OBLIGATORY CONTENT WARNING: The following story contains UNDERAGE ALCOHOL USE, CUBBY NUDITY, BAD LANGUAGE, and a BRIEF BIT OF SPANISH LANGUAGE DIALOGUE.  DIOS MIO NO HABLO ESPAÑOL!  If any of this offends you, DO NOT READ ON.  By reading beyond this point, you waive your right to be offended by my work, because YOU WERE WARNED.  For anyone whom I haven't scared off... enjoy!

A cloud of steam fogged Martin’s bedroom window as the wolf pup stared out into the darkness.  Rain beat down heavily against the glass.  Some days his family were just the worst.  It seemed like every day, his brothers found new and creative way to be utter dickholes.  Today it had been kicking him off the TV in the middle of his favorite show, ignoring the slated TV schedule.  And his dad was encouraging it!  Something about ‘building character.’

“Don’t like it?” his dad had said.  “Tough.  TV rots your brain, anyway.  What did you do today to earn TV time?”  No amount of argument about fairness or mom’s rules swayed the wolf.  

“Go sulk in your room if you don’t like it.  When you make the high school football team, then you can have TV time.”

“But I’m not even in high school yet!” Martin had protested.

The elder wolf was unmoved.  “It’s bad enough that you play that sissy soccer sport.  Aren’t you enough of an embarrassment to this family without being a whiny little bitch?”

“Stupidass,” Martin muttered, his nose pressed against the cool glass.

Movement next door caught his eye, and the wolf turned his attention to the neighbor’s house.  He could just make out Jimmy in his bedroom, pulling off his clothes to change for bed.  The wolf cursed the rain — it made it way too hard to see anything!  In a flash, the boy was finished, and he ran out of sight again.  A moment later, the light went out.  So much for a show.

The lights were still on in the living room, though.  While the curtains were drawn, he could still see movement behind them.  He thought about what Mrs. Langley had said a few months back, when he and Robbie had been forced to retreat back to his place under threat of being thought of as gay, and the consequences he doubtless would have faced at the paws of his brothers.  He wished he could be at Robbie’s now.  But it was late, and rainy.  No way his mom would let him go to Robbie’s, and even if he did, Robbie’d probably already be in bed.

At the same time, though, he didn’t want to stay here.  Not with his brothers and dad being the way they were.  He thought back to a couple of weeks ago, when Jimmy’s dad had invited him over for dinner, and his cock stirred.  Maybe he could head over there, get another go with that fennec.  Even if he couldn’t, anything would be better than spending the night in his parents’ house.

Martin glanced over his shoulder at the door to his bedroom, then back outside.  The front porch wrapped around the house, and there were plenty of bushes around them.  If he was daring, he could just slip out the window and climb down that way.  The tree along the side of the house would be perfect for climbing up to get back in.  No one would have to be the wiser.

Screw it.  He needed out, consequences be damned.  Martin crossed the room and locked his bedroom door.  He knew it wouldn’t stop his parents if they were determined to get him up in the morning, but they rarely cared enough to do more than knock, anyway.  It felt better to at least put that baffle up, anyway.

The wolf took another breath as he walked back to the window.  Was he really going to do this?  His paws trembled as he reached out toward the window and pushed it open.  A cold blast of wind chilled him to the bone.  Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea…

Martin looked back at his door, then shook his head, his paws balling into fists.  No.  He NEEDED to get out of this house for an evening.  He lifted one leg up and put it out the window.  Almost immediately, his pajama pants were soaked through with the cold October rain.  He gritted his teeth and climbed the rest of the way out, then lowered his window.  No need to let his room flood in the storm.

This was it.  He was out on the roof over the front porch.  He took a tentative step forward, and yipped as his paw slipped out from under him.  The roof was a lot more slippery than he was expecting!

He managed to stop himself as he got to the edge of the roof.  The wolf gingerly got back to his feet, and shimmied over toward the bushes.

By the looks of things, his parents weren’t in the living room.  Or at least if they were, they had the curtains drawn.  There was no light on the yard, as there doubtless would be without a curtain to block it.  Satisfied, he took a breath, then hopped down into the bush.

His regret was immediate.  Those bushes always felt so soft from the sides when he’d play in them during the summer.  Coming down from the top, they were all poky sticks and thorn-like leaves.  They offered little support.  He landed much harder than anticipated, falling right into a puddle.

“Owwww…” Martin whined.

