Collar and Bridle (Patreon)

“I can’t believe he would even threaten me with that! After I took all the extra hours and stayed late nights. I did not even complain about the graveyard shifts when he just needs someone there to keep the place open with nobody there to give any tips.” The tigress balled her hands into fists and looked up at Tashi, her boyfriend. She had just come home a moment earlier, and he had asked her how her day had been. The stallion frowned as he looked at her and he scratched his chin. “Calm down… we’ll find a way. I’m anything but happy about it, either. You do your job so well. I randomly get compliments about how nice you are when I just walk through the streets, from people who I don’t even know! They must have seen me pick you up after work once.” He scratched his neck. “It’s okay, just give me a hug!” Alex opened her arms and Tashi quickly put his around her and held her tightly against his chest.

The stallion closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Despite all the stress and anger, there was still this wonderful smell of coffee that clung to his girlfriend’s hair after her workdays as a waitress at the café. With a sigh, he thought things through. It had been only a few months since Alex moved in with him and left the bottomless district she came from behind. Up until this point, he had only arranged things to allow her to live with him. Her being allowed to stay was still dependent on having a job nearby as well. That was the catch that her boss took advantage of. He had started out as a nice guy, but more and more he made her work too many shifts, tried to deny her any vacation. With no busy holidays coming up, he would have had plenty of time to replace her in case she didn’t play along. Her job search didn’t yield any other opportunities right then, for the same reason. The new semester at the university had started a little while ago, a lot of the students had their jobs already, and many were still looking, eager to work for almost any wage.

With her boyfriend just pondering and not responding, Alex leaned against him. She wanted to be with him and stay with him. It would have been such a huge step back if they had to move to separate apartments once more. No more coming home to her stallion who made her feel like the most precious thing in the world every day. No more little surprises left behind for her to find when he wasn’t there. Most importantly no laundry basket with his musky worn shorts for her to secretly sniff, either. She sighed, blinked, and kissed him. He kissed her back and cleared his throat. “It will be alright, Alex. We can get some time off together another time. I’ll keep helping you find a new job. One where they appreciate you for how amazing you are. That dickhead has proven beyond the shadow of a doubt that he doesn’t deserve you.” He picked her up off the ground and carried her along. “Let’s go watch a movie together. Your paws must be hurting for a little massage…” He teased her and smiled as she held onto him.

***

A few hours later, the couple was lying in bed. With every breath, with every heaving of the stallion’s strong chest, Alex was raised and then lowered again. She was sleeping there, right on her boyfriend, her tail curled around his arm. Tashi on the other hand was wide awake. He meant what he had said earlier, meant that he wanted to help her find a job. His nostrils flared as he snorted when he thought about how he would be willing to just support her while she kept writing her songs. There was a smile on his face at the thought of her singing for him when he was working from home. But to his own dismay he had found out about how she needed to have a job for her permit to stay to remain valid. Another fact of life that he learned from his mother, even at his age. His stepfather had helped her move out of the bottomless district when he was but a young colt. Of course, they had not bothered him with the details about it all back then. All that had remained was the memory of his mother telling him they’d move to a better place. Then she asked him to pack his things, and a few days later they left their old home behind.

His eyes were so tired when he looked at his striped girlfriend. There was another, easy way, to let her stay, to never worry about it all again. He looked at her left hand, at her ring finger. The idea was appealing. But it was not time. Barely more than half a year since they met, the best six months of his life, but still way too early to ask a tigress as amazing as her to settle with a silly stallion like him forever. No, even the thought of it all made him feel silly and ashamed.

Once again, he went through the things his mother told him in his head. She had given him the bad news, the harsh facts. But she had also told him that there was another option. One that was put into the books of law in recent years. He bit his tongue as he looked at Alex once again. He could become what his mother called her “sponsor”. He could sign the paperwork that would make him responsible for her, even things she had not told him about. Thinking about how they had already gotten in trouble once, he knew there would be some risk. But the government would let them be together as long as they had it written on paper that they could point their fingers at him when anything went wrong. He rubbed his forehead and blinked a few times. This crazy proposal was what his mother had called an improvement over what had been before. He looked at the tigress’ face with a worried smile. It didn’t take him long to imagine those shining green gems behind those closed eyelids.

