looking around. Still said nothing as he walked behind the hound into the living room.

"Don't touch anything." Bud heard the hard edge in his voice, but couldn't stop it. Just didn't trust the other man to not be nosey and dig through his stuff.

"That just makes me wanna do it more." Adam moved away from Bud, in case he tried to throat punch him or something.

"I'm gonna go take a quick shower before we go," Bud stopped halfway up the stairs, looking behind him at the Samoyed. "Again, don't touch anything."

"Bud, c'mon. You'd think I'd do such a thing?"

Yes, yes I do think you'd do such a thing.

But Bud didn't say that as he headed up the stairs, gripping onto the railing. His feet padded down the hallway and carried him into the bedroom. Shut the door behind him. And then into the bathroom. He sighed as he stepped into the shower and washed off, keeping his head to the warm water to keep his mind off of what Adam could possibly be doing at the moment. Probably going through all his things or moving the furniture around to set the hound off.

Probably.

Bud stepped out of the shower, changed into a pair of clean clothes, and began to blow dry his hair. The loud noise covered up the sound of the bedroom door opening, and the soft sounds of footfalls towards the bathroom.

Adam's voice made the hound jump slightly.

"You blow dry your hair?" He lingered in the doorway, leaning on the frame. A smirk across his face, watching Bud.

"Yes Adam, I blow dry my hair. Some of us care about how we look." It was said with the tired annoyance of someone who has come to expect to be annoyed.

"Apparently not if you're wearing that." Gestured with a hand at Bud's attire.

Bud didn't dignify that with a response.

By the time they arrived at the country club, all the coffee Bud had been drinking was threatening to rise back up his throat. His heart started to race, but he didn't know why. Assumed it had been the coffee, but deep down part of him knew the culprit was anxiety. Anxiety about Adam meeting his close friends. What they would think of Adam and what Adam would think of them. If Adam would say anything about their day to his sister.

Thinking about it all made Bud want to throw up.

Adam, on the other hand, seemed fine. Nor did he seem at all bothered by Bud's sudden willingness to spend time with him. It did take him a moment to adjust—completely understandable, given the circumstances. Spending the day with his sister's new boyfriend. In a unfamiliar place to participate in a game he's never played before.

And for some reason, Bud actually had the hope of befriending the guy. That he'd actually enjoy golfing with him. He immediately derailed that train of thought, just as he had with so many others. It couldn't possibly go the way he wanted. It never did. Just how his life always went.

This, though– this was going to be a nightmare. If nothing else, maybe it would at least be funny.

"Have you ever played golf before?" Bud couldn't help but to ask.

"No."

Oh, this was going to be fun. Finally, something Bud could outdo the Samoyed at. For once in his life, Bud Flud had the upper hand and that would be a joyous occasion.

They waited momentarily in the lobby for the rest of the men. Twenty minutes passed and once Bud had just thought they stood him up, in walked two men. Two familiar men who helped ease any lingering anxiety that held its sharp talons into Bud.

Samuel DeTelli could do whatever he wanted without consequence. He had all the power and influence to do as he pleased without anyone questioning it. And the few that did, well… they didn't have much to say afterward. Maybe it's what had drawn Bud to him in the first place.

Sure, they weren't friends in a normal sense.

It was like they were friends with benefits. But not the type of benefits one would expect. Bud would scratch his back, and Sam would sort-of scratch his. His friendship came in the form of monetary gain. He liked to use those around him for his own selfish reasons, but always found a way to pay back the favor. Samuel had already saved Flud Water from falling grace once, a thank you for one of the many favors Bud had done for him.

It wasn't a normal friendship, but it was the closest one Bud had.

Samuel walked up to the pair with an almost bored expression. "Buddy, who's the kid?"

Right. Of course. You have to introduce Adam.

And that's precisely what Bud did. "Adam Arthur Wulfe. Second youngest and by far the least mature out of the whole Wulfe family. Kimbra's older brother."

The introduction took Adam by surprise. He stammered out a "Hello."

But neither Samuel nor Andy paid him any mind. Andy ignoring the Samoyed was out of character, as the hyena liked to talk the ear off anyone who'd listen. Bud assumed Samuel had threatened to staple his mouth shut if he said anything today.

Bud also noticed two other members of their group were missing. "Where's Silas and Ray?"

"They had things to do with their wives," Samuel leaned his head back, waving a hand around in the air. "Ya know, they're on a tight leash or whatever. Probably carrying the girls' purses while shopping for new curtains or some shit."

