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Lance sat in his living room on a handmade rocking chair a few days later, the bison repeatedly checking his phone and staring into the lit fireplace. It had been days since Adam had texted him, and he was beginning to worry. He knew roughly where the buck lived, but that whole night when he drove Adam back to his apartment had become such a blur to him, or at least those details had anyway. He could still remember every detail of the cervine's face, even down to the lone grain of rice that he had stuck to the side of his muzzle, which Lance just looked at in amusement, wondering how long it might be before Adam noticed it was stuck to his face.

The bison sighed to himself, looking down at the LED screen of his phone. Adam's contact information was on the screen, along with a little picture he had taken of the buck the last time they had worked out together. He wanted to call Adam badly, but he couldn't shake the feeling that the buck was avoiding him for some reason. Lance had texted him probably ten or more times over the past few days, and each message got the same response: silence.

He couldn't figure out what he had done wrong. "I've been a perfect gentleman, I've paid for most of the stuff we do together, I've helped him work out for about a month now, and I really thought we had some kind of connection...Was I wrong about him? No, I can't think like that. I shouldn't think like that. What if he's in the hospital? No one would even think to call me to let me know that. Well, perhaps Toby would, but we're not exactly dating or anything, so maybe it wouldn't occur to him?

Letting out a heavy sigh, Lance swallowed his nerves just long enough to hit the call button, the screen switching displays to show an enlarged picture of Adam in his gym attire, flexing his meager biceps. The picture had always made him smile, but now it only made him worry. The large bison put the phone to his ear and listened to it ring.

At that exact moment, Lance could hear a couple of knocks on his front door. They were not hard raps, but loud enough to be heard, and the bison's ears perked at the sound of some pop song ringtone.

A little confused, Lance walked to his door and opened it, the frosted glass on the front door obscuring whoever was on the other side. He shouldered the phone and opened the door, still listening to it ringing.

As he did so, the figure outside raised the phone to his ear and said, "Hello? Is this Lance?" The person standing outside was none other than Adam. He was dressed casually in baggy shorts and a tight nylon shirt. His mouth was formed into a smile as he looked up at Lance to see him with his phone against his ear. His eyes looked tired, though, as if he had been up late for several consecutive days.

The bison's brow furrowed, looking between his phone and the buck before him. "How the hell did you manage to time that so perfectly?" he asked in a serious tone before his frown slowly shifted into a small smile.

Feeling a small grin move across his face, Adam hung up the call and pocketed his phone. He walked forward a bit, shortening the distance between the massive bison and himself. "I have my ways. Mind if I come in?" Reaching forward, Adam grabbed the bison's hand to feel it against his own as he leaned against the doorway.

Lance, of course, stepped to the side a little to allow Adam entry. "Where have you been? I've been texting you for days, and I was getting really worried! I was just considering the merits of calling Toby and asking for him to go check up on you or something, because, for all I know, you were dying in the hospital or something. I mean, I know we're just...whatever you call this, but it still sucks to be totally in the dark, you know?" the bison said, shutting the door and following Adam into the living room.

Walking inside, the buck made his way over to the couch, his hooved feet clacking as he walked across the wooden floor. The familiar scent of pine filled his senses, but beyond that, everything looked neat and tidy. Sitting down onto the couch, Adam looked at his feet and said, "Sorry about that, big guy. I've just been getting hit around a bit by life." Remembering the events that happened just a few days ago, Adam felt his eyes begin to grow tired and his throat begin to close. He shook the memories away and smiled up at Lance as he followed him to the couch.

Lance sat next to the buck, but a respectable distance away from him. "Did something happen? What's wrong?" he asked.

Glancing down, Adam's face grew serious. He felt his body shake a bit as he thought of the way Jericho grew more emotionally distant after he informed him of his feelings for Lance. His mind started to blank, and his mouth became dry as if some ghost went up to him and stuffed cotton into his mouth. That look that Lance gave him was enough, and he felt his resolve slowly disintegrating. He was tired of keeping secrets from Lance; maybe it was time to tell Lance about Jericho. Clutching the couch, Adam patted the seat, and he said, "Maybe there is something...something I should tell you."

The bison looked concerned as he scooted closer to Adam, putting a comforting arm around him. "Is this something I'm going to want to grab a box of tissues for, or is this a little more mild than that?"

Adam felt a melancholy smile form across his lips as he leaned into the bison's arm and said, "I think I am done crying for a while. I did that for a couple of days...and may have eaten most of my roommates' sweets, but maybe grabbing a box wouldn't hurt." Feeling his heart flutter at the comfort he was recieving, Adam inched closer to Lance and put his head on the bison's shoulders.

Lance chuckled softly. "I'm going to have to get up to grab that box of tissues. They're on the end stand over there in the corner."

Moving his head off of Lance's shoulder, Adam sniffed and wiped his nose on his arm before leaning forward to let Lance get up as he slumped against the couch. "I kind of don't want you to move, though, but I also don't want to shower you in man-tears."

The bison chuckled again as he crossed the floor, his hooved feet echoing across the wooden surface as he grabbed the box of tissues with some kind of forest pattern across the cardboard exterior. Returning to the couch and resuming his position with Adam, he handed the box of tissues to the buck, once more resting with the smaller male comfortably against his shoulder. "Ready when you are," Lance smiled softly.

Adam sighed and spilled out his secrets to him; everything had happened over the past few weeks. He was starting to grow tired of retelling everything, but Lance's silence was oddly comforting. He listened with an unbiased look across his face and allowed Adam to vent during the angry parts and cry during the sadder ones. Lance was kind enough to hand over tissues, into which he would blow his nose every so often.

Adam insisted that he had no more tears to give before crying again. Whenever he got to Lance, however, his heart thumped, and his expression lightened. He became more intimate as he confided in the bison, his mind letting out things he never thought he'd share. "And that's how I screwed myself but ended up with you, Lance." After blowing his nose again, Adam began to twirl the soft fur of Lance's arm in his fingers idly. "Got anything you want to confess? I feel like I just told you my life story," Adam joked as he scooted closer to Lance, his intimacy showing after confessing to the bison. Although he did not know what Lance thought of the whole situation, he did feel considerably lighter when he finished explaining the events.

"I'm...honestly not sure what to say about all of that," Lance admitted, slowly letting out a breath. "I mean, it sounds like all of your problems began because of me, and just my very presence in your life destroyed your chance at being happy with Jericho, who is a really sweet guy, and you two would have been really cute together, for the record."

Adam shook his head and said, "Don't say that. Jericho blamed himself too, and we ended up hurting one another. Please, don't blame yourself for this. If it's anybody's fault, it's mine for running off with Jericho in the first place. I should have just..." Adam trailed off and sniffed again before reaching across Lance's chest and plucking another kleenex from the box, blowing his nose again. He threw it into a small wastebasket Lance had grabbed over the course of that confession, and that was filled about a fourth of the way from Adam's snot-drenched kleenexes alone.

"Should have just what? Passed up on the chance at happiness with a guy you were certain you had feelings for, just because you had a crush on me? That would be foolish, and you know it, Adam," Lance stated reasonably. "You did what you thought would make you happy, but in the end, it just didn't work out. I'm sorry you've gone through so much these past few weeks...I had no idea. I never realized you were hurting inside from all of that, even when we were working out or going on our not-actually-a-date dates." He frowned at that, feeling like he had been blind this whole time. "I'm sorry."

"Eh, you couldn't have known. I should be sorry for manipulating Jericho. I treated him like shit, but I guess now I have to move on, huh? Jericho and I both fucked up, but I will just have to wrestle with my guilt." Looking up at Lance, Adam gave a soft smile. "Thanks for talking all this through with me."

"It's what friends are for," the bison smiled, though looking a little put off by his own words. "I'm glad having a shoulder to cry on...literally...was helpful for you."