He trusted her, and it felt like he had known her forever, but this was a serious step, nonetheless. The declaration could not be revoked, unless someone else was willing to sign one in his stead. Even if she decided to leave him, he’d be bound to it. He closed his eyes, put his head back on the pillow. Blind as he was, it was still easy for him to find her hand, to grab it and hold it. Before his inner eye, he imagined Alex, smiling at him. They’ve had a few ups and downs, they’ve had their misunderstandings, a fight here or there. They managed to resolve them, somehow, they got even closer through them. She had always been honest to him, never betrayed him. He imagined how he held her chin, and kissed her, that tigress he couldn’t stop daydreaming about even while she was sleeping right there with him. Yes, he was going to sign those papers for her. It was a risk for him, but she had taken her chances moving in with him, exposing herself to people looking down at her just because she came from somewhere else. He would not allow others to treat his girlfriend as second class anymore. Now it was his turn to step up. His heart had begun thumping in his chest. So much so that he got worried that he might wake Alex up. But she was sleeping calmly, spent from the long day at work. Once more, he kissed her forehead, and then laid back, closed his eyes and fell asleep, the sense of determination soothing his worried mind.

***

“I can’t let you do that, Tashi!” The tigress protested after Tashi had laid out his plan for her over breakfast. “And I can’t stand seeing your boss’ shit-eating grin when he’s given you a shift plan that prevents me from seeing you awake for three days even though we live together. I saw him there, from the front of the café, when he promised you how you could take time off to make up for it ‘soon’ for the tenth time.” He sighed and looked at her. How she didn’t just jump at his offer just strengthened his resolve in his decision. Alex’s tail was flicking around nervously and when she put her cup down, the stallion reached over the table to grab and hold her hands. “We were born in that same district, we sat on the same swing, just a few years apart. I know you’re my strong little tiger. It’s just paper, all it does is making us equal! You don’t owe me a thing. You’ve already given me more than I could have ever wished for. You’ve given up your old job, your old apartment. It’s my turn now.” He squeezed her hands before letting them go. The tigress looked at him intensely, she was clearly still uneasy with the suggestion.

Tashi kept his eyes on her, folded his hands, just waited for her to say something. As the seconds passed, as his girlfriend took another sip of tea, he started flicking his tail around nervously. They always tried their best to just live in their loving relationship, live from moment to moment. But no matter how strong they beat their wings, eventually society and reality catch up even with the most stubborn couple of lovebirds. “You’ve already done so much for me as well, Tashi.” She finally replied, uneasily holding onto handle of her cup. “And this is just me signing a paper. Let’s… let’s go do it today! The office is open, and who knows when your boss will let you off for another day, for another chance for us to go.” Tashi said, looking at her. Alex bit her tongue as she looked up at her boyfriend once more. “You should sleep on it…” She said, looked into his eyes for a moment, then looked away again. Tashi sighed, he reached out for her hands again. With her still holding onto the cup, he just grabbed her pinky fingers and tugged on them gently. The tigress looked down at his strong but gentle hands, then into his eyes again. “I’ve slept on it already. I still want to do it. You know how stubborn I am.” He replied and shook her fingers gently.

Alex sighed eventually, let go of her cup, and took his hands. “This is crazy…” She whispered. “No, crazy is that we have to do it. Not that I want to do it. We’re in this together.” The stallion said. He caressed the backs of her hands before he let her go. “Come on… let’s get up and get dressed. We can stay bottomless inside, but if we go outside streaking, it’ll be bad for me from now on!” The stallion chuckled. “Bet they are just jealous.” He teased her as he looked at his gorgeous girlfriend. “Silly horsey….” She replied and jumped off her chair. “Let’s go do this before I think about how crazy you are too much.” With a smile on her face, Alex hugged him and then took his hand and pulled him along so they could both get ready to go outside.