A quick beat before Samuel stepped to the side, brandishing his arms out to present Ripley. Who had been quietly standing behind the man. "But that's alright because I brought out good ol' pal Ripley!"

"I don't even want to be here." Came out the eel's melancholic reply. Like he wanted everyone to notice how miserable he felt. He was wearing dress pants and a dark blue button down shirt, something more casual than what he wore the last time Bud saw him.

"Sure you do."

"No I don't. You literally tricked me into getting into your car for a 'chat'. You kidnapped me and brought me here against my will."

"Well, you needed to get out of the house anyway, Chet." The raccoon said, waving a dismissive hand as if it were hardly important in the least.

Ripley gave Samuel a warning glare, signaling that he wasn't in the mood for joking around. "I don't need to get out. I'm perfectly fine being all alone–"

But Andy's enthusiasm drowned him out. "Maybe we can be golfing buddies for the day! Share a cart! It'll be so much fun!"

Another glare from the eel. "Andrew, I'd much rather drown myself than be stuck with you all day."

"Well, you can't necessarily drown yourself. You know? Because you're an eel? What type of eel are you anyway because–"

"Andrew." Samuel's voice rose in warning.

"There are a TON of different types of eels, you know? But then again, you would know since you are an eel. I'm sorry if that's an insensitive thing to say, maybe it is." Andy ran a hand through his hair, looking down in contemplation and completely missing the death glare Ripley sent his way. "Hmm. There might be a better way to phrase that question. Or maybe I could just look it up myself, how many species of-"

"Andrew!" Samuel all but shouted, and the hyena's ears lay flat against his head as he stared up at the seething raccoon.

His next word was chosen quietly. "Sorry," Andy practically whispered.

"Geez, does that guy ever shut up?" Ripley remarked snidely. "How do you even get anything done with him on your team?"

"He's got his perks," Sammy forcefully patted Andy's back, the hyena looking up at him with wide eyes. Thinking it was a compliment.

It was not.

Adam exchanged a look with Bud before raising his eyebrows. Looked away, and made a soft clicking noise with his mouth. Said nothing as the group walked out with golf clubs onto the green. They'd have to take a golf cart for the farther away holes. Samuel paired himself with Bud and Adam, while Ripley had gotten stuck with Andy. Something else he had to be grumpy about.

At the first hole, Samuel insisted on Adam taking the first swing. Bud wanted to protest, as he knew the raccoon only offered so he had someone else to crack jokes towards all day. That maybe Adam was so bad at golf, he'd be an embarrassment for Samuel's own entertainment.

But Adam's confidence while grabbing two golf balls and a tee from Bud's golf bag made him keep his mouth shut.

"Bernie, hold my balls." The Samoyed held out his hand, trying to give Bud the two golf balls he was holding.

Bud stared down his girlfriend's brother, who was looking very punchable at the moment. He opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, but then just shook his head and went silent.

"Take them, don't be a stiff, Bernard."

If that was how he wanted to play it, fine. Bud could play that way.

In his radio voice, Bud echoed, "Come on down to Smokey's golf emporium! We've got big balls, small balls, hefty balls… balls of all sizes! There's always a Perfect Fit for You at Smokey's Golf Emporium!"

"Bud, that was dumb as hell–" he began to say, but a golf ball hitting the back of his head cut him off. "Ow! Andy! What the hell, man?!" Adam gave a sharp, gasp of surprise as a hand flew up to the back of his head. Giving the hyena a glare.

Bud laughed one of those genuine, deep laughs that was so rare for him. It made the crime boss side eye his friend, as he wasn't used to hearing that from Bud.

"Sorry." The hyena let out a nervous laugh, gripping his golf club. His face flushed in embarrassment.

Adam let out a huff as he picked the ball up, a little smirk growing over his face as he tossed it from hand to hand, club leaning against his leg.

"Hey, Andy, catch."

The Samoyed tossed the ball over to the hyena, who immediately fumbled and dropped it on the turf. Adam let out a snicker, and Bud had to hide his own smirk behind his hand.

Adam set his ball down on the tee, preparing to actually swing this time. "I'm gonna end up with a damn concussion out here."

Bud raised his eyebrows, stepping back to watch. "Don't you get those when you're out snowboarding?"

"Getting one that way is a lot less embarrassing than being smacked in the head with a golf ball." Stood up, positioned his club, and Adam swung.

The ball soared across the green. Bud held a hand up, trying to block the sun from his eyes. He lost sight of the ball until it fell back down, a few feet from the hole.

