Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Durham stepped through the door to his house for the first time in eight months, and withheld a sigh. His two younger sibling’s toys were strewn across the floor, and his two older sisters hadn’t shut up during the entire hour-and-a-half car ride home from Cherryton, much to his and his eldest brother’s chagrin. At least it was somewhat warm inside, even just getting from the sidewalk to the door had been hell with how cold and snowy it was outside. The house hadn't changed much- not that Durham thought it would have, but looking around the familiar living room he remembered-

“Get inside, Preston!” An older coyote scolded, shuffling in through the door with his arms full of luggage. “I’m not paying to heat up the entire neighborhood!”

Durham sighed. This. He'd already gotten a taste of it in the car, but this is what he didn't miss. “I’m Durham, dad.”

“Well, whatever your name is! Come get your suitcase!” His father said as he emptied his hands in the entryway, all of the assorted bags and suitcases dropping unceremoniously onto the floor. “If you’re old enough to talk back, you’re old enough to carry your own things. You three as well!” 

Durham’s older brother and sisters pushed past him, his sisters’ conversation not slowed down even as they grabbed their items off the floor. What they were talking about, Durham didn’t know, he’d tuned out their conversation a while ago.

“Rex almighty!” His eldest brother finally snapped. “Will you two shut up!? This is why I avoid you two at school! And probably why Durham doesn't talk to you there either!”

“Daaaad!” One of his sisters whined immediately. “Chester’s being mean to us!”

“I can hear, baby,” their father replied exasperatedly, closing the door and removing his gloves and toque. “Chester, be nice to your sisters, that's no way to treat a lady.”

Chester just grumbled annoyedly, hefting his bag and trudging for his- their shared room. Durham followed behind him up the squeaky stairs and into their room, brushing off the wisps of snow that had clung to his suitcase before putting it on his bed and opening it up. He began to unpack the clothes he’d brought home, putting some in their shared laundry basket as his elder brother flopped onto his own bed and sighed loudly.

“Rex, they’re so fuckin’ annoying. Girls, amirite?”

Durham didn’t respond. He didn’t want to get involved again, it never turned out well for him.

“You make any friends at good ol' Cherryton yet? How’re your roommates?”

“I haven’t really made any friends yet, besides my roommates. And, they’re okay. There’s two dogs, a really quiet wolf, a fennec fox, and a hyena. … He’s pretty cool, I guess.” Durham chose to downplay how close of friends he'd become with Miguno, something inside him afraid his brother would make fun of him.

“Two dogs? Lucky. I bet they help you out with your homework, huh, Durr -ham?” Chester chuckled at his own joke. “I don't have any dogs in my room... Anyways, you find a girlfriend yet?”

His brother was so predictable- and stupid, for his age. Durham was only 13 years old, at a brand new school for less than a year. How the heck was he supposed to have found a girlfriend? Chester had been at Cherryton for three and a half years and he didn't have one. At least, that Durham knew of, but knowing his brother he'd be bragging about it incessantly.

“No. Not yet.”

“Heh, figured.”

His brother went silent after that, thankfully. Miguno almost began to relax, but he heard his brother’s bed creak and before he could move, there was an arm around his neck and a knuckle digging into the top of his head.

“You miss your big bro or what?”

“Chess, stop!!” Durham shouted quickly, trying to push away from the noogie, the top of his head already starting to hurt like hell. “Yes! I did! C’mon, stop! Uncle!”

His older brother scoffed disappointedly and pushed Durham forward, into his bed. “Ugh, you’re such a fuckin’ wimp. You better not go crying to mom this time.”

Like that’d solve anything. She was so enamored with their youngest siblings that little else seemed to matter to her. Durham just shook his head and continued to unpack, while his brother sauntered over to the beanbag in the corner and flipped out his Ninvento TS, the little machine immediately playing the same compressed fantasy music he’d heard through the entire car ride. Against his better judgement, he went over and leaned on the back of the beanbag, watching his brother play though whatever strategy game he’d been playing forever.

