Rupert stared at Kyle incredulously. Then he snorted and rolled his eyes away, shaking his head. 

“You know, I shouldn’t even be surprised. You get it from Nicole and me both. Always horny and rearing to go.” Rupert chuffed, chuckling afterward. 

Kyle’s eyes widened and his ears fell back, “Eww.” He grunted, sticking his tongue tip out in distaste. 

Rupert arched an eyebrow, eyeing Kyle curiously. “Seriously? You got your dad’s cum inside your belly right now”- Rupert winced a little, realizing what he just said, “but how you were conceived is eww?” 

Kyle was caught off-guard that time. The double hit of his father saying something that was impossibly hot to Kyle, followed by the fact his mother had banged to make him. And a lot more than just that, it seemed. A reversal hitting far faster than any actual punches Rupert ever threw. 

“It’s… I don’t know. I’m gay? So like… not into women… But thinking of mom-” his muzzle wrinkled, “and you doing it… ick. You’re like, the hottest guy ever. That’s where it ends though.”

Rupert shook his head, tutting his tongue. He lifted a paw, rubbing at his chin and jaw as he thought. Kyle seemed finished with the conversation, getting back to eating the last couple items. Rupert openly admitted to not being the smartest, and he didn’t want to say anything either of them might regret later on. He gave Kyle time to eat while he thought about the prior question. 

“How about this.” Rupert chuffed, sitting forward to lean against the table again. Kyle had paused mid-bite, looking at Rupert again. “We can… continue doing stuff. We can shower together.” 

Kyle’s eyes light up, the younger kangaroo trying to swallow without chewing. He coughed, chewing quickly. Rupert laughed again, shaking his head. 

“Hold it, not done yet. We can shower together, IF, you and I start… talking about stuff. Not like… everything.” Rupert waved his paw dismissively, “You can have me as much in your life as you like. You’re an adult now and all, and I can’t say I deserve it. But… you have to talk to me about like… your love life. I know of one of your boyfriends, met one once… but you never even told me you had them, or broke up with them. Or if you’re doing random hookups. Part of this is… I want you safe. And I don’t want you thinking of me as … you said you’re still looking for a boyfriend, right?”

Rupert gestured to Kyle, Kyle nodding in agreement. Finally taking a swig of his candy coffee to wash the pastry down, now that he had properly chewed it. 

“So I figure, you don’t need to give me any details or anything. But we should be talking about this kind of stuff. Like…” Rupert rubbed at his neck, up toward his cheek and muzzle. “I have no idea how a lot of this works, Kyle. Being your dad beside the point… I have no idea what gay guys do. All I have to compare is Nicole. And that’s the other part. If we’re talking about sex stuff, that’s all I got. You’re just going to have to put up with the fact your mother had a sex life.” Rupert shrugged, his arms wrapping against his chest again. “I think… that sounds like a reasonable compromise. Do you?”

Kyle nodded, stunned to silence by all his father, a man of few words most the time, having so much to say.

“Then… yeah. We can shower together. You can… do things you want, and I can make sure my joey’s doing good. Sounds like a plan.” Rupert chuffed, closing in his legs a little, squeezing his shoe-shod paws against Kyle’s bare ones. 

“Almost.” Kyle finally spoke up, meek and quiet in the face of defying his father’s decision. But Rupert’s gaze didn’t turn stern. He looked curious, open to hearing Kyle out. Kyle swallowed again, sitting up, leaning forward. “That… that all sounds fine. You can talk about mom if you want, and I’m like… happy to talk to you more. About everything. I guess it was just… inertia, from the divorce. We didn’t talk for so long… and it just kind of… never started again. Bad habit.” Kyle lowered his head and slouched over the table. A bad habit that had cost him so much of his life with his dad. 

A large paw reached out, landing atop Kyle’s upper back. Rubbing between his shoulders, up to the back of his neck, and back down.

“Don’t go blaming yourself Kyle. Life doesn’t give you things the way they should be.” Rupert rumbled, in his deep, comforting voice. 

It struck so much harder than it ever had before. Nicole, Rupert, and Kyle should have had things so much better. But there were so many things out of their control, so many decisions that hadn’t been choices, but necessities. A faint lump in Kyle’s throat told him that if he hadn’t cried away everything he had earlier, he’d be at it again that moment.

“Yeah… It doesn’t.” He lifted his head a little, smiling up to his dad. “But life can’t be that much a… that mean, when it gave me such an awesome dad.” 

Rupert chuffed and rolled his eyes, finally his turn to feel his ears heat with blush. He rubbed up from Kyle’s back, over his neck, back of his head, and ears. Finally, the large paw moved away, Kyle able to sit up again. 

“Anyway. Yeah, I’ll do all that. I agree to it, except the first part.” Kyle chuffed, folding his arms over the table. Meeting his father’s eyes. His best bargaining posture, even if he felt so miniscule before such a powerful man. 