He immediately clapped his paws over his mouth and looked around.  He had no idea how noisy his descent was.  His ears perked.  All he could hear was the wind and the falling rain.  Hopefully no one inside heard anything.

Despite his worry and the aches in his body from his rough landing, he had to move.  It was damned cold, and being soaked through wasn’t helping matters.  The wolf groaned as he pushed himself to his paws.  He shook off some of the excess water, then made a dash for the fence separating the two yards.

Getting over was harder than he would have imagined.  His wet clothes kept sticking to the top of the fence.  It took a little doing, but he managed to get over and flop down into the neighbor’s yard.  So far so good.  He was in the home stretch now.

Martin got to his paws, and watched the lights go out in the living room of the Caulfield house.

“Shit!” Martin cried.  He made a mad dash across the yard.  Please oh please don’t be going to bed.  It was such a relief to get out of the rain under the neighbor’s porch that he almost collapsed right there.  But there was no time to rest.  He crossed the last few feet to the door and leaned heavily against it.  The doorbell shined at him, and the wolf reached out a paw and pressed it.

His heart pounded in his ears as he waited for a response.  If Jimmy’s dad had already gone to bed, he’d be screwed!  Climbing back up the tree into his room in this storm seemed almost suicidal at this point.  Robbie’s house might be an alternate safe haven, but that quarter mile would be hell in the cold and rain.  It didn’t help that his whole body was already sore from his hard landing from the top of the porch.

The wolf sucked in a breath as he heard the lock clicking.  Relief washed over him as the door opened.  He almost fell in after it, but managed to catch himself.

“What are you doing here?!”

Martin’s ears folded down.  The tone in Keith’s voice stabbed like a knife.  In that moment, he realized just how stupid he was being.  The pup whimpered and looked up at the adult.  “I… umm…”

The fox reached a paw out and grabbed the wolf’s shoulder.  “Oh gods, you’re freezing!  Get in, quick!” Keith said.

A second paw landed on his other shoulder and ushered the wolf in.  Martin let out a sigh as the door shut behind him.  Warmth… he’d only been outside for a couple minutes, but that was more than enough to nearly freeze him.

“Fucking hell!  Isn’t that the boy from next door?”

Martin blushed.  It took him a moment to remember who that second voice belonged to.

“Teddy, go upstairs and get a towel and a bathrobe,” Keith commanded.  “Bring them to the bathroom downstairs.  You, come with me.”

Martin was in a bit of a stupor as the red fox guided him through the living room.  He barely registered as they entered the bathroom.

The lights blinded him.  They were quite the contrast against the darkness outside.

“What are you even doing here?” Keith whispered.  “And look at you… you’re covered in mud and soaked to the skin!  Let’s get you out of these clothes…”

Two large paws started to unbutton his shirt.  Part of the wolf wanted to protest.  He was nearly twelve, after all!  He could undress himself!  But he was so cold… he hadn’t even realized how much he was shivering until he tried to raise a paw to help get his shirt open.

“Got the towels,” Teddy said.

“Thanks,” Keith said.  “Wait there a minute.”

Martin couldn’t even bring himself to look at the red fox before him.  He kept his eyes firmly on his footpaws as the adult slipped his shirt down his arms.  His sleep pants and boxers quickly followed, leaving him completely bare.  Keith even had to lift his footpaws to get those garments free.

“Teddy, get these in the wash,” Keith said.

The wolf turned a little and watched as the fox tossed his pajamas to the fennec.  With surprising speed, Keith snatched up the towel and began vigorously rubbing him.

A minute of that left the wolf mostly dry.  “Good enough,” Keith said.  He tossed the towel aside, then grabbed the bathrobe and wrapped the wolf in it, helping guide Martin’s arms into the sleeves.  “It’s a little big, but I rather suspected that would be the case.  All snug now, little guy?”

Martin nodded.  He hugged the robe close around himself, his eyes following the adult as Keith stood up before him.  “Thanks,” he muttered.

Keith crossed his arms and looked down at the wolf.  “Good.  Now, care to explain why I found you at my doorstep at quarter past ten?”

“I…”  Martin sighed, and hugged himself a little tighter.  “I just…”

The fennec poked his head around the bathroom door.  “Got them in the wash,” Teddy said.

Keith put a paw on Martin’s shoulder.  “Thanks, Teddy,” he said.  His eyes remained focused on the wolf.  “Come with me.  Let’s sit on the couch.”