It was oddly calming, despite the recent noogie assault and how annoying his brother usually was. Sure, they didn't see eye to eye all the time, but now, just the two of them sitting in silence, snow beginning to fall outside? Durham was just happy to sit there and watch-

“What are you guys playing?”

Their youngest brother’s voice startled them Durham, and Chester cursed under his breath as he flipped his console closed. “Nothing, Presto!” Chester lied cheerily, blatantly, and quickly hid the machine under his thigh. Preston frowned a little. “We're just talking about school.”

“No you weren't, I saw you playing! Let me play.”

Chester scoffed, rolling his eyes. “It's my game, why should I let you play? Durham doesn't even get to. Right Durham?”

“Yeah,” Durham sighed. It was true, he’d only ever played on it once, and had immediately gotten one of the characters killed. Chester had ripped the console out of his hands and shut it off, berating him about almost messing up the save.

But it seemed Preston wasn't going to accept that. He crossed his arms and huffed angrily, before turning around and- “MOOOOOM! CHESS ISN'T LETTING ME PLAY!”

Both Chester and Durham winced, and an annoyed voice carried up the stairs. “Chester, let your brother play or neither of you will get to!”

The oldest brother groaned aloud, grabbing his TS from under his leg and opening it back up. “Fine, crybaby. But you're not going to mess up my run. Durham, get my duffel.”

Knowing better than to complain about the lack of a ‘please,’ Durham got up off the back of the beanbag and grabbed his brother's bag. He carried it over and tossed it at his feet, earning a “Watch it!” from Chester. They watched as their brother saved the game, then rooted around his messy duffel bag before pulling out a game case. It was a Pocketmon game, not the newest one by a few iterations, but still a game he hadn’t had when they’d left for Cherryton. He pressed it carefully into the top slot of the console before removing the older-style cartridge from the bottom and putting it in the case, and then handed the console to Preston who smiled with pure excitement. Chester eyed him warily.

“That doesn’t leave my sight, Presto. Got it?”

Preston just nodded, already entranced with the game, and Chester sighed again.

“How’d you get that?” Durham finally asked. His older brother raised his eyebrow in a judgemental look.

“None of your beeswax, buster.”

“D’ya steal it?”

“No I didn’t fuhhhh-” Chester’s eyes flitted to Preston for a moment, “-reaking steal it. My roomie got the better version, Pocketmon Platina or whatever. Didn’t need this one anymore so he gave it to me.”

Durham snorted, feeling emboldened by Preston’s presence. Chester was forced to be at least marginally more civil while their youngest brother was around. “Nice save.”

“Yeah? Well- whatever. Go unpack your shiii-” The older coyote grimaced again. “Shtuff. Your stuff.”

“My shtuff?”

“I’ll put you in a headlock if you don’t shut up.”

Durham just smiled triumphantly and went back to his bed, finally unpacking the rest of his clothes and what little else he’d brought. He had a Doekia brick phone his parents had given him for emergencies, and a dinky MP3 player his father had won at a work event that none of his older siblings had wanted. It had a whole gigabyte of storage, so Durham had loaded it up with a bunch of music from the local library before going off to Cherryton. Now that he was home, he’d probably change it around some, but he had plenty of time.

He looked back at his two brothers, Preston leaning against the beanbag as Chester pointed at the screen and told him which moves were best. Yeah… Plenty of time to be ignored. His fading smile fully left, and he sighed. Well, at least he had his MP3 player. Durham pressed and held the power button and- It didn’t turn on. He pressed it again, nothing. The triple-A battery must have finally kicked the bucket after using it in the car all trip, so he needed another one. He trudged out of the room, and down the stairs before turning into the kitchen. His mother was there, poring over papers and a chunky laptop computer at the dinner table.

“Hi, mama.”

His mother startled slightly in her seat, looking up from the computer and searching for the noise. Her eyes softened when her gaze landed on Durham, and she sighed and smiled tiredly. “Oh! Hi, my love. How has school been? Did you miss us?”

“School’s been okay, and yeah, I did.” Durham lied. It was a sort of, ‘out of sight, out of mind’ existence. He might have occasionally wondered how his parents were but most of the time at Cherryton he didn’t think of them at all. “Uh- Mama, do you know if we have any triple-A batteries?”