"Oh, hey, guess I'm not too shabby at this game after all." Adam walked over and nudged the hound with a smirk.

The rest of the golf game passed uneventfully. Adam stayed ahead of Bud, and would constantly remind him of that fact. Often. Bragged about it, even. Mostly how he never played a game of golf in life and still somehow managed to better Bud at it. Ripley and Andy were on the other side of the course most of the time. If Ripley came back alone, they could only assume that he finally drowned the hyena in the course pond. Out of the entire group to finally cause Andy's demise, it would have to be Chet Ripley.

But they came back together, Andy driving the golf cart down the green with a smile on his face. And then Ripley, sitting beside him, holding on to a severely dented and beat up golf club. Looking absolutely miserable. As he stepped off the cart, Samuel noticed the mangled club with a loud snort.

"Fucking hell, what the crap happened to your club? It looks like you got into a fight with an alligator. "

"Somebody wouldn't shut their damn mouth!" Ripley hissed at the nearest person—which happened to be Andy. The somebody that the eel was referring to.

But the man merely laughed. "Yeah, Sam, he got really mad. I kept talking about what I had for breakfast. And he grabbed his club and started whacking the golf cart. Put a big dent in the side of it."

A twinge of irritation creased Ripley's eyebrows. "I was also yelling."

Andy nodded his head in agreement. "He was also yelling."

Samuel bit his lip and sighed, barely a puff of air. "Andy, what did I say about getting on the fish's nerves?"

Hesitation. "Not to?"

"Exactly. And what did you do?"

Andy winced, trying to delay his answer. "… I got on his nerves?"

That seemed to please the raccoon enough. "Atta boy, why don't you do me a favor and go put my clubs back in the car, alright?" A strong hand patted his short friend on the back, ushering him away.

"Okay Sammy!" Andy did as he was asked without a complaint.

Once the hyena dragged out the heavy bag into the parking lot, Ripley snapped at Samuel.

"Don't ever take me here again, got it?" He started to head out into the lot as well. Not wanting to waste even more of his time with these people.

"Chet, you aren't leaving us so soon… are you?"

"I'm taking a taxi and going back home. Do not call or text me unless your life depends on it." Ripley pointed a finger at the raccoon, enraged. He shot the raccoon one last glare before leaving out the front doors. Not waiting for a reply.

None of that phased Samuel, he merely brushed it off. "I gotta go make a call, why don't you go show Adam the rest of the club? I'm sure he's getting bored with kicking your ass at golf."

"Ha ha, very funny, Sam." Bud had to force back a huff, grabbed Adam's arm to lead him to the rest of the country club.

Which, in itself, had been a mistake. Nothing there seemed to amuse the Alaskan native. He either mocked everything there or held his nose up to it with a sigh. It wasn't a ski resort, sure. But Bud thought the place was still nice. They had tennis, volleyball, a pool, a gym, even a spa.

Bud assumed that Adam didn't have any interest in the latter, so he walked by the room. But Adam stopped, staring at it. The hound had only gotten a few feet when he realized he was alone. Turned around to see Adam standing way behind him.

"Something wrong?"

Adam turned around away from Bud, but not quickly enough to hide the smile on his face. "Maybe we should do our own thing for a bit, and meet back in the lobby."

Oh great, he might actually leave you this time. He's going to ditch you here and tattle to Kimbra how awful of a day he had. And then she's going to yell at you and dump you for someone better. Like that Hank guy from that underwear billboard near the interstate. Way to go, Bud, you're getting replaced with Hank.

"Oh, uh… sure." Fine then, he'd just go occupy himself alone. Find something else to do. He didn't need some stinky canine following him around anyway.

Said occupation was to sit at the club's bar and order a scotch. It's not like he had anything better to do. It's not like he was trying to cope with his anxiety through unhealthy means again. Of course not. He swore never to again, and he'd stick by that. It did bother him though how today was going. That Adam possibly didn't like him and only came to please his sister. Not that he blamed Adam for that, he wasn't the easiest man to like.

He glanced at the glass of scotch that had been set beside him. Let his fingers linger around the glass before taking a long sip.

What bothered Bud more was the fact he was having a really good time with the Samoyed. The taunting and bickering the two had done throughout the game felt brotherly, in a weird sort of sense. He wasn't sure whether he was relieved or disappointed. Relieved that things had gone somewhat better than he assumed. Disappointed that this is part of what he was missing out on with Colin. It made the salesman want to order another drink and shove down those feelings with whiskey.

But he couldn't do that here. Especially not in front of Adam.