Chuckling, Adam said, "I think you should spill some stuff, so then we are equal." Elbowing Lance's arm softly, Adam said, "Only kidding." Sitting in silence for a bit and feeling Lance's arm around his body, the buck looked up to Lance and asked, "So, what do you want to do now? You gave me the tour of your house last time, and we cuddled and watched movies before, so...want to do that again? Well, the movies, not the tour...not like your house is bad! Urgh, I'm blabbering again."

Lance smiled warmly and caressed Adam's cheek softly. "Well, there is another room I haven't shown you yet. Mostly because I'm a little embarrassed to show anyone...but, then, you're not just anyone. You've had one hell of a week, so I suppose I could give you something to laugh at me about."

Adam had an idea of where this was going, but he acted coy and said, "I bet it's not that embarrassing! What is it, like a room full of bondage gear? I do kind of like leather..." Giving a smirk at the comment and wiggling his bum, Adam flirted shamelessly, "If you have an 'X' harness, I may never let you go."

The bison blushed, neither confirming, nor denying that as he stood up and offered his hand to Adam, which the buck took, and Lance led him up the stairs in the foyer. Once on the second floor, the bovine lead Adam to the door at the end of the hallway, Lance hesitating as his hand rest on the doorknob. "Alright...no more secrets," he muttered, opening the door.

It had been totally dark in the room when Adam had snooped around in there before, but now that Lance opened the door and flicked the lights on, the bison's bedroom was revealed in its entirety. Posters hung all over the walls, not of sports teams or movie stars, but of science fiction and fantasy movies and television shows, the most prominent ones being The Lord of the Rings, Doctor Who, Harry Potter, and for some reason, Magic Mike, though considering Lance's profession, perhaps that shouldn't have been terribly surprising.

The bed itself looked like it was fashioned out of intertwining trees, with four logs at the four corners of the bed, and the branches of the trees meeting each log to form the sides. The amazing part, however, was that the bed was clearly hand-crafted, and judging by the craftsmanship, Lance himself had made the bed. The walls and floor had the same oaken-hew as the rest of the house, but the overall appearance of the room almost made it feel like the two of them had just walked into a cabin in the mountains, though clearly inhabited by a huge nerd.

The remaining furniture in the room, largely consisting of a standing dresser, a chest at the foot of the bed, another dresser with a mirror mounted above it, and a nightstand, upon which sat yet another metallic lamp, much like the ones downstairs in the living room. There was also a desk, upon which sat a computer monitor and an almost ridiculous number of action figures, anime and other movie paraphernalia, and above the desk, mounted on the wall, were the two most notable swords from Game of Thrones.

"So...yeah...this is the true me," Lance blushed. "I know we talked about some stuff already, but I never really wanted to admit just how much I wasn't the person I pretend to be on stage." He didn't look at Adam, almost as if he were afraid of the buck judging him based on this room.

"So, that's why you know like every reference I make..." Adam commented as he glanced at all the posters with a twinkle in his eyes. "I do especially like this one though..." Gesturing to the Magic Mike poster, Adam grabbed his shirt and mimicked the way the stripper stood, ripping his shirt off his body with his head pointed in the air. Adam chuckled as he adjusted his collar. Noticing that Lance still seemed uneasy, Adam walked up to him and lifted his chin up before saying, "Hey, I like all of this stuff. There is no need to be ashamed around anyone. Personally, I love what you did with the room."

Motioning over to Lance's bed, Adam said, "I also really like what you did with the bed. The craftsmanship is nice."

Lance blushed just a little brighter. "You mean it?" He smiled once he realized Adam liked the bed. "That's probably what took me the longest to make, and I consider it my masterpiece, silly as that sounds. If you lift up the mattress, I even made the underside entirely of intertwining wooden vines and branches, even a few pinecones carved into it."

Walking over to the bed, Adam did just that and noticed that the frame had intricate carvings in the wood that seemed to swirl around the branches. Adam looked over at Lance and said, "I've never pulled up a mattress to look at a frame before. How long did it take you to do this? The woodwork is fascinating."

"Way longer than I care to admit," Lance laughed, beaming at Adam's compliment. "Let's just say that I became very well acquainted with an air mattress for a while as I was making it."

Giving a small smile, Adam made a flirty gesture with his finger and said, "Well, I would not be against getting more comfortable with it either, cowboy." Tipping his imaginary hat, Adam placed the mattress down, crossed his arms, and leaned against the chest at the foot of the bed.

The bison blushed bright red, looking down at the his hands as he wrung them together. "I...erm...you aren't proposing....you know...right?"

Giving a giggle, Adam replied, "Not unless you want to. I was just suggesting some cuddling, but..." Shrugging, Adam then continued, "Again, I really like you, so I don't want to do anything that would make you uncomfortable."

Lance was silent for an almost uncomfortably long time as he continued looking like his hands were the most fascinating things on the planet. "Cuddling would be nice," he replied quietly, moving closer to the bed.

Smirking, Adam asked, "Alright! Big spoon or little spoon?", looking Lance up and down as he slid onto the soft mattress. Adam then laughed and said, "Who am I kidding? I'm little spoon, no matter what..." The bed was soft, and the plush sheets felt amazing against his tired body. The mattress was gentle enough that it cushioned him, but firm enough that it kept his body in a natural position. Rolling over until his stomach was facing the ceiling, Adam patted the spot that was open next to him.

The huge bison just kept blushing, even as he lay down on the bed next to Adam, laying on his back to stare at the ceiling and feeling oddly comfortable in spite of having someone else in his bed with him for the first time in a very long time. He turned onto his side so that he could look at the buck, and Lance just couldn't stop smiling. "I'm glad you came over tonight, Adam," he said softly.

"I'm glad to be here, Lance. It's nice to have someone to confide in and spend time with. The last person I was with..." Adam choked up a bit, but dropped the subject, and said, "Water under the bridge..."

Lance frowned slightly, but his smile came right back. "What matters is that you're here now," the bison said as he helped turn Adam onto his side. With one fluid motion, he pulled the smaller male to his chest, wrapping his arms around the buck and holding him tenderly with Adam's back to him.

Snuggling close to Lance's chest, Adam sighed contently as he felt the arms wrap around his smaller body, his mind quieting and his heartbeat slowing. The warmth from the bison was making him yawn as he huddled close to his friend. He looked over his shoulder and asked, "Lance?"

"Yeah, Adam?" the bison replied, sounding peaceful.

"Would you be against us being something...more?"

Lance was silent for a long while, his breathing even and warm across Adam's neck. "I wouldn't, but I don't know that tonight is the best night to take that step. You've had an emotional few days, so you might, you know, wanna take a few more days to really think about if this is what you really want."

Closing the distance between their two bodies as much as he could, Adam replied, "Okay. I was just curious." In fact, Adam was a bit more curious than he had ever thought he could be. It felt strange for him as he thought about how life had thrown him several curve balls before he ended up in Lance's arms like this. He was not frustrated or angered by Lance's answer, because he heard and understood the wisdom that the words held. The two laid in silence for nearly twenty minutes, each simply enjoying one another's presence. Adam felt his eyes start to weigh down, the mattress and Lance's body starting to tempt his eyes shut.

"Mmm, instead of dancing for clients, you should just cuddle people until they grow too tired to do anything. I would pay so much money for those services," the buck said with a weak laugh.

Chuckling softly and nuzzling lightly into Adam's neck, Lance replied, "That sounds like an interesting profession. I'd definitely get a lot of one-on-one time with my clients, that's for sure. Though, I think I'd miss getting showered in singles by horned-up guys," he added with a soft laugh.

