It was dark, still, and quiet.  The basement had no windows so there was no way for the sun to shine through.  The house cat starts to rustle around in his bed, suddenly becoming restless, “Nn.. what time is it?” the red boy asked himself, out loud this time before grabbing his phone. “Five in the morning..” he’d mumble before rolling back in bed.  The light from his phone barely lights the vicinity near him.  He stares up into the darkness for a while, debating on whether or not to get out of his nest.  “Everyone is still probably asleep.. If I left now they’d think I stayed out..” Zap sits himself up and stretches himself before getting out of bed. He starts to wander around the room, guiding himself until he found a hanging string. “Got’cha!” he’d exclaim after grabbing it.  The cat gives it a little tug and the overhead lighting shines down on him.

Zap covers his eyes as the sudden change happens, rubbing them before stretching again.  He was careful to stay as quiet as he could. The basement was covered in cobwebs.  There was no telling the last time it had properly been cleaned.  The walls were made of wood and the floor a cold concrete and support beams jutted out from the floor to the ceiling. The mattress he was sleeping on was the only piece of furniture in the room.  The cat walks over to the corner, approaching stack of boxes.  “I kind of miss my old place..” he huffs out before looking at some of the pictures on the top box.  He grabs a hold of them, sorting through them until he got to one in particular, It was a grainy polaroid picture that displayed the cat as a kid as well as two others, it was difficult to make out the main details.  The cat gives a smile upon seeing the photo and mumbled to himself, “Man.. I hope you guys are safe.. Wherever you are..” he'd continue, his eyes tearing up before he lets out a troubled sigh.  He sits the small group of photos down to the side and wipes his eyes on his arms.  “Alright alright, pull yourself together..” the housecat says to himself, as if trying to cheer himself up.  He pulls off the top box and sits it to the side as well and checks the one underneath it.   He pulls out a backpack and slings it over his shoulder before checking his phone again. “He did say he couldn’t wait.. Or was that me..”

Zap carefully pads up the stairs and shuts off the basement lighting.  He peeks out the door and perks his ears, listening for anything..  “Everyone is still asleep..” he’d whisper to himself. The cat carefully steps out and quietly closes the door, frowning as he’d think to himself.  He snuck in last night because he didn’t want his family to know he was home and bother him, but at the same time they didn’t even bother to call and check on him.  The cat sighed, as he rests against the basement door, “Why was I the one that got picked..?” he wonders aloud before starting to head out, making sure to take care to close the front door quietly behind him.  The streetlights were still shining and the sun was just now peeking through the trees on the horizon while he’d walk casually down the street as he a mixture of emotions swells inside.

The cat takes his time on the walk to his friend’s place, his mind turning to the past as he looks up at the fading stars.  “At least I still have you, Liam..” he’d mumble to himself as he makes his way there.  He slips his paws into his pockets.  The cat dressed in the exact same clothes as he had on yesterday.  The lamp posts start to go off one by one as the sun begins to shine brighter. The cat and managed to waste some time, but he arrives at Jasmine’s house all the same.  Happy and sad to be away from his own place.  He knocks quietly on the door to see if anyone was up.

The cat sighs after a moment and leans back against the door to look up into the sky.  “S’okay.. I can wait~” he’d say to himself before he hears a click.  He quickly stands himself up as the door was pulled open, revealing a tired looking woman in a white nightgown.  “Huh.. Zap?  What’re you doing here so early..?” she’d ask.  The grown woman starting to rub her eyes at the sight of the sun.  “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have come so early.. I guess Jazz isn’t up yet?” the cat would ask as Cindy just shakes her head.  “No.. but do you wanna come in?” she asked.  The cat shakes his head too.  “Nah, that's alright.  I’ll play out here until he gets up~” he says, smiling up to the lady, and handing her his bag “Can I leave this inside though?” He asks, the woman takes the bag and smiles “Sure, I’ll just leave it by the door.  Just knock if you change your mind.” the woman says as she closes the door while the cat makes his way to the driveway.

“There it is.” Zap utters to himself as he walks over to the basketball on the side of the porch before picking it up and inspecting it.  He noticed it yesterday on his way in, but it was much more apparent as he held it.  The rubber was so smooth, the orange was rather faded, and some patches were missing altogether.  “Wow.. this thing has been through a lot..” he’d say to himself as he’d try to shoot another basket, again not even touching the backboard.

Not too much time passes before the sound outside the sleeping boy’s window wakes him up.  “Nnh.. what’s going on?” Jazz mumbles to himself, sitting up and stretching on his bed before making his way to the window.  He quickly spots the cat out in his driveway trying his best to make his shots.  Jazz watches out from his window after rubbing his eyes to wake himself up a bit more while observing the cat’s poor form and awful throws.  “Heh.. he’s so bad..” Jazz giggles to himself.  His eyes quickly glance over to the few trophies on his bookshelf and back to Zap “I guess I was pretty bad too when I started..” he says quietly, just watching him for a while as he starts to ponder..  “I wonder.. If he’s doing this... ‘cause I’m interested in it?”  This tail begins to sway at the thought.  He opens his window and yells loud enough for his voice to carry across the yard “Heeeey up heereee!!” he calls out to Zap “Come up heeereee!”

The cat stops in his sad attempts at dribbling the flat ball.  He picks it up off of the ground before looking up towards the raccoon’s voice. Their eyes locked for a couple of moments as the cat holds the ball with both paws to his chest.  “Whoa..” The coon says quietly to himself, time seeming to slow around him as he stares down towards his friend.  The cat was a bit sweaty from playing by himself.  His hair was a bit wet from the sweat as well, causing it to cover most of his forehead and a bit of his eyes. “He’s.. “ the coon would start to himself before the cat waves and calls back to him “Okay!  Be right up!” he’d say,running up to the porch and dropping the ball near where he found it.  Jazz shuts the window while Zap grabs his bag and runs upstairs to the coons room.  The coon turns around afterwards as the cat lets himself in and briefly locks eyes with the cat again, a slight blush hugging on his cheeks before giving his friend a smile “Heya, I didn’t think you’d be over so early.”