He mustered up the strength to face the Samoyed again, leaving a tip on the counter for the bartender. It took him ten minutes of walking around the place to finally find Adam standing in an archway.

"Where did you go? I thought you ran off and left without me."

He probably wished he had by now.

"The spa. I got a manicure." Adam showed his hands to Bud, wiggling his fingers slightly as to show that he actually had gone. Like it was funny to him.

"Oh," was all Bud said. Nothing else came out of the hound's mouth, as he didn't know what to say.

But Adam took that as judgment, and dropped his hands to his sides with a loud huff. "Men can get manicures, you know. I don't appreciate you trying to push your toxic masculinity agenda onto me, Flud."

"Adam, I didn't even say anything."

"Your eyes said enough."

"I didn't– never mind." He shook his head, letting the conversation end right there. Occasionally he knew when to drop the topic and give in to save his breath.

He just wants to antagonize you, remember that. Don't fall for it and argue or show that it's affecting you. It's what he wants. He only went to the damn place to get a reaction out of you.

The two strolled back to the main lobby area, where Samuel and Andy were waiting.

Guilt flashed across Bud's face as his eyes locked on Samuel. He began wishing he hadn't exposed Adam to the man. He knew Samuel was bad news. No one who associated with the mafia ever turned out to be decent. Silas murdered people for a living. Ray got into office with bribery and extortion. Andy… well, Andy was just annoying. He didn't even want to dwell on the character of Chet Ripley.

But what does that make you? You aren't better than them. You think you are, but you're just the same. You're all sharks who circle those around you for your gain.

Thankfully, Samuel interrupted the intrusive thoughts. "Where did you two get off to?"

"I went to the bar and–" Bud glanced over at Adam, unsure of what to say. "We went to the bar." He corrected, with a blatant lie.

He didn't want to throw Adam under the bus for getting a manicure. If Samuel found out, they'd never hear the end of it. Ever. To this day, the mafia boss still gave Andy hell for getting a manicure there. Bud tried not to be bitter about Samuel's treatment of those around him. He could stomach Samuel's words most days. But Adam was with them, and he didn't want to risk any chance of straining his relationship with the Samoyed. It'd affect Bud's own relationship with Kimbra and that wasn't a chance the hound wanted to take.

Samuel merely rolled his eyes, taking a seat by one of the large windows that overlooked the golf course. "Andy, go entertain Arnold or something. We have business matters to discuss." Waved a hand as Bud sat in the chair beside him.

Bud knew what Samuel meant by business matters. It meant he wanted to talk about Bud's personal life. Not any actual business. Nothing of importance. Fantastic, just more people he had to deal with prying into his life.

Adam frowned at the name, and gave Bud a glare before getting dragged off by the hyena. What else could he do, after all? Say no? Bud had driven him here after all, it's not like he had much of a choice. So he walked with the hyena, who never seemed to stop talking.

As Bud watched the two disappear out of the room, he felt a pang of pity for the Samoyed. Turned his attention to Samuel with a small grimace on his face. "Sam, you didn't have to make the poor guy suffer by sending him off with Andy. I'm sure he'd have been happy to give us privacy if you had just asked."

"I know, I just had to get rid of that moron as well," Samuel sighed, resting a foot over his knee. "Starting to get on my last nerve. Don't really blame Ripley for wanting to get outta here. I'd probably bash a club over my head if I had to be paired with Andy all day."

The crime boss then reclined against the back of the chair in a way that could only be described as elegant. "So, still with that girl, huh?" Though Samuel's voice was level, something like a shadow shifted in the depths of his eyes.

"Yeah. You sound surprised."

"I am actually," his lips quirked into the infuriating ghost of a smile. "Just never seen you so hung up on a girl before."

That much had been true. Bud never really found himself wanting to be with anyone before. Holding hands, going out on dates, sharing intimate moments and their lives. He never wanted that anyway. Not until Kimbra.

And of course, Samuel knew that. All it had taken was one foolishly drunk night and Bud had spilled everything to him. Something he still regretted to this very day.

"She's just… special, I guess." Feeling suddenly uneasy with the direction this conversation was headed, Bud checked his phone. Pretended he had an email or two to respond to. Instead, he went to his messaging app, shooting a quick text to Kimbra.

'Hope you're having a good day, Sunflower, love you.' Along with a bunch of yellow hearts and sunflower emojis.

"Oh, I'm sure she is." Sarcasm coated every word the mafia boss uttered. Samuel continued on, blissfully dense to how much Bud did not want to be part of the conversation. "She's just a girl, Buddy. Don't get your head so caught up on her."

