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I couldn't remember the last time I felt so warm. There was the blanket, which I guess Deacon draped over us at some point in the night, but there was the comfort of him too. He was something that I wished I'd found sooner, and I never wanted to loose him.

I wasn't used to sleeping with anyone, and as wonderful as it was to have his arms fastened around me for hours, my body just hadn't had time to get used to it, and I woke up a couple of times. The first time I opened my eyes to find we were nose to nose. His breaths as he slept, as gentle as they were, would blow against my whiskers, and the sensation that followed was on par with the tingling of a limb that had fallen asleep. I rearranged myself as carefully as possible so I wouldn't wake him. The second time his arm got tangled in the bands of cloth that were my shirt, and when he tried to move in his sleep he woke up by tugging incessantly to free himself. He woke me up, too, because he had yanked the neon shirt up around my neck where it was tangled like a thick fishing-line. I then shed the shirt, but asked for another since I wasn't used to sleeping in nothing but my skivvies. Adding that new element on top of another, in my head, would keep me awake. He gave me a normal tee-shirt this time. It was orange with the words "Irn-Bru" emblazoned across the front, and since it was his it swallowed me whole. After I slipped it on we went back to sleep.

I was out. Sleep clouded my mind so thickly that not even a dream could have slogged its way into my head. However, I'm a strange sleeper. Loud noises don't wake me, but the small, insignificant sounds that anyone else would overlook do the trick. When I picked up a vague thumping sound I wrote it off. I figured it was just my imagination, and I didn't want to wake up. Besides, it had only been a few hours since we went to bed. Whatever it was could wait. It was persistent, though, and I reluctantly decided to see what was behind the noise.

I opened my eyes to see soft veils of sunlight pouring in through the curtains. That caught me off guard. I thought it was still night-time. I felt like my head was stuffed with cotton as I picked it up to look for a clock. There was one on the bed-side table, and the condom from last night was perched on top of it. I smirked, then frowned heavily; it was 12:00 PM. The beating stopped for a bit, but picked up again with rapid intensity. It was coming from the front door.

Deacon's arm was laid over me and wrapped around my waist, his forearm pressing up my stomach and his hand limp against my chest. I'd turned over to face out from him after changing shirts, and that made getting up very awkward. Why? Because he had morning-wood. I blushed as I felt it pressed against the small of my back, and I tried to ignore how pleasantly hot it was against me.

I coughed daintily, hoping it would stir him. Nothing. If not for the fact that I could feel his chest expanding as he breathed, or that he'd need a beating heart to keep the blood in his...err...Johnny, he could have been dead. Clearly he wasn't one for late nights.

"Deacon," I whispered, lifting my head and peering over my shoulder at him, "Deacon!"

A gruff snort was what I was rewarded with, followed by a soft outward breath that rivaled those of sleeping babies. He also tightened his embrace on me. The pounding continued. My tail began to twitch. He wasn't going to wake up without some incentive.

"Yaouch!" he squealed, the bed bouncing as he jumped.

I sheathed my claws, patting his bottom where I'd given him a quick-stick, "Oh good, you're awake."

He eyed me, his Sclera red and webbed with even redder veins, "What the hell!?"

"There's someone at the front door."

He rubbed his butt tenderly, "Owwww! Couldn't you have just nudged me or something? This stings..."

I rolled over and let my legs fall over the side of the bed, "I tried. You sleep like a deaf bear."

He gave a wounded chuckle, "Well good morning to you, too, sunshine." He then looked at the clock, shock apparent on his face like it had been on mine, "Whoa! Late start..."

"No kidding," I said as I stood. I walked to his mirror and tousled my hair, "You want me to get the door?"

"Huh? No," he shimmied off of the bed, "I'll get it."

"Uh, you sure? You're a little...well, no, largely impaired at the moment," I said, blushing at the now obvious size of his package. Benji had more than just an eye for interior design it would seem. The condom he gave me would probably have fit.

He stared ashamedly at his bulge, his tail falling to between his legs, "Oh. Yeah, good point. Sorry."