Zap plops the bag he’d been carrying down on the table near the door.  “Haha.. sorry.  You said I could come over anytime, guess I was just excited!” he says, panting a little bit “Hey.. do you uh.. mind if I use your shower?” he’d ask his friend, omitting the fact that he didn’t catch one last night.  The coonboy shakes his head, “U-uh yeah sure go ahead.” he says, caught a little off guard. The coon noticing now just how sweaty the cat had gotten himself since he could see him more up close.  The fact that the cat had gotten himself so worked up in the short amount of time playing was proof that he wasn’t very into physical activities.  “Oh thank you, I’ll be back in a minute.  I brought a change of clothes too.”  He says, grabbing the bag and stepping back out into the hallway to head towards the bathroom.

Jazz just sits back on his bed, his face rather red as thoughts of the sweaty cat stripping down out of his clothes flows through his mind, but he shakes his head a few times to try and clear them away.  “Oh my gosh.. I hope he didn’t notice me blushing..” he’d whisper to himself as he’d get up to change out of his pajamas.  Meanwhile in the bathroom nearby, the housecat was doing just that.  Zap locks the door behind him and trots over to the shower. He turns it on to warm up after pulling off his shirt, “Haa.. that’s better..” he’d say, glancing at himself in the mirror and giving himself a little wink with a playful pose.  The creamy color from his muzzle trailed down his neck to his chest, covering the entire front side of his body, trailing under his arms as well all the way to his fingertips and down to his belly as well.  His fur was matted and the clothes he had changed out of were a little damp as well.  The housecat pops the button on his shorts and lets them fall to the ground, exposing a pair of orange briefs that clung onto his hips.  “Don’t need these either~” he hums a bit playfully to himself before wiggling out of them and pulling them down to the floor, leaving him naked now.  That creamy color along his belly kept going down until it reached his thighs where it blended into the red of his fur.  That cream tucked inside of his thighs to the other side of his body though, covering the majority of his butt, the back of his legs and all the way down to the underside of his feet.

The cat stands there for a moment or two, admiring himself in the mirror and looking himself over.. Eventually his eyes fixate between his legs for a moment or two, obviously finding his own body fairly attractive.  Zap’s flaccid length rested over a pair of matching cream colored orbs to go along with the rest of his creamy fur while the pink tip of the cut member stood out.  As he was inspecting himself the mirror starts to fog up though, preventing any further admiration.  “Haha.. I’m gonna get carried away again if I keep it up.” he chuckles to himself as he hops into the shower and pulls the curtain to, starting to get himself clean now.

Meanwhile in the other room the sound of the shower could be heard through the thin walls along with some soft singing from the cat.  Jazz sits on the edge of his bed having changed his clothes now while he tries to listen.  The coon was dressed in a simple pair of black gym shorts and a red tee to go with it.  The teen’s paws rest his knees, clutching the ends of his shorts as he’d just sit there and listen to the noise coming from the bathroom just a bit down the hall with his door wide open.  He couldn’t shake the thought of the naked, wet catboy right across the hallway.  After a few minutes he’d let out a sigh.  “I.. I can’t be having these sort of thoughts.. About another boy..” he’d whisper to himself, straightening his fingers out and trying to relax as the noise across the hall comes to a halt.

Soon enough the cat re-enters the room, his hair wet but the rest of him dried out.  The red cat was wearing some new clothes now.  Just a black tee shirt and some cutoff jeans that made it down to his knees.  The coon boy was still sitting on the bed with his eyes closed, seeming to be deep in thought as the cat just flops down next to him, startling Jazz enough to make him jump.  “So so so~!” the cat would start without waiting for the other boy to calm down.  “I brought over some of my own stuff this time!” he says rather excitedly, bouncing a little on the bed.  The coon’s flusteredness sails right over his head.

“Oh oh, say but first do you wanna go out and get something to eat?” Zap would ask to which the coon boy would just sulk “I.. I only have a couple dollars..” Jazz would huff.  Zap was quick to interject tough.  “I’ve got you covered this time!  Plus I owe you for the meal from yesterday~”  The coon’s ears perk up to this, “Y-you sure, I mean you don--” The cat puts a finger to the other boy’s lips and shakes his head “Nuh uh, won’t hear it. Now come on let’s go out and get something.” the cat exclaims before grabbing the coon by his paw and tugging him up “Come on come on~” he’d say, letting go after a moment and darting out of the room.

The two boys fumble down the stairs, making a fair bit of noise.  Cindy gets herself up again and waits at the door with her arms folded “Just where are you two off to at this hour?” she asks, giving them both a stern and intimidating look.  She wasn’t able to hold that face for long though before a smile cracks through.  “Oh gosh don’t be scared of me.  I’m just teasing you boys.” Cindy speaks, both of the boys looking a bit nervous, the cat especially. 

“W-we.. I mean I was gonna take Jazz out to get some food!” Zap manages to get out after stumbling over his words.  “Oooh, a brunch date~” the grown woman teases.  Jasmine blushes rather furiously at the insinuation which again flies over the cat’s head.  His mom however, picks up on it rather clearly.  “Haha, I’m just kidding. You two go have fun.  Just don’t stay out all night~” she teases, looking to her son with a smirk to which he just nods and the pair head out the door.  The grown woman folds her arms and watches her kid and his new friend run off into the distance while leaning against the frame of the door “Yeah.. just like I thought.. Must get that from his dad too.” the woman grumbles to herself before heading back inside.

“Just down near the end of the street is a great little diner.”  The cat hums, turning to his friend with a grin “Ever been before?  It’s practically next to your house after all.” Zap continues on.  The coon boy just shakes his head though “N-no we.... I don’t get to go out that much for food.” he’d mumble, arriving at the place after walking for just a few minutes.  The raccoon couldn’t believe his eyes once he stepped inside.  The place looked immaculate, at least in comparison to what he was used to.  The floor was checkered in black and white tiling and the booths were done in red with a silver lining.  “O-oh whoa...” Jazz uttered before Zap turns to him “Whoa?” the cat asked, “It’s just a diner dude.  Haven’t you ever been to a restaurant before?”

