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"I'm a father,"

"A what?" Ben asked after a minute.

"Umm...a--a dad," Marion replied, feeling his throat tighten. "You know...like...a parent,"

There was another long silence. Marion felt his heart beating desperately against his ribcage and after a few seconds he looked back at the phone to make sure the call hadn't been dropped--or worse, that the bear hadn't hung up on him. He quickly put his ear back to the phone and waited for another reply.

"OK," Ben said, a bit of hesitation but no real reaction otherwise, as if he was half way expecting a joke.

OK? OK? What does OK mean!? Marion thought half-what-angrily and half-what-relieved at the proclamation.

"Is that what you needed to say?" Ben asked, feeling surprised but not seeing why the revelation was a big deal. Well, perhaps it was a big deal, but to him, it didn't seem so bad; after all, for a few moments he'd thought the wolf was going to break up with him. He was still ecstatic that the wolf wasn't insulted by the kiss. In fact now he was thinking that he might just be able to enjoy the idea of the kiss a bit more.

"Y--Yeah..." Marion replied, half-way numb. Was it really that simple? Then again, what had he expected: explosions and a fanfare of some sort? After a few moments he shook his head and let out a sigh, "Yeah...that was all,"

"OK,"

"O...OK..." Marion replied with a weird feeling in his stomach. It felt settling, and yet at the sametime he wasn't sure he'd be able to sleep now. "Well...umm, I guess I'll ta--"

"Do you want to talk about it?" Ben asked suddenly, his voice even and unchanging. There was a certain relief in knowing the wolf wasn't going to break up with him, and at the same time he knew he hadn't put himself in Marion's shoes. The wolf was probably expecting him to go crazy, or to give some kind of reaction. And, yes, there would be one, but just not yet. After all, he had to get his head around that kind of idea first; gay furs didn't normally have pups, did they?

"Umm...well...I mean, if you're cool with it," Marion replied. There were so many things to talk about after all; did the bear like pups? Did Ben want to be with him if he was a parent? Would Ben be OK with Chris? Did Ben really understand the fact that he was a parent? Just what was Ben thinking now? Would he be OK if Chris wasn't OK with him? Would he be ok that he'd yet to tell the pup he was gay?

"Yeah, I'm cool with you," Ben replied, unsure whether Marion meant if he was cool with being told about the wolf being a father or with the fact that the wolf was a father--though the answer was the same in both cases.

Once again a feeling of relief ebbed into Marion. It felt very much like a cool drink sliding down into his stomach after a hot day, though it was slightly different too. "Well...thanks Ben..."

"So...you don't want to talk about it?" Ben asked, feeling confusion run into him now.

"Umm...I do," Marion said. Oh I really do... he thought and shook his head, "But...it's late, and I don't want to keep you," he said, knowing two things; he really didn't want to keep the bear and that he wouldn't mind getting his thoughts together before talking.

"You know I wouldn't mind," Ben replied with a smile, unable to help it. He always enjoyed the wolf's consideration, and at the same time he wouldn't have minded Marion taking a bit of control for once. Even though it'd only been about two weeks he couldn't help but note how Marion was always receptive of nearly any suggestion. Still, that wasn't a bad thing.

"I know..." Marion replied with a smile of his own. It was silent between them for a few moments, and for some reason Marion found himself thinking about the time today when he'd been kissed by the bear. "I umm...enjoyed ou--" What? Don't tell him that!

Ben waited. The wolf had stopped so abruptly he'd checked his phone to make sure the call hadn't been dropped.

"I...I really enjoyed our date today," Marion said, giving a mental sigh of relief. He knew it wouldn't have scared Ben off if he told the bear he liked the kiss, but at the same time, he didn't want to just blurt out everything, did he? If anything--though he was sure he was just trying to not embarrass himself now--he could at least play hard to get.

"I did too," Ben replied, beginning to turn off the lights in his own apartment. The wolf was right, it was quite late; especially for a school night. Of course, he knew he himself would be up in bed for a bit, reading and marking few things for tomorrow. He couldn't help but wonder if Marion had enjoyed the kiss. Still, that was hardly an appropriate question; well, at least not till the fifth date perhaps. "Marion?"

"Yeah..."

"Umm...well, not to change the subject, but, I was wondering; what would you like to do for our third date?" Ben asked, deciding that the third date might be the most important yet. After all, it might be that date that they really learned something about each other. There were tons of questions; how was Marion a father, why was Marion a father, how old was the pup, what did that mean for them?