I found my shorts from the day before and pulled them on, then padded over to him as he fidgeted with the strained elastic of his athletic shorts, "Don't be. It's perfectly natural." I leaned in and pecked him on the lips, then ruffled his hair that glowed like red flames as the sunlight hit it, "Made my back sweat."

His eyes bulged, "Wha..."

As I opened the door to his room I paused and grinned, then tapped the spot on my back where his tool had been pressed.

I winked and left as his mouth fell open. I couldn't begin to describe his embarrassment.

The knocking had become much more aggressive, and although I was far from the door I thought I could make out the feint blathering of a pissed off individual. I stopped short in the living room to stare at the wooden barrier as it shook under the blows. I wasn't quite sure if I wanted to open it or not. I swallowed hard and turned the locks. The beating abruptly stopped.

I made out a muffled "About time" before turning the handle, then opened the door to be faced with a very sour looking woman.

She was a wolf, and she had the same bright red hair as Deacon. Unlike Deacon's, though, it fell to her shoulders and curled into delicate, ivy-like tendrils. Her fur was a light silver, almost blue, with a peppering of brown on the curves of each part of her body that I could see. She wore a black tank-top covered by a short denim jacket with the sleeves rolled up, both of which fell short of covering her stomach. A pair of cream-colored jeans hugged her legs, and then tucked into a tall pair of brown boots that cuffed just below her knees. She was just as tall as Deacon was, and although well curved and accentuated, her body was toned and tucked to near perfection. She exuded a powerful presence, and I found that I couldn't look her square in the eye; they were the same emerald green as Deacon's. I wasn't ashamed to say that she terrified me, and I didn't have to. She knew she frightened me, and I'm guessing she relished in that fact.

She flashed a toothy grin, "Well, hello."

I attempted a friendly smile but failed. It came off more as a grimace, "Hi. Um, can I help you?"

He tail twitched from side to side, "Aye, ye' can. This is where Deacon Frazier lives, is it?"

"Yeah."

"Is he in? You his roommate?"

"Uh..."

I was so uncomfortable it hurt. I was terrible at talking with complete strangers, and the fact that this one was as intimidating as they came caused me to nearly freeze up. Thank God Deacon decided to make his appearance.

I peered back inside as he loped down the hall now fully clothed. He couldn't see our red-headed visitor yet, though, and if my assumptions were correct he couldn't afford to say something he couldn't take back. I tried to hint at that by subtly shaking my head, but he didn't catch it.

"Who is it, babe?" he asked. His tongue seemed to slip as "babe" came out, as though he realized it probably wasn't best to call me that right then. It was too late, though.

My eyes grew wide nearly as fast as the woman's did. I cringed as Deacon wrapped his arm around me, and her eyes blazed green as they shot back and forth between us. He didn't have time to react, and stood frozen as he locked eyes with the her. She was just as still. I couldn't tell if she was angry or puzzled.

"Tabitha," Deacon sputtered, "What are you doing here?"

Tabitha stayed calm, but I could tell that all sorts of emotions were welling up within her by the tenseness of her gaze. Deacon felt ready to flee.

"I jus' thought I'd drop by and see how mah baby brother was doin'."

He didn't respond. She simply stood there and waited. After five minutes I couldn't take it anymore.

"Tabitha, err...maybe you should come inside," I said. Deacon's grip grew painfully tight around me.

Her mask broke, and was replaced by a soft grin. No matter how pleasant she attempted to look, though, there was still a menacing edge to her smile. She squinted her eyes, much like how Deacon would do, "Why, yes. I believe tha' would be good. Thank'ye."

I shifted to the side as she brisked by. I hoped I wasn't making a huge mistake, and I really didn't anticipate this to happen so soon, but life is unpredictable. I was hoping for a pleasant surprise. She hadn't done anything drastic yet, even though her attitude was strong and somewhat combative. I was relieved when she walked over, tossed a pair of boxers off of the couch, then just sat down.

Deacon hadn't budged, and he looked on the verge of a panic attack.

"Calm down," I told him, grabbing him by the shoulders, "Just relax. Everything will be fine."

He didn't look convinced, but he followed along behind me as I went to sit down.