The raccoon stares blankly at his friend, giving the question way more thought than needed.“I.. can’t remember.”  Zap looks at his friend in disbelief before bringing out a finger and wagging it at the boy “Well don’t you worry!  You get whatever you want!” he’d exclaimed rather excitedly, and a bit dramatically before a hostess showed them to their table..

“It’s almost eight. My shift partner will take care of you two.  Just tell him what you want.” the hostess says before heading away, Jazz however had his face buried in the menu.  While a lot of the things on it sounded good, the attached prices make his stomach turn.  “O-oh thank… you…” Jazz finally comes up to speak but by then she had already left.  The coon turns to the cat and shake his head “A-are you sure about this?  These prices are so expensive..” he’d ask, giving his friend a concerned look.  Zap tilts his head, looking a bit confused before checking the menu “He thinks this is pricey?” he’d think to himself quietly before returning to his silly demeanor.

“Yeah bud!” Zap responds after a moment,  “My parents give me a crazy huge allowance, so don’t worry about it!” he says, trying to put his friend’s mind at ease.  The last thing he wanted to do was to make Jazz feel guilty. Suddenly through a hand slams down on the table, startling both of the boys.  “Man, don’t you have something else to do?” a familiar voice rings out.  Jazz looks up to see Liam dressed in black with an apron and a notepad held with his other hand.  “Ya know, sometimes I think you just come here to harass me Zappycat.”

“Hey hey!  How about a little professionalism!  It’s Jazz’s first time out in a long time!” the cat says with a playful wink, almost mockingly up to his lion friend to which he just rolls his eyes “What, you two on a date or something?” the lion jokes back.. Again making the coon boy flush but the cat just doubles down “What if we are huh?  You gonna ruin it for us?”  The act makes Jazz even more embarrassed.  The boy sinks a bit into his seat, but at least gets Liam to knock it off.

“Fine fine fine.  It’s not like I’m responsible for you anymore anyways.  Ahem.. Welcome to the salt and pepper diner~; home of the Tiffany's famous pancakes.. May I please take your order~?” Liam would continue, making eye contact with the cat as he rambles his little speech with a heavy layer of sarcasm.  “Huh.. Hey Jazz.. you like pancakes?”  Zap asked, and instantly his ears perk “Ooooh, I love pancakes!” the coonboy showing a bit of excitement at the prospect.

The cat clasps the menu book shut and hands it to the lion “You heard ‘em, pancakes!” Zap would say, looking up to the lion.  Liam grabs the menu book and glares before the cat gives a little smile “Please~?”  Liam just stares at that cute face, and so does Jazz.  The moment didn’t last very long though as the cat was suddenly smacked in the back of the head by one of the menus, “Fine you dork, but drop the sass..  And give me a nice tip.” he’d say as he walks off, leaving the two on their own for a bit.

Jazz tucks his paws under the table and looks around the place, unsure about what to talk about, but to no one’s surprise the housecat starts up the conversation.  “Hey, I hope you don’t mind me dragging you out.  I can’t stand to stay at home so I try to keep away as much as I can.” the cat says as he takes a large pitcher of ice water near the end of the booth and starts to pour himself a glass.  He does the same for Jazz as well.

The coon boy shakes his head in response “Nah I don’t mind, mom says I need to get out and make more friends anyway.” he says, perking his ears.  “W-why uh.. Can you not stay at home?” The coon asks, as he takes a drink.  “Your mom is pretty~” the cat blurts out, making the coon gag on his drink a little bit before the red boy starts to laugh at the reaction.  “I mean.. You are too.. Kinda~” the cat continues, making the coon cough on his water.  “A-augh… E-excuse me?” he’d ask, banging on his chest with his other fist as he tries to catch his breath.  The coon flattens his ears a little as he was hit on so casually.

Zap couldn’t hold in his laughter for long, especially as the coon starts to choke “Ahaha, you should see the look on your face!” the house cat teased, just making the grey boy blush even more and start to squirm in his seat, “W-would you knock it off?” Jazz asked him, trying to be as quiet as he could, “Hey I’m just sayin’ that’s all.” Zap prattles on, seeming very amused by the other boy’s embarrassment and inability to handle the subject.  “Actually I guess you’re cuter now that I get a better look~”

The cat leans forward and places his paws onto the table, as the other boy finally manages to catch his breath “Say, can you teach me how to play?” the cat asked, to which the raccoon just gives a look of confusion, his mind a bit of a mess “P-play w-what?” the coon asked, still blushing as a lewd scene plays out in his head.. He loses himself in a brief daydream before getting his nose poked.  “Basketball you dummy!”

Jazz suddenly snaps back to reality “O-oh right!  Of course!” he basically squeaked, shifting a little in his seat while the cat tilted his head “You uh… alright dude?” he’d ask his friend.  The coon nods his head as he shifts position, an uncomfortable and unwelcomed tent showing up in his not so tight shorts..  It wouldn’t take much to give it away.  “I’m f-fine!” Jazz answered with a bit more enthusiasm than he intended “I-I can teach you later today!”

It wasn’t too much longer before an enormous tower of pancakes was plopped right in the middle of the table along with a pair of plates for each boy “Eat up!” Liam says with a clap before walking off.  The coon drools at the sight, his eyes big and watery “I-is this r-really.. I can have..?” he trails off while a fork from the cat stabs the top one and pulls it onto his plate “You heard him, eat up!”

Jazz pulls a couple off of the big plate and starts to inhale them as if they were going to disappear at a moment’s notice.. The poor coon actually chokes on a bit of it after taking too big of a bite and downs it with a glass of water.  Zap however just watches.. A mixture of feelings running through his head; the strongest of which was pity.  “S-slow down man,, they’re not going anywhere..”

Before the cat was able to express his concern the coon had already finished.. Looking so satisfied after being treated to a meal,  “He must never get to eat very much..” the cat thought to himself as he watches Jazz gorge himself on the remainder of the stack.  The cat however had lost his appetite after watching his new friend.  “Sheesh I didn’t know you were that hungry.  Next time I’ll just take you to a buffet or something~” Zap says with a slight giggle before getting up to pay.  “Just stay here alright?” the cat asks as he walks to the till.

