# No Neighbor In winter, even diesel freezes. The choking pop of U-Hauls unmaintained, too frequently abused. A move, an escape, an opening and a close. A glass menagerie of fauves and animals, out in the elements, heavy boxes stained by tears. A memory, perhaps, or a reprise of familiar pain. Departure, not arrival. And over the silence of light snow, the sobs, the pain, of emotions too fresh to be buried, even by a midwinter storm. * * * Zhane kneaded his paws over the dingo's ass and was rewarded by another of those gasping, desperate barks. Liam's cock had already emerged from its sheath, but Zhane enjoyed teasing the dingo too much to move his attention there right away. Another nip at his neck, first. A gasp--"Zhane, please..."--but the otter had already slid a paw around to Liam's crotch, gently caressing the dingo's balls before grasping firmly around his shaft. The warm, familiar feeling of Liam's pent-up lust brought a smile to the otter's muzzle. It was the fifth time this week he had come over to the study, but it was as exciting, lusty, and sincere as the first. Liam's enthusiastic wagging as Zhane dropped down to his knees certainly confirmed it. That rapid, muffled knock of tail on desk had become Zhane's favorite music; a slow shuffle ready for accompaniment. Zhane licked up the delicious shaft and his dingo started to sing along. His? /Shit./ Not his. Never his. Just his friend. Always just friends. But who cares about romance when you've got a muzzle full of an eager dingo? This music was worth more than a dozen dates. And now the dingo's hindpaw started, a high hat in time with the otter's muzzle. Soon Liam's whole body would join, a heavy bass hit that drove the whole song forward. Zhane knew this song so well he could feel the rest of it already. One paw fell to his cock, urging himself along, getting ready to join his Dingo in that wonderful chorus... His? Again? If it wasn't Liam, it would've been someone else at the club. It's not like it would hurt if this had to stop... * * * But that had hurt. Zhane had always assumed that Keira knew why he and Liam spent so much time alone in Liam's study. But whatever he had heard about dingo noses had apparently been exaggerated. Or perhaps Keira had been willing to overlook the smell of otter musk on her husband as long as she didn't discover them. Zhane had spent so many afternoons and evenings with Liam that the whole scene had seemed ridiculous. He never thought the other dingo would react so badly to finding her husband's cock in the otter's muzzle. They had just been sharing a bottle of Muscat and barbecued shrimp a few days earlier. Being called a goddamn waterlogged faggot of a ruddertail didn't hurt nearly as much as the realization that he had lost a friend who he thought understood. A friend who recognized that her husband had desires she couldn't meet, and understood that her husband would rather satisfy those urges with someone who was friends with both of them rather than some random guy in a club. But she hadn't understood. She didn't understand Liam. She didn't understand Zhane. She didn't understand that neither of them wanted to hurt her or her marriage. Or perhaps Zhane hadn't understood. Until that afternoon when Kira came home early from work, Zhane knew that his relationship with Liam was something Liam pursued because it added to his life with Keira, not because it helped him escape from it. But it had been two months since the incident and Zhane hadn't heard from either dingo. He didn't even get a cursory goodbye call, wave, note, or glance when they moved out two weeks ago. So much for being better than some guy at a club. And now there were new moving trucks across the street, a new family in the dingoes' house. Zhane had hoped that seeing new faces across the street would bring him closure, but instead they were a physical manifestation of Zhane's loneliness and loss. With a sigh, Zhane walked away from the front window and back to his pool. He slipped into the cool water and dove down, hoping the comfortable pressure of the water would provide a note of solace and help him work up the courage to politely introduce himself to his new neighbors. It shouldn't have required any courage, but Liam's absence and memories of the horrible looks on Keira's face swam through his mind whenever he looked across at their house. Zhane swam deeper into his pool, and the beautiful patterns of sunlight playing off the surface faded into the clear darkness. He rolled and looked back up through the water. The surface was only 40 feet above, but through the thick blue of the salt water, it felt a thousand miles away. The sparkling, shimmering patters were only a few seconds of swimming away, but Zhane felt more comfortable here. Liam could never swim this deep, so even when they swam together, this was Zhane's space. But looking up at the surface, the blue reminded Zhane more and more of Liam's eyes, and as much as he wanted this to be his time and his space, it felt more and more like a reminder that he would probably never see that blue in the dingo's eyes again, certainly never shining and sparkling the way he had seen them for so long. Down in the pool the light faded... After a few minutes minutes at the bottom of the pool, Zhane surfaced for some fresh air. Whatever he had lost with Liam, at least this was a chance to escape the awkwardness of the last few months. New opportunities and perhaps new friends, Zhane thought as he broke through to the surface. It was a beautiful afternoon, and probably better spent making friends than brooding over lost loves. He swam a few laps of the pool, diving deep and returning to the surface with a perfunctory sluggishness. This was supposed to be relaxation, but Zhane