The wolf shivered as the adult guided him out of the room.  His eyes had finally adjusted to the light, so it wasn’t a shock when one of the adults turned on the lights in the living room.  He noted a couple of glasses sitting on the coffee table, both with golden brown liquid inside.

Martin’s brain seemed to thaw as Keith sat him down in the middle of the couch.  His shivering subsided as the adult sat down next to him.  A fresh tremble ran through his body as the adult tugged him into his lap.  “I’m not a baby,” Martin muttered.

“No, but you’re cold,” Keith replied.  “Body heat will help you warm up.”  The adult pulled a blanket around them.  “Alright, kit… talk.  Why did you show up at my doorstep?  Why aren’t you at home with your family?  And why shouldn’t I bring you right back there?”

“I… I don’t know,” Martin said after a moment.  The reasons he had seemed so foggy and distant.  “I just… my brothers were being mean to me all night, and my dad was joining in on it!  He called me a sissy and an embarrassment just ‘cause I play soccer instead of football the way my brothers do, and I just… I hate it when he does that!  I didn’t wanna be in that house tonight…”

A few moments of silence hung in the air.  Martin looked over at Teddy, who had sat down on the other side of the couch, then up at Keith.  Both adults were looking at him with… inscrutable expressions.

“Oh, honey…”

The fennec rested one of his paws on the wolf’s foot.

“Playing soccer hardly makes you a sissy,” Keith said.

Martin sighed and shut his eyes as the red fox squeezed him.  “I guess… but then there’s the way they talk about gay people… like how all fags should rot in hell and die, and how dad praises my brothers for doing shit like beating up kids they think are gay at school, and it just… it scares me… like they’d do that to me if they knew how I felt about Robbie…”

The wolf trembled.  He had no idea why he said that.  He hardly knew these adults, and now they knew the biggest secret that he’d been hiding from his family.

Teddy cleared his throat.  “I, uh… I think I’m going to head to bed… i-it’s been a long day, and I…”

The fenenc trailed off as he stood up.  He grabbed one of the glasses from the table and drank its remaining contents.  He gasped as he finished, and set the glass down.  Without another word, Teddy stumbled toward the stairs and disappeared.

Silence fell in the room again.  Martin felt dumber than ever.  Why did he think this was a good idea?  The wolf pulled his legs up and hugged them to his chest.

“Martin,” Keith whispered.  The adult sighed, then nuzzled the wolf’s cheek.  “I… I can’t pretend to know what you’re going through.  My own parents were… very liberal.  Never really outgrew the free love of the sixties, you know?  I never had to be afraid to be myself around them.

“But I had friends who had families like that.  And what I do know is how to be a safe haven.”

A glimmer of hope.  Martin looked up at the adult.  “D-does that mean I can stay?” he whispered.

“For tonight,” Keith said.  He sighed, then shook his head.  “It’s a different world today than it was even twenty years ago.  But if your family’s that hostile, I can let you stay tonight.  Just don’t make a habit of this, alright?”

Martin nodded, then threw his arms around the adult’s neck, holding on for dear life.  “Thank you,” the wolf whispered.

A cold pit sank to the bottom of the wolf’s stomach, followed by a burning hollowing-out of his chest.  All at once he was overwhelmed with emotions.  Fear, anger, doubt, relief… love.  He trembled as tears flowed unbidden from his eyes.  He had no idea WHY he was crying, but it felt safe to do it here.

From the back of his mind, Martin heard his father’s voice scolding him for being a fucking sissy.  His body quaked as he cried all the harder.

He vaguely registered the fox’s paws roaming over his back.  Through the fog of his mind, he heard Keith’s voice, whispering in a soothing tone.  “It’s OK, little guy… everything’s going to be alright.  I’m here… It’s OK… cry it out.”

Martin shuddered in the adult’s grasp.  It felt weird to have an adult tell him it was OK to cry.  Especially a male.  Cry he did, though.  He squeezed tight around Keith, clinging to the adult as he buried his face in the fox’s chestfur.

He didn’t know how much time passed as he cried quietly into the fox’s fur.  At least the adult didn’t seem to mind.  The wolf felt the adult’s paws rubbing up and down his back.  It felt nice to be held and pet like that.  He shifted a little as the adult rested his chin on top of his head.

At long last, Martin’s tears stopped.  He breathed in deeply against Keith.  Crying felt good… getting those emotions out.  He sighed and lifted his head to look at the fox.

