Over the Road, Part 4, Coffee and Showers (Patreon)

Content Warning: NSFW. The following chapter deals with eluded to Herm x Male content and some traumatic material.

It had been about another hour's worth of driving since Laris and Gwen had woken up and...had their fun together.  The open road ahead of them had been awkward at first once they'd gotten dressed again and returned to the cab of the truck, the silence hanging between them like a shroud of awkwardness.  Laris' face burned whenever he glanced over at the beautiful, huge curvy form of the Ursid trucker woman, who beamed happily at whatever she was looking at and seemed bubbly enough to be on top of the world right then.

Images of their romantic tryst just earlier made him wriggle in his seat.  The sights and sounds she had made and showed him, not to mention the absolutely mind-blowing sex and intimacy they had shared still had his mind racing.  She was by far the most beautiful and sexiest woman he'd ever met, but also the kindest, sweetest, and most gentle one as well, especially for how big and intimidating an Ursid might, and did, look at first glance.  He had had a hard life on the road, but she seemed to make it all better.

As if able to sense his gaze on her, Honey-Maple glanced out of the corner of her eye over at him and grinned if possibly even wider than she already had been.  It was equal parts sexual and endearing, making his stomach tighten and his skin itch as he could all but physically feel her gaze crawling all over him.  Then she reached out and stroked his hair, setting his heart to turn into twittering butterflies.  He took that big paw in his hands, caressing the fur and soft pads, tracing the lines and edges of her blunt claws.  She wriggled at his touch and happily let him continue.

So they passed the time in relative, but companionable silence.  Laris felt like something needed to be said eventually but had no idea what it could be.   The sun was just barely creeping over the horizon and slowly lighting up the beautiful Canadian highway and surrounding landscape.  It was breathtaking to experience, especially from the warmth and safety of the huge cab of the semi truck, not to mention the huge woman he felt utterly secure with.

Just as he finally mustered up the courage to say something at long last, Gwen retrieved her paw and gripped the wheel, using her other one to turn on her turn signal.  "Here at last!" she growled happily.  "Ain't a little rest station never looked so good?"  Her thick country-girl mixed with Canadian accent made his heart melt even more, especially coupled with the small, natural growl of all Anthros.

Looking out from the windshield, Laris did indeed see a sizeable trucker rest station before them.  It looked cozy enough but there were several other trucks parked that he could see on either side as Gwen pulled them into a spot.  A tightness came to his stomach then and he stayed sitting where he was even as Gwen threw the truck into park, even with how excited he was at the idea of a hot shower after what felt like weeks since the last time he'd had one.  Especially because of the last time.

"Ready to go?" she asked, voice bright and cheerful.  "I can't tell you, sugar, how much I'm looking forward to a shower and a hot meal.  Something this morning really upped my appetite, although I've got no idea what..."  Her tone dropped off and he turned to look up at her now facing him.  Her smile had fallen away into a concerned look, big eyes bright and endearing.  "Sweetie, you all right?"

Realizing his face had set into a hard, grim line, he hurriedly shook his head and tried to play it off.  "Y-yeah," he mumbled.  "Just...just tired I guess."

Gwen gave him a look that made it all too clear that she knew that there was more to it but she didn't probe.  Instead she just shrugged and returned to beaming.  "Well, tired has a couple well-tried and true methods of recovering from," she winked cheekily.  "Well, that and another thing...but that tends to make you more tired."

He gave her a lopsided grin even as some cheer and heat came back to his cheeks.  He glanced up at her again and nodded.  "Yeah...I know.  Okay, I'm ready."  Even as she grinned and turned to open her driver side door, however, he caught her paw again.  "Hey Gwen?" he asked.

"Yeah, Laris?" she crooned, looking back down at him with an open and earnest smile.

Something about that look made him smile a bit more genuinely, even if inside something else gnawed and worried at him.  Trying desperately to tamp it down and not spoil that beautiful smile, he simply lifted her paw to his lips and kissed the furry knuckles of it once before letting go.  "If I hadn't said thank you yet...then thank you.  For everything."

If possible, the Ursid's expression became even happier and softer and she intentionally leaned over more to rub her damp nose tip against his cheek before kissing it just once with her furry lips.  "You are very welcome, sugar pie," she crooned into his ear, making him flush and actually forget why he was feeling so glum all of a sudden, at least for a second, before she was leaning back and undoing her seatbelt.  "Now, why don't we grab a change of clothes, lock up the truck, and head in to get ourselves a big, heaping breakfast?" she asked him excitedly.

Unable to contain a smile from creeping across his face at how energetic and cute she was, Laris sighed and nodded.  He too unbuckled himself, squeezed past her into the back of the truck to get a new shirt and pair of underwear from his meager pile inside his bag, and had just slid down the ladder from her cab-bed when something heavy, furry, and warm pressed up against his back, lightly pinning him to the metal but not painfully.  Big paws stroked through his hair and hugged him hard to plush curves, making him blush all over again, especially when he felt something undeniable intentionally bump him from behind just once.