Tabitha still sported her grin, and she patted the cushion next to her, "Co'mere, Deacon."

I yanked his arm off of my shoulder and sat in an adjacent seat to the couch. He just stood there in the middle of the floor looking lost. Tabitha patted two hard and accentuated thumps into the cushion, and cocked her head to the side as she stared at her brother.

"Deacon," she began.

He interrupted, "Tab's, what are you doing here?"

I fully anticipated an argument to ensue, but Tabitha stayed peaceable.

"I told'yeh. I came to see how you were doin'." She tossed back her red locks with a twist of her head, then gave a halfhearted shrug, "I missed you. I thought it'd be a'nice surprise to show up unexpected seeing as you haven't been home since you left. Ya'know, happy early Christmas."

Deacon stiffly shook his head, "I'm glad to see you, sis. Really, but..."

"Then why're you standin' there like yer at a wake, 'eh?"

Neither of us said anything, but we exchanged a quick glance. She saw us pass our worried looks and began to laugh.

"Oh, for the love'a Pete..."

I have to admit I agreed with her there. The air was uncomfortably awkward, and the silence was frustrating. I was just afraid to say anything because I wanted Deacon to be the one to unload his burden, but his sister had an almost Alpha-dog effect on him. I began to wonder if he felt he needed to ask permission to speak.

She looked to me, and a twinge of fear ran down my spine. Deacon's ears perked. We both didn't know what to expect.

"Yer Colby, right?" she asked.

I nodded. How did she...

"I thought so. He talks about you all'a the time."

I gazed at her, "R...really?"

She chuckled, "Yeah. He's never mentioned me, though, has he?"

My brow furrowed as I looked confusedly to Deacon, "No, to be honest. Well, once, but just barely."

She looked genuinely hurt, and her eyes twinkled as she gazed at her brother. She looked as though she was on the verge of tears. A pained laugh, more of a hiccup, caused her chest to bounce.

Deacon sighed, "Tabitha..."

She was talking strictly to me now, her hands always moving and giving her words more oomph, "He always wanted outta' St Abbs. Always wanted to get away from our family..."

"Tab's, that's not true," he interjected.

She didn't loose her steam, "He weren't but a wee pup, just graduated from Secondary school, and all I ever heard about was USA this, and USA that." She smirked at him, "Not that I blamed him. He'd always wanted bigger things." She threw her arms over the back of the couch and reclined, "St Abbs didn't have much'ta offer, and I'd be a hypocrite if I said I didn't want bigger things too."

I was so confused. I had no idea what she was talking about. Apparently Deacon had taken the liberty of avoiding his past with me. Why? I had no clue.

"Deacon, what's she talking about?" I asked him.

Tabitha gasped, "You mean ta' tell me you haven't told him? As much as you gush about him? Although I suppose you've more or less perfected your American accent. Didn't wanna break tha' charade?"

I couldn't tell if she was being condescending or if she was jabbing at something lower, and I found myself staring at her and trying to read her face. She didn't yield much, and winked coyly, so I asked again, "Deac, what's going on?"

He sighed heavily, "I'm Scottish, Colby. My families from St Abbs in southern Scotland."

"What? Really?"

He nodded grimly. I didn't understand why being Scottish was such a bad thing. Clearly I was still missing something.

"Yeah. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I..."

"He didn't want'cha to know," Tabitha chimed in.

I felt like yanking my fur out, "Didn't want me to know what? I don't care if you're Scottish! It explains a lot actually."

He chuckled dryly and shook his head, "We're getting off track here. Tabitha, are you going to say anything to maw and paw?"

"About what, brother?"

His eyes flared, and I began to hear his accent coming out, "You know what, Tab's. I honestly cannae believe you haven't tried to pan me."

Tabitha's own eyes flared, and she pushed herself up and stared long and hard at Deacon. He didn't look away, and the air between them seemed to shudder.

"Deacon, you have no idea how irked that gets me. You're my brother, my family! Why the hell would I care if you're gay? Besides, I knew already! For Pete's sake," she motioned to me, "You hold no reserve when you talk to me about him! I thought you'd finally accepted it and had moved on! He sure thought you had!"