felt more like it was a dull escape. Across the street there was probably a happy family with their 2.5 cubs, excited about getting in to a new house. Swimming away this mood at least kept him from interrupting that. * * * Out the window, the squirrels and badgers in company uniforms loaded hand carts and dollies back into the moving truck. Zhane saw the gentleman of the house, a tall, lanky coyote dressed a bit too nicely for a move, talk with one of the badgers, shake his hand, and then wave as the badger drove off in the truck. So that was that. Another canid family in the neighborhood. The sky had already started to fade from orange to blue. If Zhane waited much longer he'd miss the chance to greet his neighbors at a polite hour. He turned away from the window, walked to his kitchen and pulled down a nice bottle of Zinfandel from his cabinet. Hopefully the coyote liked reds. Or maybe his wife would. Zhane walked across the street, the bottle wrapped tightly in his paws. The situation was strange, but the walk was too familiar for it to be anything but comfortable. So comfortable, but instead the familiar scents of the Silverpaws, all he could smell was the sweat of squirrels and badgers. He walked up the little stone path from the sidewalk to the oak door and pressed the bell and got ready to wait. Liam always took forever to answer the-- The door swung open before Zhane's arm had fallen back to his side. So much for familiarity. But instead of a coyote, a stocky grey wolf stood on the other side of the door. The wolf was at least a foot taller than Zhane, and had legs almost as big around as Zhane's waist. A former football player, perhaps, but about as different from the coyote he had seen earlier as another canid could be. "Yes?" the wolf asked in a rumbling bass voice. "Hello!" Zhane said, "I'm Zhane. I live across the street and I wanted to welcome..." His voice trailed off as he tried to search for the right word. If the coyote was the one moving in, could this be a friend? Not a relative, certainly... "Oh! Wonderful! I was hoping that Miguel and I would get to meet a few of the neighbors, but I hadn't expected anyone to stop by today. I'm Clay." The wolf offered his paw to Zhane. But hearing the wolf refer to himself and another man caught Zhane off guard. Zhane brought his paw up to meet Clay's a bit too quickly, after starting a bit too late. Despite completely enveloping the otter's paw, Clay shook Zhane's paw with a gentleness that seemed out of place with his frame. Oh Coddess, Zhane thought as he shook paws. He had expected another dull suburban family. Smiling wife. Two point five kids. Someone completely disconnected from him. Something that wouldn't remind him of the relationship he had with Liam. A family full of people that he might politely wave hello to, but nothing more. Certainly not a gay couple... But maybe the otter was letting his thoughts get ahead of him. "Nice to meet you Clay! I'm guessing that Miguel is the coyote I saw earlier, your..." "Husband. Let me go get him down here so you can meet him too." The wolf turned back into the house, and with something that sounded more like a howl than a shout, called out "Miguel! One of our neighbors has come by, you should get down here to meet him!" Zhane smiled. Gay couple it is. "Wonderful! So much for my claim to fame as the only queer on the block." He presented the bottle of wine to Clay. "Here, a welcome to the neighborhood present for you both." "I hope you don't mind losing that title." Clay chuckled and smiled back, a toothy grin that seemed to stretch from his muzzle practically to his ears. "Why don't you come in?" Clay stepped to the side of the door and waved Zhane inside with a half-bow. Zhane thanked Clay and stepped inside, glancing around the foyer as he passed the bottle of wine to Clay. The room was full of boxes, but the coolness of the tile, the overly bright lights, and the hazelnut color on bare walls made it feel all too much like it was still Liam's house. Zhane's tail twitched of its own accord, a manifestation of anxiety and discomfort. He glanced over at Clay and took a deep breath while he tried get his tail back under control before Clay misinterpreted his nervousness. But Clay was busy inspecting the wine. At least Zhane's present seemed to be going over well, even if being back in this house made Zhane want to run back across the street and hide at the bottom of his pool for hours. Zhane felt his fur prickling and his ears twitching, but if Clay noticed any of it, he made no comment. The wolf looked up from the wine bottle and winked at the otter. He stepped over to the stairs and called up, "Miguel! You better hurry, our guest is quite cute and offering me a nice bottle of French wine. I'm afraid I might be swept off my feet if you don't get down here soon." Zhane smiled and forced out what he hope was a polite sounding chuckle. But panic froze him in place. The joke felt like an accusation. There was no way Clay knew, but his mind lurched back to the wild, shouting argument he had the last time he was in this room. * * * A spotlight, drawing slowly on the protagonists. A shout, a bark, a yell, the threats of claw. Rage. Fear. The stink of cornered lovers spurned. "You fucking... how dare you stay here when you're fucking every hole that walks in and then promising love with thirty cocks in your mouth?" Who was that, again? When was that? Zhane recalls the scar... but not the claws or antlers or talons that raked across his chest. /What good is loving so much?