He looked back and up over his shoulder at her as she stepped back, eyes sparkling with a feminine giggle, and winking down at him.  All at once his mind was sent reeling back into what they had done against this very ladder only a short while ago, and he shivered softly at the utterly wonderful memory of it.  He'd remember that for a long, long time; just another reason to be grateful to her on top of everything else.

"Sorry, couldn't resist," the Ursid chuckled, then smiled sweetly.  "Thank you as well, by the way."

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion and he turned around more fully to look at her directly.  Now more than ever he had to acknowledge the vast difference in their heights and body types: him not short but compared to her he was practically tiny and slender of build due to a lack of proper meals for a long time and a generally over-active metabolism, and only coming up to the bottom swells of her immense feminine endowments and barely as wide across as half of her, if that.

She was all curves and powerful muscle, an equal combination of fluff and power that seemed as solid as the very truck she drove, with eyes that shone like diamonds and fur that made him think of, quite literally, dark honey with sunlight shining through it.  Her shoulder-length blonde waves of hair hung about her face, Ursine muzzle lifted in a joyous smile, and her twitching ears poking out of the top of her mane ever so adorably.

He had no right, or even logical reason, to deserve someone as beautiful, as lovely in spirit and body, and as gentle as she was.  And she had saved him.  Shown him such utter and sincere kindness, shared her warmth and even body with him with such eagerness that implied she saw the same level of attraction for him as he did for her.  It was almost mind-boggling and he constantly wondered if now was when he would awaken from this wonderful dream to find out it had all been just the hopeful romantic fantasy of someone desperate to find someone who loved him for him.

Reality descended in a shroud then, a heavy, weighted darkness that sought to chip away at the perfect image portrayed to him by the towering Ursid.  They barely knew each other; what kind of possibility was there even here?  He was an imposition at best, a distraction for her, and he just another vagabond on his way to nowhere entirely by the fault of his own decisions.  As kind as she had been to him, she would be better off it he didn't stick around, no matter how much, even in that short of a time, that he wished he never had to leave her warmth.

Then his attention snapped back from that depressing darkness and he realized she had thanked him for something.  He arched an eyebrow up at her, using the distraction for himself to not have to think about what would probably come next.  "For...what?" he asked, trying to play off his obvious pause as just him having been caught staring at her chest, which, admittedly, he had been if not actually fully having been admiring them, something that he couldn't blame himself for doing so anyway.

True to form for the giggly, huge Ursid trucker, she purposefully bounced her chest in front of his eyes, stepping in to brush their warm, honey-scented plushness slightly against his face on the pretext of grabbing something for herself off of the bunk bed above him, and then stepping back with a huge grin on her muzzle.  "Well, first of all, for probably the best 'good morning' I've had in a long time," she growled, then her ears folded down.  "Second, I...guess just for...letting me help you."  Her eyes crinkled softly.  "I know how hard it must be to trust people nowadays, especially after whatever you've been through.  It would have eaten me up after I met you if I hadn't been able to do something, so...I guess I'm just being a little selfish right now in that it feels so good to be able to do something for someone who needed me."

His eyes went wide up at her and all his dark and depressive ponderings abruptly fell away.  "H-how...in the world could you possibly be selfish...?" he muttered, staring at her as if she really were just the figment of his imagination that he worried she was sometimes.  Even after only knowing her for barely over a day, she felt like somehow the universe had stepped in to create his ideal, perfect dream woman right when he had been at his lowest and worst.

She fluffed up more, the equivalent of Anthros blushing, and her ears folded flat against her thick mane of hair and Ursine skull.  "I...guess I'm just being silly," she chuckled in a flustered voice.  "But if I could...be just a tiny touch more selfish for just one second?"

Laris nodded, blown away at how beautiful and cute she was.

Beaming, Gwen leaned down, leaning her ponderous weight against the railing of the stairs behind him with one paw, and brushed her soft muzzle against his lips once again.  The world fell away for that brief second as the taste of her filled his senses.  Then she leaned back and away from him again and his eyes fluttered open once more.  "Just wanted to make sure you weren't just a good dream," she giggled.

Despite everything, Laris smiled up at the huge Ursid.  His stomach loosened its knot of worry if just slightly and something close to confidence crept into him.  "You...could be a little more selfish...again...if you wanted to?" he offered.

Her eyes sparkled and her smile grew, if possible, even wider.  "Momma Maple ain't gonna need a second offer!" she growled in delight, and then she had abruptly scooped him up in her paws, his socks leaving the floor of the truck to hang there in her arms.  His back was pinned, gently if firmly, against the stairs and again their mouths met.  This time they worked more hungrily at one another, kissing with fervor and passion.  Her tongue forcefully shoved into his mouth to wrestle and overpower his and his head swam with how much he enjoyed it.  His arms wormed around her wide shoulders and neck, digging his fingers into her soft, thick hair, and one of his feet lifted, intentionally, to brush against her waist at the hardened lump held within her jeans.

Honey Maple growled right into his mouth and ground her crotch harder against his teasing toes, paws crushing him to her even more firmly and burying most of him in her heated, sweet-scented embrace.  Her breasts pressed in on both sides of his chest and he could feel the powerhouse muscles of her arms rippling around him as she effortlessly held him up.  There was a creaking as he felt himself sliding against the metal staircase, one of the steps pressing quite hard into his spine almost painfully, but it was easily forgettable for the moment as she held him there, both practically trying to devour each other.