I wasn't about to tell her we had literally just gotten together in the last 24 hours. That wouldn't help our cause very much.

Deacon was flabbergasted, "Wait, you knew?"

She gawked, "Aye, you dobber!" She walked toward him and grabbed him by the shoulders, "I know about it all. Why do you think I keep in touch with you so often? I wanna make sure you're alright!"

Tears were welling up in Deacon's eyes. I wished I knew what they hell was going on!

"You knew everything?" he whimpered, "Everything? This and..."

She nodded and hugged him tightly, "Aye, brother. Only me, though. No one else back home has a clue, so yer fine."

Deacon only stayed in her arms for a minute or two, then he broke out of her grasp. His muzzle rippled into a snarl, and I was afraid he was going to try and bite her or something. She simply stood straighter and taller, her bold figure almost as regal and commanding as a queen's.

"Why didn't you tell meh!?" he roared, "I've worried ma'self sick thinking that it'd get out one day! Tha' maw and paw would all but call'meh a duffer, and send me to the kirk to be exorcized!"

Tabitha shook her head. Her red curls danced like whips of match light, and I could tell she was trying not to get angry.

She advanced on him, "You're havverin', Deacon! You ken? We love you! Maw and paw more so than the world itself! If i'tweren't you had asked than they probably never would'a let us even think about going to school here! No one was daft enough to think ya were running away! Hell, both maw and I did'na want you to be stuck taking over Dah's damned business! We wanted you to have more! We thought that was all it was about - you bein' smarter and wiser than us ol'chookters. If I hadn't heard it from Collin his'self than I would'a kept thinking that school was the only reason you'd gone."

Deacon's rage subsided quicker than it bubbled up, and he shuffled forward and back into his sister's arms, "Ah'm sorry. I wasn't running from you all, ya'know that! I was just scared. Leaving to come here gave me a way to better myself, and it took away my problems."

"Only for a wee bit, Deacon," she cooed, "This isn't something you can run from. Aye, Colby?"

I nodded. I'd told him that already.

Deacon let Tabitha bring him back to sit on the couch beside her. I didn't even feel like I was there anymore. The world had suddenly excluded me, and shifted me out of this family squabble. I didn't know what kind of problems Deacon had thought he needed to run from. I mean, his sexuality was one thing, but what they'd been talking about seemed worse than that. It sounded too deceitful, and it caused Deacon a lot of pain.

Tabitha was wiping his eyes with the sleeves of her jacket, and, whatever a dobber was, I felt like one as I broke in upon their moment together, "Uh, I don't mean to sound rude, but what the hell is going on? A lot of stuff has happened all at once recently, and this, so far, has taken the cake. I am completely buggered."

Tabitha chuckled at the word "buggered" and shifted to let Deacon have more room on the couch, "I apologize for this, really I do. I only meant to pay a visit. All this," she motioned to Deacon, herself, and, I'm sure, to the emotional disturbance that had ensued, " was not what I had wanted to bring about."

"I'm sure," I said, "But, Deacon, what else haven't you told me?"

His eyes quivered as he peered at me, "A...a lot. I'm sorry, Colby."

My heart gave a jerk, "Are you in trouble?"

"No," Tabitha answered for him.

"I could be," he added.

"No, you're not, ya'eedjit!

I gripped my knees, my claws sinking into my skin, "For the love of God, please tell me what happened!"

They both stared wide-eyed at me.

Tabitha nudged Deacon gently, "He's yer Bo. You need to tell'em."

Deacon peered anxiously at me, his fingers meshed together and his foot tapping.

The night before seemed like a dream now, and I felt like none of it had been real. I thought it had been the truth, but apparently I hadn't had the whole truth. I thought I had known Deacon, but I'd never had a clue about who he really was. That hurt me the most, and as I stared at him I couldn't help but wonder who are you? So much had happened. I'd lost him, I'd had him, and he'd had me. I was afraid that whatever he was going to tell me would end up taking him away again, and I didn't think I could bare that.

He looked to Tabitha for reassurance, then to me, and I listened as he told his secret.