"Your first guy who banged you instead of cuddling with you first was really missing out on something, Lance," Adam joked as he wiggled in Lance's grasp, finding the warmest spot. The chest seemed to be the closest to his preferred position. "Aren't you a little warm?" Adam asked with concern as he wiped a bit of sweat from his brow. He did not mind the heat; it felt wonderful, but he was worried about Lance's temperature.

Lance couldn't help but laugh at both comments. "He was a great lay, but ultimately not the best as far as boyfriend material goes, especially not for me, personally. As for the temperature, well, I'm a huge-ass bison with stupidly thick fur on my head, neck, shoulders, chest, and the whole way down south from there, so I know full well that you probably feel like you're snuggling with a friggin' radiator," the bison laughed. "That's why I try to keep my house fairly chilled, though heated from the fireplace if needed, because I generate so much heat naturally. Hell, that's why I'm always a sweaty mess whenever I'm done dancing on stage. All those hot lights and my thick fur just do not get along."

Adam felt a sinister smile cross his lips as the crotch of his pants bulged outward a bit. "It's fine. I was just wondering if you were comfortable. I do like my men sweaty when things get hot, so maybe it will be a bonus." Giving a chuckle, Adam felt himself purr involuntarily as he adjusted himself. His eyes were completely closed, and his speech towards the end of the sentence became a bit long and lethargic. The buck knew himself well enough that his body was preparing itself to rest.

"You like it when guys sweat in summer?" Lance replied with a coy smirk. "I'll keep that in mind."

"No, you...silly sod...you...se-" Soon, the buck was drooling onto the bed covers and snoring lightly in Lance's arms. His body was as limp as a noodle, and he looked peaceful as he was whisked away into his dreams.

Smiling softly to himself, Lance nuzzled into Adam's neck a little more, sniffing the buck's scent a little and finding it pleasing. He shifted ever so slightly, and soon he, too, was drifting off, both bison and buck asleep on the comfortable bed, lights still on, but neither of them was awake to care.

As Adam stirred in Lance's grip, he gave a yawn and blinked as the harsh artificial light blinded him for a second. He rubbed his eyes and looked around, noticing that Lance was nuzzled up against him and seemed to be sound asleep. Looking towards the window, Adam watched the morning light stream in, and everything started to come back to him from the evening before; the confession to Lance, the bison taking Adam up to his room, and then the cuddling afterwards before falling asleep. Stretching and hearing his back give a crack, Adam gave a sigh of contentment. He felt refreshed as he laid in the bison's arms, his mouth stretching into a smile as he cuddled against Lance.

"Thank God I'm off work today," Adam mumbled to himself as he enjoyed the embrace the bison wrapped him in.

Apparently, Lance was a very heavy sleeper, since the buck's stretching didn't even wake the bison. He just kept lightly snoring in his deep, peaceful slumber as he lay there with Adam in his arms, only wrinkling his muzzle slightly and snorting softly when one of Adam's antlers grazed his nose.

Feeling Lance's cold nose come to rest against his head, Adam cooed to Lance in his sleep and reached out before jokingly pinching one of the bison's cheeks gently and saying, "You're so adorable. I loooooove it." Turning over, Adam planted a kiss on Lance's lips and laid back down on the soft pillow. He closed his eyes and felt Lance's warm breath wash over his face as the bison slept.

His breathing continued at a steady, even pace for roughly the next half hour, but soon Lance started to stir, yawning deeply. The bison stretched his stiff muscles for a while, and then eventually his eyes slowly fluttered open to see the buck in his arms, making him smile softly almost instantly. "Well, good morning, handsome," he chuckled softly with that same, heartwarming smile.

Adam smiled and said, "Good morning, big guy. It seems, even in the morning, you still have that charming smile on your face." Reaching forward, Adam stroked Lance's cheek and added, "How did you sleep?"

"Like a baby," the massive bovine chuckled. "Had one hell of a dream too. How about you?"

"Really well. I didn't dream much, though. What did you dream about, if you don't mind me asking?" Adam asked innocently as he wiggled closer to Lance's face.

Lance's lips curved upwards into a smirk. "Well, it involved you vomiting into the dumpster behind a sushi restaurant, falling in, and ending up in Narnia, somehow. I had to jump in after you and save you from a faun who was quite insistent that he was your guardian, and the only way to protect you was to make you drink a potion that turned you into a female. Gotta say, you were pretty hot, for a female, at least," the bison grinned.

Adam blinked and then burst out laughing. "Out of everything, that was not what I was expecting, but I'm glad that I was attractive as a female. You are a very vivid dreamer, Lance!" Feeling his insides start to hurt from laughing so hard, Adam cooled down, and then said, "I'm actually kind of envious that you can dream so vividly. Mine are just blackness with patches of color. They are interesting, but I miss the form to them."

The bison snorted softly with a hint of laughter. "My dreams are just absurd, most of the time. Some people have dreams of getting lost in their high school or having to give a speech, naked, but I'm the guy who dreams that I'm Santa Claus and I have to ride my trusty reindeer, Dasher, the dancer from the club, not the fictitious reindeer, and yes I know he's a caribou, but it's my mission to save Christmas after the elves came down with a curious case of Dengue Fever, somehow."

Adam started to laugh again and managed to say though his giggling, "I-I am so glad that I have never had something....something that strange!" Adam then imagined the bison sitting on the caribou with a Santa Claus hat and Dasher in a red harness with bells tied to it. "You should totally journal them!"

"I did journal them for a few years there, but I haven't done it too recently," Lance grinned. "I'll have to share them with you sometime, if you ever need a good reason to laugh at me."

Adam chuckled and said, "I would probably laugh a little bit, but only a little! I don't judge." Stretching and getting up out of bed, Adam could feel his clothes were a bit sweaty when the cooled air from the AC hit his back, but he did not mind. The cuddling with the bison was heavenly enough that he looked past it. Looking back at Lance, Adam jumped back on the bed, but this time on top of Lance and nuzzled into his chest.

"I had no idea you were such a fan of nuzzling flannel shirts," Lance laughed with a small smirk on his handsome face. "I've got an entire closet of them, if you can find a good color you want to snuggle with."

On that note, Adam inhaled some of Lance's scent to smell pine and wood, as well as Lance's natural musk. He blushed slightly at the mixture, but he enjoyed the masculinity of it. The red and black checkered flannel looked great on Lance, and it really brought out his body.

"Well, as much as I do like snuggling up against your shirt, I like the muscle underneath, too. You're a good looking guy, Lance, and..." Adam stopped, but then shrugged and said it anyway, "And when you bounce your pecs involuntarily a little in your sleep, I... really liked it when it moved my head ever so slightly."

The bison instantly blushed, though he chuckled as well. "I...can honestly say I never knew I did that in my sleep. I'm glad you like it, though, I guess!" Lance laughed. "Play your cards right, and maybe I'll have the shirt off next time you sleep over," he winked. "Assuming we don't just fall asleep with the lights on again, totally not even ready to get in bed."

Smiling mischievously, Adam leaned forward until his lips were close to Lance's and said, jokingly, "I'm at your command. I'll do whatever you need, so I can have the pleasure of sleeping with a shirtless stud!"

"First order of business is to get a nice breakfast and then go to the gym," Lance replied with a smirk. "After that, well, you get to wait until next weekend anyway, until we're both off next. You just got lucky that today's a holiday and the library is closed, since it's Monday now. Good little bucks have to go to their jobs, after all!"

Adam playfully whimpered, and then said, "I guess I can't have my dessert if I can't even afford food." Nuzzling into Lance's shirt, but making sure not to jab Lance with his antlers, Adam sighed, and said, "It will be nice spending the day at the gym with you though. I have not worked out in a while."

"I noticed. You've gotten all flabby!" Lance joked, jabbing Adam in the stomach with a finger and meeting the toned, now surprisingly solid muscles underneath that he had helped the buck cultivate over the past month.