“I don’t know, baby. Have you checked the drawers?”

Durham had asked to try and avoid going through all of them, but it seemed he’d have to anyway. He put on a forced smile and a cheery voice. “Thanks, mama.”

“No problem, my love.” She turned back to her computer, keys clacking quickly as Durham walked into the kitchen. He began pulling drawers, finding random assortments of items but no batteries. He even checked again, moving things aside but still not finding any.

“Uh, mama?” The typing stopped and his mother let out a soft sigh.

“Yes, Pres- no, Ch- Durham?”

“We’re out of batteries.”

“Did you look? I’d better not go over there and find some.”

“Yes, mama, I checked.”

Her chair made a loud noise as she stood up, before walking over to Durham and opening one of the drawers he’d checked. She pulled a few things out before letting out a soft ‘hmm.’

“Simeon!!” She shouted, and Durham folded his ears back to reduce how loud it was.

“Yes, dear?” His father responded from somewhere in the house.

“Where did you put the batteries!?”

“In the same place as always, dear!” She let out another small huff and turned to Durham with an appeasing smile. “Well it looks like we’re out. What did you need it for?”

“For my MP3 player.”

She stared at him for a second before her eyes lit up. “Oh, your little music thing. Why don’t you just play with your brothers? I’ll make sure to buy you some when I go grocery shopping.” He knew better than to complain. Again, it wouldn’t solve anything.

“Alright. Thanks, mama.”

“Of course, my love.” She leaned down and gave him a smooch on the forehead, and his tail wagged- he couldn’t help it. His mother smiled and pulled him into a big hug. “Ohh, my baby, so handsome. I missed you all so much, you know.”

Durham didn’t really know how to respond to that, so he just hugged her back, and eventually his mother  let him go and kissed him on the cheek. “Okay, I’ll stop bothering you. Go play with your brothers.” Problem still unsolved, he nodded with a half-genuine smile and went back upstairs. Preston and Chester were still together on the beanbag, with no room for Durham to squeeze in.

He sighed, and turned to his luggage. He had some winter homework to do, anyway. Which his brother probably wouldn’t help with, and Rex knows if his father would be home to help.

Maybe he should have stayed behind with Jack and Legoshi…

Chapter Text

Durham was looking at Miguno again, with that same look. The coyote opened his mouth to speak, and Miguno sighed internally.

“Y’know you-”

“Yes, I know ,” Miguno interrupted the coyote again for the umpteenth time, “but I wanted to stay. I needed a few weeks away from my little brother pestering me all the time. And if it means I get to hang out with you guys more, then I’m not complaining.”

Durham just looked at him with a strained smile, and turned back to the homework they’d been assigned over the winter break.

“Thanks.”

“No problem.”

School had been out for just over a week, now, but still Durham felt guilty that Miguno had stayed behind just for him. He wasn’t entirely wrong- the coyote definitely played a large role in Miguno staying, but he hadn’t lied either.

He didn’t want to spend two weeks with Kai if he didn’t have to. His viverrine sibling was a bit more prone to anger and violence than Miguno preferred, so if he could have a winter break free of getting tackled and ambushed, then he would take it. He loved his brother, but dang if he wasn't annoying sometimes.

“What did you guys get for number twenty-seven?”

“Oh, uh…” Miguno flipped back a page and looked for the answer. “Ninety-four.”

“Same.” Mumbled Legoshi, who Miguno had almost forgotten was there. He was hunched over his own paper, on the same page of problems as Durham.

“Okay, that’s what I got. Just wanted to make sure.”

Their winter break had gone mostly like this, so far. Jack had already finished his homework, of course, but refused to let them see his work. They’d have been asking him for help, but the labrador had been picked up by his parents for the day to celebrate his birthday. But even if it was just him and Durham slogging through their homework, Miguno would have stayed.

The three of them snapped to look up as a jingle began to play, and Miguno stood up as he realized it was his ringtone. He sped over to his bed and swiped his phone off of the shelf, taking a glance to see the caller was his mother before flipping his Mootorola open.

“Hi mom!”