“Feel a little better, kiddo?” Keith asked.

Martin nodded.  “Yeah… thanks,” he whispered.

The fox smiled at the wolf, then eased Martin off his lap to sit on the couch next to him.  “Good,” he said.  He leaned forward and grabbed his glass from the table.  

The wolf’s eyes followed Keith’s paw as he brought the glass to his lips and took a sip.  “Whatcha drinkin’?”

“Scotch whisky,” Keith replied.  “Single malt, aged sixteen years.”  He took another sip, then glanced at the wolf out of the corner of his eye.  “Bit older than you, I suspect.”

“Only four,” Martin replied.  He chuckled softly, then cleared his throat.  “Umm… c-could I try it?”

The adult laughed.  “You really wanna try?”  Keith smirked and held the glass out to the wolf.  “This might be a little rough for a first timer.  Sniff it before you sip.  No shame in saying no.”

Martin took the glass and raised it to his muzzle.  He sniffed the liquid inside.  Immediately, he picked up the earthy smell of peat and oak.  It burned his nostrils.  The boy recoiled from the glass.

Keith reached for the glass.  Martin tugged it away, turning his back to the adult.  “Hang on, I wanna at least try it first!”

The adult sat back and turned to face the wolf.  “Alright.  Expect it to burn going down.  Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

The wolf nodded.  He sat back and looked at the fox, noticing for the first time that Keith was wearing nothing but a pair of boxers.  Martin straightened his shoulders and brought the glass back to his muzzle.  He shut his eyes and tilted it back, letting a little of the amber liquid flow from the glass into his mouth.

He regretted it instantly.  It tasted like he just took a swig of a bog.  Swallowing was even worse.  His throat felt like it was on fire.  He spluttered, doubling over on himself.  He barely noticed the fox taking the glass from his paw.

“You alright, Marty?” Keith asked.

“How can you DRINK that stuff?!” Martin gasped.

“It’s an acquired taste,” Keith replied.  He rubbed Martin’s back with one paw, his other easing the wolf to sit back.  “If you really wanna have a drink… I could do something a little easier on you.  You like Coke?”

Martin settled back on the couch, then looked at the fox.  “Yeah.”

“Alright, then… I’ll be right back.”

The wolf watched as the fox stood up and walked around the couch to the kitchen.  He returned a minute later with two glasses with ice, a can of Coke, and a bottle of lime juice.

“What’s the lime juice for?” Martin asked.

Keith set the glasses and drinks down on the table.  “Martin, my boy, I’m going to introduce you to my favorite drink when I was your age.”  He walked over to a cabinet in the corner and opened it up.

“Whoa…”

There was so much liquor!  Easily two or three dozen bottles of different shapes and sizes, some with clear liquid, some with ambers and brown, even blue and green!  Keith reached up above the lip of the cabinet and pulled down a hidden bottle, then closed the doors.

“What’s that?” Martin asked.

“Rum,” Keith said.  He twisted the top off the bottle and swirled around the clear liquid inside, then poured some into each glass.  “And I keep this bottle hidden for a very particular reason.”  The adult set it down and put the top back on, then popped open the can of Coke and poured half into each glass, filling them near to the brim.  He finished the drinks off with little splashes of lime juice, then picked them up and offered one to the wolf.

Martin looked at the glass, then brought it to his muzzle.  It smelled a little different from regular coke, but definitely not as bad as that scotch had.  He took a tentative sip.

“Huh,” Martin said.  That sip went down a lot smoother.  He could still feel the warmth from the alcohol, but it didn’t burn like the straight liquor.  The Coke had some fruitiness to it, probably some from the lime and some from the rum.  “That’s kinda good!”

Keith chuckled and sat back down on the couch, and took a long sip from his glass.  “Cuba Libre,” the fox said.  “Rum, Coke, and a little lime juice.  And what makes this special is the rum is from Cuba.  But don’t tell anyone that.”

“Why not?” Martin asked.  He took another sip of the drink as he looked at the fox.

“Just trust me on that one,” Keith said.  “La historia me absolverá.”

Martin blinked at that, and took another sip of his drink.  “Habla español?”

“Poquito.  Poquito,” Keith replied.

The wolf pulled his legs up onto the couch and snuggled up close to the fox.  Why couldn’t Keith be his dad?  Why did he have to get stuck with the asshole of a family he got?  He shook that thought away as he took another sip of his Cuba libre.  Keith was cool, and he wasn’t gonna let his stupid family ruin the rest of his night.