Although Adam wanted to say something cocky to Lance's surprised face, Adam just giggled and slapped his finger away, saying, "I may have had a couple of cheat days here or there, but you should see me in my swim trunks now. Man, I look better than before! I think I have you to thank for that."

"Damn straight you do!" Lance smirked. "There's a very good reason why I make you do two hundred sit-ups and a shitload of workouts that target your core. Your torso was nice before, but now it's really firmed up and gained some definition, from what I saw last time we were at the gym. Now, if I could just get your pecs to develop a bit more, then you'd be pretty set, since your arms and legs are well on their way towards gaining strength and size."

"You just like it when I have to spread my legs a bit for sit-ups, don't you?" Adam teased as he rubbed Lance's chest in a clockwise motion. When Lance gave him a bit of a look, Adam held up his hands and said, "Only kidding!" He then mumbled, "But not really..." Chuckling as he felt his morning wood rub against his pants, Adam shook his head at his own arousal before beating back the urge to kiss the soft lips in front of him.

Lance grinned. "No, the real perk of making you do sit-ups is getting to hold onto those dainty little doe hooves of yours," he winked playfully. "I mean, have you seen how cute those are? They look like little baby shoes compared to my massive friggin' clomping hooves," the bison laughed, holding up and bending a leg to show off his impressively large hoof for effect.

Noticing how large the hoof was, Adam chuckled and replied, "Dainty little doe hooves, huh?" Adam smiled at the teasing he received, and his muscles flexed involuntarily as his ego was played with. His eyes twinkled with mischievous intentions in the light that reflected off his pupils. "Well, I guess, in comparison, they are. I remember having to hold down your legs, and I could barely wrap my hands around them. You are one massive guy, and part of me doesn't wonder why other guys at the gym look you over." Reaching forward, Adam touched the hoof to feel the smoothness of it and chuckled when he held up his own hoof to compare. It overshadowed his easily, no competition.

The bison chuckled. "To my knowledge, there are only a few gay males that regularly work out there, but I imagine there are others. Though I do get a lot of envious stares from guys who wish they could get this kind of body, but let's be honest, short of taking up bodybuilding, little guys like foxes and coyotes just don't get this big. You, however, have a good shot at getting something close to this, because stags have a great musculature for that kind of thing."

Adam blushed as he imagined his body as large as Lance's once again, the two flexing in the locker room before stripping and showering together. All of the sudden, the cool air of the AC did not feel so cool, and Adam's pulse began to get a bit faster. Smiling, Adam said, "We could have a flex-off, sometime, when I get bigger! Now, that would be sexy!"

"First person to tear through five t-shirts just by flexing is the winner!" Lance laughed. "Or were you thinking about striking poses and getting judged?"

"Either or would be great, but I may have to get some old shirts," the buck joked as he straddled Lance's chest and flexed his own biceps confidently. Adam grinned down at the bison as he did so, making sure to show off his definition. In his own mind, he could hear the fabric tearing in his t-shirts.

Lance chuckled at first, but then his eyes widened, and he blushed. His snout was close enough to the buck's crotch at this point that he could pick up the other male's scent clearly, the scent being thick with the buck's arousal. "Erm...you uh...doing alright up there?" Lance asked, not wanting to be rude and push Adam away.

Adam stopped for a moment and raised an eyebrow, saying, "What do you m-" Following Lance's eyes, Adam noticed the tent he was sporting in his shorts, and he felt a creeping embarrassment wash over him. "Umm, do you want me to get off of you?" Adam felt his mouth form into a nervous smile as he moved his body away from Lance's muzzle, but still straddled the bison.

"If it's...erm...not too mean to ask you to..." Lance replied, blushing. "It was only a faint whiff, but it's...well...I'm trying very hard not to let any problems of my own...arise."

Feeling something poke his rump when he moved back far enough, Adam stopped in his tracks and grinned before getting off of Lance and scooting back, saying, "Sorry, I did not mean to...you know...arouse you or make you uncomfortable."

"It's...alright," Lance chuckled a little nervously, sitting up and pulling his legs up towards his chest to hide what was happening to him. "I just...well, in all honesty, I just don't want to be tempted to move too fast with you, you know? A rampant erection that steals the blood from my brain would just ruin everything."

Adam chuckled and said, "I know how that feels. Do you get morning wood as bad as I do?"

"Sometimes," Lance admitted with a blush. "I'm glad it didn't happen this morning, or else we would have had an awkward moment when we woke up."

Grinning, Adam said, "Yeah, I usually have it bad every morning. Today was no exception, so I...apologize if I took it too fast." Nuzzling against Lance's neck, Adam breathed in the pine scent and felt his erection throb in his underwear. He shrugged the feeling away and just concentrated on the moment that they were sharing together.

"It's totally okay, I promise," the bison assured Adam. "It's a totally natural thing to have happen. I just, you know, didn't want you to get the wrong idea. I mean, based off your story you told me last night, it sounds like jumping the gun and getting intimate has lead to a lot of heartache, and I'd rather avoid that, if at all possible."

Giving a nod, Adam answered back with, "Yeah. Perhaps taking it slow would be better for both of us in the long run. I'm just glad you stopped me before we...took it further." Giving a giggle at his lewd remark, Adam said, "I probably would have flexed for you longer. I like to show off."

Lance smiled softly. "Trust me, I love watching you show off, Adam. I get a weird satisfaction seeing you flex the body I helped you build."

Smirking, Adam lifted up his biceps, flexed them once again, and said, "Glad you like it, stud! It's nice to show off what you helped me create." Lowering his arms back down to his side, Adam then said, "I know you want to take it slow, but do you mind if I kiss you again?"

Blurting this out almost out of the blue, Adam blushed at his own eagerness to feel Lance's lips against his own. He shivered at his dirty thoughts and chided himself, but at the same time, he felt that familiar excitement of doing something passionate.

Giving the buck a soft smile, Lance shifted forwards onto his knees and pulled Adam up into a soft yet passionate kiss, their lips locking as they both knelt there on the soft blankets. The bison's arms held Adam there tenderly, wrapping him in the bovine's warmth.

Moaning slightly into the kiss, the buck worked his lips until their was a light smacking sound as they kissed each other lovingly. Adam smiled into the act, letting his worries fade as he wrapped his own arms around Lance's neck and pulled the bison close. Pushing his body against Lance's, Adam felt something in his stomach flutter as he continued through the motions, enjoying the way their bodies interacted with one another during this passionate moment. Grabbing Lance's hand, Adam rubbed it gently as he focused on the bison's lips against his.

Making a small, deep moan into their kissing, Lance slowly leaned backwards, taking Adam with him as he flopped back onto the blankets, pulling the buck onto his chest, their lips never once parting, not even for a moment. It started out slow and uncertain at first, but the bison slowly opened his mouth a little and lightly prodded at Adam's lips with his tongue as they kept making out passionately, the appendage timidly seeking entry into the deer.

Adam felt a shiver down his spine as he parted his lips, and he felt the tongue slowly move forward into his mouth, the thick tongue moving slowly around between the buck's lips. Adam groaned with a deep seeded desire as the tongue moved around inside of his mouth, making Adam kiss Lance deeper to signify he was enjoying the more adventurous move.

Before long, Lance's tongue was dancing a waltz of passion with Adam's between their mouths, the bison's large hands slowly sliding up along the buck's sides before slipping around to his back and caressing the smaller male lovingly. Lance was lost in the passion of the moment, happily moaning and groaning into their increasingly passionate kiss as their tongues explored every inch of each others' mouth.

Moving his hands down the bison's broad back, Adam gripped the muscle firmly as he felt the kiss become more intense. Shivering as Lance's hands trailed along his hips and sides of his lower body, Adam smiled into the kiss as his own tongue battled against the broader, flat tongue. Throughout the whole experience, Adam was glad that the window in Lance's bedroom was positioned in a way that no one could see their kiss explode into something heated, and no one walking down the sidewalk could see in, since they were on the second floor.