/ The voice, unbidden again. Liam's voice. Though Liam couldn't have been... Heavy oak, a closed door. A future? A past? A lover who's name would never be recalled? The smell of her musk, flooding back. A reminder, too raw, of the price of loving with passion, and pride, and hubris, all to much hubris. What was her voice? Where had it disappeared to? How had something that left a scar so deep been so easily forgotten? And fading from memory, and wrapping itself in silence, the pain, a familiar one, a howl... * * * The chorus had arrived at last. Zhane felt that familiar shudder through his muzzle as Liam crescendoed to that wonderful, haunting howl. Thick, salty cum shot down into his throat and filled his mouth, but that soulful refrain from Liam satisfied him more than. A whole day's effort was worth that sound. And he knew that it would be his turn to add his voice to this song soon, those calloused paws running through his slick fur... A creak hung in the air, out of place as Zhane drank down the last of Liam's orgasm, and snapped Zhane from his musical reverie and anticipation to the present. Zhane looked up at Liam. The dingo's ears stood straight up and forward, and the relaxed smile and lolling tongue that usually came with his climax were gone. Instead, Liam's eyes were wide open, pupils dialated, and his mouth agape with unpleasant shock. "Keira? What are you--" But Keira made no reply. The silence was an uncomfortable end to the song. Why the panic over Keira? Zhane pulled away from Liam's crotch, bits of cum dribbling along his muzzle, and turned to look. Keira's expression explained everything. Her teeth were barred and her eyes looked like the shells of houses raked by fire from under her furrowed brow. Clenched fists hung at her side. Zhane quickly wiped his muzzle, hoping that she hadn't noticed the mess her husband had made. With a smile, he said "Oh, hello, Keira. I was just..." Breaking the silence was a mistake. Keira growled, rage and pain seeping through her voice. "I know exactly what you were doing, you goddamn waterlogged faggot. I could hear my husband from downstairs." Ice. Daggers. Betrayal. Liam said that he had told her weeks ago... Now, for the first time in three years of being neighbors, Zhane heard Keira say something with real hatred. And not just any hateful thing... "I thought Liam had--" he stuttered. "Goddamnit, Liam, how long?" Keira barked, the steel in her eyes giving way to real hurt. "Just this once." Liam replied. Zhane bit his lip. Another betrayal. And this one worse than Keira's. Zhane could still taste Liam's seed on his tongue. But now the flavor turned from sweet saltiness to a sour bile. A thick chord of nausea knotted itself in his stomach. He desperately hoped that the hurt hadn't reached his face. Everything he felt could only make this worse. "Keira, I'm sorry, I thought Liam had..." "Get out of my house." Tears were pooling in Keira's eyes, but her voice was still sharp, unwavering, and full of rage. Zhane had always heard a bit of soprano delicacy in Keira's voice, along with a smiling warmth that fit all the sunny afternoon barbecues they had shared. None of that remained. Daggers replaced flowers. Grimaces replaced smiles. The heat of a desert sun replaced that spring glow. "After all the time we spent together, you thought it would be OK? You thought I'd be happy to find my husband with a fucking cocksucker in his study? I thought you were a friend... but every one of you goddamn faggots is the same. Can't keep your fucking paws to yourselves." Her attention turned to Liam, and her ears drooped as the tears in her eyes finally ran down her cheeks. "How could you? You had said it was just a phase. All in the past. You..." She trailed off into sobs. The sobs hung for a moment, interrupted only by the rustle of Liam lifting his pants. "I..." He took a deep breath, "I need to talk with my wife. Zhane, you need to go." "But..." "Go." Zhane stood and straightened his shirt, avoiding both dingos' eyes. He walked towards the door, each step heavy with revulsion. Keira's paws rolled into fists as approached, but she stepped aside and let the otter pass through the door. The creek of the stairs as he descended were the only sounds in the house. * * * "Zhane, this is Miguel. Miguel, this is Zhane, he lives across the street from us." Zhane looked up with a start, and saw a the lanky coyote from earlier standing with his paw stretched out to the otter. For the second time that night, Zhane shook a paw a little too quickly, a little too jerkily to be comfortable. But Miguel just smiled down at the otter, never indicating that he thought anything was unusual at all. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miguel. I hope you like the neighborhood." Zhane glanced back and forth between the coyote and wolf. They stood close, tails touching. Smalltalk and pleasantries choked up in the otter's throat. A boring couple with a few more annoying children he could have handled tonight. But the two canids in front of him... Neither really looked like Liam, save for that vague canid resemblance in the ears and muzzles. But the way they smiled at each other, with their eyes as much as their mouths... he could still feel the delight when Liam would look at him like that... the warm comfort when his tail brushed against Zhane's... the adorable wag in Liam's tail when Zhane's paws worked across his shaft... "Well, it was nice to meet you both." Zhane squeaked out. "I should get going." He turned from Miguel and Clay and started for the door as tears began to well up. This wasn't the first impression he wanted to make, but a hurried exit would be better than breaking down in front of his new strangers. He quickly darted to the door-- "Are you sure you don't want--" --and shut it behind him, ignoring whatever Miguel was going to request. He jogged back to his house and leaned against the door after he shut it, sobbing. A curtain, over a heart, lit by the tears.