FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Here we are..." Travis heaved as he placed the last of Duke's clothes on the living room couch. Duke stood awkwardly in the ferret's living room. The apartment building wasn't very far from the downtown area of the city. It was a good distance from both downtown and the outskirts, explaining the use of Travis' bike. His living room was very neat and orderly; a gray carpet with white walls, a small black couch with a small glass table beside it. His TV looked fairly new but it was small as well. There was nothing decorating any of the walls of the entire living room.

"Nice place you got here," Duke gave a small smile, it had been a while since he saw a place put together like this. It felt strange to be among new things and feel the plush carpet under his feet.

"Heh, thanks." Travis giggled. "I got the place about two months ago. I know it's kinda empty but I'll fill it with stuff soon... The bathroom is down the hallway there and the kitchen is in the back."

The weasel nodded and looked at his pile of clothes stacked on the couch and gave a sigh. "Look, Trav. I...I really appreciate this. L-like you don't have to do this..."

Travis turned to Duke and shook his head. "I'm not just gonna leave you in place like that. You can stay here as long as you need to, I don't mind."

"Heh, then it'll be like old times then..." Duke gave a small smile even though he started to feel bad, thinking about how he acted all those years ago. "Look, Trav. I...I just wanna apologize for what happened back then...It all happened because of me..."

A sigh came from Travis before he looked the weasel in the eyes. "Oh, Duke... What happened back then is over now. It's in the past now... I'm in a much better place and now I'm gonna help you get there too."

"But why?" Duke couldn't help but ask. "I ruined everything for you. You'd be in an even better place if it wasn't for me. I don't deserve any of this from you."

"I'm doing this because I want to," Travis explained. "I'm doing this because I know you, Duke. And...Because I care about you..."

The weasel found himself stunned by what he heard, his mind was drawing a blank on what he should say back. With as much effort as he could muster Duke forced his mouth to move, "I care about you too, Trav. I always have...I never stopped."

To Duke's surprise there was a sudden weight wrapping around him and it took him a moment to realize that it was Travis hugging him. It brought a soft and comforting warmth that spread throughout him. On instinct, the weasel raised his arms and wrapped them around the weasel as well. Both were wrapped in a tight hug, pulling each other close and saying nothing.

Travis finally broke the silence when the hug was over. "I've been wanting to tell you for a while..."

"Hehe, I never stopped feeling that way," Duke admitted. "It feels good to finally say it."

"Duke," Travis said with a serious tone in his voice. "You stay here as long as you need to. Don't worry about it."

Duke nodded but still felt a bit strange about it. It was very late into the night for both of the mustelids and both prepared for bed. Duke placed his clothes neatly on the floor next to the couch. Travis offered him a blanket and wished him good night before retiring to his bedroom. Duke laid on the couch with so many thoughts running through his head. One moment he was in the park with Travis and now he was in his actual apartment, laying in his living room.

He thought of what he should do from now on. If was going to stay here there was no way he was going to do without providing anything for Travis. The weasel was determined to make sure he wasn't a burden. He wasn't exactly sure how but he made up his mind that he would do something to pay Travis back for his kindness.

Duke woke up the next morning to realize that he was all alone in the ferret's apartment. He got up from the couch and yawned. The first thing he did was lift the blanket from the couch and fold it neatly, placing it back on the couch. The next thing he did was sort out his clothes, finding the dirty ones and putting them in the washing machine. The third thing he did after that brought him the most joy, taking a nice, hot shower. It had been a long while since he had a shower like this one, relishing the hot water and soap running through his fur.

He stepped out of the shower feeling cleaner than he ever did in a long time. The entire time he made sure not to use too much of Travis' soap and shampoo, not wanting to become a burden on him. He returned to the kitchen, placed his washed clothes in the dryer and made himself a sandwich. The entire time he was thinking of what he could do for Travis. He could see by the look of the living room along with the other rooms of the apartment that Travis didn't make a whole lot. It made sense considering he got this place only about two months ago. It made him think of his days in college whenever Travis had a problem that involved money he would be there to bail him out. Sure, the weasel was just as strapped for cash, but he was preparing to find a way to get some quick cash.

While his clothes were drying Duke decided to step outside the apartment and look around the area. In the narrow hallway stood many doors similar to the ones that he just stepped out of. Duke considered the fact that it was a weekday and still fairly early in the morning, meaning that there were most likely a good amount of tenants that were off at work. He walked down the narrow hallway, taking a look at each door. He was looking for something in particular and he quickly found it. He knew an unlocked door when he saw one, no doubt from someone who rushed out of work late. But he also wanted to make sure that he was right in his assumption, recalling a few times when was wrong and nearly got caught.