“The first part… doing stuff. I meant what I said before.” Kyle chuffed, nodding a little to himself. Mustering up the courage to possibly ruin the best opportunity of his life. “I’ll do all the rest. Deal, done. I want you part of my life. But like… the doing stuff. My fantasy is to… indulge you. Not for you to indulge me. So like… yeah, we’ll do all that stuff… but we only do… sexy things when you want to. When you’d enjoy it. Is that fair?”

Rupert was stunned. As a slog of his brain was, he marveled at his son, thinking through so much at once, about so facets of this decision. And so honestly discussing the topic. Rupert had always prided himself on being an honest man, living to his word, working to his limits. The glimmer of that in his own son made pride build in Rupert’s chest. But then the weight of the words really struck. 

Rupert rubbed at his face, down to his muzzle. It was all so much. The emotions they had gone through, the knowledge he had inflicted upon Kyle, the raw assessment of his own being and morals. His life was so simple, most the time. Coach a few boxers, get in some rounds himself, work in, work out. Relax at home. Rinse and repeat. 

“That’s fair, but I’m at a real crossroads here bud.” Rupert chuffed, wiping his paw down his muzzle and back to his chest. He chattered for a moment, then shook his head, repeating in the shared tongue his son spoke, “It’s still weird. Even if I’m not into the whole church and sin thing, I feel weird about… it’s kind of using you, even if it’s what you want.”

“Because you want it too?” Kyle ventured, ears tilted forward. His heart was pounding away. So eager to be with his dad, but he threw it away, gave his father a way out. He didn’t regret it, but Kyle’s hopes were plain. 

“… I guess?” Rupert laid his head back, hanging upside-down to stare at the far wall. “I told you I rubbed myself raw to that syrup thing. It hasn’t really changed since. I’ve always just been horny. Nicole was too, and we’d do it a few times a day, all over the house… hell, in public a few times.” Rupert missed Kyle’s nonplussed reaction, sitting up again just after it. “I haven’t had tail since Nicole, but that doesn’t mean I’m not taking care of myself regularly.” 

Kyle absently nodded, partially distracted by the idea of his dad masturbating. It was a sight he’d love to see. The thought alone added to his heart thudding away. Kyle was trying his best not to manipulate or guide Rupert one way or the other. It was difficult to remain stoic, listening to so such a mix of hot and off-putting information. 

“So I guess. I’m still a horny boomer, old as I am. And what you did last night… hell, that was the best thing I’ve ever felt.” Rupert continued, looking toward the bed. He couldn’t face Kyle while saying it. “If you weren’t my son, I don’t think I’d even hesitate. At all. But you are my son. And I just want to protect you, and love you, and make everything the best it can be for you.” Rupert finally looked back to Kyle. He looked tired, again. Conflicted; struggling under the weight of choices, morality, decisions he wasn’t prepared to make.

“Kyle… when I think about you, I still think of that first moment I held you. The first time you came out of the pouch.” He gestured to Kyle again, a faint smile on Rupert’s muzzle. “Clearly you’re a legal adult and all. Still, it’s hard to not see you as my little joey. Maybe that’s what… being a part of your life will do. Talking to you, getting to know you as a fellow boomer.” 

Kyle shrugged a little. He smiled as he reached out, taking one of his father’s paws in his own. He squeezed it, gently. Each so acutely aware of the differences between them. Rupert’s larger than Kyle’s. And Rupert’s feeling so much hotter. Kyle’s so much softer than Rupert’s work-worn paws. Rupert’s stronger. But the paws held one another in an uncertain embrace, a tremble between their paws now and then. 

“I’ll go take a shower, fast as I can. And I’ll get packed up while you shower so we can hit the road.” Kyle chuffed, refusing to give in to his lusts. Not when he was so close to having his father back again. To be a part of his life again. He pushed up at the table, his tail pushing his chair back.

“… I want to shower together. We’ll have more time to talk.” 

Rupert’s rumbling voice made Kyle freeze. The shocked expression on Kyle’s face brought a grin to Rupert’s muzzle. 

“I’m not saying that… sexy stuff,” He repeated, as his son had used, “will happen. I’m just saying, we can shower together. We used to anyway.” Kyle finally relaxed at that, nodding. Still looking overjoyed at the idea, thought there was a little less lusty exuberance to the excitement. 

Rupert took a short breath. Looking over his son. A giant among herbivores, a mature adult who had been through so much that morning. One he loved more than anything, and loved to make happy. 

“I’m also not saying sexy stuff won’t happen.” Rupert chuffed as he stood. A smug grin on his muzzle as he watched Kyle’s eyes go wide, and ears fall back limp. The younger kangaroo’s muzzle even hung open. 

“Deal?” Rupert chuffed, mimicking Kyle’s words again. 

“Hell yeah, deal!”