He cringed internally at how excited he’d sounded in front of his two friends who didn’t like to speak about their family life. He didn’t know exactly what was up, but the fact that they both would rather stay here than go home said something. It almost made Miguno feel weird considering he very well could have gone home, but he brushed it away, reminding himself he stayed so that they wouldn’t feel so alone.

“There he is! How’s Cherryton treating you?”

“Oh, it’s, uh, okay.” Miguno lowered his voice a bit. “We’re just doing homework. How are you guys?”

“We miss you! But we’re doing fine. Kai’s been telling us about the drama club he joined. Why don’t you join a club, hon, it’ll look good when you apply to college!”

“Ugh, mom, quit it! I just started going here.”

“I know, baby, but you’ll blink and all of a sudden you’re an adult and trying to get into university!”

“Mooom!” Miguno groaned again.

“Alright, I’ll stop. Oh, your dad wants to say hi.”

There was a bit of a shuffle behind the speaker before his father’s voice filtered through.

“Hello?”

“Yeah, I’m here dad.”

“Oh, good. How’s Cherryton? You’re eating enough I hope? Just say the word and I’ll bring you a tupperware of food when we drop off your brother.”

“Yes, dad, I’m eating enough. The dorm mothers make sure.”

“Good. How’re your little friends?”

“They’re good. It’s Jack’s birthday today, actually, he got picked up by his mom and dad for the day.”

“Oh, how exciting! He’s turning fourteen, then?”

“Yep.”

“Got it. Well, give him a happy birthday from us, then.”

“Dad, he doesn’t even know you guys!”

“Well, still. You only turn fourteen once!”

Miguno groaned. His dad said that about any and every birthday.

“Okay, I will. Can I go back to doing homework now?”

“Oh, we interrupted him doing homework!” His father said, pulling the microphone away somewhat, probably to tell his mother. “Kai, have you finished your homework yet?”

Miguno heard a loud groan from the other side of the phone, and he smirked somewhat. He got to annoy his brother and didn’t have to deal with the fallout? Incredible.

“Anyways,” his father said, “We’ll give you your Rexmas gifts when we drop off Kai, okay? If you need anything you can always call us.”

“Yes, dad, I know.”

“Okay. We love you! Have a nice Rexmas with your friends! Oh, and wish them a happy Rexmas from us, too.”

“I will,” Miguno said with a sigh and a smile. “Love you, dad. Bye-bye.”

Miguno flipped the phone closed and put it back onto his shelf, turning around and heading back to the table.

“Everything okay?” Durham asked him as he sat down.

“Uh- Yeah! My mom and dad were just checking in. They wished you all a happy Rexmas.”

“Oh, uh. Thanks?” The coyote giggled afterwards. Legoshi mumbled out his own thanks as he continued to work on his problems.

Once again, Miguno felt a bit awkward. He didn’t know exactly what was going on with Durham or Legoshi, but he felt bad so brazenly talking about his family like that.

As far as he was aware, Legoshi was an orphan- he’d never heard anything about a mother or father, and had only heard Jack utter the word ‘grandpa’ in reference to the wolf once, long enough ago that he was beginning to think he’d misheard or misremembered. Durham, similarly, he knew nothing about except for the fact that he had like, a bajillion siblings that he didn’t really get along with.

Miguno finally turned back to his homework, and discovered he was on the last question. He fist-pumped the air a bit and read the math problem quickly, rewriting the equation to isolate the variable and get his answer. He wrote it down and flipped his paper over victoriously, and Durham looked up.

“Aw, what? You’re finished already?”

“You know it!” He replied, a smile on his muzzle. “I’m a genius, dude.”

“A genius? Alright, dude, let me see then.” Durham reached for his paper but Miguno snatched it away.

“Nuh-uh! You’re not gonna learn that way. If you need help just ask me.”

Durham scoffed, but smiled. “Alright, Jack. I’ll finish this whole thing without you and then we’ll see who’s the real genius.”

“It’s me.” Miguno deadpanned. “I’m the one who’s done already.”

“W- Well… Whatever, man.”