He looked at the door closely, thankful that no one else seemed to be in the hallway. With as much confidence as he could muster he stepped inside the apartment, preparing himself to turn tail at the first sign of someone being home. He was met with an empty living room, all lights and devices were turned off. He took that as a good sign. Without a moment to lose the weasel around the living room, searching the place for anything subtle but valuable he could take. There was a shelf filled with all kinds of things but none of them took the weasel's interest. He checked a chest and found a pretty old looking necklace sitting in the bottom alongside all the other junk. He picked it up, figuring it must be worth something.

Next he took a peak at the low wooden table and grinned to himself, finding two twenty dollar bills just lying there for him. But the weasel only took the first one, stuffing it into his pocket alongside the necklace. He took a risk by heading down the small hallway, being met with nothing but silence and wide open doors. He passed by the bathroom, not finding anything worth taking in there. He passed by what seemed to be a makeshift gym room but passed that put, not feeling carrying anything heavy. The only room that was left was the bedroom, being fully open for the weasel to see inside. It looked pretty standard from what he could see. There was a bed in the center, by it a small table and desk lamp. There was a dresser and on top of that, a flat screen TV. There was another shelf that contained many pictures of a beaver in a fishing vest, Duke guessed that was the owner of this place. After taking a moment to gaze around he got to work, first running his paw along the underside of the bed's mattress, looking for any signs of something hidden.

Luck was on his side as his paw dipped perfectly into a slit cut into the mattress, inside he felt what was clearly a few bills. Without seeing exactly how much he was taking he clutched it and drew his paw back. He shoved the money in his pocket, deciding to count it later. Duke felt like he had spent too much time here so he acted even quicker, checking the drawers holding up the TV. Most of them contained clothes that were much too big for him anyway. But the bottom left drawer contained an old flip phone, something Duke took knowing it wouldn't give him much. Apart from the flip phone there was nothing much else for him to take. Feeling satisfied with his results he quickly made his way back to the living room. With one glance around the room he snuck out of the living room and closed the door behind him. He looked around, thankful that the hall was just as empty as before.

With as much confidence as he could muster Duke walked down the hallway right back into Travis' apartment. He had a good feeling about what he had and felt genuinely excited as he reached into his pockets. The phone and necklace were tossed on the couch, the money was the weasel's sole focus. The first bill was the twenty he took from the small table. But what really piqued his interest was everything after that and he wasn't disappointed. Duke grinned to himself, counting five hundred dollars alone clenched in his paw. Stuffing them back in his pocket and chuckling to himself, he grabbed the phone and necklace and stowed them in one of the pockets of his folded pants, planning to sell them off later.

Travis returned home to see Duke folding the last of his clothes. The weasel turned around upon hearing the front door opening.

"Hey, you're back," Duke greeted, setting his shirt down. "How was it out there?"

Travis chuckled and gave a small stretch. "It was good, just like always. How were things around here?"

"Hmm. Pretty quiet, but I kinda like it," Duke chuckled, stepping away from the couch. There was indeed a certain glow to the ferret and a lightness in his steps. Duke was certainly glad that the ferret seemed to be in a good place and enjoyed what he did for a living. Travis walked past him and plopped on the couch, letting out a gentle exhale.

"There's nothing better than coming home after a long day of work," Travis snickered, looking up at Duke. There was no doubt in the weasel's mind that Travis was planning something. He saw that look in his eyes before and knew that something unexpected was just around the corner.

"Oh, hey..." Travis' attention was now on the pile of clothes that sat on half the couch. "You can put these in my room. I got some company coming over today."

"Company?" Duke asked curiously. "We're already lively around here, aren't ya?" His laughing was cut short by Travis getting up and reaching down to pick up the clothes.

"Oh, no, no, no,no! I'll get it. You just came back from work, you just take it easy," Duke offered, carefully picking up the stack of clothes. He breathed a sigh of relief as he walked down the small hallway into Travis' bedroom. He placed the clothes on top of a dresser, hoping that Travis wouldn't move them anytime soon. He just needed a little longer until he had a proper amount to go into the city and find a shop to sell the phone and necklace in. A small part of him wondered if that beaver he robbed had come home yet, but another part was sure he had nothing to worry about. Robbing houses and even shops was something he had done for a long time and through sheer trial and error he got better as time went on. There was a strong feeling within him that the beaver wouldn't miss any of that stuff anytime soon and if he did make a scene about him, what were the chances he was coming after him?

Reassured that everything was under control, Duke turned around and returned to the living room. He found Travis still laying on the couch, now watching TV. Without saying anything he joined the ferret's side, watching along with him. While Travis was fully engrossed in the show on TV Duke's mind was elsewhere. He had been thinking about their earlier exchange all morning, their dual admittance of their feelings of one another. But did they really admit how they truly felt? Duke clearly remembered them using the word 'care'. At the moment it seemed like the word to use but looking back, Duke realized that there were much better words he could have used to explain how he saw Travis.

