Right to a Bear's Arms, Ch. 25 (Patreon)

"Do you always have to be so aggressively flirtatious?" demanded the anime character on the TV screen.  Hera giggled as she popped in a snack into her mouth and chewed happily on its sour gummy texture before it melted into sweet tangy bliss.  Green apple really was one of the best flavors.

"Only when I'm having to deal with your repressed ass," she mouthed alongside the female on screen, watching her playfully jibe and taunt her smaller, flustered Human companion.  "One of us has to be the assertive one here,"

"Does me being who and what I am bother you so much?" the man asked, face drawn bright red.  "Why can't I show you how I feel in my own way?"

"Because your own way would take ages, and I've been waiting long enough," growled the muscle-bound, hulking woman as she swept up the man into her arms and together they descended onto the bedding they shared.  Candle lights flickered and Hera leaned in almost expectantly despite knowing that the show couldn't possibly be going as hardcore as it seemed to be implying.  She knew the scene from the manga and novel very well; the writer was prone to a lot of scenes like this that ultimately ended with both of the main flustered and emotional.  A cock-tease, sure, but so worth the wait.  "And now I wanna make you mine...'

Just then, the door down the hall clicked open.  She glanced up and away from the aggressively PG-13 style strip-tease going on onscreen to look back over her furry shoulder.  Kelin had just emerged, dressed in a wonderful button-up short-sleeve shirt, currently open, over a maroon tanktop and dark blue jeans that hugged every inch of his long legs.  Her eyes raked over her boyfriend as he was just then finishing up tying back his hair into its customary loose ponytail.

Right on queue, just as the character on-screen had finished tugging off her male lover's shirt, exposing his scarred, leanly muscled physique, she mirrored the words with perfect tone and inflection over at her own lover.  "Well hello there, pretty-boy...  I'm never gonna get tired of that view..."

With his hair now tied back from his face, his crystal blue eyes flicked forward again, fixing onto the Ursid woman sprawling across the massive couch in her apartment's living room.  He glanced at the TV and noticeably blushed for a second before he grinned over at her again, smile bright and playful.  "Not interrupting anything am I?"

Hera grinned and her eyes traveled up and down him once more, chewing on her bottom lip, before she returned to watching the steamy scene.  Kelin meanwhile had already crossed the room to sit down beside her, stealing one of her apple-gummies cheekily but countering her playful, mock-annoyed growl, but popping a kiss on her cold wet nose.  Her bulky arm wrapped around him immediately, all but tugging him into her lap.  As the woman on screen leaned back from the man beneath her, her clawed hands tugging off a dirty, sleeveless tunic, Hera and Kelin both gave a matching "Whoop whoop!" of approval.

Then the woman also removed her leather bra and Hera's paw shot up over Kelin's eyes before he could see.  Even she fluffed up a tiny bit, if only from slight shock, although the show was clever enough to artfully hide the intimate details of the now bare-chested woman with angles and contours.  "Hey!" protested her Human.  "Why can't I see the goods?  They've only been bouncing those things ridiculously in every scene leading up to this!  I want me some fan service!"

"Only boobs Kelin needs to be seeing are mine," she growled softly into his ear, half-shoving his face into her chest, over which she wore a maternity-style tanktop.  She loved these kinds of shirts: they were easier to get at stores, already had support built into them which meant not  having to go online and custom order bras so often, and they didn't pinch or dig in since they lacked underwire, just cups and padding.  "Still, Spirits, I was not aware anime could show almost on-screen nudity."

"Yeah well, you get away with a lot as long as you don't show nip, even if they don't have fur to hide it under," Kelin teased back at her, pulling half-heartedly on her paw before, just as she relaxed her grip, he nestled deeper into her fluffy chest.  "Gods, how good these always smell..."

Hera flushed a bit and nuzzled her nose against the top of his head, snorting against the stray hairs from his ponytail that tickled her.  Eventually he leaned back up just as the camera panned away from the two characters, nose to nose on the bedding as the male seemed to take the initiative and held the larger woman gently now that she was not actively disrobing the pair of them.  The Human and Ursid watched the onscreen couple go through a heavy, deeply emotional scene, talking about everything they had gone through together, rather than committing to the actual deed that definitely would have changed the rating and availability of the show.

Noticing that she had sniffled at a particularly poignant line as the crass, hardened, warrior gal allowed herself a sensitive, vulnerable moment, Kelin grinned and snuggled in deeper into her arms, practically curling up in her lap.  "See a lot of yourself in her?" he asked, only sounding half-teasing.

Hera dabbed at her golden eyes with a furry finger.  "Is just romantic to see her able to let down all walls and defenses, if only ever around him.  Reminds me of how far I've come."  Her arms engulfed him lovingly.  "And how much I owe my Kelin."  They cuddled like that until the end of the episode, which regretfully wasn't that much longer.   As the outro played, she finally sighed and looked down at him.  She took in his attire, arching an eyebrow.  "Why fancy clothes?"

"These clothes aren't fancy," he countered, still happily burrowed into her carpet-thick fur.  "Plus it's hot out."