Durham and Legoshi continued to work in relative silence, Miguno occasionally helping Durham with a problem until they were all done. Legoshi slunk over to the window to feed his pet beetle, and Miguno and Durham climbed into Durham’s bunk to listen to music on the coyote’s MP3 player.

This is what Miguno had been looking forward to, if he was being honest. Just chilling with Durham, listening to Owl City and whatever else the coyote had loaded onto his device. Sharing a pair of earbuds, tails wagging along to the beat as the worries of the world were put on hold for them together. They didn’t even have to talk, just content to lay alone together.

But the dorm door opened, and Durham paused the music as they both got up to see who it was.

Jack was back, tail wagging wildly as he hefted a few items into the dorm. He put them down on the table they’d not put away yet, and put his hands on his hips with an infectious smile they were all used to.

“Who wants cake!?”

Chapter Text

Another year, another Rexmas break. Tomorrow was New Year’s Eve, which meant there was a little over a week before everyone came back to campus. Jack had managed to convince his parents to stop by a convenience store on his birthday, and he’d come back with a large bottle of soda- uncaffeinated, of course- and a party-sized bag of chips for them all to share for New Year’s: on top of that, Collot had brought an old second-hand CRT TV earlier in the semester, so they’d be able to watch a news broadcast of the countdown this year.

… Durham had kind of forgotten how sad last year’s New Year Eve was. They’d milled about in their room like it was just another day until, like, 11:58, then they’d gotten up, waited for the countdown (crowded around Jack’s bPhone 5 that he’d gotten for his birthday that year) and then went to sleep.

But hopefully, this year would be better.

Right now he was finishing up some washing, waiting for the dryer to beep so he could grab his clothes and leave. He’d been down here for quite a while, sitting in the corner and listening to a new band he’d found over the previous summer on Spawtify- Last Rexmas he’d finally gotten a smart phone (a hand-me down from his brother Chester) and his parents had payed for a year of Premium for him, his father quietly grumbling that a year’s worth of batteries to his MP3 player would have been cheaper. Honestly it was one of the better gifts he’d gotten in a while, even if he had to wait a few weeks after Rexmas to actually receive it when his siblings were dropped off at Cherryton once again. Regardless, he was doing his due diligence with his newfound power- listening to any and all music that he could possibly be interested in. Rock, pop, rap, old music, new music, it didn’t matter. And most importantly, he shared it with Miguno whenever he could.

They’d sit together in one of their bunks, listening to music together until it got too late to continue. As he sat there in the laundry room of his dorm building he was listening to the new album from New Pawlitics, A Bad Girl in Howlem: it was the exact amount of alt-rock that Durham wanted out of his music. Miguno liked it, too, happily nodding his head along whenever Durham queued it up when they had their listening sessions.

The machine beeped and Durham stood up as quickly as he could. He didn’t want to be stuck down here any longer than he needed to be. He opened up the dryer door and quickly took out his clothes, not so much folding them as calculatedly throwing them to be somewhat folded into his laundry basket, piece by piece. The music still playing out of the one earbud he had in definitely made it go by faster, bobbing his head to the beat and humming to the title track Howlem. The door to the laundry room opened, and Durham threw a glance back to see if he would recognize whoever was entering when he saw Legoshi and Jack walk into the room.

“Oh!” Durham said, popping out his other earbud and pausing his music. He could feel his tail begin to wag just seeing his friends. “Hey, guys.”

“Hey, Durham.” They both said, Legoshi’s voice actually fairly audible. He’d gotten a bit louder this year, a giant improvement considering he was almost non-verbal for the entire first year they lived together.

“Looks like you’re almost done.” Jack said, making polite conversation as he always did as the pair found a pair of empty washing machines and began loading them up.

“Yeah, thankfully.”

“Are you excited for the new year?”

“Uh-” Durham fell silent.

Was he? What was really going to change? The number he wrote down on his homework? How could he be excited about that? It didn’t mean anything, really. Just another day until he had to go back home for the summer. Rex, he couldn’t say all that, uhhh…

“Yeah!” He finally responded, voice chipper.

“Cool!” Jack replied, practically beaming, tail whipping back and forth behind him. “I’m glad.”

“How about you, Legoshi?”