The patronisation in his voice was borderline painful.

Bud frowned. Both of them knew there were things he wanted to say but probably never would. He only wanted her. No one else.

A muscle in Bud's jaw twitched, and he wouldn't meet Samuel's eyes. "Okay."

Because agreeing with the raccoon had always been easier than arguing with him.

What a fantastic day for Bud Bernard Flud to suffer. It wasn't that he disliked being around Adam, or his friends, no. Just the overwhelming feeling of having to juggle Adam's taunts, Samuel's jabs, and Andy's nonstop conversation became a little too much for the hound. So when he and Adam finally left the country club, Bud felt a massive weight off his shoulders.

"Are you hungry?" Bud asked, quietly driving through the city he had lived in since he was born. He knew the area like the back of his hand. Didn't mind driving across town if Adam had a specific restaurant in mind.

"I guess," Adam shrugged, not enjoying the city as much as his companion. "Not that this dumpster fire of a city has any place decent to eat at."

Bud tried very, very hard not to roll his eyes. "There's a restaurant a few blocks down if you wanna go there for lunch. It's a nice little diner."

"Fine, but if I get food poisoning, you're paying my hospital bill."

"Ya ain't gonna get food poisoning."

That made Adam snort. He blinked, looking over at Bud. "Ya ain't?"

Bud grimaced and put a hand to his mouth as he cleared his throat. "My family is from Louisiana, Adam, sometimes the accent slips. Sue me."

Adam paused, head tilted in thought, for a moment. "I wasn't even aware you had an accent, actually."

"That's because I wasn't allowed to use it much, though half of my school talked like that. Dad had one too that got really deep when he was upset and yet hated his children sounding the same way. Said it would make me sound dumb, so I learned some slick city accent to hide it, and it's been working well for me, I guess." Bud sounded incredibly bitter at the mere mention of his father.

"You do sound pretty dumb." Adam agreed with the statement, only to press the hound's buttons further.

Bud shook his head as if he could push those words away with the movement. "Hey, Kimbra happens to like my actual accent. So your opinion is not important to me in the slightest."

"Kimbra is even dumber."

"Adam, she is the smartest, most beautiful woman I have ever met. I will not tolerate you degrading her like that."

"Lameeeeeeeeee." Adam dragged out the word as Bud made the turn to the diner. "If I were you, I'd just run off and not come back."

Bud's mouth twitched as he pulled into the parking lot. "Nahhh I could never. I wouldn't ever. I love her too much."

And he did. His relationship with Kimbra felt like something. Something real and tangible, too good to let go.

The Samoyed let out a loud gag. "Sick. Gross. Disgusting. Making me lose my appetite over here."

"Terribly sorry for talking like that. But seriously, I won't mention love today if it makes you uncomfortable." Bud gave Adam a genuine look as he spoke.

"Yeah because it's my smelly sister you're talking about."

"She smells rather nice, thank you very much." Bud unbuckled and opened his door, ran a hand through his hair and stepped out of the car.

Adam stepped out of the car as well and shut the door. "You're just biased because you love her or whatever."

"You're just biased because she's your sister, and it's your job to be mean to her." Bud retorted.

Adam stared at the hound, unable to think of anything to say. Right when Bud had thought the Samoyed given up, the bastard smacked him on the side of the face with a hand. Still said nothing as he went to walk towards the diner.

What good reason would he have for doing that?

Bud's smile dropped, and he let out a little huff while walking to grab the door for Adam.

Adam followed him closely. "Aw… now you're holding the door open for me? Thanks, babe."

Bud rolled his eyes before smirking, eyes shifting to the people standing close by before he rested a hand on Adam's back while leading him to a bench. "Yeah. But where's your ring, honey? Did you leave it at home again? I know it wasn't the prettiest thing that I could get you, but honestly, no jewel can outshine your glowing beauty. Once I save up enough, I swear that I'll buy you the one you said you wanted those four years ago."

Adam frowned as he sat down on the bench.

Oh, so Bud wanted to go down that road, huh? Alright then. Two can play at that game.

He took Bud's hand in his and let out a small sigh. "I was afraid of losing it while we were on our anniversary trip. It means so much to me, and I didn't want to risk losing it while we were away. It's so sweet of you to be considerate, my love."

Bud certainly wasn't expecting that, but why not?