"Why is Kelin worried about hot out?" she persisted.

"Well I'm supposed to be going up to the college in an hour or so," he explained.

Hera felt an immediate sinking inside of her, as she always did whenever she had to imagine being apart from her Kelin.  She tried to remember the reason why he had said, pretty sure he had explained it before today.  Recognition dawned and she nodded.  "Oh right, study date with classmate."  She arched an eyebrow down at him only half-teasingly.  "Why you dressing up so nice for them?"

"I told you, these aren't nice clothes," Kelin chuckled.

"They are nice on you."

"You say that about everything I wear," he countered.

"So does Kelin about what I wear!" she shot right back, happy to be able to play with someone like this.

"That's because you're my She-Hulk Ursid girlfriend and everything you wear becomes skintight.  Fur-tight, whatever.  You make everything you wear look good."

Rolling her eyes, she nonetheless reached down past him and lifted up the hem of her shirt, exposing her fluffy white-furred stomach.  "I am worried that I am becoming pudgy though..." she complained.  "Losing tone.  Kelin might not like Hera as much if I am not 'buff warrior queen goddess'."

Immediately upon sighting her snow-white fur, Kelin lifted up off of her lap and buried his face in her belly, making her growl/yip in surprise in a rather non-Ursid way.  He rubbed his just slightly stubbly cheeks against the hardened lines of her abdominal muscles beneath all that fluff, pressing kiss after kiss to them.  She began to giggle, trying to gently dislodge him from her tummy without hurting him with her huge paws.

Once extricated, she swatted him as lightly as she could.  "You are such jerk," she giggled, gazing at him fondly.

Then he was wrapping his arms around her, pressing into her bulk and invading her personal space in a way that only he would ever be allowed to do so.  Before him, she had never been interested or comfortable with imagining someone just randomly hugging her as tightly and intimately as this.  Now, she had no idea how she could ever live without it.  Her arms folded in around him.

"Hera," he breathed quietly.  "I will love you until the stars fall from the sky, until the world freezes over, and until every last song stops being sung.  Whether you're my buff warrior queen, or a soft curvy momma-bear.  Every day that you are in my life is one that is one-thousand times better than any day that came before.  I'm thankful each and every time I wake up in your arms for everything I've gone through, for making me into the man that you chose to say yes to."

All of the teasing faded out of Hera and her arms tightened just a fraction more, still careful not to hurt him but also allowing some compression of her adorable, loving, tiny boyfriend.  She sniffled hard and held him like that for at least a minute although she would have done so for hours if she could.  When they finally released their embrace at the same time and leaned back, she furiously wiped at her eyes again.

"O-only till then?" she asked, half-joking, earnest need shining from her gaze down at him.

He winked.  "After that, we can talk.  I mean, after the world ends, we would get to redefine everything.  Go on our first date all over again."  He grew a touch more somber then, stroking her paw.  "And if the world ended and we no longer were, I'd rest easy knowing that when the cycle begins again, every day that passed would be one more day closer to me getting to meet you again.  No matter how long it takes.  I'd wait for you."

Her bottom lip quivering, Hera bit down hard on it and blinked back a fresh wave of emotion.  He seemed almost as sensitive as any Anthro might have, his eyes dilating just a hair and watering up just like hers were before she shook her head at his invitation to hug again.  "Y-you are going to be late for study date..." she growled.

Glancing at his phone's clock, Kelin sighed.  "Yeah...if it was just any other assignment than a group project, I'd be willing to put it off a bit longer.  But since it is, I'd feel too guilty.  I'd love nothing more than to take you back to bed for the next few hours and prove how much I adore you.  But I'd need way longer than..." he checked the time again, doing mental calculations, then grimaced.  "Twenty minutes, and that with no cuddles."

Hera fluffed up at the mental visual and pleasant memories his words ellicited.  Nonetheless, she beamed down at him, unable to stop her endless respect for his work ethic shine through.  "Well, as lovely as it would be, cuddles are kind of important," she teased.

"Utmost of essential details," he growled cutely.

Sighing, she stroked his cheek with her paw, feeling the soft bristles of his stubble rub against her thick fur.  "Be having fun, okay my Kelin?"  He nodded and they nuzzled noses together.  As he stood back up, she sighed and turned off the anime-streaming channel, since she had been rewatching the current season specifically for that episode.  It had helped keep her busy while Kelin took some personal time, as he sometimes needed, to work on music stuff on his laptop.  The more understanding she was, the more easily he allowed her to sometimes listen to or read his lyric drafts.  "Your partner is girl, yes?"

"Yes, she's a girl," chuckled Kelin.  He winked back at her as he was plucking up his wallet, bus card, and finally his necklace which he had taken off and placed on the coffee table last night before bed.  "But you have nothing to worry about.  I have the perfect woman here waiting for me to come back.  Even if I don't always believe I deserve you, I'd be the biggest idiot in the world to mess that up."