“Uh… Yeah, I guess,” the wolf replied quietly, even though his tail was wagging as well.

“Great!” Durham said, their happiness infecting him. This is why he liked staying for Rexmas- his friends were always happy to see him, and him them. He seriously doubted he could say the same for his siblings. He began to ‘fold’ his clothes again, and cleared his throat a bit. “Do you guys know what’s for dinner?”

Jack hummed a bit, messing with the laundry controls before pressing the start button and helping Legoshi with his.

“I think it’s bean steak today.”

“Again? They served that like three days ago.”

“Well, they don’t need to make so much food over the winter so it’s probably just extra.”

“Hmm. Well, okay I guess.” Miguno put his last article of clothing away and picked up his basket. “I’ll see you guys up in the room. Um-” he looked at the clock on the wall, it was almost four- “If you guys aren’t back before dinner do you want us to wait for you?”

Jack looked up at the clock as well. “No, it’s okay. ‘Goshi and I will just catch up with you.”

“Alright, I’ll let Miguno know. Uh, see you later.”

“Seeya!” Jack replied, and Legoshi added a quiet “Bye.”

Durham gave as good of a wave as he could with his hands full, and backed up out of the door of the laundry room. He walked through the hallway for a bit until he reached the elevator, wedging the basket between him and the wall as he pressed the button for the seventh floor. It rose slowly as always, dinging softly as it passed each floor before spitting him out on his floor. He walked down the hallway a bit before coming to their room door, and as he rooted around his pockets for his key, he heard something from inside the room.

The twangs of a guitar, amplified just loud enough to be audible through the door.

He pieced together that it was Miguno practicing his guitar, but what took Durham off guard was the fact that he was practicing in their room! Usually it was too loud to practice considering they had dorms flanking them on either side, so Miguno had to lug his guitar and amp to the sound-proofed music rooms almost on the other side of campus.

Durham put his laundry basket down next to the door. Whatever song it was, Miguno was absolutely killing it! The coyote put his ear up to the door, trying to follow along with the boisterous chords, and he could vaguely hear Miguno singing through the door.

“I’m a puppet on a strayng! Tracy Island, time travelin’ diamonds, cuh da da da daaah.” Durham chuckled internally, knowing that Miguno hadn’t gotten all the lyrics down yet. And that the words he was singing were clearly tinged by the original singer’s accent. “I’ll come to find ya, foreign some velvet mornin’, he’s too late, silver linin’, lone rangeah ridin’ through an open spaaace, In my mind when he’s not right there beside me I-!”

He missed a chord, or something, (Durham couldn’t tell, he was just in awe of how good Miguno was at playing the guitar) and he cursed loudly.

“Shoot!” The hyena’s voice was full of a strangely potent disappointed disgust. The anger of someone struggling to perfect their craft, maybe? “Ugh, come on, Miguno, you got this.”

Durham almost wanted to go in and be some moral support, but Miguno had confided in him a few months ago that he felt a bit self conscious playing in front of anyone who wasn’t his bandmate.

So, if it took Durham not going into his room just yet, for him to be able to hear his best friend play confidently for once, he was one hundred percent, a-okay with that.

The amp crackled as Miguno found his hand holds on the guitar’s neck again. There was a beat of silence, then-

“I’m a puppet on a straayyng!”

Durham sat down, letting his head rest against the door so he could feel the music’s vibrations. He’d go inside in a little bit, but for now he was content to listen to this little concert, and relish in the fact that his best friend was playing confidently in a comfortable place.

Chapter Text

Durham was glad it didn’t get cold enough to snow in Cherryton. If it did, he, Miguno, Miguno’s brother as well as his own siblings would be absolutely freezing their asses off with how long their dads were taking to clear everything up.

“Here’s my phone number, and our landline. Feel free to give us a call at any time.” Miguno’s dad gave Durham’s father a post-it note with a genuine smile, and the older coyote studied it skeptically for a moment before folding it and putting it in his jacket pocket. He took out his own wallet and pulled out a business card and handed it to the somewhat shorter hyena.