After a few more seconds of their passionate makeout session, they broke apart to pant for breath, Laris more severely than her, and their eyes met, now on the same height level for once.  Her smile filled him with a feeling he hadn't felt in such a long time.  "W-well damn..." she growled huskily at him.  "Now that's how you give someone a wake up kiss."  Her eyes hooded slightly and she gnawed at her bottom lip attractively, fangs furrowing the flesh.  "If I wasn't so set on getting you a hot meal and getting a shower for myself..."

Laris shivered in her arms from nervous excitement.  "I-I mean...we don't....have to go...in right away?" he offered hopefully, grinding away with his foot on her.

The Ursid woman groaned at his touch, then, heaving a huge sigh, pressed him hard against the stairs to stop him moving completely, and then gently set him back down.  "No, I'm worried enough about you not having eaten as it is," she replied, faux-sternly.  "I wouldn't be able to enjoy it as much as I'd like, worrying that you were still hungry and hadn't eaten or been able to shower in I don't know how long."  At his disappointed face, she beamed even more.  "And we can pick up, right here, after.  We got a long drive to Alaska yet, after all."

Sighing as she had, Laris nodded in agreement.  He had to admit, he really was starving at the idea of a full meal, and even the promise of a shower was enough, right then anyway, to distract him from his usual misery.  They collected the bathroom supplies she had on hand, a change of clothes for both of them, and their wallets, then shoved their shoes and heavy coats back on and finally exited the truck.  Bitingly cold wind howled around them, bringing small spots of white snow in flurries.

He shivered automatically through his thin sweatshirt, until something warm and big wrapped around him from the side and he was tugged in against her, the world briefly swallowed up in a thick, felt jacket.  He poked his head out past the faux-fur lined zipper up at her and she grinned down at him, cradling him against her side to protect most of him from the wind.  He blushed and hugged against her as they crossed the white-striped parking lot towards the rest station.

Immediately as they entered, the door chiming above them, he was hit full in the face with the blast of a heater and the smell of maple syrup that for once wasn't coming from his ursine companion, as well as the scent of coffee, bacon, and other wonderful things.  His stomach, reawakened to its ravenous state, growled eagerly.  He stepped out of the coat gratefully and together they shook off the worst of the cold.

Looking around, Laris realized it was quite a large place, most likely an Anthro establishment but Cohabitation friendly most likely it seemed, as he saw a couple of both Anthro and Human visitors and workers around.  The eating area, closer in size to a small food court but only for a specific large chain that he saw billboards for everywhere on the highway, was all the way across the building.  Near to the entrances were the bathrooms, and just beyond that, the showers.  They were apparently, or so said the sign, "Free to use Facilities, please clean up after yourselves," and the promise of hot water on his chilled skin made him eager.

Yet, even as they neared the tiled entrance, his foot about to cross the threshold, he paused.  There was only one entrance, no division for gender, the interior of the showering rooms all tiled in white and spotlessly clean.  Gwen was already halfway inside but leaned back out with a beam at him.  "See you in a bit!" she growled happily, then stopped as she saw him lingering.  "What's wrong?"

He opened his mouth to respond, but then the hiss of the showers within, telling him it was being used, made him freeze stiff.  Unbidden, unwanted, his eyes went wide and dark memories of the last time he dared to try and use a similar establishment for this purpose raced through his mind.  Vulnerable, alone, his stuff left in a cubby, hungry eyes following him, stalking him...  He began to shudder harder, and at that exact second, a burly male Anthro Feline rounded the corner, toweling off his thick fur.  They locked eyes for a split second and he gave the Human a small smile, teeth flashing.

"Howdy!" he growled down at Laris, then he, like Gwen, paused.  He saw the Feline's nose quiver, taking a deep scent and picking up on his obvious terror.  "Woah there, little man, you all right?" he asked, reaching out with a big, scarred paw towards him.

It happened in a flash.  Laris jumped back from his touch, springing into a combat ready stance as his father had taught him the basics of years ago.  His fists were clenched, eyes wild and every muscle in his body tense and ready to fight or flee.  He saw nothing, heard nothing, but the pounding of his heart and the view of the potential attacker before him.  The cat features warped, distorted, alarmed voice falling away to a sinister snarling leer.  One wrong move and he would be caught, pinned down, and this time he might not get away...

Then suddenly his view of his enemy was cut off, completely blocked out.  A wall of golden-brown fur obstructed his view, a pair of concerned blue eyes gazing down at him from behind a mane of honey-blonde hair.  He heard his name being called as if from a great distance away.

"Laris...!" Gwen implored again.  "Laris, calm down, it's okay!"

He snapped back to rational thought, body tense as steel wire and every part of him trembling.  He saw her, Gwendolyn Honeycutt, saw the rest station, the tiled walls of the shower, the alarmed and yet worried expression of the Feline passerby that had triggered him.  Sound and thought returned to him and in a flash, without thinking, without caring for just that second, he darted forward and buried himself in her arms, face enveloped in her soft cleavage and fluffy fur.