He rested his head on Adam's shoulder and gave his hand a gentle squeeze, scooting close and shut his eyes with a soft sigh. "I understand, my dearest. I would never force you to wear it, of course… and perhaps we could look for a set of silicone wedding bands for when we both go back to work? I'll purchase them the first chance I get."

Adam rubbed his hand up and down Bud's back. "Mhmm sure if you'd like. Although, I am curious about why you've been spending so much time with my sister? And why you're always texting her?" He gave a small sniff. "Or why you said you were working late, but really you were over at her house?"

"She needed help decorating the nursery. I've been offering advice on the room's paint and interiors and such, and the nights I was at her house when I said I was working late was simply me moving the furniture in. You know how my mind slips occasionally. After The Accident… well." He leaned into the arm and thumbed over Adam's palm with a gentle hand. "But please, if you can find it in you to accept a thousand and more apologies from me for not telling you."

Adam huffed and crossed his arms. "Prove it then. Kiss me right now if you truly love me and not her."

He knew deep down the hound wouldn't do it. Bud would drop the acting and give up.

Or so he thought.

Bud raised his eyebrows and the faintest of blushes came over his cheeks. Was Adam still acting as well? He- did he know?

"Right here, in front of all of these people, my darling?" He tried to convey the message with his eyes that he actually would. He knew how to act and would go through with it if he had to.

Adam leaned forward, smirking because he actually didn't think Bud would kiss him. "Yeah, if you actually love me, you would. No shame. Unless you still have feelings for my sister."

Adam didn't get the memo that Bud would do it. He had no idea.

Oh, Adam.

Poor, clueless Adam.

Bud stared him deeply in the eyes with the most genuine lovesick look he could muster up. "My feelings died the night she killed our relationship."

And then, he leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to the Samoyed's muzzle, thumbing over his cheek while bringing his other hand down to gently grasp his waist.

Poor Adam. Never challenge a thespian. Because they would have no shame.

Adam's face went pale once Bud pressed his mouth against his. He scooted away a little from Bud, hands in his lap. Face still pale. He said absolutely nothing. Just stared ahead in absolute horror.

Bud could hear nervous clapping from behind him and rested a hand on Adam's shoulder. "A-are you alright?" He asked in a soft, shaky voice.

He can't believe he actually did that. Was Adam about to die or something?

"You kissed me." Adam said it, barely audible. He didn't look at Bud. "You, you actually kissed me." He sank down on the bench. "I don't feel so good."

"I act, Adam. I didn't- I thought you knew… are you okay? Do you need to lie down or something?" Panic welled in his chest and Bud pressed a hand to feel his pulse. "Wh-what, can I do for you? Do you need water?"

Ohh, he screwed up big time. Apparently, he was an even better actor than he'd realized.

Adam smacked Bud's hand away. "Do not kiss me again. And what do mean you thought I knew? Knew what?"

"My uncle basically taught me how to act, Adam. I was trying to tell you with my eyes that I didn't want to do that." A bit of the panic inside him died down and Bud sighed shakily, still nervous Adam was about to collapse or something. "Are you okay?"

"I want to throw up, but other than that, I'm fine." He muttered under his breath before speaking again. "We aren't gonna talk about this ever again, okay?"

"I swear it on every piece of fur on my body." Bud murmured. "Never again."

This was so fucking uncomfortable.

"Are you going to tell Kimbra?" He then asked after an awkward beat of silence between them.

Adam's response was curt. "No. I'd rather not."

The hound gripped the back of his neck, worry marring his brow. "I just, I don't want to screw this up with her." Bud buried his face in his hands with a long, drawn-out sigh.

It took the words a few seconds to come out, as if his brain worried he was admitting to something more serious. That, maybe… he didn't want to screw up a potential future with Kimbra. Bud's expression altered a little, snagging on that last part with something like hesitation.

"So when she leaves you, do you still want me to visit you or nah?"

"Why would she leave me?" Bud sighed, rolling his eyes as he listened to the insufferable Samoyed.

"Well for one thing, that hairline of yours." The ski resort owner tapped the top of his head, trying to point out the hairline area.

"Adam, there is nothing wrong with my hairline." Bud scolded in a whisper— a whisper that, honestly, is a bit too loud to correctly carry its name anymore.

The back and forth bickering continued all the way through their meal. Bud's expression only continued to harden as the Samoyed kept up his antagonizing. And then, just like that, it's like nothing ever happened. They kept this up even as they were leaving the diner. Somehow, the topic of Bud's family was brought up (possibly due to Adam making a remark on how Bud's siblings couldn't be as annoying as him). And Adam started asking questions about Colin.