"Well...I don't want to scare you away Ben," Marion said, and then gave a small sigh, "But...I was thinking we could talk about what we're going to do from here,"

"Well...Marion...if you're asking me; I guess we just keep on going. I mean, I like you; parent or not," Ben told the wolf with a small chuckle. It was certainly a curve ball to learn the wolf was a dad, but it wasn't a relationship killer by any means. "So...if you want to...you know, continue this; what do you want to do for our date?"

It wasn't exactly a smile, but there was still a sense of extremem happiness at the bear's words; though there was also the same trepidation he was beginning to think was more like a disease than anything else. Ben was OK with him being a parent, so there was nothing to worry about, right? "I guess we can just meet up and talk...you know?"

"Ok...that sounds fun..."

"Well, I'm sorry to call so late...and, well, I do need to get some sleep," Marion said and let the words hang off.

"Oh, OK...umm...well...good-night Marion,"

"Night Ben,"

Ben waited till the phone was silent and he looked down at it with a small smile, "I like him..." he said to himself, and to the papers still waiting for him.

_________________

"Hey there Pup, how was school today?" Marion asked with a grin, something he'd found he had one his muzzle nearly all day. After his conversation

Chris smiled back at the wolf and nodded, "It was good," he replied, throwing his backpack in the back of the car. He glanced back at the wolf, whose eye he quickly caught.

"Something up?"

"N--No, nothing," Chris replied quickly, "I was just thinking about my English teacher's interpretation on the green light in The Great Gatsby. That's all...."

"Oh...how do you like the book?" Marion asked, hoping the pup enjoyed it; after all, it was one of his own favorite books.

"It's OK....we haven't finished it yet," Chris replied with a small shrug of his shoulders, feeling a bit less well. Of course there was no reason his father should be able to read his thoughts, but wasn't it getting close to the weekend? There had been nothing said though. It was beginning to feel like he'd forgotten.

"Well, we'll have to talk about it once you finish," Marion said, thinking that it would be a fun conversation.

Chris nodded again, but felt his stomach sink. Did his father remember? It was getting closer everyday, but nothing had been said. Still, his father would remember--the wolf knew how important it was after all. He nodded silently to himself and looked back over at his dad, "So, what's for supper tonight?"

"Well, I was thinking I could fix us up some stirfried rice,"

"Do you know how?" Chris asked, thinking this sounded very much like one of his father's tests--where they were both just guinea pig.

"We'll find out," Marion replied with a chuckle. "While at work and it was a bit slow I looked up some ways to do it and asked Mary. She gave me a lot of ideas,"

"Oh," Chris said, feeling slightly better now. Mary was a good cook--he could trust food advice if it came from her. "So...what are you going to put in it?"

For the next ten minutes Marion explained what he'd learned and a few other things to his son--the conversation flowing like a stream. Only at one point did he think about the fact that the pup didn't know he was dating someone--which was when he realized that he could speak with Ben about as easily as with Chris. Aside from that nothing came up and he felt fine. There was no rush after all. Ben was fine with him having a son--they could both approach the issue together.

"OK...I'm going to go put my stuff up," Chris said as they entered the house. He quickly ran up the stairs and closed his door behind him, giving a small sigh. Even if the talk with his dad was nice and made him feel better it didn't make the disquiet go away. He still felt off--he still felt it was forgotten. But the wolf wouldn't do that. He nodded surely and moved over to his closet, pulling out a bag and beginning to throw things into it--his dad wouldn't forget.

After a few minutes he zipped up the bag and wiped away at his eyes, not wanting to be sad now. After all, the entire occasion wasn't one for sadness, lots of good had come from it--or so he told himself when he felt sad at times. He quickly stashed the bag next to his bed and pulled out his chemistry book from his backpack, knowing he had to do his work now.

For a few more minutes he focused on balancing more equations, though with having to work on what type of reaction was taking place--though even that was simple. He didn't think the work was hard, and was sure that if all he ever had to do was state whether a reaction was decomposition or a replacement type then he'd be fine. Still, he could remember his teacher telling the class just how many types of reactions there were; but then again, he was better than their old teacher whose lesson plan the current substitute was following.

Slowly, Chris found his homework was all done, and that there was nothing left to do--at least school related. He threw his books once more into his backpack and plopped down onto his bed. Once again the same thoughts came to him. But they weren't as bad now--he couldn't imagine his dad could forget.

_____________

Ben let out a sigh and looked around the restaurant again. He couldn't help but think that he should stop being so early, even if it was just by fifteen or more minutes. Then again, it was kind of embedded into him; he was always early. It helped, especially when he had a meeting in the morning or had to help another fur.