“Here’s my cell. If anything happens, let me know.” His father turned to look at Durham, looking him dead in the eyes. “Durham, behave yourself. You’ll get your Rexmas gifts when the break is over.”

Durham just nodded, and his dad must have been satisfied since he turned back towards the older hyena. “Well, thank you… Fisi, was it?” Miguno’s father gave a short nod. “Right. It was nice to meet you, but we should be going. We’ve got a few hours on the road ahead of us.” He turned to all of Durham’s siblings- Chester was disinterestedly scrolling through his phone and Preston was pressed up next to him trying to see what was on the screen, while his older sisters Beverly and Kendal were chatting about whatever boys they were currently crushing on while Raleigh listened- and cleared his throat. “C’mon, you lot. We’re leaving. Say bye to your brother.”

Chester gave a very douchey nod, his three sisters waved and said bye, and Preston gave a wild, enthusiastic wave as they all began to walk to their minivan.

As they piled themselves and their luggage into the car, Fisi turned to regard the three kids he was now in charge of.

“Well, alrighty you three! Let’s get going.”

Miguno’s dad led them to his own car, a newer blue sedan and unlocked it. He helped load their luggage into the trunk, and Miguno let his brother take shotgun so that he and Durham could sit together. They got into the back seat as his father started the car, letting out an audible shiver and turning the heater up.

“Everyone have their seatbelts on?”

Durham responded with a “Yes, sir,” Miguno with a “Yup!” and Kai let out a growlish grunt of affirmation.

“Alright. Let’s get this show on the road, then!” He put the car in reverse and left the parking spot, before putting it in drive and beginning their road trip. The news program on the radio quickly became boring to Durham, and he looked over at Miguno with a questioning look. He flapped his ears back twice, purposefully, asking his friend if he wanted to share a pair of earbuds to listen to music. Miguno nodded with a smile, and Durham began rifling through his backpack for his earbuds when Miguno’s dad cleared his throat and spoke.

“So, Durham, right?”

“Uh-” Durham froze for a moment before sitting straight. This whole affair was so nerve-inducing: he trusted Miguno, of course, but he was suddenly meeting his father for the first time on his way to stay in a house for almost three weeks, one that he’d never even seen. “Yes, sir.”

“Just call me Fisi, no need for formality. I already feel old enough!” The older hyena chuckled to himself. “Anyway, it’s nice to finally meet you. Miguno’s said a lot about you.”

Kai snorted in his seat even though he was focused on a phone game, and Miguno glared at him angrily behind his head rest. Durham didn’t doubt that if he’d been sitting behind his brother, Kai would’ve received a kick to the back of his seat.

“I mean, you boys have been dorming for what, four years now? We’re bound to hear something. Thanks for being a good friend to our little boy.”

“Um, it’s no problem.” Durham looked over at Miguno, who looked rather embarrassed. The little blush on his face made Durham smile, for some reason.

“So, what do you want to do when you grow up?”

“Oh… Uh, you know, I haven’t really thought about it yet.” Durham scratched awkwardly at his legs as he tried to come up with something.

“That’s okay! You’ve still got four years before you graduate, plenty of time to think about it.” The older hyena’s voice was soft and welcoming, and Durham relaxed a bit. “What matters is that you end up doing something you like.”

“What do you do, si- um, Fisi?”

“Me? Oh, I’m a stay at home husband, but when Miguno and Kai are at school I’ve been volunteering at a museum in our city.”

A stay at home husband? Wasn’t it usually the wife that stayed at home? Durham would never ask that out loud of course, but Fisi must have seen his slight confusion because he chuckled as he looked at the coyote through the rear view mirror.

“A stay at home husband must sound strange, huh? It’s common for hyenas, though. My wife works high-up at an insurance company, so she’s the breadwinner.”

Durham nodded along, absorbing the information. Would Miguno eventually grow up to be a stay-at-home husband? He’d always said he wanted to do something regarding music when they were older, but Durham was unsure how feasible it might be with a family.

Would he have a family? It was a strange thought.

“So, Kai, how was your semester?”