He felt her jerk only once in surprise before those arms folded in around him securely, comforting, safe.  Her breathing was low and even, her heartbeat a drumbeat of solidity, and her voice a soothing tone in his muffled ears.  "I've got you...Honey Maple's got you, Laris.  You're safe.  No one is going to hurt you."

His shuddering in her arms gradually lessened, although he tensed when he heard the male from before ask, "Is he all right?"

From above, Gwen responded to him with, "I think...I think so.  He's my driving buddy."

"Gosh, I didn't mean to scare him..."  The Feline sounded genuinely remorseful.  "I ain't ever had someone look at me like that...He gonna be okay?"

"He will be.  I ain't gonna let anything happen to him.  Sorry about that."

"Ain't nothing to apologize for, if anything I'm sorry for triggering whatever I did.  Name's Lawrence, I work here."

"Gwen Honeycutt."

One arm peeled off of Laris, presumably to trade grips with the other Male, before it returned to holding onto him comfortingly.  "Well, Gwen, and I presume Laris is the Hume, y'all take care now, all right?  I don't wanna make things worse for him, so you two enjoy your shower and stay.  Anything comes up or y'all need something, ask for me."

"We will, thank you," Gwen told Lawrence and then her voice dropped down to that low, comforting tone again.  "It's all gonna be okay," she whispered in his ear, hot breath and furry lips tickling it, before she sighed deeply.  "Oh hunny, you're shaking like a leaf still.  I'm so sorry..."

He sniffled hard and bit his lip to try and fight back the rush of emotion and adrenaline coursing through him and still yet to fully fade.  "It's...it's not..." he tried to say but couldn't.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" she asked.  He shook his head hard.  "That's all right... I can...maybe guess.  Do you still wanna shower?  Hot water could do you a world of good, baby."

He nodded, but clung to her harder, not wanting to let go.  "I'm...scared...to," he admitted, as hard as anything he had ever done in his life before, but no longer caring if it was embarrassing.

"I get that," she told him, stroking his back.  "So...why don't we...make a deal?  You can shower first and I'll stand guard outside, keep your stuff safe."

He finally looked up from her bosom and extricated himself enough from her embrace to look her in the eyes.  The Ursid was stooped down in order to hold him like this, her gaze uncaring for the entire world around them save for him alone.  A few people passing by stared but right then, he didn't care.  Laris swallowed hard and opened his mouth to answer.  "It's...not..." he tried.

"Do you want me to join you inside so you feel even safer?"

He blinked in surprise.  "Is that...allowed?" he asked, frantically hoping it would be.  Suddenly the idea of her being so close and protecting him was something he didn't want to go without.  He'd never felt as safe as he did with her, right then and there, unasking, untroubling him for his terrible past, only there to hold and keep him from harm.  She was beautiful in whole new ways as of right then, and he felt his heart burn hot for her the longer he stared at her.

She grinned softly and pressed a kiss to his forehead, combing his thick bangs out of his face to do so.  "Anthros don't care as much about stuff like that.  And frankly, right now, all I care about is making sure you're okay, Laris."

Wordlessly, he nodded, and together they stepped inside, forgoing his trepidation of doing so by immediately crossing to the changing area, pulling the curtain closed after them.  Gwen stood in front of the entrance to block it but wasted no time in beginning to change out of her clothes, shoving them into a large cubby nearby once she had stripped down to her underwear.  Laris didn't have the energy to blush even from how wonderful the view of her was, wearing that little, and besides he had just seen it earlier.  Granted, that didn't take away from the view of her at all.

Instead, he focused his flagging energy on trying to extricate himself from his own, grungy clothes, peeling himself out of them and following her lead of shoving the tiny seeming pile into a cubby before wrapping a clean, white, hotel-grade fluffy towel around his waist.  Only then did he look up to see Gwen watching him as avidly as he had been her, gaze warm and appreciative.

"I'm...sorry if this is bad timing, doll," she growled softly.  "But you really are beautiful.  Handsome too.  In the full light like this, I can't tell you how..." then she cut herself off and shook her head.  "Nevermind me, not important right now," Gwen grunted.  Instead she collected a pair of towels for herself and opened the curtain before shepherding him quickly into a similar stall but this one with an overhead shower nozzle.

Laris inspected the tap, then turned to look at Gwen who was just then pulling the curtain back closed.  His face burned softly as she peered back in at him as he had already removed his towel, exposing his naked, long-limbed and pale form once again, and caught her eyes.  He managed a tiny smile at her, which she returned tenfold.  Then, as she reluctantly began to lean back out, he cleared his throat.  "Y-you...shouldn't have to wait out there for me," he mumbled.

She leaned back in, ears perked and eyes wide.  "You...sure you're all right with that, sweetie?" she implored, obviously desiring to do so but wanting to look after his needs first.  "I can wait."

"I'd..." he tried to say, then cleared his throat but remained speaking quietly.  He knew that as a unisex area, no one would care that he was in it with her, but he still couldn't shake the feeling of not wanting to get in trouble.  Somehow, it helped distract him from earlier.  "I'd feel a lot safer if you...did join me."