***

On the outside, there was nothing out of the ordinary. Alex and Tashi were sitting in the waiting room at the government office. The stallion held a slightly crumpled-up waiting ticket in his hand. The chattering of people filled the air around them. Only the two of them looking down at how they were holding one another’s hand, how both those hands were shaking slightly, gave away that this wasn’t just a routine visit, they were doing more than filling out just another form. “Isn’t it funny?” The stallion finally whispered to her with his lips close to the tigress’ ear. “None of those around us could tell that you’re not from here. That I’m not from here, either. Yet we have to do this.” He snorted softly. 

“Don’t think too much of it… I’ll sign that thing and then nobody can ever just threaten you with something again.” Tashi said while looking at her. Alex squeezed his hand and sighed. Things for her would become easier, but the stallion was clearly oversimplifying things a bit. It was just a paper, but it was the first step of true commitment they were taking. As she came to that realization once more, the tigress opened her mouth, wanted to say something. But the loudspeaker cut her off. “Number 95 to desk 10 please, 95 to 10.” – “That’s ours, come Alex.” Tashi said and kissed her cheek. They got off their seats. Alex had to jump off the seat that was made with taller people like Tashi in mind. The difference in height between the two, the tigress barely reaching up to the stallion’s chest, must have been the only reason why some people looked at them funny. Considering the situation, though, they both had different, more gloomy thoughts brewing in their minds.

They arrived at the desk with the number 10 written on a big plaque. Waiting for them there was a black panther. She had her smooth black hair pulled back in a strict ponytail. Only some colored strands set it apart from her fur. She was wearing a classy long-sleeved white blouse, such a stark contrast to her fur. The same could be said for her claws that were clicking as she was typing away on her keyboard. They were painted red, so they clearly stood out from her fur. Behind her chair, they could see her tail swishing around swiftly. Her golden shimmering eyes were all focused on her screen, she seemed too busy to even notice them. Tashi frowned and looked at the plaque again, then at this waiting ticket. When he was sure they came to the right desk, he cleared his throat. “Ah… yes, sit down, please. I just had to finish this up!” The panther said, her voice the one they heard coming from the speaker before. Alex and Tashi exchanged a confused look. There was only one chair for the visitor in front of the desk. They chuckled and shrugged. The stallion sat down on it, patted his thighs, and the tigress sat down on his lap. If only all their problems were as easy to solve.

The panther shook her head as she watched the two. “You could have taken a chair from over there… But I guess this will do.” She looked at her claws and sighed. “So, what can I do for you?” Tashi scratched his neck and looked at the desk. “I would like to officially sponsor my girlfriend.” The well-dressed civil servant suddenly narrowed her eyes when she looked at Alex. “Sponsor? Oh… she’s not from here and you want to apply for a sponsorship under the new freedom of movement and responsibility act?” She rolled her eyes, the “oh” coming from her sounded more judgmental than either Alex or Tashi needed right now. “Yes. That is what I meant. We’ve been living together for a few months. I want us to be able to stay together.” He put his arms around Alex and hugged her tightly. Suddenly, he didn’t feel silly at all that they were sharing a chair. “Alright.” The panther said. “I’m going to need your IDs.”

She started typing away on her keyboard once more. It was a mystery how her colleagues stayed sane with the steady clicking of her claws on the key caps. A moment later, one white-furred and one hand covered in silky orange put their IDs down on the table in front of her. The two cards had the same shape, but even just their color gave away from a distance that they were from different districts. Seemingly disinterested, the panther picked them up one at a time. “So… Mister Tashi Gibson…”, she said his name out loud as she read his ID. “You want to officially sponsor Miss Alex Marx?” She held both their IDs out in front of her, then typed away on her computer again. As they sat there, Alex suddenly reached out for her boyfriend’s hand and squeezed it tightly. “Yes.” The stallion replied firmly. “And you are aware of the responsibilities?” She asked and rolled her eyes, showing how passionate she was about her job. “Yes, I am well aware.” Tashi replied, reaffirming his decision once more. The panther clicked around on her mouse and kept typing, copying over information from their ID cards. “And you accept this, Miss Marx?” She asked the tigress whom she had treated as if she wasn’t even there anymore a moment before. “Yes, I do.” Alex replied, sounding a little less than certain.