Humming contentedly, Hera bowed her head as he walked over and pressed another kiss to her furry brow.  "You are deserving everything, my Kelin, and I will give it to you until my dying breath.  Be coming home soon..." she murmured as he lingered there.  He obviously didn't want to go either.  However, the longer he stayed, the longer he would be gone when he did go.  He knew that too.  With a heavy combined sigh, they broke apart and he slipped on his shoes.

"I'll text you when I get there!" he promised, then headed out the door, letting it close behind him and click its auto-lock shut.

Rising morosely from her immediate slouch as soon as he had left, Hera grumbled and began cleaning up her mess of snacks and drinks that she had let sit for the last day or so.  With Kelin not here, she could busy herself with a little cleaning, maybe read, listen to music, or shower.  She paused then, lifting one large arm up and sniffing at herself.  Definitely shower.

As she passed the entrance to the bedroom, she looked over and saw Kelin's laptop sitting still open on the huge Emperor-sized mattress.  Chuckling softly, she walked over and put a paw on top of it, intending to close it for him.  She saw lines of text for a brief second before it clicked shut underneath a gentle push.  While it was enticing to sneak a peek at his latest work, Kelin surprisingly was very shy about when he wrote songs, so it made the times when he did let her mean all the more.

Trust was the lifeblood of any relationship, as they had both agreed on very early on.  If there was something they couldn't or didn't want to talk about at that moment, both always attempted to make time to eventually do so.  Kelin wanted no secrets between them, and neither did she.  Being completely open and honest with someone was liberating rather than suffocating.

As she entered the shower and turned on the Blue-Fang speakers, syncing to her music player, she set some classic 80's rock and roll style song to play.  Stripping slowly to the beat of the song, Hera sang along, using random tools or items as pretend microphones, guitar picks, or drum sticks.  She headbanged as she stripped out of her workout shorts, pumped her paw as her shirt fell to the ground, and belted out the lyrics, glad for the thick walls of her apartment so she didn't disturb anyone.

Indulging in enjoying the hot water, Hera nodded as the song eventually changed.  One of Kelin's personal instrumental compositions.  Closing her eyes, she drifted in the steam and notes drifting about the hazy room.  She couldn't ever remember being this happy and content.

***At the college***

Kelin thanked the bus driver, as he always did, as he stepped off the vehicle and heard the doors hiss closed behind him.  The library loomed before him, as imposing with its faceless Dragon Anthro guardian statues that towered over twelve feet tall on either side of the staircase, where lounged and relaxed dozens of other students.  The wings that spread from their backs cast deep shadows over the crowds that passed the building.

He shot Hera a quick text to let her know he had arrived safely, complete with at least three emoticons of hearts even if it did make him feel goofy, and then headed inside.  Even as he passed through the archway and through the gilded double doors, he heard someone calling his name.  Looking around, his eyes immediately alighted and widened at the view of the young woman hurrying over.

"Hey!" Kelin beamed, immediately shooting out his hand in a fist bump towards her.  "What's up Ash?"

Furry fist bumping against his, the tall, muscle-bound athletic Leonid grinned down at him.  "Just waiting on you," she retorted cheekily, winking.  She had recently cut her hair again, possibly the one detail about the girl that was the least consistent.  Then again, maybe Leonid hair grew faster than other breeds.  As it was, she looked the spitting image of Nala from the Lion King, head shaven down to the fur and accentuating the natural shape of her skull.  She always looked good like that.

"Oh come on, I'm not that late," he joked up at his classmate.  Rolling his shoulder then, he cracked his neck as if they were preparing for a brawl.  "You ready to get this report on the Royals hammered out?"

Grinning and flashing a gleaming crescent moon of feline fangs, Ashleigh chuckled.  "Sure.  I envy your energy.  I took forever getting up my own to get over here and get this done.  Pleasant company aside."  He chuckled as they started making their way back towards the study rooms before Ash abruptly spoke up again.  "You look nice today."

Blinking, Kelin glanced up at the Leonid girl.  "Oh, uhh, thanks!" he chuckled.  "You do...wow you look great too."

Ashleigh's ears folded back strangely against her skull and she chuckled along with him.  Her powerful frame filled out a sleeveless, high-necked top that clung to her chest and curves easily, as well as studded jeans.  Her footpaws were wrapped in intricate leather sandals, similar to Roman soldier's gear.  She was a lovely girl really, almost as tall as Hera, which was surprising to him at first since he knew Leonids rarely got that tall, and for her species, almost as heavily built as the Ursid.  She had told him before that she was something called an Alpha, some kind of recessive gene that dated back thousands of years through her genealogical history.

"Thanks!" she beamed.  She walked with a spring in her step, leading the way to their reserved study room.  It wasn't a large one, similar to dozens of them along the same extended hallway.  All four walls were windows, covered by blinds, with a big conference style table in the center and chairs on all sides.  The center of it had multiple plug ins for laptops and other devices, as well as an in-room terminal and attached projector.  As the blinds were solid, they also made due as improvised screens.

Kelin whistled as Ashleigh let them in using the keycode the library portal had given them and took out his supplies and notes.  "Damn, I'd love to run a DND game out of one of these rooms," he commented as Ashleigh took a seat beside him.