As Zap approaches the counter Liam takes over the register.  The cat passes the lion a twenty and Liam stuffs it into his pocket.  “So.. Did you find out what you wanted to know?” the lion asked as he pulls out some bills from his pocket and starts to sort them into the till.  “I think so.. I kinda feel like I should help him” Zap mumbles, kicking his feet a bit.  “Well you might get another place you can stay out of it too,” Liam responds, shutting the drawer on the till “Yeah that too.  Try to be nice to him.  He’s not.. really like us but he’s still..” Zap trails off, glancing over his shoulder at the raccoon resting in the booth.

“As far as food goes.. It’s pretty much the same.” Zap finishes, to which the lion just nods “Well just don’t stick your neck out too far Zappycat.. You’re too nice for your own good.”  The raccoon finally gets up from the booth and makes his way over to the others.  Jazz falls forward and basically hugs the taller house cat, “Thank you so much~” Jazz purrs, so satisfied.  The lion starts to laugh as the red cat boy gets a bit more red in the face.

The cat slips his arm around the other boy as well after a few moments past, “My pleasure bud~” Zap says with a smile, “Why don’t we head back?” he’d ask before the coon lets go and nods, seeming to be in a much better mood with a full stomach “Oh right, you wanted me to teach you to play.” Jazz mentions before waving to Liam and heading out the door “Come on!”

The cat stays for just a few more moments and nods to the lion “Yeah I see what you mean now.  Go and take care of him.” Liam mentions, looking satisfied as he adjusts his hat “In the meantime, I've got to get back to my honest work” Liam says with a slight snicker to which the cat just rolls his eyes “Yeah yeah, see you later kitty” Zap says in a teasing tone before heading out with his new friend.

The pair of boys make their way down the street, back to the raccoon’s house.  Some idle chatter being passed between the two along the way until they arrived.  Jazz makes a dart for the basketball near the porch and picks it up before passing it to the cat.  “Catch!” the coon shouts out as he tosses the ball.  Again, the cat barely manages to catch the pass before starting to dribble the ball, tossing it down to the pavement.  It doesn’t come back up though.

Zap stands there a bit stunned as the coon makes his way back over to the driveway.  “Oh yeah.. I guess it’s low on air again.” Jazz says, seeming a little embarrassed by his equipment “This ball is really old.. It’s got some holes in it.” he’d say, holding onto one of his arms before bending over to pick up the slightly deflated ball with a nervous chuckle.  “I’ll uh.. I’ll fix it later, lets head back inside for now.” Jazz says to the cat, putting on a smile for him.

The door clicks open and Jazz’s mom pulls it back to let the two inside “Hey boys, enjoy your time out?” the tall girl asked the pair, to which Jazz gave an unusually enthusiastic response, hugging his mom.  The woman seemed surprised to see the sudden affection but she hugs her son back “I’ll take that as a yes~” she teased before sending the grey boy upstairs to his room.  The cat follows shortly afterwards, at least until his shirt was grabbed by the woman, “Hey, let me talk to you for a moment.”

“Zap?” the coon turns around, halfway up the stairs once he notices his friend isn’t following him.  “Don’t worry hun, I’ll send him up shortly” Cindy says up to her son “I just want to talk with him really quick.” Jazz nods his head and starts to head upstairs while the adult moves to the sofa and turns off the television, patting the seat next to the sofa.  The cat, obviously a little nervous, sits down next to the woman, “Y-yes ma’am?” he’d ask, “Am I in trouble?”

The girl shakes her head “No dear, I just wanted to talk to you about Jasmine… Er.. Jazz” she speaks to which the cat just nods “We just moved here recently, near the end of the school year.  You’re the first friend he’s brought home since we moved in.. so you might be his only one.  So.. I guess I just wanted to say thanks.” the girl says with a beautiful smile, the cat blushing quite a bit as he’s enticed again by her form “Aww.. You’re welcome.. I think..” the cat answers, unsure how to respond.

The mother coon chuckles to herself as she shakes her head “I’m sure you’ve put it together now but we haven’t got much.  Most look down on us and give us pity.” Cindy says to the red toned tabby, to which Zap shakes his head again, “You’ve got more than you think, and Jazz is really lucky to have someone who cares about him.” Zap goes on.  The response leaves the girl at a bit of a loss “I hope you’re not speaking from experience dear.” She’d say, prodding the cat’s personal life a bit.  The cat however just goes quiet, not willing to respond, but it was enough to give the woman an idea. “Go ahead and head upstairs, you’re welcome to stay as long as you like.” She says, breaking the silence between them.  Zap looks up at the statement as his mind turns to his own home life. He gives the girl a smile as bittersweet feelings tug at his heart.  The housecat doesn’t push his luck just yet though and instead simply nods and thanks the girl before heading upstairs and peeking into Jazz’s room.  The teen coon pats the small bed he was sitting on and the cat walks over to sit where the other boy was patting just after shutting the bedroom door, “What’s up?” Zap asked.

Jazz smiles to the other boy, “I know we uh.. Just met.. But I’ve never had anyone be so nice to me before.. Much less take much of an interest in me.” the coon starts to speak, “I’ve never had.. Well.. a friend I guess.” he’d say, looking down, as if he was ashamed for admitting it.  Zap reaches out and wraps an arm over the boy right next to him, hugging the coon ever so slightly “I figured that was what my mom was saying.. She’s uh… protective of me to put it lightly.. Did she tell you not come over anymore?”  Jazz asked.

The cat looks down to the coon who was hanging his head, starting to put pieces together in his head “No, she uh… She said I could stay as long as I liked.  Why would she say I couldn’t come over anymore?” the cat asked.  Jazz lifts his head, a tear or two in his eye “W-wait, really?” he’d ask, his bushy tail swaying behind him.  Zap starts to chuckle “Yeah you dork~” he’d say, pulling the younger teen to him much more closely before pushing his fist into that jet black hair, giving his friend quite the noogie, which in turn makes the coon giggle, significantly brightening his mood.

“Ahahaha okay okay stoop stop!” the coon squeals, pushing at the cat’s sides before he was let go, smiling so big “Heh.. Sorry for uh.. That.. Mom has sent a lot of my friends away before.”  he’d say, gently leaning into the other boy and resting his head on the cat’s shoulder.  Zap slips his arm back around the other teen and smiles, “Well, I’ve got no other plans~” Zap speaks out rather excitedly, “So we’ve got all day.. Or night if you want me to stay over..” he slips it out, hoping that he wouldn’t have to go back home.