Her expression grew incredibly pleased, as if she had been invited by the bees to come into their honeycomb and take a taste for herself, but she restrained her obvious excitement and simply nodded.  Out she popped for a moment, leaving him standing there, awkward and nervous, as clothing rustled.  Trying to focus on something to calm his nerves, he turned on the shower and jumped as the first wave of cold water rushed over him before it rapidly heated up, and by the time it had, she had stepped back in.  Only this time, just like him, there was nothing covering her at all.

Laris' eyes traced all over the huge, plush Ursine form, admiring every dip, curve, swell, and bulge of her musculature in equal proportions to her softer, more rounded parts.  And then his eyes reached her waist.  He hadn't seen her fully like this, and thus it came as no small shock and pleasing surprise to see her sheath and orbs hanging there in vivid detail.  Color and heat rushed to his cheeks as he stared openly at her extra charms, quivering softly in place for an entirely different reason now.  Finally he tore his eyes from them and looked back up to her, only to see equal passion and ardor shining from the Ursid herm.

With barely two long legged strides of her padded footpaws, Gwen crossed the tiled floor of the shower and pressed against him, sharing the heavy rain-head shower top with him equally as heated water trailed down her furry bulk.  Her smell was undiluted even wet, and his fingers dug deep into her sodden fur as they stood there together in the warm spray.

"Safe enough for you?" she murmured softly down at him, smile bright, wide, and hungry but not for food.

"Very," he whispered up in response, then, on the spur of the moment and his emotions racing through him, he tried to stand up on his tiptoes to reach her for a kiss.  He barely came up higher than her collarbone, wavering unsteadily on the slick tiles, before he wobbled and almost fell.  Her big paws caught him with ease and held him up, just shy of nose to nose.

"Still falling for me?" she chuckled hoarsely, pressing their bodies as close as could be possible without them somehow morphing into a singular entity.  Her wet fur pressed against him, and something hot and insistent twitched against his flesh, accompanied by his similar reaction against her as well.

He arched an eyebrow up at her but just chuckled along in the spirit of the joke.  "Only because you're the first person I believe would catch me."

A secret spark entered her eyes and her breathing became a bit heavier.  The sweet scent of her intensified and a growl permeated even her breath, rumbling deep inside the copious furry bosom she was squashing him against and into.  "Every time..." she growled.  Her head began to slowly lean down, a torturous pace of closing the distance between them that, even minute as it was already, seemed to take an age or more.  "Maybe I'm falling too..."

Laris' chest caught and he rose up the rest of the way in her arms to engulf her furry lips, soft as velvet, against his own.  Breath hissed into both of them as they kissed once again, hands groping, worming their way possessively into and around one another, sparing no inch.  He ran his hands all along her breasts, she rubbed her paw pads up and down his spine.  His fingers cupped her bulge and rubbed there appreciatively.  She palmed his ass and squeezed it with approval.

Then the sound of footsteps on the tiled floor outside their stall broke them apart and, panting, they looked deep into each other's eyes.  Neither spoke, barely daring to breathe, until the footsteps faded once again.  Then, together, Ursid and Human chuckled softly and hugged even harder than before.  They proceeded to wash one another, lathering soap in hand or paw onto the other's body and delving deep and intimately everywhere they could reach.  By the time they were both lathered, rinsed off, and had turned the shower off, there wasn't an inch of either of them that hadn't been touched.

Laris suspected that if they hadn't been in public, it might have turned into something much more than just a heavy session of first and second base, but he also knew that it was but a prelude to activities planned for later on, so he didn't complain.  They toweled off, sparing glances at each other and bright, happy smiles as they dressed in new clothing, both suddenly shy to do so facing each other, and when they were done, they collected their things and emerged from the showers together.  Immediately, their next coarse of action was to make a bee-line straight to the eating area.

It was mostly empty of other truckers, one Human man buried behind his newspaper but otherwise it was just them and the early morning staff.  The Anthro behind the counter, wearing a black apron, green shirt and pants, over their dark furry form, the Rottweiler Canine girl grinned at the pair of them.  Her ears perked up and she gave them an adorable doggy grin, white nametag emblazoned with the word: Maize.

"Oh, good morning to ya there!" she growled in a sweet, very accented Canadian voice.  "It's a bright, snowy morning out there, eh?  You two be careful out on those roads, don't wanna see anybody get hurt, doncha know."  Laris fought hard not to smirk at the stereotypical lilt at the end of her words.

"And a great morning to you as well, Maze!" Gwen chirped back at her happily.  "How are you doing, my dear?"  Did they know each other possibly?

"Actually, love, it's Maize, like May-ze," corrected the cashier but her smile only doubled.  "And I'm doing just fine.  You two just get in off the road?"  They nodded together.  "Well we're only too happy to have ya!  What can I get for ya both?"

Gwen looked down at him and bumped him with a paw.  "Order whatever you like," she told him with a beam.  He eyed the menu, rubbing at his wallet reluctantly as he saw so many wonderful options but many of them quite expensive.  As if able to read his mind, Gwen piped up, "And I do mean whatever, babe.  It's on me!"