"Yeah, they're pretty perfect for them," she commented, sitting perhaps just a hair closer than he might have expected.  Her tail flicked him more than once before she adjusted her chair's position, although her furry arm did rub against him every now and then.  It didn't bother him so he made no comment.  "I've had a few here but lack a dedicated group."

"No way..." Kelin breathed, glancing up at the lioness.  "You game too?"

"6 year veteran," she proudly sniffed.  "Although...not consistently and hardly any recently.  My old Pride gamed with me for a while since one of them introduced me to it.  I wasn't as sure I'd enjoy it but I ended up loving it way more than they did and wanted to play constantly.  Ever since I came here, I've tried to find a couple fellow geeks but...no dice."  She winked down at him cheekily.

Groaning at the pun, he nonetheless beamed.  "I've played for pretty much my entire teenage and formative years," he gushed.  "My father and best friend run their own games at my house and we used to have weekly sessions until I came to college here.  We just had a session for my birthday, it was amazing."

"That sounds so cool..." Ash breathed, jealousy shining from her eyes.  "What kind of set up do you have?  I've always made due with rented rooms and game shops."

Grinning with obvious superiority, Kelin whipped out his phone and showed her the pictures on his gallery showcasing the massive gaming set up back at Leod Hall.  Ashleigh's big, bright eyes went wide as saucers as she stared at the photos of how the table opened up, the maps and figurines they used, even the walls of props, books, dice, and other collectible memorabilia that his family had amassed over the years.

"Dude..." she whispered, leaning right in against his arm to get a better look.  "That is the most badass set up for DND I've ever seen...full dungeon delve!"  She grinned at him, barely a foot between them at this point.  "You have got to let me play with you sometime!"  There was a sudden pause and Ash abruptly leaned back from him in an instant.  Her ears folded back against her skull and her fur stood up on end, just like Hera's did when she was flustered.  "I didn't...I did not mean that the way it came out!"

Kelin laughed.  "No sweat Ash," he told her, putting down his phone.  "My table would love to have you if we can find room.  We have a lot of players, all of them pretty constant."

Furrowing her eyebrows, the Leonid girl cocked her head slightly to the side.  Apparently studying could wait a little longer.  "How many players do you have?" she asked, practically gushing with interest as she leaned her furry chin on her paw.

Kelin pondered it, looking away from her and counting on his fingers.  "Well for the longest time it's been me, my sister, my two cousins, my uncle, my dad, my best friend, my other two best friends..."

"You are so lucky," Ashleigh spoke up then, cutting him off.  He looked back at her to see her fiddling with her paws.  "I'd kill to have that kind of consistent and dedicated group.  I've always wanted to really get invested in a character and a story, not just waste a couple of hours killing random stuff like murderhobos in an RPG.  My old group didn't take it seriously at all, sometimes they'd spend entire session times bullshitting about stuff and we'd never make a single roll.  I just wanted to spend time in a fantasy world and not have to be me, just for a little bit."

Kelin looked at the large girl sadly as her ears folded down and her tail hung limply on the ground behind her.  He didn't know her too well, just recently assigned to her a few weeks ago as a partner, but he knew enough that he was confident in seeing a lot of similarities between her and another certain, equally large Anthro woman.  "What's so wrong with being you?" he asked.  He patted her fluffy shoulder.  "I may not know you all that well yet, but you seem like a kickass, really likeable girl.  I wasn't just putting you off or anything about being able to join."

"You're a nice guy, Kel," she told him, glancing at him once out of the corner of her huntress eyes.  There was something about that look that puzzled him but he just shrugged it off.  "But you don't have to pity me.  I know it's not an attractive look for anyone.  I look and feel like garbage half the time."

Rolling his eyes and playfully punching her shoulder, Kelin fixed the startled lioness with a beaming smile.  "Well I think you're pretty awesome garbage," he teased.  "In fact, anyone would be lucky to have you as a friend."

"I don't..."

He cut her off, placing a hand gently on her forearm.  "Look, Ash," he told her, growing gentler and more somber now.  "I get it.  Sometimes it's hard to feel trapped inside of yourself.  You want to break out and be who you've always wondered if you could be.  That's what college is, a chance to change who you are.  I just hope you don't change yourself too much and lose the best parts about you."

She cast him that same look.  "And just what are the best parts of me?" she huffed.

Rolling his eyes, Kelin chuckled.  "Are we fishing for compliments now?"

"Maybe."

Laughing more now, Kelin settled back, humoring her for now.  "Well for starters, you're funny.  You're really cool.  You dress nice which means you like looking good by your own standards but you also portray exactly who you are whenever you go out or to class.  You're super energetic, from what I've seen, you work well with people, always happy to help or make a friend.  You're a geek, like me," he joked, winking again and she brightened up a bit more, still paying rapt attention to him.  "Plus, come on Ash!" he demanded, leaning toward her again.  "Have you seen yourself?"

She took a glance down at her attire, not seeming convinced.  "I mean...I'm okay...Alphas just kind of find it hard to get anyone to like them for who they are outside of the title...  It's hard to know who likes me for me and not what they're supposed to."