“Es mi clase favorita en la escuela,” Martin said.

“Que bueno!” Keith said.  “Es muy importante hablar más de una lengua, y el Español es muy útil en los Estados Unidos.”

Martin grinned and took another sip of his drink.  His dad always said that learning another language was a waste of time, but here was this adult validating his desire to learn languages.  The wolf even understood what Keith said!  “Sí!  Y es divertido, también.”

The fox chuckled.  “Creerías que nunca lo estudié en la escuela?”

Martin blinked.  “Uh… sorry, I, uh, don’t know what you said.”  The boy blushed.

Keith took a long draught of his drink, then shook his head.  “Sorry.  En ingles, would you believe that I never studied it in school?”

“No way!” Martin said.

“Way,” the fox replied.  “I took French and German, but I don’t really remember much of those.  Spanish I learned during my parents’ summer trips down to Latin America.  Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Colombia.”  He stroked his chin and stared off into the distance as he took another sip.  “Pretty sure we spent a couple weeks in Buenos Aires when I was eight.  Knowing now what was going on in that country in the seventies and eighties, I wonder what they were thinking.”

A world traveler, to boot!  The wolf’s head swam.  Warmth swelled in his belly.  Maybe this was the alcohol, but some of this had to be his honest emotions, too.  Keith was the most interesting fur in the world right then.  Who would have thought that the neighbor’s dad would have been so awesome?

The night wore on as Martin sipped his drink.  He and Keith talked for what felt like hours.  They talked about music, about history, about languages, all of the things Martin loved but could never talk to his parents about, because they were never interested.  It was a little slice of heaven for the wolf.

Despite his desire to stay up later talking with Keith, the late hour was catching up with Martin.  The wolf yawned.

“Gettin’ tired, kiddo?” Keith asked.

The wolf shook his head.  “Nuh uh.  I can stay up longer.”

“Bullshit,” Keith whispered.

Martin giggled a little and yawned again.  “Okay, maybe I’m a little tired.”

The fox nodded and stood up.  “That’s what I thought.  I can get you a blanket and a couple pillows, and you can sleep on the couch here.  I’d offer you the guest bedroom, but that’s been occupied for a couple months now.”

The wolf’s heart sank at the idea of sleeping on the couch.  He didn’t want to leave Keith’s side.  Without even really thinking, he blurted out, “What about your bed?”

Keith raised an eyebrow.  “My bed?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Martin said, perking up a little, the warmth in his belly giving him a boost of confidence.  “Ya know… with you.  I, uh, don’t wanna be alone tonight.”

A few moments of silence greeted the wolf.  The fox crossed his arms.  Martin’s ears and tail drooped.  That didn’t look promising.

After an interminable pause, Keith sighed.  “I suppose I can allow that,” he said.  “Come on.”  He held out a paw to the wolf.

Martin’s heart leapt.  He took the fox’s paw and slipped off the couch.  His sheath stirred a little beneath the bathrobe as Keith gripped his paw and led him towards the stairs.

Maybe the wolf hadn’t gotten to play with the adult he knew was into cubs, but he was still getting to snuggle with someone tonight.  A rush of emotions flooded through him as he followed the red fox: gratitude, relief, lust, and again that strange feeling of love.  Not the same kind of love he had for Robbie.  No, this was different.

A twinge of jealousy for Jimmy, having Keith as a father, added to the tempest as the two ascended the stairs.  Martin glanced toward Jimmy’s bedroom as they reached the top of the stairs.  He didn’t have long to look, as Keith led him the other way, toward the red fox’s bed chamber.

As they crossed the threshold, Keith pushed the door shut.  “So, your pajamas are still in the wash.  They probably won’t be dry for quite some time.  You can keep that robe on, or I can lend you some pajamas to wear to bed.  Got a preference?”

A shiver ran down the wolf’s spine.  He knew what he’d prefer, but he wasn’t sure how the adult would take it.  But might as well try, right?  He seemed cool enough.  “Do I have to wear anything to bed?” Martin asked.

Keith shrugged.  “I suppose not.  I never wore anything to bed as a kit.”  He pulled the covers back on his bed, then climbed in, slipping under the sheets, and patted the bed next to him.  “Come on in, kiddo.”

Martin blushed a little as he opened the bathrobe and let it slide off his shoulders.  The thick fabric collected around his ankles, and he picked it up.  “Where do ya want this?”