"Why the hell does your brother have a Scottish accent?" The Samoyed asked, having known the younger hound from his late night show.

If Bud and the rest of his family had either Southern accents or their fake Northern ones, shouldn't Colin have one of those?

A quick and smooth reply left Bud's mouth. "Cause he was adopted as a baby. From Scotland."

Adam wasn't falling for that. "He looks like you."

"I'm kidding. He's biological. He had a Scottish accent because our mom forced him to get one for his TV show so he'd stand out. Took him to acting classes and everything for it." Getting the words out caused Bud physical pain, but at least he didn't cry this time. "But yeah. That's why."

"That sounds awful."

"Yeah, it is awful. He's not even… we have zero Scottish blood in our ancestry. None that I know of, anyway. I don't know why she thought that was the way to go, but… there he is, I guess. A funny Scottish guy who has a TV show."

"Well I mean, I guess it works since he won that Emmy."

"He shouldn't have Emmys, though. He should be running a bakery and living his dream instead of living a nightmare with our parents."

Adam still didn't fully understand. "Well, he travels a lot and seems pretty successful. Is it really that bad?"

As Bud turned to look at Adam, his eyes took on an extremely tired and sad film to them. He opened his mouth as he thought, sorting through how deep he should get into it. Maybe it wouldn't kill to talk to someone.

"It… Adam, you know how houses are so public and yet so private at the same time? How they can hold so much and yet, you never hear any of it because of how strong the walls are?" His voice was soft and sad, pained in a way, as they walked out of the diner.

"I guess." Adam shrugged his shoulders. He didn't seem to have anything else to add, but he was still watching Bud intently.

"Literally anything could be going on in there, and you would never know. Yelling, abuse…" He was hoping Adam would catch on fully. But then realized how ridiculous he was being.

Bud paused, and Adam could almost hear the lump in his throat. "I'm sorry. I was just… it's. Stupid. I was trying to use some dumb analogy because if I said… well… ugh never mind."

A silent beat before Adam spoke.

"You didn't come from a good home, did you?"

"No." That one syllable revealed more to Adam than what Bud told to just about anyone else in this world. He scratched the back of his neck, a brief sigh escaping him.

For years, Bud had tried to convince himself otherwise. That he was oversensitive. That his parents only wanted the best for him. That their actions were justified. Memories of them flashed through his thoughts, on and off. It was almost like putting Mentos inside a bottle of soda, how the candies bubbled, and the soda fizzed before it all exploded. He tried to forget about them, he really did.

But, of course, it doesn't work. It never does.

The worst part of the whole day was driving back to GraStone Village and facing Kimbra. Adam suggested they lie about the entire thing and never speak of the diner incident again. Bud wanted to be honest and tell her right away, as he kept enough secrets from her at this point (his entire friend group being criminals for one thing). In the end, Adam convinced the hound to keep his mouth shut.

Which ate at Bud throughout dinner. He couldn't even look Kimbra in the eyes. Constantly glanced over at Adam, pleading with his eyes to let him tell her. And Kimbra should have asked what was wrong. She really should have. Common sense told her to ask. But did she?

No, all Kimbra did was down half her glass of wine in a matter of seconds. Preparing herself for the worst from her older brother. She knew how he loved to antagonize people and expected that much from him. That he most likely tormented her poor boyfriend all day. Neither of them made any remark about how the day had gone. Yet, tension hung in the surrounding air. It apparently bothered Adam so much that he moved to the living room to sit.

But she didn't seem phased by that in the slightest. "Did you two have fun golfing?"

"Yes, we did." Bud answered for both of them. Finding that stretching the truth was much easier than being honest. Maybe Adam knew a thing or two after all.

The hound had suspected Kimbra wouldn't believe that. He'd never been able to lie well.

She gave him a look, just as he suspected she would. It screamed, 'judgmental, and curious.' There were going to be questions, he could feel.

Bud shrugged. "We did."

Kimbra raised her eyebrows. He shrugged again, this time tucking his shoulders up to his ears.

"You look like a cartoon character when you do that," Adam called out from the living room. Bud briefly, and very maturely, stuck his tongue out at Adam.

For a moment, it looked as if Adam might argue. But a look from his sister made him keep quiet.

She asked again. "So, how did today actually go?"

His chest lifted and he released a heavy sigh. "It went horrible."

"Hmm." Kimbra flicked invisible lint from her jeans, not seeming at all surprised.

"I may have… kissed your brother."