After what felt like a solid half hour of intense making out, rubbing, and caressing, Lance slowly broke the kiss, blushing deeply as he smiled a bright, goofy smile. "Well that was...intense," he chuckled. "Unexpected, but not unwelcome!"

After taking a large breath, Adam gasped before licking his lips. He could still taste the bison on his lips, and he replied, "Yeah, but...whoa. You are a great kisser, Lance!" Giving a giggle, Adam leaned forward and gave Lance another peck on his lips before sitting back up. "You seem to really like my hips," the buck mentioned with a sly wink as he felt Lance's hands on his sides. Giving his rump a shake, Adam smiled up at the bison before saying, "Maybe I should be the one to dance for you sometime."

Lance laughed. "I wouldn't be against that. You've got a nice body, and with hips like these, I'm sure you could maybe even teach me a thing or two," he winked. "But it's good to know I'm not rusty at kissing. It's been....hrm, probably at least a year since I've done anything this intimate with someone."

Pondering for a moment, Adam realized just how promiscuous he had been over the last year alone, and he tallied the numbers in his head. He was happy that he was just in the single digits. "You still got it, then. Glad I can be the one to get you back into the swing of it," Adam purred seductively, though still trying to keep himself reserved. "Of course, we'll take it one step at a time," Adam mentioned as he walked his fingers down Lance's broad pectorals. It was exhilarating to the deer that he got to touch the mounds of muscle in such a casual and intimate way outside of the club. He loved the fact that Lance was enjoying the touch as much as Adam liked giving it to him, and the fact that Lance no longer thought of the intimate moments as business deals, but as raw signs of something more passionate.

The bison gave a small, involuntary shiver from Adam's touch, smiling the whole time as the fingers traversed his gently rising and falling, bulging pecs. "I'm glad that you could be the one to help me dust off my skills," Lance smiled, making a deep, happy noise in his throat as the buck's fingers played with the thicker pelt of fur on his chest which was exposed above the buttons of his flannel shirt.

"It's no problem, big guy," Adam said cheerfully as he felt the rumble against his hand. "Now, I think we better get ready to work out. As much as I enjoyed that kissing session, after a hard workout, it will be ten times better." Stroking Lance's cheek, the deer gave a smile when the bison continued to purr as he continued to rub the bovine's chest. "Or...we can just skip that, and I can massage your body all day. Either way, I'm content."

The decision was clearly a hard one to make, judging by Lance's expression. "What if we got a good workout in, then came back here for that massage?" he asked with an innocent smile. "Those pecs aren't going to build themselves!" he added, poking Adam in the chest with a grin.

"Ooomf! Yeah, yeah, but I want to be able to grope you afterwards! Maybe I can have you return the favor," Adam said with his tongue sticking out deviously as he gave Lance's pectorals a tight squeeze before leaning up off of the bison and turning around until his hooved feet were off the bed. Looking over his shoulder, the buck then realized that he did not bring extra pairs of clothes. Adam had a feeling that a t-shirt and baggy pants were not going to cut it either.

"That seems only fair, but what's with the look?" Lance asked, sitting up and looking a little confused as to why Adam appeared to be zoning out for a moment.

"Oh, it's the fact that I do not have extra clothes for working out with me. I can try to work out in baggy shorts and my tee, but it won't be pretty," Adam said with a chuckle as he crossed his arms over his chest and looked over his shoulder to look at Lance. "I would feel kinda bad if I had to borrow clothes from you, too." Thinking back, Adam remembered Jericho's "Security" shirt was still in his dresser from long ago when they had their fallout. The deer could not part with it, so it had been tossed in his dresser to gather dust.

Lance looked thoughtful for a moment. "I think I have a few old t-shirts from the Foxhole. Older versions that we weren't going to keep, since Mr. Tux got new ones designed for sale at the bar," the bison amended. "I didn't have the heart to throw them in the dumpster, so I just held onto them. I know there are some smalls or mediums in the box somewhere," Lance said, getting up off the bed and going over to his closet, opening it, and pulling out a box from the back. He rummaged through it for a moment before tossing a baby blue t-shirt with the club's logo on the front to Adam. "They look atrocious, but it's the only thing I've got that might fit you. If you want a newer one, though, you'll have to buy one from Toby. Though, thinking about it now, that only solves your shirt problem, not your pants problem...Maybe my basketball shorts will fit you?"

Not expecting the toss, Adam felt the shirt land on his antlers, and he pulled it off to see how truly clashing the design looked with the nearly blinding color. Although Adam was thankful that Lance was kind enough to let him borrow clothes, he was pretty disgusted by the shirt. Part of him was somewhat afraid of what he would give him for the shorts. "It looks fantastic, Lance. Thank you!" Adam managed to choke out before peeling off his own shirt. Showing off his toned chest and abs, the deer made sure to flex the muscles teasingly as he pulled up his arms to put the Foxhole's shirt over his chest. He adjusted the way the shirt fit on his body accordingly, but it gave his body room to breathe without suffocating him, though the buck could smell the cardboard stench on the shirt as he pulled it over his abs.

"C'mon, did you have to put it on so fast?" Lance smirked as he looked back from his closet. "I was enjoying the show! And I'm legitimately impressed at how fast you got it on, given your antlers. I don't have to deal with that, thankfully, since my horns are pretty short, all things considered." Searching through his closet, he located his basketball shorts, some unassuming black ones with a stretchy elastic waistband, which he tossed to Adam.

Catching the shorts, Adam grinned and said, "Well, you do get one more shot to catch everything when I strip off my shorts. Do you want me to give you a countdown before I pull these babies off?" Grabbing the waistband of his baggy shorts, Adam gave them a pull to show off the waistband of his jockstrap as he got up off the bed and walked towards the middle of the room. Although the deer did like getting his ego stroked from different guys, there was something different about getting compliments from Lance. Since the bison was a stripper, getting flattered by one of the sexiest guys in the area did raise his confidence quite a bit. It was also a turn-on for the buck that Lance saw something in him emotionally as well as physically.

"Depends, do I get to see the whole package, or do you plan on keeping the shirt on for this bit?" the bison grinned a little mischievously. "Granted, I've only ever seen you wearing just a speedo, but if I'm gonna finally see what was hidden under that speedo, the shirt would just taint the image, wouldn't you agree?" he smirked. Perhaps Lance was spurred on by the steadily growing tent in his own pants, but their passionate makeout session had awoken something within the generally shy and reserved bovine.

Blushing at the comment, Adam felt a submissive need to please start to rise in him as the bison's words reverberated through his mind. Adam had to admit, Lance's compliments at the gym got to him, and he eventually pushed back his own reserved nature and bought a light orange speedo that clashed with Lance's own lime green one for swimming. Smiling lustfully back at Lance, Adam reached down below the shirt and pulled it off before dropping it in front of him. He stuck his thumbs in the waistband of his baggy shorts, unbuttoned them, and let the shorts fall down to his ankles before stepping out of them.

His tail flicked nervously as it rose to show off the white underside, and his cream and white colored fur glimmered in the sunlight. Crossing his arms over his torso, Adam struck a bit of a pose with his right hip leaning to the side. The light red jockstrap around his hips brought out his rump as the two elastic straps went around his backside and connected to the pouch in front. He gave a smile at Lance and said, "I agree about the shirt, but the element of surprise is always nice," Adam commented cheekily.

Lance's mouth hung open slightly, openly gawking at the beautiful sight before him. "G-goddamn, you look amazing," the bison said, breathing a little heavier than before as his hand slid into his pocket, took out his phone, and snapped a quick picture. "That blows your previous contact info picture out of the water," he grinned.