Even now Duke wanted to say something but his mouth refused to open, instead feeling dry and awkward. Suppressing a growl of frustration, Duke returned his attention to the movie, figuring that once the time came he would tell Travis just how he truly felt and he would make sure that he would say everything that needed to be said.

There was a knock at the door, causing both mustelids to perk up. Travis rose from the couch, scurrying to the door and opening it to reveal both Nick and Finnick.

"Hey, guys. I'm glad that you guys could make it," Travis greeted.

"Us, too." Nick responded. Finnick said nothing in response, just giving a grunt and stepping inside. Travis didn't take any offense from it, instead he just closed the door as soon as Nick followed suit. Upon entering the living room Finnick stopped and gave a deep chuckle.

"Oh, shit. I didn't know you had your boyfriend here," Finnick teased, pointing a claw at the weasel sitting comfortably on the couch.

"Oh, yeah. He's just crashing here," Travis responded.

"Nice. Maybe we could have one of those double dates then?" Nick suggested, stepping close.

"Nope. Not after the last one we had," Finnick shook his head and climbed on the couch beside Duke.

"Lookin sharp, Weaselton. Nice to see ya off your leash again," Finnick snickered, bumping his elbow into the weasel's side.

Duke gave a laugh of his own, "Next lick I hit I'll make sure to drag you along." Both small mammals shared a laugh while Travis and Nick stood by the table.

"Looks like those two are hitting it off," Nick observed, placing a paw on his hip.

"Maybe they have a history together?" Travis suggested, looking back at the laughing weasel and fennec.

"Wouldn't surprise me. Finnick's been pulling great escapes even before I met him..." Nick paused and took a moment to look around the living room. "Nice place you got here."

"Thanks," Travis chuckled. "I still have a long way to go."

"I know a guy that can get you some used stuff pretty cheap," Nick offered. "He lives over in the Rainforest District. I'll take you to his place one of these days." His attention was once again on his boyfriend, watching him and Duke talk, no doubt about all the escapades they've had in the past.

He turned back to Travis to see that the ferret was looking at Duke with a certain glow in his eyes. Nick was sure that Travis was head over heels for the weasel, remembering how hung he was after seeing him being held in the ZPD.

"So have you told him yet?" Nick asked, snapping Travis out of his staring.

"I...I'm not sure exactly. I said I cared about him but that's..."

"Not exactly how you meant to say it?" Nick finished, crossing his arms.

"Yeah...How did it go for you and Finnick?"

"Well, for me I just had to be direct. That's the best way to reach Finnick. He doesn't beat around the bush so that means I can't either when I'm really trying to connect..." Nick explained. Travis nodded in understanding, imagining that something as vague as 'I care about you' wouldn't satisfy the fennec at all. He would want an immediate explanation of what that was really meant.

Travis began to think of how he could reach Duke better. He wasn't as direct as Finnick but stating that he cared about the weasel may not be enough. Travis took a deep breath and decided that he would have to find the perfect balance of what he wanted to say and how to say it to Duke. He was sure that once he did it would be understood perfectly and he and Duke only grew closer.

Duke and Finnick had cut their conversation short, watching the movie playing out on the TV. Nick and Travis followed suit. Nick huddled close to Finnick and Travis boldly sat right next to Duke and wrapped his arm around him. His heart felt like it was about to burst as Duke looked at him in surprise. To Travis' surprise there was a smile on Duke's muzzle and he shuffled closer to the ferret. A warmth spread through Travis and he wore a smile of his own.

"You, uh, still owe me a date," Travis whispered to Duke.

The weasel's ears flicked and he gave a small chuckle. "Alright, I'll make sure to treat you later on..."

"Shhh! I'm trying to watch," Finnick hissed, his eyes glued to the screen. Nick shook his head and rolled his eyes but gave both Duke and Travis a wink. Both mustelids understood and returned their gaze to the screen as well but they were pressed just a little closer than they were before.

Duke woke up early once again and found himself all alone in the apartment. As if he had no time to spare he sprang from the couch and made his way to Travis' room. He had an idea of how he wanted to spend the morning but he would need to take a little trip. After a quick dive into Travis' room and throwing on some clothes he found the old flip phone and the necklace had stolen earlier that week, figuring he might as well complete two tasks at once.

Stepping outside the living room and down the narrow hall, Duke quickly made his way down the stairs and onto the main floor. There was a confidence in his stride, walking right out the front doors and onto the busy street just outside. Blending in with the crowd was simple and so was getting his bearings and recognizing the nearby streets. After about two minutes, Duke already knew exactly where he needed to go to reach both his destinations.