"You are a far shot from okay," Kelin protested.  "I'd love to have a body like yours.  Look at this arm!"  He shrugged out of his button up shirt, now wearing just his tanktop, and flexed his pale-skinned arm next to her burly, golden-furred one.  "See?  I'm flexing and you're not.  You can't even tell that I'm trying.  Go on, flex!"  She rolled her eyes and did so.  Cords of muscle and sinew hardened noticeably beneath the thick fur, making it bulge larger than his head.  She wasn't as much a powerhouse like Hera, but she still was every inch a hardened, conditioned athlete and huntress, even if he doubted she id the latter.

"See?" he demanded.  "You can't tell me that isn't awesome."

She glanced at her arm and then his again, seemingly comparing them.  "Sure, I guess," she muttered.  "But all Anthros are easily buff.  I personally never got into that look.  People always ask 'Six-pac or Dad bod,' and I'm like 'Neither.  I like short and skinny.'  Sure...I work out a lot...I swim and run and used to do sports.  But that's because I love being active and...yeah I know I'm hot."  She laughed then, and it was a happier, more beautiful sound, even if she wilted at having to praise herself, which made Kelin respect her all the more.  "I practically haunt the school gym, or at least I did until I found a local one."  She grew a touch more shy then.  "I'm...even trying out for the volleyball team soon."

"Then at least you're doing something you like," Kelin retorted, slipping his overshirt back on.  Ashleigh's eyes seemed to watch him as he did, giving him that same weighing look again.  He didn't look into it, adjusting his collar once the shirt was back on.  "And as far as the DND stuff, not to derail the conversation, but I don't doubt we wouldn't all love to have you in the party.  The only thing is, we game in Gillette, my hometown.  And it's kind of a drive back."

She blinked and then smiled even wider.  "Do you ever do...online gaming?" she asked.  "Like, streaming from a computer and gaming with them from here?"

His eyes went wide and he gaped up at her.  "How did I never think of that..." he muttered then beamed up at her.  "You're a genius Ash."

She chuckled, filling the room with her deep, rich sound.  "Thanks, Kel," she purred.  "You're super nice and fun to talk to you.  I really like hanging out with you, even if it is just for a project.  I'd really like it if we could stay friends after it's done."

"What," he teased cheekily.  "You planning on dropping me before now if I was too boring?  Don't make snap decisions; you haven't heard me go on and on about my in game Paladin for hours.  Even my fellow geeks tell me to call it off after two, even if they all keep saying my guy's probably the main story character of the campaign.  We don't game that way but that's generally the way it goes without any of us trying to."

"Being honest, Kelin," she responded, matching his smile.  "I could happily listen to someone gush about DND for a while.  I'd do the same with my Lioness War-Cleric / Fighter, even if I haven't had the chance to play her in a long time."

"War-Cleric and Fighter?" he asked, intrigued.  "How does that equal out?"

"Attacks for days," she purred, leaning in toward him.  "Great-sword and full plate armor.  SElf-buffing, attacker and tank.  A lot like me just more aggressive, take-charge, confident."  Her eyes flicked down from his, across his face.  Her ears were fully trained on him, expression hooded.  "She goes after what she wants..."

Kelin blinked, uncomprehendingly as Ashleigh continued to lean in toward him.  Then, right as her whiskers brushed his face, he jerked back in alarm.  "Ash, woah, hey," he stammered in shock.  "What are you doing?"

The Leonid woman stared at him, equally surprised.  "I mean...I thought it was...kind of obvious," she growled out gently.  She furrowed her brows.  "Do you...not like me or something?"

Recognition dawned on him like a crashing waterfall and Kelin slumped in his chair with a soft groan.  "That's not..." he started to say.  "That isn't what..."

Ashleigh watched him for a couple of seconds before her eyes hardened.  She looked awya from him, upset and sad.  "Ok," she muttered.  "I get it.  I figured you were into me too but...I guess I can't even get being on my own right."  She stood, grabbing up her stuff.  "Sorry," she snapped, tears shining in her eyes.

Kelin jolted up out of his chair, blocking her from the door.  "Now hold on," he told her, growing more stern.  "That isn't the very adult decision to make, storming off just because I maybe don't like you the way you like me."  She huffed, obviously wanting to leave.  Her ears were folded completely back against her close-cropped skull and her lips furrowed rapidly, almost exposing her teeth but not in anger or aggression.  Tears continued to glint in her shining, slit-pupiled orbs of golden light.  "Will you let me explain?" he asked.

She nodded once and warily sat back down at the table, fur standing on end and her entire posture ready to flee at a moment's notice."

He matched her gaze, seated right in front of her.  "Look, you're an amazing girl," he started to say, when she growled and cut him off.  "What?"

"I've heard this before, way too many times," she snapped.  "Oh Ashleigh, you're awesome and cool.  You're badass.  You're beautiful.  You could have any guy you want."  She growled again, looking straight down at the ground.  "Then why am I still alone?" she snarled fiercely.  "Why can't I for once find a guy I like, who isn't who everyone tells me I'm just expected to be with because I was born with a social standard foisted on my head, a gene in my body that everyone wants to make every decision about me and for me because of it?!"