Chuckling and running playfully over to Lance, Adam started to reach for the bison's phone that was clutched tenderly in his right hand and said, "H-hey! I never said you could take a picture! That costs extra!" He started to try to wrestle the phone out of Lance's hand, but the bison easily fought him off by pushing Adam's chest away from him with his left hand. There was another flash of the camera as Lance smiled at the phone, and Adam was busy trying to reach it with a blush across his face.

"I'm sure I can make it up to you somehow," Lance grinned, slipping his phone back into his pocket before grabbing Adam and pulling the buck into a deep kiss, gripping his toned rump in the jockstrap as he held Adam's nearly naked body flush against his own, clothed body.

Gripping Lance's shoulders, Adam whimpered into the kiss as he felt Lance's hand start to squeeze his backside. He yipped at the feeling, but the buck wrapped his arms around Lance's neck as he began to move his own tongue near the bison's lips, seeking entry. Adam could feel his heart begin to pound in his chest as the nervousness began to fade into a deep, carnal attraction.

The bison's mouth, unsurprisingly, obliged the buck's tongue and opened wide to resume their earlier dance of tongues between their mouths, the two males kissing deeply and passionately, the heat of their mouths radiating into one another's'. It was with great effort, however, that Lance slowly broke their kiss, panting slightly as he looked down into Adam's eyes with a smile. "It just gets better every time," Lance smirked, his hands moving up from the buck's rump to gently hold his hips.

Through his panting, Adam said, "W-we need to stop before I begin molesting you..." Wiggling his hips in Lance's grasp, Adam was surprised by Lance's dominating gestures; the way he pulled him into the kiss and instigated the intimate gesture was more of a turn-on than the kiss itself. Adam had a hard time trying to conceal his own arousal in the situation, but Lance did not seem to mind Adam poking it against his thigh. It seemed the bison was having just as hard of a time as Adam; the deer could feel Lance's manhood against his abs. Adam could feel that monster throb against him, and he trembled slightly as naughty thoughts began to assault him.

Suddenly, Lance pulled back from Adam, stepping away and blushing profusely. "Sorry! I just realized I was poking you in your stomach. Heh, guess you got me going pretty well," he nervously chuckled.

Slumping onto the floor with his tail held high, Adam looked up at Lance and said, "Yeah. Glad you enjoyed it as much as I did. Maybe we should blow off some steam by working out before we relinquish our civility and screw like animals, because I'm feeling it right now." Feeling a heat rush through his body, Adam smiled in bliss and continued, "I should probably put some clothes on."

Lance nodded vigorously. "I'll go grab my gym bag. You, um, go ahead and get dressed, and meet me downstairs in a bit, okay?" the bison suggested as he grabbed a change of clothes and half-fled the bedroom.

"Wait, Lance," Adam said as he lifted his arm off of the floor like he was dying and turned over onto his back to stare at the ceiling.

"Nope! I can't hear you!" Lance laughed back as his hooves were heard clomping down the stairs.

Adam huffed and placed his arm over his eyes with a smile. Leaning upward, he got up off of the cold, wooden floor, and made his way over to grab the shorts and shirt. He grinned and said, "I owe you one," as he pulled the clothes on and made his way downstairs with a kick in his step. Luckily, the jockstrap managed to keep his arousal hidden. "Lance, I need to borrow your duffel bag too! My old clothes need to be stored somewhere!" Adam shouted with a giggle as his hooves clacked down the stairs.

The house was eerily quiet for about an hour before there was the jingling of keys once again, and a sweaty bison along with a refreshed buck strolled through the door. Adam had a pair of sweaty gym shorts and a t-shirt thrown over his shoulder while Lance had the signature duffel bag over his. Wearing the baggy shorts and t-shirt from the previous day, the buck could smell the bison all over them. Adam sighed in relief as he walked inside to smell the fresh pine air as it filled his lungs, and he was giddy in his after workout high. His fur shined without a spec of sweat. The smell that wafted off of him smelled fruity, but not overly strong. Looking over at Lance, Adam punched the bison's shoulder before saying, "We made it back, big guy! I thought you were going to kill me today."

"That was the goal!" Lance laughed, tossing his gym bag beside the door as he shut it behind them. "And you survived with flying colors! I'm probably gonna go get a shower, but if you wanna help yourself to some tea or something in the kitch--" His words were cut off as the phone in his pocket started buzzing. "Oh shit..."

Lance answered the phone, putting it to his ear. "Hey, what's up?" A pause. "Oh no! For real? Well, I had plans, but I guess I'll have to cancel." Another, longer pause. "No, no, it's fine. If we're short-staffed, I'd be remiss in my duties if I let you guys go through the night with only one person. I'll be in in..." he looked at his watch, "like an hour or so. Is that alright?" Another pause. "Awesome. Okay, I'll see you in a bit, boss."

The bison ended the call with a heavy sigh. "Goddammit..."

"Ahh, work problems? It's all good. I'm the one who decided to come over unannounced yesterday. We still have later this week to relax," Adam said as he tried to comfort the bison. "If you don't mind me asking, what happened that made the Lounge short-staffed? It's nothing serious, is it?" Thinking back to Jericho, Adam felt the concern in his voice come out a bit more as his mind started to race.

Lance chuckled a little at how silly his words were about to sound. "Today's supposed to be my night off, but apparently Dasher and Garl both ate some bad steak, or something, and they both called in sick with some less than pleasant symptoms. So, that means, unless I go in, poor Jacob, erm, Fang, the panther, would have to keep the crowds happy all by himself. Sure, it would lead to more dollar bills stuffed in his skimpy loincloth, but that would mean he has to do six dances by himself, and trust me, it's far more exhausting than you'd think."

Nodding, Adam grabbed Lance's left shoulder and said, "I understand. Do you need any help to prepare you for tonight? I can't really give you that massage I promised you, but maybe I can lay out your clothes or something." Giving Lance's shoulder a reassuring squeeze, Adam felt a strange need to please Lance and make the annoyance at least a bit more tolerable. He went out of his way to help people, occasionally, but this time was different. He wanted to create a tighter relationship between himself and Lance.

The bison smiled softly at that proposal. "If you want to go pick out a pair of jeans and a t-shirt for me, I won't stop you. Underwear and socks are in the dresser drawers. I appreciate your help, Adam," Lance said, giving the buck a quick peck on the cheek. "I'll be in the shower, okay?" Without another word, Lance walked upstairs and entered a door at the other end of the hall from his bedroom, the sound of a running shower being heard a moment later. Adam followed Lance up the stairs but took the opposite door back into Lance's room.

Rummaging through Lance's dresser, Adam found a nice pair of hunter green briefs that caught his eye, a plain white tee shirt, and a pair of dark, but appropriate jeans that looked well made and suitable for walking. Adam smiled at his handiwork as he laid them out onto the bed and whistled as he folded them nicely. He stopped for a moment as he worked on making the t-shirt presentable and thought of an image with him in a maid costume, helping Lance out with assorted cleaning tasks around the house with a feather duster in one hand and a canister of cleaning solution in the other. Adam shook the image from his head with a snicker and continued with his task, making sure everything was where it needed to be.

Five minutes later, Lance walked into the room, his thick fur looking damp and sticking to his flesh, and it highlighted his musculature perfectly as the wet bison walked around with a towel wrapped around his waist. "Looks like a pretty solid choice of outfit," he smiled. "Wanna wait in the hall while I change?"

Adam instantly thought of the over-expressive anime he watched where a guy has a massive nose-bleed everywhere. Realizing that he was the one now gawking at Lance, his eyes trailed over the massive muscles in all their glory, and the bulge in the towel. Adam smiled back at Lance and said, "No." Adam saw Lance's smile turn into a playful frown, and the buck sighed before walking towards the doorway out of Lance's room. In his curiousity, he did manage to sneak a glance of Lance's butt, which was covered by the towel.