“I’d like that but.. We don’t have an extra bed.. And this one is kind of small..” the coon would whisper and the cat just shrugs, “I don’t mind, I can sleep on the floor..  But we can sort that out later if you’d like.  What’cha wanna do in the meantime..?”  Zap quietly hums to himself as he holds his friend the room for a few moments as some strange emotions swell inside of the raccoon boy, and all he really knew at the moment was that he wanted to spend time with the red house cat holding him.  “We.. can do whatever you want.. But.. this is nice too.” he’d speak, closing his eyes, feeling unusually comfortable against the other boy.

The housecat starts to purr as he rubs along the other boy’s side as the coon leans into him “Hey.. Jazz..” the cat mumbles, just earning a mumble out of the coon.  “Do you uh.. Like.. other boys?” the cat asked.  Jazz’s eyes open and he pushes himself away from the cat, his face flushed a deep red from the question posed to him. “I.. I uh..” he stutters, averting his eyes.. Instinctually he wanted to shout out no, just as a defense mechanism. He didn’t like other boys, that’s what he’d always told himself.  His thoughts turn to earlier that same morning though. When he was thinking about this same cat naked in the shower down the hall.  When he was squirming in his seat at the restaurant.  Just now even as he thinks about the cat  right next to him.  A few more moments pass in silence while the coon tucks his paws between his legs, his face so very red as he finally speaks.. “I.. I don’t know..” he’d finally say.. Sounding very disappointed in his answer and himself while a great feeling of shame takes hold of him.  His heart slipping into his stomach as he tries to curl up..

Zap frowns at the reaction he got from his new friend, “Hey hey.. It’s alright bud.. I didn’t think it was a sensitive topic or anything.” the cat mewls, trying to cheer his friend up.. But the coon just sits there, seeming a bit lost.  The cat scoots back and leans against the wall on the short bed.. His legs still able to hang off the end of it.  “Hey Jazz.. You wanna know how I got my nickname?” the cat asked, not really waiting for an answer before starting his story.  “Liam gave it to me.  A long time ago.  Not a lot of people know my real name.. I hate it, kinda like you do yours.  I tried to put so many spins on it but none of them really worked..  I’m kind of jealous that you were able to make yours work for you.  Liam always said I was an annoying bundle of energy, especially when I was younger, but he said I would always spark or shock people into good moods.  I always tried to be cheerful because when I was younger, everyone around me was always upset.  He started calling me Zappycat and I guess it stuck too.. cause everyone else started calling me that.  Everyone started leaning on me.. They’d come to me.. Talk to me.. Share their problems.. I know I talk a lot but..” the cat pauses, bringing his arms up behind his head as he smiles over at the other boy “Turns out a lot of people had it way worse than I did.. I had to get good at listening.” he’d hum as he makes eye contact with him “I gotta live up to that, keep people’s hopes up even when the world is falling apart.” he’d say, showing a grin.. This time a genuine one.  “So I don’t wanna see you sad, alright bud?” the cat said as he took ahold of his friend’s chin and brought him in for a tender little kiss.

As the two boy’s lips touch the world around the coon slows to a crawl.. A blush igniting his cheeks as he was kissed by the cat, so carefully and tenderly.  For the cat it was only a brief instant, but for the coon it seemed to last an eternity. As their lips parted, tears began to roll down Jazz’s cheeks.  The coon sits there. A bit limp as his chin was held delicately by the other boy.  The cat loses his smile as he sees his friend’s tears “H-hey.. I.. I didn’t mean to make you..” the cat whispers, a bit of guilt tugging inside of his chest while he tries to come up with a solution.  Jazz throws his arms around the cat and hugs himself to the other boy before burying his face into his friend’s shirt, soaking it with tears as he clings to him.

Zap just holds his friend to him rather loosely, seeming lost as well.  “I thought this would make him happy..” the cat thinks to himself as he takes a deep breath, “Hey, hey.. Are you alright Jazz?” the cat asked, just petting through that jet black hair as he feels the wetness of the coon’s tears start to seep through his shirt into the fur beneath it.  In response the coon just squeezed tighter to his friend, muffling the sound of his crying as they both sit on his bed.  “I’m here..” Zap whispers down to the boy, unable to think of much else to say as the coon cries.  The pair stay like that for a while.. Mostly in silence aside from the muffled sobbing after those last words.

Several minutes passed after the cat rests his chin down between the coon’s ears, just holding him.  After a while, the sobbing turns back into crying and then devolves into just sniffles. Jazz’s paws clutch the sides of it for a moment before he pulls himself back up.  The black streaks running under his eyes were soaked.  His eyes were red and slightly puffed up but the coon wore a smile regardless.  “I’m.. I’m so sorry..” Jazz manages to squeak out after a long bout of silence in the room.  The cat however gives the other boy a look of confusion, “W-why are you sorry?  I’m the one that made you cry.. I should be apologizing..” the cat mumbles, still feeling bad.

Zap starts to try and apologize again but suddenly found himself shoved down into the bed.. The coon’s paws pressing on the older boy’s shoulders and pinning him down as Jazz leans down and presses his lips to his friend’s.. The kiss from the coon much more deliberate than the tender kiss from before.  A flush feeling takes over the cat as he was pinned.  Zap’s ears folded back as he pushes himself gently into that kiss before the coon breaks it and sat himself back up before scooting back against the wall, leaving the cat pinned on the bed.  The cat was blushing so hard that it shined through his already red fur.  He quickly covers the bulge between his legs and sat himself back up next to his friend.  “Heh.. I guess.. I guess that answers that question...” Jazz huffs out, kicking his legs slowly as they hung off of the bed.