A few more taps on her keyboard accompanied by the sound of claws scratching plastic off the poor typing utensil later, and the printer next to the panther came to life. She took out the pages once it was done, put them down on the desk in front of the couple, and pointed at the two lines at the bottom of the paper. “Tashi Gibson” was written under the line to the left, “Alex Marx” under the line to the right. She held up a pen and looked at them. Tashi leaned forward, holding onto Alex tightly to keep her from falling off his lap, grabbed the pen, and signed his line. Then he passed the pen on to Alex. She turned her head and looked into his eyes once more. For a moment, it felt as if they could read each other’s thoughts and worries. A silent nod, then she signed her line as well, put the pen down next to the papers. “Thank you very much.” The panther said as she took the sheets of paper away and put them into the scanner next to her. Before Tashi could shake his head at the waste of paper, the office worker nodded at them, and handed them back their ID cards. “You’ll get the confirmation by mail in the next few days. Have a good day.” With that, the panther turned her attention away from the couple and returned to typing on her keyboard. They couldn’t even say goodbye before she grabbed the tiny microphone on her desk. “Number 102 to desk 10 please, 102 to 10”. Alex slowly slipped off his lap and the stallion got up. With their legs a little shaky, they walked away from the black panther lady that was all too happy pretending they were gone already.

***

Only when they were standing out in front of the building, out in the busy street, could they both think clearly again. “See? Just paper.” The stallion said and tried to laugh it off to lighten their mood a little. “You know it’s more than that. But thank you, Tashi.” Alex replied and leaned her head against his chest. For a moment, they just stood there, the wind brushing over their fur. “I know you’ll still do your best at your job. But if it gets too bad you can quit now. We’ll make do somehow.” The stallion reassured her as they let go and turned to go home. “How about we pick up a sandwich on the way home? I’m starving! Should be a shop nearby that makes some awesome ones, I remember they have an amazing avocado spread.” He switched the subject, wanting to put the whole thing behind himself as nothing but a formality. “Do they make a good chicken sandwich, too?” The tigress asked excitedly. “Yes, for you, my little tiger. I’ll have a veggie sandwich! Crunchy carrots, yum.” He replied and pointed over his shoulder. “Just a few minutes to walk there. Let’s go.”

A loving look into each other’s eyes and a deep sigh later, they were walking down the streets, passing by shops and restaurants. There was silence between the two of them. Just the quiet walk was a good way to let things think in. Words would just have made the situation awkward. For the stallion that was so used to hearing the clip-clopping sound of his hooves with every step he took, the silent paw pads of his girlfriend were always so amazing and frightening at the same time. They weren’t holding hands, and with the crowds around them, he turned around on several occasions to make sure she was still walking at his side. 

Like Tashi had promised, it took only a few minutes for the couple to get to the sandwich restaurant. But they didn’t quite find what they were expecting. The shop window was covered up with brown wrapping paper from the inside and they didn’t even bother to check whether the door was open or not. “Huh…” The stallion scratched his neck. “Is this the place, Tashi?” The tigress turned to him as she asked. “Yes, it is! But I haven’t been here in a while. Used to walk by after work to pick up a sandwich on the way home. Used to. Not anymore since you moved in. Was always straight home for me. Why have sandwich when you surprise me with such amazing food so often!” He chuckled and kissed her forehead. Alex ruffled his mane and she shook her head. “So that one time you told me you couldn’t pick up sandwich…” She started her sentence, but Tashi finished it for her. “I just wanted to be home with you as quickly as possible! And I ordered us something!” He chuckled and looked a little embarrassed. “Naughty horsey!” Alex said and kissed his nose. “Guess we’ll have to order something again when we get home. How about…” This time, Tashi started his sentence and it was the tigress’ turn to finish it. “Sushi!” They both laughed. “Yes, sushi.” The stallion agreed.