Laris whirled his eyes up to her in shock, then frowned heavily.  For some reason, his cheeks flushed and he looked away from her again, chest tight and his jaw set in a grim line.  "It's okay..." he grumbled.  "I can pay for mine."

Gwen giggled, and for once that joyful sound just made him feel worse.  "Laris, it's fine!  You deserve as big of a breakfast as you want.  Price ain't a detriment here."  Then she leaned in behind his ear so that Maize wouldn't be able to hear over the sounds of the fryers, stoves, and coffee pots whirring behind the counter.  "I want you as full of energy as possible for later."

His face fell more and he hid it behind his thick hanging bangs.  "F-fine..." he muttered, eyed the menu once more with his stomach tied up in knots.  "The...#4...please."  Then he tried to shake himself out of his sudden bad mood enough to add, "With hashbrowns and a coffee, as well, thank you."

Maize beamed down at him, nowhere near as tall as Gwen, maybe only under a foot more than the Human.  "Do ya want to add some honey and biscuits to that platter for 2.95 extra?" she offered sweetly.

Before he could even answer, Gwen piped in with, "He most certainly would," and both women giggled together.  His stomach fell and he shoved his hands into his pockets but nodded all the same.  Then something crossed his mind and he looked back up at Maize just as Gwen was deciding what to order.

"Is your hazelnut coffee made with actual hazelnuts or just the flavor?"

"Actual roasted hazelnuts," the cashier responded brightly.

He sighed.  "Can't have that then.  I'm allergic."

Gwen started beside him but Maize only nodded and tapped on her screen.  "How about a creme-caramel blend instead?" she asked.  Laris nodded, despite knowing it was an obvious upcharge, but it seemed mind-reading was somehow an Anthro trait.  Either that or he just was easy to read.  "No charge, little guy!"  Her doggy smile was excessively sweet.

Laris nodded again in thanks and let Gwen make her own order.  "Let me have...2 of the #3, sandwiches only," she began, tapping her claws on the counter.  "One bowl of oatmeal, biscuits and honey with it, and...a large coffee."  She glanced down at him then grinned.  "Non-hazelnutt, so...oooh y'all have Great Canadian?!"

"Well, sure, of course we do!  What kinda Canadian rest station would be if we didn't have maple syrup flavored coffee, eh?"  Maize put in their order and Gwen made a happy sound close to a giggle mixed with a squeal of delight that was almost enough to shake him out of his grim frown.

He watched her pay without even looking at the screen, but the total he saw made him feel even worse.  That would have been half of his remaining amount of Canadian currency he had managed to keep saved up.  He'd need to stop by a money-transfer office sometime to exchange more, but he wasn't full up on American as much as he was before either.

After they had paid, Gwen took a table number card and together they crossed to an empty table near the windows.  He looked out across the wintery parking lot outside, hearing Gwen chatter on about how much she was looking forward to the coffee, and him piping in occasionally in agreement.  Then she said something that distracted him from his rueful pondering and he glanced across the table at her fully.

"Sorry, what was that?"

"I said, I'm glad you mentioned the allergy thing.  I'd have felt terrible kissing you and making you sick."  Her beaming smile against the bright white of the view outside was almost heavenly, a melancholy perfection that made him regret ever burdening her with his presence.  Not that he'd had a lot of choice in it, what with her picking his sickly form up off the highway and taking him with her.  It was a tenuous situation they found themselves in, but she was so bright and kind that he knew she posed him no danger.  Something about his expression must have alerted her because then she asked, "Are you okay?"

He looked up at her bright, shining blue eyes ringed now with concern for him.  He waved it off, rubbing at his forehead instead.  "Just...tired still I guess," he lied.  Well, somewhat lied.  Last night had been the most restful sleep he'd gotten in weeks, but his exhaustion would take a lot longer to recover from.

With her paw, she reached over and cupped his other atop the table, enveloping his slender digits inside of her large padded palm.  "I get that," she muttered softly, stroking his knuckles with her thumb pad, careful of her claw.  "But...and I'm real sorry, sugar, if this crosses any kind of line, given how short a time we've known each other but...are you really okay?"  He met her eyes, eager and angry to brush her off, but the way she smiled at him, soft, sweet, and gentle, melted away his irritation and self-hate like a warm breeze.  "Because it's okay to not be okay.  I'm here if you need to talk."

His eyes stung and Laris looked furiously down before the tears started to fall, shakily taking back his hand, and then very softly shook his head.

"Is it...because I didn't let you pay?" she asked.

He nodded, then shook his head quickly.

"Would it make you feel better if you paid me back?"

His shoulders stiffened and he nodded shakily, hand tremulously reaching for his wallet even know he knew how little was left in it.

"I don't want it."

He looked up at her in alarm, eyes red, nose quivering, and lip trembling no matter how hard he tried to fight it back.  His eyes pled with her but gone was the soft gentleness of her usual expression.  Like that night on the highway, Gwen had grown tougher, sterner, but no less motherly or loving in how she gazed at him.