"I'm going to listen for the sound of the door shutting the whole way," Lance smirked, looking over his shoulder at Adam. "No voyeurism for you tonight, naughty buck!"

Adam mumbled something a bit inappropriate before walking out of the door and closing it until he heard the click himself. Giggling, the deer said, "I would never!" Hearing the whoosh of the towel hitting the floor, part of the buck wanted to run inside and catch a glance. That part of him did not care about the consequences, only the beautiful male on the other side.

"Open that door, and you really ARE going to end up in the basement with an axe in your skull!" Lance joked darkly, pulling on his clothes.

"Ohhh, kinky!" Adam said in a mock seductive voice before leaning against the door, his mind racing as he thought of how big or small Lance would be down in his more private areas. Adam smiled at the thought of getting on his knees, submitting himself to the large male, opening up his mouth, and-

Lance opened the door, and the buck fell forward into the room with an "omph", his face landing right below Lance's large hooves. As the bison looked down at him, he felt a small amount of intimidation. His ears drooped, and he gave an innocent smile up at Lance.

"You know I purposely opened the door that quickly, right?" he grinned. "I had this crazy feeling that you'd be right there at the door, listening in on me getting changed. How do I know this? Well, my job is dancing for pervs like you, so I know how you think," he laughed, bending down and helping Adam up, dusting him off. "I won't be back until the wee hours of the morning, so I guess this is where we'll have to part ways today, as much as I don't wanna."

"I understand," Adam said comfortingly as he picked up the clothes that fell off of his shoulders and threw them over his body once again. "But, I did enjoy the time I spent with you. You're a nice guy, Lance, and I could kiss you all day." Giving a smile, Adam then continued, "Text me, and let me know when you want to meet up again. We can keep in touch."

The bison smiled warmly as he led Adam down to the foyer. "Trust me, the second I know when I'm free next, you'll be the first person to know. Until then, I'll just have to settle for you sexting me." He grinned. "I'm kidding," Lance laughed. "Keep in touch, buck." He leaned down and gave Adam a short kiss on the lips before ushering him out of the house, Lance locking the door behind them, both buck and bison parting ways and driving off in different directions.

---

Working the small numpad on his phone like a professional typist, Adam's fingers moved swiftly across the keys. A smile was around his face as he did so, leaning on a bookshelf that was organized and tidy. A small stack of books was to Adam's side, nearly up to his ankle.

"Hey, if you want, I can get something sexy. ;)"

He chuckled at his sensual remark as he hit the send button and began to scroll through the back and forth texts that Lance and Adam had been sending to each other. It had been nearly an hour of their short, curt conversations with a few long paragraphs here and there. Lots of winky faces were scattered through the messages.

"You wearing nothing at all would be far sexier than anything you could possibly wear ;)," was Lance's reply to that.

"Adam!" a shrill voice from behind the buck shouted, making him jump in surprise. "Text your girlfriend on your own time!" Margaret scolded, somehow having snuck up on Adam while he had been texting Lance. The shorter tabby cat looked like the stereotypical grandma, complete with half-moon glasses attached to a cord, curly hair on her head, which likely was because she used rollers at night, a cheap pearl necklace around her neck, a polka dotted dress that looked over three decades old and very out of style, and to top it all off, the overwhelming scent of mothballs pervaded the air around her at all times.

Adam cringed at the voice and quickly pocketed his phone before starting to organize books once again. "Yes, boss," the buck managed to reply half-heartedly as he imagined snakes coming from Margaret's hair and a forked tongue slowly coming out of her mouth. He had to suppress a giggle at the thought when she glared at him to continue. The work that Adam did was not hard, but it was tedious, and the buck hated doing tedious work for long periods of time.

"What's wrong with you lately?" she half-hissed. "The whole last month, you've been slacking far more than normal. Just the other day, I found a children's book in with the non-fiction books, and you had totally overlooked it! On top of that, you've been so distracted by that little whatchamacallit in your hand," she gestured to the phone Adam had put in his pocket, "that you shelved a book marked 125.4 next to one that was marked 353.2! Do I need to remind you how the Dewey Decimal System works?" the tabby librarian sneered.

Adam smiled back, but it was incredibly strained. Grabbing another book, Adam slid it into its appropriate slot as his eyebrow twitched in annoyance, but he managed to swallow his pride. "I'm sorry. It won't happen again," the buck managed to say. In his mind, he thought, "Have you taken a math class recently? No, because that was fifty years ago, you stuck up witch! Where is your broomstick?!" Imagining Margaret zooming around the city on a dirty old closet mop made the buck see a bit of humor in the situation.

The grey and black furred feline stalked away after rolling her eyes, the smell of mothballs remaining for just a while, even after her departure. The silence of the library was restored, if only momentarily, until Margaret would find something else to criticise Adam about. The buck sighed as he glanced around, pulling out his phone once again. A wide grin spread across his face when he began to type out his response.

"I think that could be arranged sometime, stud ;)."

He giggled before glancing around quickly and pocketing his phone before Margaret got the scent that he was slacking off again. He swiftly got back to work, starting to place the books in their appropriate places. The fact that he was having this back and forth conversation with Lance at work where anyone could look over his shoulder at his phone and instantly snoop on him was a turn-on for the buck, and he basked in the riskiness of the situation.

Adam's phone vibrated in his hand before he could even pocket the phone. The reply from Lance read: "Sheesh, what's that lady's problem, am I right? Then again, if you spent more time paying attention to your work than the bison in the fiction section, you might actually make her happy!"

Reading the text message, Adam was a bit confused for a moment before looking over to see the bison wearing a pair of sophisticated-looking glasses and sitting in a chair with a book open on his lap. He clutched his phone in his hand and waved it around a bit with a smug look across his face. Adam, eyes wide in shock, ran over to Lance (as quietly as possible, at least, when one has hooves), and gave him a hug around his neck.

"Finally, you now get a tour of my work! How are you, and what made you drop by?" Adam whispered with a bit of a laugh as he looked around to see if his boss was anywhere nearby.

Thankfully, Margaret was nowhere in sight. "Well, I got off work at four in the morning, got some breakfast, and thought to myself, 'You know what would be fun? Surprising Adam at work!' So I killed some time at the gym, got a shower, took a nap, and now here I am," Lance grinned.

"Well, now you know how I make a living...and that I do make a living," Adam joked as he thought about how many times Lance paid for his meals. "So, what else do you have on the agenda today? Just going to watch me stack books for hours on end? At least, when you work, I get some entertainment."

"Oh this is entertainment enough, trust me," the musclebound bison smirked. "I've just been watching that cute little ass of yours stack books and put stuff back on the shelf right there for a while now, but the best part would be the cute little tail flick you do when you look at a text I just sent you," Lance grinned. "Besides, hiding out back here in this chair let me see you in your natural environment, even if that environment contains an old buzzard who should really just retire already."

Giggling with a blush, Adam said, "Yeah, she should probably retire. I've heard she has more cats than sanity now, but ehh, who am I to judge?" Feeling his mouth widening into a grin, the buck said, "So, you've seen everything, then? I kind of like the texts you have been sending me recently."

Now it was Lance's turn to blush. "Really? I was just doing it to see if I could get a rise out of you while you were working, but if you really liked it, I guess I could...you know...keep doing that," he smiled bashfully.

Adam smirked in reply, saying in a hushed whisper near Lance's ear, "Keep doing that, and we may be doing stuff without any clothes on pretty quick." Playfully biting Lance's ear, the buck pulled away quickly, before anyone could notice.

Lance grinned brightly. "Who's to say that's not what I was trying for? I mean, well, I wasn't exactly trying, in the conventional sense. Just kinda teasing. And I don't want to rush you into bed or anything, because I respect you and what we have too much to risk a potentially foolish move like that," the brown-furred bovine said in a hushed, shy tone.