Kelin stayed quiet, knowing that she had probably been holding this in for a long time.

"When does Ash get to decide what she wants?" she demanded.  Tears gleamed like acidic diamonds in the corners of her eyes, still unable to spill forth but too heavy to fade away.  "When do I finally get the guy of my dreams?  The first time I really opened up to someone about how I liked them for not being what everyone said was who and what I'm supposed to like, he turned me down.  Yeah, sure, he had a girlfriend and I was stupid for even trying.  But it's not like you do, right?  I'm just unable to have anyone.  I don't get to fall in love.  I just get to be Ashleigh the Alpha.  When do I get to just be Ash?!"

Kelin watched her bury her muzzle in her paws.  Soft, shuddering sobs wracked her frame.  He wanted to reach out and comfort her.  What she needed right then was someone to hear her for exactly who she was, not placate or confuse her.  Intimacy could be shared among friends, but what Ash wanted was to be able to be intimate specifically with one person.  He'd done a paper a while ago about different Anthro social groups, and read that Leonids, like real lions, operated in Prides, trading partners and such with one another.

There were even reports of Anthros who willingly shared a single lover, multiple different people who all invested love and attention into one solitary person.  It wasn't like some anime-style Harem; for Anthros it was just another possible aspect of their dating and romantic lives.  Kelin didn't approve of it, but he also knew he didn't have to.  He just accepted them, and was grateful to have found a woman of his own that shared his desire for a single, monogamous partnership.

That seemed to be what Ashleigh wanted too.  So, as soon as she had settled down from her outburst, he spoke up again.  "I...actually do," he muttered.  Her ears perked up at him but she didn't move otherwise.  "I actually do have a girlfriend," he told her, soft but firm.  "We've been serious for months now, and I deeply love her.  That's why I pulled back, Ash.  I'm sorry if I was so clueless about you flirting, I'm not used to girls flirting with me.  Before her, I was never confident in myself.  I've only ever had one other girlfriend than her, and she was a childhood friend that passed away a few years ago.  Still, that isn't an excuse for inadvertently leading you on, and I'm really sorry."

He took a deep breath, then continued speaking.  "And for what it's worth...I really do think you're an awesome girl.  If I was single, yeah, I'd be blown away by your interest.  But...if it wasn't for Hera...I wouldn't even be here most likely.  I'd have given up on college and moved back home.  I'm really sorry you've had such rotten luck.  You're an incredible girl, and you deserve a guy who will make you believe that."

Ashleigh had since, while he spoke, leaned up and met his eyes again.  She sniffed, wiping at her face with her paw.  When he nodded at her, letting her know he was done, she took a deep breath in and out to try and calm herself.  "I'm...really sorry I didn't know you already had a girlfriend," she muttered.  "I'd never have attempted to imagine liking you if I had known.  I guess...yeah I mean I thought I was being super obvious because that's what my girlfriends all tell me to do when I know I like someone like that and enough to try."  She met his eyes immediately.  "Not actual girlfriends.  Closer to adopted sisters."

He nodded.  "No I get it.  My best friend is closer to the brother I never had."

Ash nodded back at him.  "I feel like a furless moron..." she grumbled.

"You're not," he told her.

"Thanks..." she sighed.  "And...yeah...maybe I should have just asked and spared myself the trouble.  Could have avoided all of this embarrassment."

"Would you not have wanted to be my friend if you knew I wasn't available?" Kelin probed.  She flinched but then immediately and sternly nodded.  "Good, because I'd still like to be yours, if you'll let me."  Her look of surprise and immediate gratitude washed over him like a wave and he smiled gently at her.  "You're still a really cool girl, and I meant every word I said."

She wiped at her nose again, smiling more genuinely too now.  "Thanks...Even if it's not in any interest now of dating you, I still think you're cool too.  Your girlfriend is super lucky to have you."

He looked down from her to the phone on the table.  His smile broadened as, just then, an incoming call made the entire surface rumble with its vibration alert.  "That's probably her now," he admitted.  She nodded as he glanced at her, seeing if it was okay to pick it up.  Sure enough, when he opened it, he saw her name and her profile picture of her posing cutely.  "Hey, babe," he chimed as the call clicked open.

"Hello, my Kelin!" came Hera's bright voice and thick accent.  "How goes the study date?"

Glancing at Ash who was fixing her makeup quietly, still looking dejected, he grinned.  "We got to talking about DND and kind of lost track of time..."

"Nerd," she giggled.

"Hey, the appropriate term is geek, and you're one of us now so you can't pretend you don't know better.  If you're gonna be my girlfriend, that means using the correct labels!"

He heard Hera growl with laughter.  "Well, it seems like lot of hard work, and much complications, but you are worth it.  Is your study partner nice?"

Kelin glanced again at Ash, who obviously was trying not to listen in despite that Anthro hearing was far better than a Human's.  "She really is," he murmured warmly.  "We also got to talking about some other stuff, but we're getting back to work soon.  Would you want to meet up for dinner together?"