When they had settled on what was going to be their lunch or early dinner, Tashi took a moment to look around. He had not been in this street since quite some time. Everything seemed to be the same except for the sandwich shop that had closed its doors. No, there was a shop there that had not been there before. He was sure he would have remembered a store like this. “What are you looking at, Tashi?” Alex asked, looking in the same direction. “Oh!” She said and chuckled. There were some fashion dolls behind the shop window, wearing all kinds of fancy lingerie. Fishnet stockings, lace panties, and latex bras were just a few of the things they saw. Behind that display hung a red curtain. Clearly, the spicier things were hidden behind that heavy cloth. Tashi cleared his throat and chuckled. “Err… that wasn’t here before!” He said and looked over at Alex. “Want to go… have a look inside? Now that we are here already?” He snorted softly and his ears were wiggling around excitedly like they always did when he was nervous. Before Alex even replied, the stallion calmed down, and smiled. He saw that grin forming on her lips. There was no situation he could imagine where it wouldn’t charm him and slightly arouse him. “Yes… let’s see what they have!” The tigress said.

***

The bell at the door jingled when the stallion stepped inside the store followed by the smaller tigress. They were both way past the age for such things, yet Tashi couldn’t suppress a playful chuckle when they entered this “adult entertainment store”. It was something they had not planned, but certainly just the right thing to forget about the serious things in life for a while. The shop owner raised a hand to greet them. It was a middle-aged bull terrier, broad shoulders, slight belly, some gray hairs mixed into the brown patches of his fur. He was wearing just a normal T-shirt and jeans, nothing that would have been out of the ordinary on the streets, he clearly wasn’t sampling his own line of clothes that moment. “Looking for something specific or just browsing?” He asked. “Just browsing for now, thank you.” The stallion replied as Alex was already looking at the shelves. He watched her curiously. This was a good chance to maybe pick up an idea for a naughty present later.

“Let me know if there’s something you see that you like, love. I think I’ll see what’s over there!” The stallion said and Alex nodded at him. He left her behind there with the dildos and vibrators, just when his ears were getting a little too hot for his own comfort. Even though it was just a small store, they were stocked surprisingly well. Some of the lingerie that was on offer looked quite enticing, but he wasn’t certain if it would be the right size for Alex or himself. The stallion walked on to another corner of the store. The shelves there were higher, reaching up all the way to the ceiling. Even he would have had trouble reaching the highest board there. He had his head up high to look at those boxes stored up there. When he looked back down, he was staring right at a big selection of collars, leashes, bridles, and reins. Some bigger, some smaller, to his left there were even some puppy and pony masks. He turned around, the shelves on the other side contained many more kinds of bondage gear. Spreader bars, cuffs, and ropes. This store was a dream come true for anyone with any kinks beyond the normal, well-known vanilla.

The stallion felt a little ashamed staring at it all and he yelped when something touched his arm. He turned around and looked into his girlfriend’s excited eyes. “Oh… Alex! haha… You spooked me!” He said and she laughed. “But it’s just me! You told me to let you know when I saw something I liked! Let’s get this!” She said and held up a strap-on harness for him. Immediately, the stallion felt his cheeks flushing. He wouldn’t have a need for such a harness, it could only mean one thing. “You… haven’t forgotten that I wanted you to… unf… okay. Yes, let’s buy it.” He said, staring at the item for a little while. “What were you looking at, Tashi?” Alex finally asked him, and the stallion gulped. “Eh… well… if I’m going to be pegged soon… These!” He said and pointed at those two leather cuffs. They were up a little too high for Alex to reach so he picked them up and held them in front of her. The leather was quite thick, straps around each cuff and a small buckle were meant to hold them firmly in place once they were put on. There was a ring useful for attach them to a chain or bar on them as well. “I think… they’d look super sexy on you. Would you… wear those for me?” He had not been thirsty, yet his throat was starting to feel as dry as the desert. “You’d like that, hm? Let me try them on…” She said and gave him the harness to hold onto while she took the cuffs off him. They were bound with a thick cable tie to keep them from being separated before they were sold. So, it took the tigress a moment to put them on, and then her hands were bound together. “They fit!” She said and held her hands up for Tashi to see.