"Ahh, we will go as fast or as slow as you want, big guy. I just like watching you squirm when I push your buttons," Adam said with a chuckle as he leaned forward and gave Lance a quick peck on the cheek. Looking to see if any books were out of order, he was pleasantly surprised that the shelf was unorganized and began to get to work near his lover.

"You're far too good at pushing my buttons," Lance laughed softly. "Then again, I've got a pretty good idea where all of your buttons are too. Gotta say, it was pretty adorable when you moaned as I kissed up your neck and bit your earlobe the other night." He winked, grinning slightly at the memory of what happened between them about a week ago, a week after Lance had been called into work unexpectedly, ending their evening together prematurely.

"There was something about you gnawing on me that I found attractive. Don't ask me what it is, but I enjoyed it quite a bit," Adam commented as he began to place books in their appropriate order, so he could pretend he was working. "Out of everything, I was not expecting a full makeout session, but I'm not complaining."

Grinning, Lance replied, "Yeah, though I didn't expect you would complain! We've only done that like, what, three times now? And each time I have to keep myself held back, because something about you just drives me crazy, Adam" he admitted, his grin shifting into a genuine, heartfelt smile.

"There is something about you that I can't help myself around. I think it might be that pine scented cologne you spritz on, or maybe it's the flannel..." Adam said with a joking smile before saying seriously, "Or maybe it's how kind and thoughtful you are."

The bison couldn't suppress the blush on his cheeks even if he wanted to. "I'm just me. I'm not really trying to be those things, I just am. And that pine scent is pretty much because of the house, honestly. I think my detergent's scent is something like 'mountain spring flowers', but everything ends up smelling like pine or oak because of the dresser. It's like how your clothes absorb the scent of someone smoking, except this smell doesn't suck or make you gag," Lance chuckled.

"Personally, it's a really pleasant smell. I think it's a good scent on you," Adam paused for a moment as he stacked a book in its rightful place. "So, what do you have in mind for tonight? Got any big plans?"

Lance sighed softly. "Nope, just working, as per usual. Are we still on for dinner Sunday?" the bison asked, sitting up in his overstuffed armchair a bit more, the practically antique chair creaking under his weight.

Adam nodded and said, "Yeah, I'm up for it. I think I am still a bit wary to try and have sushi again, but I'm up for anything else." Adam remembered the time he was hunched over the dumpster and upchucking his guts out once again. He also recalled Lance's comforting touch on his back and felt a calm start to wash over him. It was strange that Lance's touch had such an effect on him, but he got used to the feeling.

The larger male looked thoughtful for a moment. "What about that steakhouse on Fifth? Do you like steak?"

Adam looked at a colorful blue book that he just pushed into one of the many empty slots and said, "Yeah, that sounds like a good date. Maybe the protein will help build some of my muscles." Giving a smile at his joke, Adam turned around to look Lance in his deep green eyes.

"Or you can take the far more unappetizing route and drink a ton of gross protein shakes using special powders that cost way too much," the bison smirked. "I think steak is a fantastic alternative to that," he added with a laugh. "Steak on Sunday it is, then!" he smiled, standing up off his chair and towering over Adam by a little over a foot.

Feeling a bit small in comparison to the large male in front of him, Adam looked up at the bison's chest before meeting Lance's eyes. A tremble went down his spine at the thought of Lance grabbing shoulders, forcing him up against the bookcase, and staring into his eyes as if he owned him. Shaking the thoughts from his head, Adam simply mentioned, "God, I love how tall you are."

"And I love how cute you are," Lance replied with a wink before picking Adam up off the ground and planting a soft kiss on his lips, the buck dangling in midair as their lips met. The buck was only held there for a few seconds before the taller male slowly set him back down. "And I love the taste and feel of your lips on mine, but you knew that one already," he smiled brightly.

Adam smiled and said, "Man, even after I gained weight, you can still throw me around like a bag of feathers." Nuzzling against Lance's chest, Adam started to forget he was in a public place, surrounded by eyes that could see him at any moment. When he leaned forward to feel the soft fur of Lance's partially exposed chest from within his flannel shirt against his cheeks, part of him did not mind.

Lance wrapped his arms around Adam, holding him gently against his towering, muscular body. "Perhaps, but you've seen the kind of weights I can lift without breaking a sweat," he chuckled softly, shifting the position of his head so Adam's antlers didn't jab him in the eye. "If it's any consolation, you're just ever so slightly harder to lift now than you were before." The bison smirked, looking down into Adam's eyes.

Unfortunately, Margaret chose that exact moment, as Lance went in for another kiss, to show up at the other end of the bookshelf. "Hey!" she growled. "Hands to yourselves! This is a library, not some frat house for college boys to have their first gay experience! If you're here for a book, get it, and then get out!"

"Y-yes, ma'am," Lance muttered sheepishly, releasing Adam and grabbing any old book off the shelf before walking off, but not neglecting to turn around and mouth 'call me!' towards Adam, once the bison had walked past the tabby cat and was on his way to the checkout desk.

Margaret stood there and glared at Adam. "Explain yourself," she stated bluntly.

"Uhhh...ummm...errr..." Adam stuttered as he placed his thumbs together and twirled them around awkwardly. In a constant battle between lying out of it or telling the truth, Adam decided to go with the former and say stupidly, out of nerves, or maybe seeing how ridiculous he could make the situation, "He is my adopted brother, and I have not seen him for quite some time. So, I got a bit...affectionate."

The tabby looked at Adam with squinted eyes, not looking terribly convinced. "Look, Adam, I don't care what you do in your free time, but don't bring that stuff into my library with you," she groaned. "I'm not a bigoted old lady, but I can't have my staff being between the shelves, snogging random guys they find attractive! If he's your boyfriend or something, then tell him to wait outside until your shift is over, because if I ever catch you two doing that again, I'll have to think long and hard as to whether I let you keep your job or not. Got it?"

Nodding quite a bit, Adam said, "Yes, ma'am. It won't happen again, I promise. Thank you for being so considerate." Getting a new sense of respect for Margaret, Adam felt like she was not the crabby old lady he thought she was until she gave him a glare when a smile crossed his face. He quickly frowned again, looking hurt. He considered it lucky that he did not end up getting fired right on the spot.

Adam's phone went off a moment later, after the feline librarian stalked away. It was a text from Lance, reading, "Hey, sorry if I caused you any trouble. I feel really bad about that. Will I see you at the Foxhole tonight? I'll buy you a drink to make it up to you."

Texting back, Adam said, "It's fine. I should not have been so affectionate. That sounds awesome, Lance. What time do you want to meet up?"

"Well, club opens at eight, but you know that already, and I go on at ten and two, so whatever time I'm not dancing or doing a private show, really. Sound good?" Lance replied, the phone vibrating again as the message came in.

Adam thought for a moment about Jericho at the club. He had been texting the bull occasionally, but they had kept it short and sweet. It seemed Jericho was fine, but Adam knew that the bouncer must be hurting a bit more than usual. Who knows, maybe the whole thing just kind of blew over? He texted Lance back, and the message said, "I'll be there at ten-thirty. Want me to wear anything in particular? ;)." He clicked the send button.

A full minute went by before the phone went off again. Clearly, Lance had to think pretty hard on that one. "I'm torn between sexy rave outfit and church clothes. They both look so good on you! Surprise me ;)"

Adam smiled as he read the text message. Maybe he could break out the fishnet top with some tight yet flattering shorts. After all, it would be a shame to not show off his newly crafted physique. Remembering Dash and Garl's threats to him, Adam quickly remembered Jess's advice to drag Dan along with him. He figured he could convince him with a few drinks.

"I'll think about it. You'll be loving it either way ;). I'll bring a friend, too."