A few minutes in and Ben looked around again. There was still no sign of the wolf though, and for the first time he had the fear that Marion would be scared off. Was the wolf that type of person? The one who opened up, became afraid they had revealed too much, and then ran away? Of course it was a more rational fear that their roles would be reversed. "Oh come-on, it's still nine minutes before we're even supposed to meet," he muttered to himself, grabbing a pack of crackers and quickly taking them out.

He was sure he looked a strange sight, nibbling slowly at the crackers that were barely the size of the palm of his paw. Still, he kept his eyes trained away from the door; after all, he didn't want to appear like he was anxiously awaiting the wolf. He was just waiting for Marion--unanxiously.

Another minute passed.

Another minute after that. Ben looked down and grabbed another pack of crackers.

Then another minute passed. He began to nibble even more slowly, making a small game out of just how tiny his bites could be. He knew he shouldn't have been eating just to pass the time, and also that he would have to wipe away--as inconspicuously as possible--any crumbs off before Marion appeared. It wasn't that he was fat--well, at least in an ursine definition of the term. He had a certain girth, and one he felt was very attractive.

Of course, it wasn't like apperances held as much meaning as they used to, right? Unlike in college he wasn't hitting the gym every other day or more so he could impress the guys; in every way possible. Back then he'd been, in his opinion at least, a hunk. He still thought he was strong in his own right. Being a bear in itself he was sure he could lift more than most other speices without even trying, but he was sure he no long got lingering eyes because of his physique--at least not for muscles that is. If he had need he was sure he could draw on that strength again, but after years at a desk he was sure he'd dulled a little.

Still, didn't his personality matter now? Sure, being good looking couldn't hurt, but wouldn't Marion like him for him more than for a defined chest? There wasn't anything wrong with liking to eat a bit, right? For having an ursine body? After all, if furs didn't think bears were attractive then they would never be in magazines that he saw students read so often. But hey! Not everyone likes gym-bound-muscled guys...right? And I'm not weak, I'm still plenty strong, and hell if I don't say I have a nice body. So what if I have a little heft, just more of me to love..........but perhaps I shouldn't eat too many crackers he thought, realizing in his thoughts he nibbled through another two packs already.

Wiping away any crumbs and sitting up to a more professional figure he looked once more around the restaurant, and as if by fate he couldn't help but note a bit of black moving by the window. A few seconds after the door opened and he smiled as Marion entered. The wolf only looked around for a few seconds before coming over and smiling at him.

"Hey Ben...how's it going?"

"Pretty well...you?" Ben asked in return, noting the nervousness in Marion's tone.

"G--Good," Marion replied with a small smile of his own. He quickly sat down opposite of the bear and, much to Ben's amusement, immediately took a small pack of crackers.

"How has your week been?"

"Oh...so-so. Nothing terribly interesting has happened. Honestly...speaking with you makes me nervous eno--" Marion began and scowled. He waited a few moments and shook his head, "I usually say too much when I'm nervous hahaha...." he said, which in itself was just a nervous reaction.

"I don't mind...it helps me get to know you better," Ben said with a small chuckle. "So...umm, do...you want to order anything...or talk and then order?"

Talk. Marion felt his heartbeat increase much more than normal. He'd prepared for this though. He'd spoken with Mary and gone through a good bit of what he could say with her--he was prepared. Taking in a deep breath he let it out much more slowly and the looked back at the bear, "Well...I mean, I don't want to make this too serious if it's awkward...I mean, this is only our third date..."

"It's fine Marion....if...it makes you a bit less nervous," Ben said and gave a small wink to the wolf, "I mean, I don't mind hearing you blurt out small truths though,"

"But if I'm less nervous won't I blurt out less?" Marion asked, feeling blood run into his cheeks.

"Yeah...but...we are telling each other things about one another; I mean, you called me to tell me about your son. And...just so you know, it's more like an interesting thing to hear,"

Marion felt more blood run through his cheeks. He looked away for a brief moment, but it only lasted for that--a moment. The bear wasn't scared, in fact if he had to reckon it sounded like the bear truly did think him having a son was an interesting fact. "Well...umm, what do you want to know?"

"What can I ask?" Ben asked after a moment. He could only think of a few types of situations that would end up with a single father.

"Well, give me a test question..."

"Umm...how did you become a single father?"

Marion winced immediately. It wasn't that he had a problem with answering--directly. It was just that he wasn't sure how Chris would feel about him talking to the bear about his mother.