She didn’t even have to ask him if he liked what he saw. His nostrils were already flaring as he snorted excitedly. She just grinned at him and took them off again. They were standing between the shelves, the shop owner could not see them, and one quick little grope confirmed Alex’s suspicion. Her hand was right on her boyfriend’s pants. He was always sporting a bit of a bulge, but she could feel that it had grown more sizeable just from that short little tease. “I can’t wait for you to wear them at home…” The stallion confessed. He cleared his throat and took a deep breath. “I think we’ll have to come here together again, what do you say? Should be easier for you to get a day off now.” He teased her and chuckled. “Yess… So many toys!” The tigress replied excitedly.

She turned around, ready to explore the rest of the shop. There was still a corner besides the porn movies and adult books they had not looked at yet. As she tried to slip past her boyfriend, her nose got caught in a red bridle that was hanging from a pole. It fell to the ground and she quickly bent down to pick it up. She just wanted to put it back, but as she was holding it in her hands, she looked beyond it at the flustered stallion that was standing there. “Mhm… would that fit you?” She asked him, holding the straps in her hand that were clearly meant to be put on an equine-shaped head like her boyfriend’s. “I… I think so?” He carefully took it off her hands. There was a mirror on the wall next to the shelves and Tashi walked towards it. Carefully, he put the bridle over his face, adjusted the straps here and there until they were tight around his head. He looked at himself with the red bridle on his face, then turned around for his girlfriend to see as well. “I kind of like it. What do you say, Alex?” She walked towards him, grabbed the bridle under his chin, and pulled him down to kiss him right on the lips. “I love it!” She said. “Then I guess I don’t even have to ask if I can buy it.” He replied and they both laughed. “But… we’ll also need this!” The stallion said as he grabbed some red reins that were on offer, hanging next to more bridles like the one he was wearing on his face. “Oh? Oh!” The tigress said, and they both grinned at each other.

It was clear they were both getting flustered, the atmosphere in the store didn’t help with their already higher than normal sexual appetite for each other. Tashi took a deep breath and he turned his head to take the bridle off again. The price tag was making his ear itch. Just as he pulled it off his head, he was staring right at the collars that were on offer. The one that caught his attention most was a nice dark green one, a similar shade to his and Alex’s eyes. It had a nice big golden bell attached to it, and he couldn’t resist tapping against it, making it jingle softly. He stepped aside, the collar was still swinging back and forth, the movement catching Alex’s attention. “Oh… that one is beautiful. Big bell!” She said and picked it off the pole it was hanging from. Tashi felt his ears getting hotter and hotter with every passing second. The tigress just walked over to the mirror like he himself did earlier, lifted her hair, and put the collar around her neck. The bell hung down a bit, ended up resting just above her chest tuft, and it was jingling softly with every movement. Tashi stepped up next to her and looked at it together with her, holding the items they had already picked out. “Can…” He said and didn’t get any further. “Yess… it’s so cute!” The tigress replied, turned around, got on the tips of her toes, and kissed her stallion’s chin, all with the bell ringing softly.

They grinned and looked at each other as if they had just hedged out another big secret scheme. “But we’ll also need this!” The tigress said as she hopped back over to the shelf and picked out a matching green leash for her collar. “You’re the most amazing tigress ever, Alex. Best girlfriend…” Tashi whispered as they gathered all the things they were about to buy. “Come let’s go home, before I can’t hold myself back from doing something stupid right here and now!” He said and walked on over to the counter so they could pay for their little unplanned shopping trip. Those items they picked were very special to the couple. For the shop keeper who got to scan the barcodes off dildos bigger than someone’s arm every day, they were not even worth raising his eyebrows. He handed them all to them in a big brown bag after they paid. “Thanks for your business and have a good day. Hope to welcome you to my shop again soon.” He said. Tashi and Alex grinned at each other and nodded. “It’s a nice shop, we just might come back, yes!” The tigress said before they walked out, the bell of her collar ringing softly as did the bell on the door when they stepped outside.

***

Except for the stallion’s stomach rumbling, the trip back home was uneventful. Inside their apartment, the first thing they did was order food. The bag with their new acquisitions was waiting for them on their bed, just tossed aside as they both picked their favorite kinds of sushi off the menu. Even though they had to wait a bit for the delivery, no further thought about the huge step they had taken that day crossed the couple’s minds. The stallion typed away on his laptop, answered a few e-mails for his job. Alex put away her freshly washed work clothes. Only the doorbell ringing and their food being delivered brought them back together to the table.