She shook her head as well, crossing her burly arms over her chest and compressing it slightly.  "Not gonna happen, Laris," she growled pointedly.  "I ain't helping you out of charity, or pity, so get rid of those thoughts in your pretty little head if that's what's causing your hangups.  I feel bad for you, sugar pie, but it ain't outta some moral obligation, or that I look at you like you're a hobo or something.  Granted I'd help anyone out, no questions asked, that's the kinda woman my momma and daddy raised.  And...maybe I'm just crazy, or naive, call it what you want, but I want to help you.  I wanna take care of you, like someone shoulda been doing all these years.  A guy as sweet as you should have been gettin' spoiled from all the loving and cuddles you deserve."  Then she smiled again and it was like the sun coming out from behind the clouds.  "Surly as you can be, sugar, I don't make out with every guy in the shower of a rest station," and she winked.

Unable to help himself, Laris flushed at her final little quip but even the memory of just a few minutes ago couldn't distract him from what else she had said.  He looked down from her, furiously trying to deny it all, but he knew that she wasn't lying or trying to manipulate him.  Was it so crazy to want someone to take care of him, to give him the same intimacy he put out, who genuinely cared?

At that exact moment, the sound of padded shoes on tiled floor announced the arrival of Maize as the chipper Canine arrived at their table.  Immediately, Laris' nose was filled with the smell of freshly cooked bacon, eggs, and many other breakfast items that set his depleted stomach to rumbling harder than ever.

Quickly, he tried to compose himself as she deposited two fully loaded trays of steaming food in front of each of them, along with a pair of mugs of sweet-smelling coffee.  As one might have expected, Gwen had much more food than him, if only by lieu of being an Anthro, but even so his plate would have fed a family of three.  He would have felt guilty, ordering so much, but he was too hungry, and it all smelled too good.

"You two enjoy!" Maize chirped happily.  "All that's fresh cooked and straight off the skillet!  You just let me know if you need anything else there, eh?"

"Oh we will!" Gwen responded back just as brightly, obviously also eager to set to her meal.

As Maize was about to turn and leave, Laris forced himself to look up at her.  "Thank you," he said earnestly, and he meant it.

The Canine girl beamed down at the pair of them, tail wagging furiously behind her in a show of legitimate joy.  "You are absolutely welcome!  And if I can say so, you two are just the cutest couple I seen in years!"

"O-oh we're..." Laris started to say, but Gwen cut him off by gently folding his hand into her paw again.  He looked into her eyes from across the table, smiled softly to match her, and wove his fingers between her much larger ones.  "Thank you," he told Maize again.

Ears perked and tail wagging, she gave an adoring, "Awww!" at their handholding, then quickly hurried off, only to return seconds later with a large, steaming cinnamon bun, covered in icing, served on a polished white plate.  "Here you go, on the house!"'

They both thanked her for a third time, took a cheat bite of the decadent roll apiece, and then pushed it to the side to share after their meal so they could get to it.  Laris' plate was heaped with hot scrambled eggs, topped with cheese, bacon, and a pair of golden hashbrowns set at the side with a small, adorable pair of pancakes glistening with melted butter-syrup.  A mini plate of fluffy biscuits lay nearby, along with a dispenser for honey, half as big as the massive maple syrup bottle that sat on every table.  His stomach roared in delight as he took the first bite and he practically wept at the flavor.  It was hard not to just start shoveling it all into his mouth at once, so he ate slowly, savoring every bite and intermingling it all with sips of his hot, but not boiling hot, caramel-creme flavored coffee.

Gwen's giggle disturbed him from his active food worship.  Looking over at her, he saw her holding the second of her croissant sandwiches in her big paw, already halfway through it.  She more or less just as much a variety of food as he did: sandwiches, biscuits, a bowl of oatmeal seasoned with cinnamon, and a coffee big enough to be a liter bottle of soda.  Her eyes sparkled down at him and he arched an eyebrow, still chewing on a mouthful of honey and biscuits, which were absolute perfection.

"You are just...too cute," she growled softly.  "But you don't need to hold back on my account if you wanna dig in.  Then again," she looked down at her own meal.  "I also just eat fast."  Then her expression turned a bit inward and her ears folded down a bit against her thick head of hair.  "Sorry about uhh...cutting you off before.  Maybe it is a bit soon to call us a couple but it just made me really happy when she did."

He looked back down at his plate and his stomach gave a weird flip-flop.  "It's...okay" he muttered, cheeks warm and not just because of the hot meal currently filling the void in his belly.  "I...I didn't mind."  He pondered it for a bit as he chewed.  "I mean...It is a bit...soon but...I only say that..."

"Because of how long we've known each other," she finished for him, and he nodded in agreement.  Glancing at her, worried she might be offended or upset by his words which wasn't at all his intent, he instead just saw the same radiance coming from her as always.  A calm, warm understanding that made him feel completely secure for the first time in years.  "I get that, sugar pie.  And...I know you've obviously been through a lot, coming all this way can't have been easy."  He nodded immediately, not willing to let his bad memories pollute this happy one though.  Then she hit him with, "Do...you think you'll ever go back?"