"OK...so that's off-limits,"

Marion looked up with surprise and frowned, "I--"

"It's fine," Ben interrupted quickly. "I mean...that tells me a little already--so I guess I know what kind of questions I can ask from there,"

"Analytical," Marion said with a small, forced smile.

"Critical thinking," Ben said with a small chuckle.

"Well...umm...next question...."

"So...are you bi? I mean...I guess you are," Ben said, cocking his head.

"N--No...I mean...." Marion said and shook his head, "I mean...I obviously had sex with a girl at one point, but...I don't think that makes me bisexual. I've always been attracted to guys really,"

Honestly, Ben didn't quite understand how one could have a pup and not have a slight attraction to a female. Frankly, he was sure he could see a girl that was excessively attractive by most standards, but if she was placed next to a construction worker, he'd do a cat call for the worker instead. Who wouldn't though? "Well...I guess it just sounds weird to me," Ben said shrugging his shoulders.

"It was a high-school fling...I don't regret it," Marion added quickly, and saw the bear's curious expression so he quickly continued once again, "I mean...because of that moment I have a son, and I love him...how could I regret it?"

A warm smile fell over Ben's features and he nodded, "I understand...well, at least I understand that much. I guess..."

"It...back then, I wasn't quite ready to 'come out' and well, it was easier to just act straight you know...I guess I just took acting to a whole different level," Marion said, shrugging his shoulders and looking away. "But...I mean, it's not like I was pretending to like her...I just would've dated you over her,"

Ben chuckled a little and smiled, "Really?"

"Well...yeah," Marion said with a chuckle. "You're smart, kind, funny...and good-looking,"

Ben felt his spirits soar at the latter comment. He grinned, hopefully not too strangely at the wolf. See! Some guys don't mind heft! he thought triumphantly to himself. It was probably the biggest boost to his self-confidence than he'd felt in a long time, and he couldn't deny that it negated an earlier comment about how he was a 'fat-jack-ass' though he had made sure the individual now regretted the choice of words.

"I mean...you know...back then it was a bit more difficult to be gay in school,"

"It's still not terribly easy today," Ben replied with a chuckle.

"Oh, I guess it's difficult during any age," Marion admitted with a sigh. He looked up and smiled, "So...you're not scared away--really?"

"Of course not," Ben said with a grin, "I love kids...it's part of my job,"

"Good good," Marion said with a sigh. "Well, wh--"

"Well--Opps, I'm sorry...I didn't mean to interrupt..."

"No, no, don't worry," Marion said with a smile. It was kind of strange. He'd forgotten to ask Ben what his job was. Of course, the bear was probably a lumberjack, what with wearing so much flannel and looking just like one. Still, it could wait.

"Well...how about another question, and then we order a meal--I'm hungry," Ben said, chuckling a little. They came to talk, but they had come to a restaurant--why not eat?

"That sounds good..."

"How is it...being a dad?"

Marion chuckled a little and shrugged his shoulders, "It's fun. We get along really well. There are the odd times when we're confused for one another. I mean...I know one day he'll look just like me, and that might be the scariest part,"

"Ha, I can imag--imagine," Ben replied, but lost the humor half-way through. Ben felt a strange uneasiness stir within him at that. The words hit him, and the thought in his mind finally took prominence. The wolf had a son? Even though Marion had told him probably five or so times it just now hit. The connection, it seemed very likely. Coincidence right?...maybe...probably...it has to be...I mean... he thought and apparently the wolf noticed his disquiet.

"What's wrong?" Marion asked, feeling intensely better now that the bear seemed on board. Who knew, perhaps once he told Chris they could meet? Or maybe they could meet and he could let the pup get to know Ben, and then tell the pup about them?

"Marion...your son," Ben began, his eyes scrutinizing every aspect of the wolf now. Yes, the similarity was there, it was like looking in a mirror; though he was unsure if the eyes matched exactly. "Is his name Christopher?"

Right on the head of the nail.

Marion's eyes went wide and his ears flickered wildly at the sound of his son's name coming out of Ben's muzzle. He felt his face drop, and at the same time he felt on end, ready to fight in some respect. "How do you know that?" he asked cautiously.

Ben stared at the wolf for a few moments, no knowing how he couldn't have seen it. It was so obvious! How? How could he miss it? He smacked a paw over his eyes and rubbed at his temples. Maybe it wouldn't be a big deal--hopefully. He didn't dare look up though, and just let out another sigh before speaking. "Marion...I'm your son's chemistry teacher,"