Adam loudly snorted from where he sat. Before Kimbra could yell at him, he muttered something about needing a shower and disappeared down the hall.

Kimbra turned her attention back to the hound. "You kissed Adam?"

Bud let out a long, drawn-out sigh before burying his face into his hands.

"We were doing some stupid acting stunt at the diner about him 'leaving his ring at home'," Bud air-quoted. "And it turned into him accusing me of sleeping with his sister after work, and he looked me dead in the eyes and said that if I really loved him, I would kiss him to prove it, and I looked at him and went 'are you sure,' thinking he'd realize I wasn't about to do that, and he didn't get the message, and so I went forth." Bud mumbled into his hands, face hidden in his palms as he spoke.

She watched him for a moment and then dropped her gaze. "Oh."

"Oh?" He lifted his head up, dreading what she might say next. "You're mad, aren't you? Kimbra, listen, I am so sorry. I didn't mean anything by it. If you don't want to see me ever again, I understand, but–"

"I mean, I just didn't think you'd use me to get to my brother, of all people."

Bud frowned, knowing what his girlfriend was doing. "Kimbra."

But she continued on, a hand on her cheek as she mournfully sighed. "If he makes you happy, then I understand. I'll probably have to cry to my therapist about it. Explain to my dad why we aren't together anymore."

Bud tried again to interrupt. "Kimbra."

"You'll have to give me the key to my apartment back. Delete each other from our contacts…"

"Love, you better knock it off, or I'll leave you all alone with your brother for the night."

A small gasp left her mouth. "You wouldn't dare."

"I would."

"I'll just, um…" she looked down at his feet. "Tie your feet together or something so you can't leave. So there."

He shrugged. "Then you'd have to carry me to bed."

"I can't do that."

"Why?"

"You're too heavy, and I have weak little girl arms." Kimbra held up her arms to demonstrate that they were.

"Heavy?!" Bud gasped dramatically. "Nuh-uh."

"You are! You're like six feet tall, so you weigh a lot."

"Mmm I'm five nine and a half, actually," he wagged a finger in her face. "So boom, roasted."

Kimbra rolled her eyes, pushing away his finger. "You aren't that short Bud, you're like six feet something, I swear on my life."

"Am I?" He drawled thickly. Tilted his head while staring off into the distance. "Dunno 'bout that, Sweetheart. We got a tape measure 'round these parts to check that?"

She mocked his accent. "Well darlin', I don't rightfully know about that there. Bless your little heart, don't even know how tall you are. What a shame. What. A shame."

"Don't you go mocking me, now," Bud huffed while pushing her face away with a gentle hand.

"Remember when you kissed Adam at the diner today?" Kimbra kept on, not minding his hand that was squishing her cheek.

"That is something we're not talking about anymore, darling dearest please and thank you."

"Did you like kissing him?"

He scrunched his nose, appearing deep in thought for a second, "No. It was honestly disgusting." Boy, was he regretting it now.

"Mmm, I bet you liked it."

"I definitely did not. I've kissed a lot of people in my life, and Adam is on the very bottom of that list."

"You have a list?"

"I have a list for everything," he countered.

"Where am I on the list?" She immediately asked.

Bud raised a hand into the sky, as high as he could, and pointed to it with the other one. "The very top."

"I think you're lying."

"Why would I lie to you?"

"I'm sure you have your reasons, Budward."

Bud pressed his lips together as if to suppress a smile. "Okay, what reasons would I have?"

Kimbra held up a finger. "Reason one, so I don't get upset and cry."

"Now, that's a very good reason, but I'm not lying to you."

Then she held up two fingers. "Reason two, so Adam won't beat you up."

He pinned her with a withering look. "Adam couldn't beat me up."

"Yes he can."

Bud just sighed, annoyedly. "No he can't. I'm like, five inches taller than him."

"Want to find out?"

Bud leaned his head back as he let out a deep belly laugh. "You know what? Sure, I'd love to see Adam come and try."

Kimbra opened her mouth to yell for her brother, but Bud clasped a hand over it. Shushing her with a soft giggle. She tried to remove his hand, but the bigger canine had a firm hold.

"I'm only kidding, but I'd never lie to you about that sort of thing."

"Promise?"

Bud let a hand drop to Kimbra's hip, where he pulled her close and pressed his mouth up to her ear. "I promise."

And the water bottle salesman meant that. He meant it when he said he'd try to get along with her insufferable older brother. For once, Bud was actually trying and not letting something he wanted slip so easily from his grasp.

It could change the course of his life, potentially. Hopefully, for the better.