"To Colorado?" he asked, to which Gwen nodded.  He pondered that.  "Probably not...at least not for my parents.  My father and I...sort of had it out pretty hard the night I left.  We used to be close but as the years went by...and he had an affair which resulted in our home being split up, I guess some love lost just stays that way.  Maybe someday in the future we can make up, but I don't see it happening anytime soon.  The only one I regret leaving is my twin sister.  Her, I'd want to go back and see.  And Mom."

Gwen listened, chewing on the last bite of her sandwich before she crumpled up the wrapper for it and deposited it neatly on her tray alongside the other before she pulled her oatmeal over, poured some honey and syrup into it, and took a big spoonful.  He chuckled then and it was her turn to cock her head quizzically at him, since her mouth was full.

"I guess I know why every part of you smells like your nickname," he joked.

She immediately giggled too, then coughed a bit and covered her muzzle with a napkin until it subsided, shaking her head at his frenzied apology.  "All good, sweetie," she chuckled as it subsided.  "And yeah, those are my two favorite flavors and scents.  But my nickname actually came from my Daddy.  My Grammy-Bear had this old perfume, called Maple-Bee, she used when I was just a cub and would visit her during the winter, and I loved it so much that I...actually poured an entire bottle onto myself one night before dinner."  Her fur fluffed up at the memory but she just giggled.

His eyes went wide and he leaned over the table on his elbows, grinning at the big, adorable Ursid.  "No!" he laughed.  "Oh, my lord, you must have stank of it!"

She nodded furiously.  "Oh I absolutely did.  My parents could smell me from downstairs and I remember my Grampa shouting, 'Who in the Spirits smells so bad?!' and the next hour was my parents bathing me over and over in the tub.  We all laughed so much, but the scent didn't leave my fur for what felt like weeks.  Everyone called me Honey-Maple ever since."

Laris and she both devolved into giggles and spent the remainder of their meal sharing embarrassing stories of their childhood as they ate.  They split the huge cinnamon bun equally despite his protests that she was bigger and needed a bigger half, and after they were done, they just stared out the window at the snow-covered parking lot, enjoying the warmth and too-full feeling of their stomachs.  Her paw had once again enveloped his; it felt so right, as if they had been doing this for years rather than barely two days if that.  He glanced over to see her sipping at her coffee, fluffy fur full and radiant in the bright light cast from the sun shining off the snow outside.

He'd never seen someone so beautiful before.

Eventually it finally came time to pack up, both carrying their trays to the nearby disposal bins and dumping their trash in the cans.  Again, they thanked Maize who waved a hearty goodbye, and made their way back through the rest station.  Taking a chance, Laris reached over and gripped her paw again as they walked, to which she started but immediately latched onto him and together they strolled, hand in paw, smiling enough to make his cheeks ache.

He stopped them only once as he saw a small shopping area off to their right.  "Would you mind if I...stopped to get some new clothes?" he asked, and of course she agreed wholeheartedly.  As before, she demanded to be allowed to pay but this time when he asked to help at least split the cost, she agreed if only to humor him.  So he picked out a new, sturdy padded and insulated backpack, several new thick wool sweaters, shirts, pants, even a pair of boots, gloves, hat and scarf from their surprising variety of options, and together they carried their load to the register to pay.

Laris received a small shock as the attendant beamed over from atop the small mountain of supplies stacked atop the backpack, a friendly Feline face that he recognized.  "Find everything all right?" Lawrence asked brightly, already scanning items for them.  Feeling nervous and extremely guilty from before, Laris nodded and made sure to apologize.  "Little man, there's nothing to be sorry about," the Anthro responded.  "I'm just sorry about whatever might have spooked you."

After having paid and waved goodbye to Lawrence, they stopped at a bench to remove tags from items and pack it all neatly into the backpack.  Gwen complimented him on his effeciency of being able to fit all of it into the alternating pockets, folding each item securely to save space.  "That's some real Legion-style work," she praised him.

He grinned in response.  "My father was one of the first Human recruits to be accepted into the Legion's cross-species Initiative, and he spent ten years before it in the Army, so he taught me a few tricks on how to pack stuff."  His eyes shone at the few happy memories he still had of his father.  "We used to go camping all the time, me and him.  Aurora, my sister, never wanted to go so she would stay with Mom."

Gwen stroked his cheek with a furry finger, and, feeling brave and emotional, he caught her paw and pressed a single, soft kiss to her knuckle.  She let out an adoring croon, paws itching to envelop him in a hug, but restrained herself seemingly with a mighty will, which honestly he appreciated.  Public displays of affection had always been weird to him, maybe because his parents never did such when he was growing up.  He didn't mind however when she snuck a kiss onto his cheek once he had finished zipping up the bag.

Fully packed and prepared, they both pulled on their thicker outdoorwear, her in her huge fluffy coat and him in a fresh and clean new hoodie, and together they finally made their way out of the rest station.  Even now warm and full of food, he couldn't resist once again snuggling in under her jacket as they walked back to her truck.  In no time at all, they were back in the cab, stuff situated in the back, and off they went down the highway again.

Nothing but the open road was ahead now, and they filled the time with happy chatter, jokes, and more stories of their past.  Laris couldn't remember being happier, and for once in his life, he wasn't scared of it ending.

Their journey really felt as if it had only just begun.