Keith chuckled.  “Just toss it on the chair in the corner.  I’ll deal with it in the morning.”

The wolf nodded and looked around.  He spied the chair and tossed the robe onto it, then jumped up into the fox’s bed, the adolescent wolf curling right up against the adult’s side.

Warmth enveloped the wolf as Keith brought the covers down over them.  He wrapped his arms and legs around the adult, shivering a little as he clung to his savior for the night.  Another shiver ran down Martin’s spine as he found himself fur to fur with Keith, only the adult’s boxers keeping his modesty in check.  He blushed, feeling his tip poking from his sheath as it pressed against the fox.

“Heh.  Snuggly little guy, aren’t you?” Keith whispered.  He draped an arm over the wolf and pulled him in close.

“I guess,” Martin said.  He nuzzled the adult’s chest, then looked up into his eyes.  He trembled as he felt tears welling up in his eyes.  “Thanks for letting me stay,” he whispered.

The fox smiled back, and Keith stroked Martin’s ears.  He leaned in and planted a kiss on the wolf’s forehead.  “No problem.  But again, don’t make a habit of this,” he chided.  The grin on his face, though, made the wolf feel like he’d be more than welcome if he needed to come back again.

Without even realizing it, Martin rolled his hips against the fox’s side.  His erection grew as he snuggled up against the adult.  He blushed.  Gods, he wanted to ask if the fox wanted to play.  Part of him really wanted to just to repay the fox for his kindness.  Maybe Keith would even initiate.  After all, there’s no way he didn’t know that the wolf was getting erect.

Keith chuckled.  “Horny little thing, huh?” Keith whispered.

Martin blushed deeper, but grinned up at the fox.  He knew he didn’t have to hide from this adult.  “Yeah,” Martin whispered.

The fox laughed quietly, then laid back on his bed, taking his arm from around the wolf.  “Oh, I remember what it was like when I was your age.”  He turned his head to the wolf and smiled at him.  “You’re welcome to paw off if you need to.”

Not quite the answer the wolf was looking for.  Clearly he’d have to be more forward.  “What if I don’t wanna paw myself off?” he whispered.

The adult considered the question for a moment.  “Well, I’ve got a toy or two I could let you try out, if you want.”

The wolf squirmed a little.  That wasn’t what he meant, though he did have to admit, that idea sounded interesting.  Not what he was after, though.  “What if I wanted to play with you?” Martin whispered.

“Oh, Martin,” Keith whispered.  “You’ve had some booze.  I’ve had a lot more.  Look, I don’t want you to do anything you’ll regret, okay?  Alcohol can lower your inhibitions and make you do things you don’t want to do, and you might not even remember them in the morning.”  The fox sighed and shook his head.  “If you wanna take care of yourself, you’re welcome to.  But I’m not going to do anything to or with you.  Not when you’ve just had your first drink.”

Martin’s heart sank.  That wasn’t the answer he wanted.  “But I feel fine!” Martin protested.  “I mean, a little tingly, but in a good way!  Please, Keith?”

The fox shook his head again.  “No.  I don’t want to hurt you.”  He sighed and rolled onto his back.  “Maybe another time, if you really want to, and we’re both sober, we can talk about it.    But that’s a big if.  For now, though, it’s a no.”

As the wolf opened his mouth to protest further, the full significance of the fox’s words hit him.  This adult really cared about him.  He was looking out for him in ways he hadn’t even imagined before that moment.  Another twinge of jealousy for Jimmy caught in his throat.  He suppressed it.  Maybe Keith was Jimmy’s dad, but for tonight, Martin could pretend that Keith was his.

“Okay,” Martin whispered.  He wrapped his arms around the fox and nuzzled his chest, then looked up at him.  “We can still snuggle, though, right?”

An arm wrapped around him.  The fox’s paw came to rest on his lower back, just above his tail base.  “Of course,” Keith whispered.

Martin nodded and rested his head on the fox’s chest.  He was so warm.  Was this what a father’s love felt like?  Without even thinking, the wolf whispered three words to Keith.  “Love you, dad.”

He felt the adult plant a kiss on his forehead.  In his tired state, he didn’t even register what he’d just said.  Or he didn’t, until the fox responded.  “Love you, too, son.”

The wolf squeezed the fox tight.  Tears welled up in his eyes.  He rubbed his face against Keith’s chest, wiping away the fresh condensation as the last light of consciousness left him.  In an instant, the wolf was asleep.