"But that means I must put on clothing again..." she whined.  They shared a chuckle.  "Would love to, Kelin.  Give me an hour?"

"Sounds good, my heart," he chuckled.  "Bye Hera, I love you."

"As I love you."

The call ended and he put down his phone.  He glanced back up at Ash, worried she would be feeling awkward again, understandably since the guy she had just confessed to was just finishing up talking to his actual girlfriend in front of her.  Instead, he blinked in surprise to see Ash staring hard at him and his phone with a shocked, intense look on her face.

"What?" he asked, chuckling a bit.

She blinked several times.  "Did...did you say Hera?" she asked.  He nodded.  "That's...weird."  At the arch of his eyebrow, Ash shook her head rapidly.  "Not weird as in...look...I know this is gonna sound...okay after our talk maybe I have no business asking but..."  He nodded again, letting her know it was okay.  "Is your girlfriend an Anthro, by any chance?"

"She is," beamed Kelin.  To Ash's utter shock, he turned on his phone and opened up Hera's contact information.  The Polar Bear Ursid smiled directly at the lioness from the lit up screen.  "She's the light of my life, honestly.  I...may have helped her through some deep personal stuff due to her PTSD and I've never been happier in my life than when I'm with her."  He looked back at Ash's dumbstruck face.  "What's with the look?"

She looked from the phone to him, back to the phone, and once again at the Human.  Her jaw was hanging loosely and her eyes wider than they'd ever been before.  "Are...you serious...?" she asked.  "Hera as in Hera fricking Doring?!"

Kelin blinked in shock at her knowledge of his girlfriend's last name, since her contact card didn't state that information.  "Yeah, why?"

"You're dating Heraru-Chan?!" she roared.  The sound echoed around the room and both of them winced.  "Sorry!" she whispered once the noise had died down before she said it again, in a hissing murmur.  "My classmate is dating fricking Heraru-Chan?!"

He chuckled, wiggling a finger in his ear.  "Not a lot of people know she used to be called that, but yeah.  I'm surprised you knew that."

Ash stared at him for a long second then whipped out her own phone.  On the slightly cracked screen, as she pressed the power button, flashed the logo of a certain band.  Heraru-Chan and the Idolz!

He gaped at her and then he guffawed.  "Oh wow you do know her!"

"Of course I know her!" hissed Ash in obvious fangirl excitement.  "Oh my god, I have all her albums, I know all her songs, I even..." she stammered off, eyes going wide again.  "And I just asked out her boyfriend..." she murmured quietly in shock and morbid horror.

Kelin couldn't help it.  He laughed, almost as loudly as she had shouted.

"Stop laughing!" she snarled but her fur was bunched up and her ears folded back in obvious embarrassment not anger.  He didn't stop, and a second later she joined in, giggling up a storm.  "I mean it!  S-seriously!  I would die if she found out!"

"Ok, ok," he chuckled, biting his lower lip and shaking from suppressing his mirth.  Both took deep breaths and settled back into their chairs.  "But you have to tell me how you knew her by name alone.  Hera said she never released her real name to the fanbase because she didn't want real life attention outside of the band."

Ash crumpled in on herself slightly, not meeting his eyes.  "I...actually met her at the gym...I go to now...and I got to talk to her since I recognized her while singing one of her songs..."  She hid her face in her paws again.  "She even told me she had a human boyfriend and everything...Oh Spirits I'm so ashamed of myself right now."

Kelin patted her paw gently.  "Hey, it's okay.  Honestly I know you meant nothing bad at all by it.  It can just be our awkward little secret, okay?  Poof.  Never happened."

She looked up at him in shock.  "What?" she exclaimed.  "No, you have to tell her!"

Kelin blinked.  "Uhhh...but you just said..."

"Yes, but you're dating her!" Ashleigh told him sternly.  She crossed her arms.  "If I was dating someone and someone else asked them out, I'd want to know.  Especially if my boyfriend in this situation was then going to remain friends with them.  I'd want to know I can trust my friends and lover to not keep things like that from me.  If you hide it and it somehow comes out, it could ruin your relationship.  And while you're really cool, Kelin, no offense, but Hera is way cooler than you."

Pulling a face, Kelin frowned at her, mock-indignantly.  "Hey, I'm...pretty cool..." he grumbled lamely.

Ashleigh put up a paw.  "Four words," she told him, then counted off each one with a raised, padded finger.  "Teenage.  Japanese.  Metal.  Idol."

"...Okay fair point," he admitted.

They shared a small laugh before Ash took a deep breath, recentering herself agian.  "Even if I risk losing her as a friend, and you as one too in the instance she doesn't want you haning around me, which I'd understand in a heartbeat, I'd rather do so in the interest of making sure the relationship you two have remains.  The relationship I'd do anything to have for myself."

Kelin watched her for several seconds before, sighing, he nodded.  It was honestly the best possible solution to this.  "...You're right," he admitted.  "I'd want Hera to tell me the same thing happened too.  Thanks, Ashleigh.  You really are one amazing friend to have."