“Huh! So those are actually fish eggs around those maki ones?” The stallion asked as he pointed at the tigress’ plate. “Yes! Those are my favorite!” She replied and picked up another one with her chopsticks. Tashi smiled at her. “Heh… I will remember that. One day you’ll wake up from an afternoon nap and…” – “Are you already scheming again?” She asked him and chuckled. Tashi hid his blushing face behind his hands and shook his head playfully. “Maybe…” He said and grabbed another sushi roll himself. Delighted sighs and joyful chuckles could be heard over them having dinner together, and the stallion did not even stop Alex when she stole his last avocado sushi roll.

The thought of the responsibility Tashi had taken on didn’t cross their minds again until later that evening. It was just a day out, almost seemed like a dream. They were standing next to their bed, stripped down to nothing more than one piece of clothing each. Alex was wearing her favorite red sweater, Tashi one of the many green shirts he owned. The stallion sat down on their bed and suddenly they both heard the bell on the collar they had bought ringing again. They looked into each other’s eyes and sighed softly. It had not been a dream, there was proof, as if they needed it.

“We better put them away before we go to sleep, Tashi. Don’t sit on my collar or you might break the bell!” The tigress said and smiled at him. “I could never forgive myself! But… before we put them away… would you put the bridle on me?” He asked her as he got off the bed again, dragging the shopping bag along with him. He reached inside, pulled out the bridle, tore off the tag, and handed the straps to Alex. After kneeling in front of her, he looked at her. They were almost at the same height when he lowered himself like that. “Of course…” She said. It took only a few seconds. The stallion closed his eyes, Alex put the bridle on his head, pulled on the straps, and made sure it fat tightly and was not cutting into his ears. But for the stallion it was a wonderful feeling, a wave of joy and warmth washing over him. He opened his eyes again, heard that big bell ringing. It was Alex that was holding up her collar in front of him then. “Would you put the collar on me?” She asked him, looking into his eyes. “I’d love to…” The stallion said and carefully took it out of her hands. She lifted her hair up for him and he put the collar around her neck, closed it carefully, not too tightly, and flicked the bell to make it jingle.

They had been so calm since they left the store. All those thoughts and worries had been pushed aside. But now that they were looking at each other wearing those things, wearing each other’s colors, their hands were shaking again. The silence in the room was only interrupted by the sounds of the stallion’s nostrils flaring and the soft jingling of the bell as Alex moved her head ever so slightly. Finally, Tashi reached into the bag once more. He took out the red reins and attached them to his bridle. Without hesitation, he took Alex’s right hand and put those straps into her palm. Then she took the bag from him, reached for the leash that matched her collar, and dropped the rest of their new toys to the ground for another, naughtier day. The clicking sound coming from the tigress hooking that leash onto her collar made the stallion’s ears wiggle once more. He bit his tongue and snorted softly. Alex saw how he was still looking into her eyes the whole time, even when she put that leash into his left hand.

“There’s nobody else I’d like to hold my reins but you.” Tashi whispered and finally broke the silence. “Nobody better to hold my leash than my horsey, either.” The tigress whispered back. “This is all… more than a little crazy. Life might be throwing some curve balls at us but… we can make lemonade out of lemons, can’t we?” He asked and looked into her eyes as he took her other hand and held it carefully. “For some lemonade, we don’t even need lemons.” She replied, making them both chuckle and pushing away their worries a little once more. “I love you, my little tiger.” He whispered and looked into her eyes. “I love you, my horsey.” She replied and sighed as she leaned in to kiss him. But he moved back a little, just out of her reach. “It’s a crazy world… but… we’re in this together.” He said with a big smile on his face. Alex tugged on his reins gently and nodded. “We’re in this together, holding and guiding each other.” The stallion tugged on her leash just as gently.

A gentle pull from both sides, and their lips met in the middle, for a long loving kiss.

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Art by Mickeyila 

Tashi by TashiGibson