“Y’know.. It’s something that’s haunted me.. For.. a long time..” Jazz starts out.. His paws between his legs as well as he looks down at his feet “I was always scared.. About.. What you said.. About liking other boys..” he continues, clearly rather embarrassed about the topic, but his eyes look up at the house cat and he couldn’t help but wear a smile.  “I guess.. I do... When you kissed me.. All of those feelings that I’d been pushing down.. All of that.. I had to face it.. All at once..” The coon says with a soft sigh, looking back down at his feet, seeming a bit ashamed.  “I.. don’t want to.. But.. I can’t help it.. And now.. I guess I know..” the coon mumbles out, seeming to be talking to himself more than his friend now.  “I guess it’s better to know though.. Rather than just running away all the time..” He’d say, turning his gaze back to his friend and looking him in the eyes this time “You.. didn’t make me cry.. I did.. So instead of saying sorry.. Let me.. Just let me say thank you instead..” the coon finishes with a shy smile.

The cat takes a hold of his friend’s paw and gives it a soft squeeze, not saying anything as they sat there.  While it felt a bit awkward for the cat, the coon was quite at peace.  “You don’t need to say anything.. I know that was a lot to dump on you..” Jazz says after a few moments, squeezing the paw that was holding his “You uh.. You said earlier that you could stay the night didn’t you?” Jazz asked, to which Zap gives a nod of his head “W-would you?” the coon asked, sounding a little bit nervous after what had just happened.  The cat however doesn’t hesitate, “Of course~” he says quietly as a smile returns to his face.

“T-thank you, I was scared that I’d put you off after all of that.. I’m uh.. Sorry for.. Freaking out.” Jazz says with a sigh of relief, to which the cat just shakes his head “Dude, it’s fine..  If you knew half of the stuff I’ve been through..” he trailed off. He bites his tongue before letting himself open up too much to his new friend “Well let’s just say that everybody has their own demons to face.. And I guess if I can help with that; then I’m still living up to my namesake!” Zap says, rather energetically before starting to giggle.  “Why don’t you go and ask your mom if I can stay.. Just in case.” the cat suggests.  The other boy nods, wiping his face dry with his sleeve “Alright, just wait here.” he’d say as he hops up off of the bed, pulls open the door, and heads out of his room.

The cat sits there alone in the room now, still blushing as he uncovers himself to see his twitching lump in his shorts, “God damn.. I can't believe he pinned me down..” he thought to himself.  The cat found it near impossible to keep from rubbing himself through his clothing at the thought of being pinned underneath the coon.  “Nnh.. I have to stop.  I’ve gotta get rid of this before he comes back..” he huffs out under his breath.  He looks around the room and scoots himself right back against the headboard and places one of the pillows over his lap in hopes that it would vanish by the time his friend came back.

The raccoon makes his way to the bathroom first, turning the sink tap on the moment he got in.  “Gosh.. Jazz.. You look awful..” he comments on his appearance in the mirror after he had just bawled his eyes out.  He took one of the towels that had been folded on the counter and runs it under the tap before scrubbing his face with it.  He spends a great deal of time washing his face but, no matter what he did, it didn’t seem to be enough.  At the very least he didn’t look as bad.  He decides to head back to his room instead.  He peeks in to see the cat smiling at him with a pillow over his lap.. To which the coon just chuckles, “I guess he liked that..” he thought to himself before stepping through the door.

“What’d she say?” the cat asked, both of his paws on the pillow as he looks up to his friend.  “Ahaha.. I can’t go and see her like this.  She’d know something was wrong.” the coon chuckles, seeming to be in a better mood.  Jazz makes his way over near the bed and sits himself on the floor before leaning back against the bed frame.  “I’ll ask her later.. What would you like to do in the meantime?” he asked.

Zap bites on his lower lip, trying to fight the lewd thoughts in his head, at least for now.  He tosses the pillow to the side and slips down onto the floor with his friend, sitting next to him “Wanna play another game?” the cat asked, flicking his tail afterwards.  “Oh.. Sure, I’ve got the perfect thing!” the coon responds, hopping up and heading over to his bin of video games.  The cat chuckles to himself, making a mental note that he might need to be more direct. 

The cat sits there and waits, pondering what his friend had planned. He watches as the coon pulls something out and swaps out the cartridges under the television before it lights up.  “Super Basketball” Zap reads off of the screen.  It wasn’t long before Jazz returned to his friend’s side with a controller for both of them “Here we go.  I did promise we’d play~” the coon says with a slight giggle before starting up the game.

The laughter of the teens echoes through the house, and the mother raccoon could hear it quite well.  She laid across the sofa, her head resting on one of the armrests and her feet hanging off the end of the other one while she holds her phone over her head, scrolling through texts.  Cindy smiles as she listens to Jasmine’s laughter, something she hadn’t heard much of since the move.  “Guess I should fix something for those two..” she sighs before moving into the kitchen.

The sun peers through the upstairs window, casting longer and longer shadows as the two boys become lost in their game.  Another tray of snacks finds its way onto the worn table by the door at some point during the afternoon.  Before long the street lamps start to flicker on, illuminating the dim street as the sky fades.  “Hey Jazz..” The cat nudges the coon, sitting his controller down before resting his paw onto the other boy’s leg.  Shortly afterwards the cracked door pushes open, showing Cindy behind it, “You two alright in here?  You boys have been up here for a while.” The girl asked, picking up the bare tray off of the table.

“Oh, mom!” Jazz speaks up, “Do you uh.. Mind if Zap stays the night?” the coon asked, seeming a little meek.  Cindy glances down to see the cat’s paw resting on her son’s and gave the cat a bit of a look; that paw retreated shortly afterwards and the cat just looked down at his lap “We haven’t got an extra bed, and I can’t feed the two of you.” she’d remark.  Zap lifts his head to chime in though “I don’t mind ma’am, I can sleep on the floor as long as I’ve got a sheet.. And I’m a bit used to skipping dinner..” he’d mention, hoping to sway her.  The cat tries his best to communicate that he didn’t want to leave without outright saying it.

“Alright, just remember what I told you.  Jasmine can give you a sheet from his bed.”  Cindy says before taking the tray and closing the door behind her.  The cat lets out a deep sigh of relief, “Thank goodness..” The coon however gives a bit of a confused look.  “Did you really want to stay that badly?” he’d ask his friend, to which the cat just nods “..and you’re fine sleeping on the floor?” the coon continues and again the cat nods “If.. that’s where you want me.” he’d answer.