After passing a crosswalk and stepping onto another busy street he found himself just a few buildings away from his first objective, the pawn shop. He had used it a long time ago when he used to work for Mr. Big and he was sure that the current staff wouldn't recognize him after all this time. Walking down the sidewalk and stepping inside, the weasel was met with the small shop looking much different than the last time he was inside. It seemed that they were doing very well, with many valuable things such as vases, guitars, skateboards and even some jewelry on display. Upon walking up to the counter he was met with a badger sporting a small smile.

"Hey, how can I help you?" The badger greeted, looking down at Duke.

Duke reached into his pocket and pulled out the flip phone and the necklace, placing them on the counter. "I was cleaning out my place and found these. I know they won't give me much but I still wanted to test my luck."

The badger nodded and picked up the phone first, flipping it open and looking at the condition of it. Duke had already done that earlier and from what he could tell, the phone seemed to be decent. The badger clicked his teeth, flipping the phone shut and placing it back on the counter. Next he picked up the necklace, holding in his paw and looking close at it. Duke guessed that he must be trying to figure out if it was made of actual gold or something like that. The weasel honestly couldn't tell and he just hoped that it was at the very least worth his time. This time the badger smirked and placed the necklace on the counter, his gaze lowered to Duke once again.

"Alright, at most the phone is worth about thirty bucks but that necklace is something special and I'm willing to give ya two hundred for for it," The badger said plainly, lifting his arms to rest his elbows on the counter.

Two hundred?! That's a hell of a lot more than I thought it was worth...

Duke gave a small exhale and shrug. "Alright, that sounds good." The badger wasted no time taking the items and exchanging them for cash, putting the bills in the open paw of the weasel. The badger gave a small wave and thanked him for coming by. On his way out Duke was sure that the necklace was worth much more than two hundred but he wasn't in the mood to argue about it, knowing that his second stop would give him what he needed to make much more than what he already had.

A grunt came from the weasel as he squeezed through the narrow alleyway leading back to the old house he formerly lived in. But that wasn't his target, instead it was the house across the street from it. Duke knew for a fact that no one was home and that it would be all too easy to sneak inside. He snuck in the place often when he was strapped for cash so often that to this day he had no idea how the couple living there never caught on. And if they did, they certainly didn't do anything about it. That worked in Duke's favor because the koalas that lived there were absolutely loaded, or at least they had expensive taste.

Duke was already in their backyard, lifting the window into their bedroom. He giggled to himself, an odd wave of nostalgia coming over him. As much as he wanted to explore his old stomping ground, Duke strolled through the bedroom as if it was his own and walked down the short hall into the large living room. His eyes instantly landed on the old fashioned fireplace and he found what he was looking for; on top of the brick fireplace sat a set of shiny, heavily decorated fabergé eggs. He had no idea what purpose they were originally supposed to serve but now one of them was about to line his pockets. He picked the one he liked best, the one in the center. It was decorated in yellow and purple, decorated in what looked like a bunch of small rocks. Duke hoped that they were real as he turned tail, walking back the way he came. He was careful to not damage the egg as he squeezed himself through the bedroom once again, closing it behind him when he was through. He covered it with both paws as he carefully navigate across the street and into the dark alley. All that was only his mind was now getting the egg back to Travis' apartment. As much as he wanted to go back to the pawn shop and cash out, there was no doubt in Duke's mind that the badger would try to cheat him out of what the egg was truly worth.

Walking down the busy sidewalk and crosswalks and trying to look casual suddenly became a challenge for Duke, especially when both his paws just barely covered the egg. Luckily for him the apartment complex was close. Stepping through the front doors and hiding the stolen treasure behind his back, Duke made his way through the entrance and up the stairs to the first floor. With a sigh of relief he made his way back into the ferret's apartment, thinking he was home free. But his relief was cut short by the sound of keys and the very same doorknob he just let go of now moving. Duke felt his panic setting in as he realized just how long it was since he was and what time it was.

"Hey, Duke. I'm home," Travis greeted warmly.

"H-hey, Trav. Was it a good one out there?" Duke asked awkwardly, holding the egg behind his back. Luckily for him, Travis failed to notice anything being off, probably due to his tiredness from coming back from work.

"It was good, just like every other one," Travis nodded. As if by some miracle, the ferret gave a yawn and stretch, heading for the kitchen.

Duke used what little time he had and looked around, his eyes landing on the TV sitting on its stand. In one swift motion, Duke brought his paw forwards and slipped the egg behind the TV, thankful it was just thick and bulky enough to hide the egg entirely. Breathing a sigh of relief, Duke turned around and sat on the couch. Travis returned with some cookies and sat beside him, popping one into his muzzle. Together they watched TV, or rather Travis did while Duke was quietly panicking. But the ferret didn't notice this, pulling Duke closer to him.