She grinned for a second then grimaced.  "Even if it probably isn't for very long.  I at least want to live by my family code of conduct.  We trace our bloodline all the way back to the homeworld as Alphas, and it's important I carry on that legacy.  Honor is trust, loyalty, courage, and compassion for others.  Even if I have to lose two friends, I at least know this is who I want to be."

Nodding, Kelin dialed Hera back up.  The line rung several times before she picked up.  "Kelin?" she asked, sounding confused.  "You are calling me and not because of butt?"

"Yeah, hey Hera," he started.  "Look...there's something that I wanted to talk to you about since it just happened a bit before you called the first time and I wanted to be completely honest with you, like we always are."  He glanced again at Ash who gave him a big thumb's-up.

"Okay?" Hera chuckled.  "I greatly appreciate that, my Kelin, but what is it?"

Taking a deep breath, Kelin explained everything.  Understandably, Hera was of course upset that someone had attempted to kiss him, and more than shocked when, upon going on face-time, saw who it had been.  Kelin however remained cool and calm, telling her it was an honest misunderstanding, how he could have been more clear and observant, and that nothing at all happened.  Ashleigh was even asked by Hera to explain her side, and while the Ursid remained a bit icy toward her at first, she could easily see how upset the Leonid was at what had happened.

Eventually... "I understand," Hera sighed, rubbing at her brow.  "I appreciate you and Ashleigh telling me right away.  Would not have wanted this to come out at other time down the road..."  She gave both of them a look and then, to Kelin's absolute relief, she smiled.  "You are world's best boyfriend, my Kelin.  Thank you for telling me and trusting me, allowing me to trust you."  She looked at Ash then, still smiling.  "And thank you, Ash.  While I'm not...happy at situation, you have proved to be honorable and a good person."

"I'm really, really sorry," Ashleigh uttered for perhaps the hundredth time.  "I'd totally understand if you don't want to be friends with me anymore, and I'll totally back off of being friends with Kelin too.  I'd never want to cause any harm to anyone's relationship."

Hera raised a paw on the video.  "Nyet," she responded.  "That is not necessary.  You had best intentions and only were pursuing your own dream as you told to me in gym.  There is nothing bad about that.  Just do not be asking out or trying to kiss mine Kelin again, and we never need worry about this, da?"  She winked but also the rolling of her lip made the gesture's slight threatening tone and intent very clear.

"Da," replied Ash immediately.  "I mean yes.  Yes ma'am."

"Good," Hera sighed and smiled brightly again.  "Now, Kelin?"  He took the phone back.  "I am still quite hungry, more so now from stress.  Can we go eat right away?"

"Absolutely," he responded, glancing at Ash.  "We can coordinate another time to meet up right?"  She nodded instantly.  "Does fish sound good?"

"Why you must always assume Ursid likes seafood above all others?" she growled cutely at him.  "Nyet.  I am in mood for good steak.  Something to bury my teeth in."  Ash flinched a bit and Kelin did too, despite that it was probably for very different reasons.  He really liked it when Hera got all growly.  "Feel free to invite Ash along too."

He and the Leonid both blinked in surprise.  "You sure, babe?" he asked, thoroughly shocked.

"Of course!" she replied.  "I am hungry, and know that studying is hard work.  Stress more so.  Good meal goes long way to fixing hurts and relieving tension."

Ashleigh leaned around the screen to be visible again.  "Are you...absolutely certain, ma'am?" she asked hesitantly.  "I'd hate to infringe on your date, especially after everything."

"Would not have invited if I did not mean it, Ashleigh," Hera chuckled.  "Please.  Do come with.  Can you drive Kelin to Magnus'?"  Ash nodded immediately.  "Thank you.  I will see you both soon, da?"

Kelin leaned the phone toward himself quickly before she hung up.  "Hera, just one second before you go, okay?"  She paused and nodded at him.  "You're the best girlfriend in the world," he told her with utter and complete seriousness.  "I love you, so, so much."

Her face softened and she beamed at him the way she only ever did when it was just them.  The light in her eyes was reserved solely for her little Human and he rejoiced in that fact.  "I know," she teased, then blew him a kiss.  "I love you too.  See you soon, my Little Tyr."

"See you, my love," he told her.  They hung up and put away their stuff in tandem before setting off to the nearby parking lot of the library and climbing into Ash's massive bright-red Hummer-style truck.  The thing looked closer to an armored transport vehicle out of a Batman movie.  Together, they drove across town to Magnus' Porthouse, where they met up with Hera.

They all shared a lovely steak dinner and talked about various things: DND, schoolwork, advice for Ash on dating and how to go about making sure she put herself out there confidently but also with the best mindset, how to handle rejection, as well as, of course, as Magnus' had a small karaoke bar set up, singing some songs together.  They took photos of each other, and at the end of the night, Kelin drove home, safely nestled into Hera's broad, leather-jacket clad back.  She had worked on the motorcycle so there was a Human-sized seat for him to fit on now.

When they got home, it was late, and they went straight to bed, where, safely nestled in one another's arms, they fell immediately asleep.  Safely nestled in a bear's arms, there was nowhere else and with no one else he would rather be.