Jazz chuckles to himself before hopping up onto the bed and grabbing the remote and changing the television to some show to play in the background before patting the bed “I’d.. like you up here actually.”  Zap’s eyes light up as he hops up onto the bed without a second thought.  This time the coon rests his paw on his friend’s thigh and looks over to him with big eyes “C-can we uh.. Try again?” Jazz asked, to which the cat nods.

Zap takes a gentle grip of the other boy’s chin and brings it in for another soft, tender kiss. This time though, the coon meets him halfway.   Jazz’s paws move up to his friend’s shoulders as they share a nice moment.  The coon boy lids his eyes as he presses himself a bit deeper into the kiss.  His paws on the other boy’s shoulders push the cat down onto his back, pinning him down underneath the coon once again.  Zap’s cheeks ignite as he was pinned just like before.  The tent in his shorts quickly returning as the cat feels a tongue pushing past that kiss.  Zap gladly takes it into his mouth and starts to wrestle that wet muscle with his own while one of  those red paws move up to gently stroke his friend's cheek.

Jazz blushes rather intensely through it all, especially as he receives a form of affection he’d never had before.  The whole thing was just a little bit overwhelming to him.  The coonboy pulls his head back and breaks the kiss between the two, “I’ve.. I’ve never d-done anything like this b-before.. I.. I’ve n-never felt like this before.. ” Jazz squeaks out, clearly a bit nervous.  The cat nods again and runs the back of his paw over his friend’s cheek “It’s okay..” Zap huffs out after the kiss was broken, and just that seemed to be enough to put the other boy at ease as the tabby continues to caress Jazz’s cheek.  The coon rolls to the side of his friend, having to stay rather close or risk falling from the bed before closing his eyes.  “Okay Jazz.. Just.. Just go for it!” he’d think to himself.  The cat still tenderly caressing the other boy before he suddenly jumps.  A blush brighter than ever sparks onto his cheeks once he felt his friend’s paw wrapped around the bulge in his shorts.  “J-Jazzy.. Y-you don’t have to..” the cat squeaked out just before his rod was tenderly squeezed by that paw through the fabric, quickly silencing any protests.

The coon put on a brave face, but in reality he was too nervous to even form proper sentences.  “J-Jazzy..?” the coon utters to himself before laying his head onto his friend’s chest, looking down at that covered pole in his paw, admiring it for a moment or two before giving a few strokes.  For some reason the coonboy felt a need to feel it, to sniff it, to see it.  He grips a hold of the waistband on the cat’s jeans and pops the button on them before hooking his finger into the zipper and tugging that down as well.  Zap quietly wriggles his hips to help his friend get his clothes off.  The house cat pulls one of his legs up through the shorts, letting them loosely hang off of his ankle.  Now just a pair of black briefs covering what the coon was so eager for.

The coon stops for a moment as if he suddenly realizes just what it was he was doing.  He looks up to the cat and makes eye contact with him, giving him a begging look.  Zap smiles and simply nods his head as he sat himself up on his elbows before scooting to the end of the bed.  It wasn’t long before the coonboy found his head so close to that bulge in the cat’s undies.  He could smell it through the fabric, and its scent was intoxicating.  Unable to resist he grabs a hold of the waistband of those briefs and slowly tugs them down, “N-nhh.. J-jazzy..” the cat grumbles as his maleness sprung free of it’s fabric prison.  The cat stares down to his friend down between his legs, watching as his friend seemed almost hypnotized by the sight “I guess.. It’s probably safe to assume he’s never seen anyone else’s..” the cat thought to himself as he waits for his friend, letting the coon have free reign.

Jazz locks his eyes onto that firm length, the swell of emotions building up even more as he becomes a little hesitant while he stares.  The sight of that stiffness of the other boy steadily pulsing right in front of his face.  He couldn’t rip his eyes away from it no matter how hard he tried.  Eventually a paw from the cat gently nudges the coon’s head a bit closer.  It was all the encouragement that the coon needed, just a little push.  Jazz gently touches the underside of his friend’s length with his nose and physically shivers as he takes in the scent of it.  Now, unable to help himself from tasting it once that the scent had flooded his nose. “I.. can’t stop myself..” 

The cat begins to shudder as he felt that smooth tongue against his sensitive areas.  He watches as the coon becomes enthralled by his twitching length.  A bit of nectar forming at the tip of it from all of the attention.  The coon continues on as if in some sort of trance, licking and kissing his friend’s cock until he got to the tip of it.  He stares down the barrel of the shaft and watches as that pre oozes out.  “Can… Can I do this..?” the coon thought to himself, his eyes breaking their gaze to look up to Zap before he receives another nod.  His eyes return to that stiffness before he places his lips onto the head of it.  He lets his tongue swirl and roll along the topside, cleaning all of the pre that leaked out.  Zap clutches the bed sheets as his friend pays special attention to his tip “Holy crap, maybe he has done this before..” the cat thought to himself, not wanting to interrupt the attention he was getting.

Jazz shudders as the scent and taste overwhelm him a little too much.  He decides he couldn’t hold back any longer and parts his lips to try and swallow the cat’s length.  He wrapped his lips around it, trying to be extra mindful of his teeth as he slowly takes the twitching member into his mouth. The coon boy makes it about halfway down his friend’s length before gagging on it, making the cat twinge a little bit. The coon tries his best to fight his gag reflex though, pretending as if it didn’t happen in the first place. He starts to bob his head, desperately wanting the whole thing and makes the same mistake again, swallowing more than he could handle he gags again around that dick.  He couldn’t help but pull back this time though.  The coon lets himself up and turns his head to the side as he begins to cough rather hard.

The poor boy tries to muffle himself as best he could but he just ends up making it worse.  He eventually catches his breath though, “H-haa.. Damn it.. I’m sorry..” the coon mumbles, looking towards his friend who was just smiling.  “I guess.. That was your first time?” the cat asked to which the coon just nods “Yeah, you can’t just dive in there if you don’t know what you’re doing.” Zap says as he shook his bottoms off of his leg, dropping them onto the floor.  “It’s a skill.. A skill you have to practice.” the cat says with almost a boasting tone.  “Let me show you..” The cat trails off as he places a paw onto the coon’s chest, gently pushing him against his own headboard “If.. you want~” he flirts with a little wink.  Jazz was clearly taken aback by the offer, especially after the awkwardness  “U-uh.. d-don’t cats’ have spikes.. On their tongues?”

Zap opens his mouth in response to the question and rolls his tongue out.  It was entirely black and completely smooth.  After letting his friend get a decent look he tucks it back inside of his short muzzle and gives his friend a half smile “Not this one..” The cat says, dipping his head down before the coon could ask why.  “W-why don’t you… O-ooh…” Jazz starts off, but the cat was too quick for him.  Those black shorts were already down along those undies pulled off as well as that black tongue was lapping on the coon’s cock.  The cat’s eyes watch in amazement as it grows to its full size “Whoa dude.. Yours looks like it’s bigger than mine is~” the cat hums.

Jazz looks down and parts his legs a little bit as he watches the cat swallow his cock so easily.  “O-Oh Damn!!” he squeals as the cat swallows the entirety of his friend’s shaft, his nose nuzzling into the coon’s crotch as his smooth tongue rolls along the underside of that rod while the topside was massaged by the ribbed roof of his mouth.  The cat starts to slowly bob his head while a deep purr rumbles out from his chest, causing his muzzle to vibrate with that length inside of it.  The coon boy squirms on his bed; these sensations were brand new to him and they were far too intense for his inexperience.

“Z-z-zaaa...Z-Zappy!!  S-stop.. I.. Haa!!” the coon boy squeaks out, not even lasting a minute before the teen’s spunk floods the cat’s rather skilled mouth, and not a drop was spilled.  The coon grips the sheets as he bucks his hips upwards against that warm, suckling mouth as he was milked.  His eyes rolling into the back of his head as he becomes a bit lost in a sea of bliss, unable to think while he rides out that intense orgasm.

The cat places his paws on either side of the other boy’s legs as he gulped down his reward.  Although if he had known that the coon boy was this sensitive he would have gone a little easier on him.  Zap stays down between the boy’s legs for a little while longer before he slowly pulls himself up and wipes his chin with a soft giggle.  “I can teach you.. How to do that~” the cat boy hums as his friends pants for breath, unable to respond for the moment and unable to catch his breath.  The cat scoots himself back against the wall of the little bed as the coon eventually settles down.  “N-nnh.. “ the coon mumbles.  His vision a little dizzy as he recovers while the other boy slips behind him before pulling him into a hug.  “C’mere~”

The cat spoons the slightly smaller male and wiggles back against the wall so they both had room, “You alright Jazz?” the cat asked, gently grinding his own bone up against his friend as he waits response, “Jazzy?” he’d ask just before he heard his friend begin to snore.  The cat just chuckles quietly to himself as he tugs the blankets over the two boys “Guess I don’t need to sleep on the floor after all~” he’d hum to himself as he tucks his friend in with him before snuggling in for the night.

A few lewd scenarios play out in the cat’s mind before the coon starts to mumble, “Mmh.. Zappy..” The cat squeezes his friend to him lightly and hooks one of his ankles to the other male’s leg, snugging them very close to each other in the single bed.  “I’m here~” the cat answered, nuzzling the back of the coon’s head before letting out a sigh of his own.  He could feel his own length twitching against Jazz’s backside.  “You’re already in the perfect position..” The cat’s mind whirls at the thought, quickly becoming disgusted with himself.

He shakes his head and wiggles out from behind the smaller male to try and get himself out of that bed.  The cat picks up his shorts from the floor and slips them on before grabbing his phone off of the table and heading into the bathroom and locking the door behind him.  The housecat drops his phone on the countertop and stares at himself in the mirror.  With his eyes locked he gives a beaming expression of intense resentment towards his own reflection.  Slowly that expression changes from anger to sadness and a knock bangs on the bathroom door.  “Z-zap?  Are you in there?” the coon asks from outside.  The cat glances to his phone and realized he had been there for nearly an hour now.

“I..I’m fine.  Just need to use the bathroom!” he’d say in his usual cheery tone “I’ll be out in a minute.” the cat replies, grabbing his phone.. “Missed call..” he’d mumble to himself before looking at his messages “Liam called me?  That’s unusual.. He only does that if it’s really important.”  he mutters to himself before checking his voicemail to hear a recording of the lion.  “Hey Zappycat, I just got a customer in asking about a cat named Lori.. I’m hesitant to give out much information since.. You know… I’ll leave it up to you if you want to follow it up or not.  If you do then come meet me at the shop tomorrow.”

The cat clicks his phone off as a new look of disbelief paints his face “Ness..?” he’d whisper to himself before unlocking the door and opening it to find a rather worried looking Jasmine outside.  “H-hey, are you sure you’re alright?” the coon asked with quite the blush.  The cat nods his head again, unable to put on his fake smile “Yeah.. Just need to check on something with Liam tomorrow that’s all.” he’d say, wrapping one arm around the concerned raccoon and walking him back into his room.  The cat closes the door behind them both as the coon makes his way back to the bed.

“W-will you sleep with me?” Jazz asked, blushing still as he scoots back against the wall just as the cat had before and Zap gives a little chuckle “Of course I will..” he says as he lays his phone back on the table, trying to push everything out of his head until tomorrow at least.  The cat sits on the bed and scoots himself back against his new friend and smiles as he was embraced and accepted.  “T-thank you.. By the way..” The coon mumbles as he hides his face in his friend’s neck, hugging him a little tighter.  The cat takes one of the coon boy’s paws in his and gives it a steady squeeze  “Let's do this again sometime..” Zap mentions before he hears a soft snoring behind him again.  It brought him comfort to be held by the raccoon but that voicemail made it difficult for him to calm down enough to sleep.

The cat stares blankly at the wall as time ticks by, gently squeezing his friend’s paw that was around him, “I hope you’re okay.. Ness..” he’d whisper to himself before he finally closes his eyes, wiggling back against his friend and pulling the covers up a bit more.  He lets out a deep sigh before closing his eyes.  After focusing on the boy behind him he manages to fight off the anxiety keeping him from relaxing and finally slips into his dreams.