The rest of the car ride was uneventful, Fisi asked his sons how they’d been, catching up on their lives in a way that Durham’s own father had never bothered to. He tried not to let it bother him, but as they pulled into the driveway of Miguno’s house and their father helped unload the car, he couldn’t stop it from crystallizing in his mind. The three of them filed behind Fisi as he unlocked the door and ushered them in before closing the door quickly, citing the chill.

The foyer of the house was nothing special, old white tile on the floor, the walls painted in a light sandy sage green that almost looked beige which helped bounce light around the room. There was a living room just off to the right, and a large window streaming in sunlight that lit up the Rexmas tree in the corner of the room. Ahead of them. there was a closet that seemed to stick out from the wall and an area behind it that Miguno couldn’t yet see.

“Are you guys hungry? I can whip something up if you’re feeling peckish.”

“No thanks, dad.” Kai said, gruff attitude that Durham knew him for somewhat gone. Fisi wasn’t put off, though, giving his head a pat as Kai grabbed his luggage and walked past the closet a bit before turning right and disappearing into the house.

“I’m not hungry either, dad.” Miguno responded, and Fisi’s eyes swivelled to Durham. He coughed awkwardly under the older hyena’s soft gaze. “No, um, but thank you.”

“No problem! If you two need anything just give me a shout. Miguno, don’t forget to give Durham a tour of the house.”

“Will do, dad.”

Fisi took his leave into the house, and Miguno smiled at Durham.

“C’mon, I’ll show you my room.”

Miguno hefted his duffel bag and guitar case off the floor before also heading past the closet, as they passed it, Durham looked left into what was clearly the dining room, and a kitchen… well, it wasn’t an island, since it was connected on one side… a peninsula? A kitchen peninsula dividing the space into the dining room and the kitchen proper on the other side. To the right there was a doorway into another room, and the kitchen seemed to have a large window that also looked into the same room. He couldn’t see much beyond a large window that showed through to the backyard, or side yard maybe. He continued following Miguno, making a right into a hallway that quickly turned left further into the house, and the floor changed to hardwood. Miguno pointed at a door with his muzzle as they passed. “That’s the bathroom,” he said, before opening the next door on the left side of the hallway with a bit of difficulty. He stepped into a fairly large room- smaller than the one he shared with his brother, but that one had been built specifically with three boys in mind- and put down his stuff next to the twin-sized bed before letting himself fall onto the mattress.

“Here we are!”

Durham put his stuff down and looked around. Two of the light-grey painted walls were absolutely covered in posters, of bands and venues and artists. A few were even signed, it looked like. In the corner there was a small desk with a thick laptop on top. There were closet doors recessed into the wall, and a dirty laundry hamper shoved in the corner. Miguno let out a small squeak as he stretched across his sheets, before relaxing all at once- it almost looked like he melted into the bed. The hyena sighed contentedly.

“You’re sleeping across the hall in the guest room, but I figured I’d show you my room first.”

“It’s cool!” Durham couldn’t find the words he wanted to say. It felt… safe, in here. “The posters are very ‘you,’ you know?”

“Obviously they’re ‘me,’ it’s my room you doofus!” Miguno laughed, sitting up on his bed. “So, what do you wanna do?”

“Uh- I don’t know? … What do you want to do?”

“Hmm… You wanna watch music videos on EweTube?”

Durham chuckled to himself. “Yeah, dude, let’s do it.”

They watched videos for a few hours, the music sounding tinny through the laptop’s speakers, but they enjoyed it all the same. It was nice, just the two of them laying on Miguno’s bed and letting the music fill the room, until eventually the EweTube autoplay took them too far off base, and they’d look at each other as if to say, ‘what the hell are we listening to?’ before they laughed it off and looked up a new song and started it all over again.

It was only interrupted by a knocking on the door, and Miguno scrambled to pause the music.

“Dad says dinner’s ready, nerd.” Kai said through the door, before the shadow of his feet by the door disappeared.

Durham looked at the clock on the laptop- it was already six? Dang, it hadn’t felt that long to him.

“Hope you’re hungry,” Miguno said with a smile as he closed his laptop. “My dad’s a way better cook than the cafeteria, don’t worry.”

Durham followed Miguno out of his room and into the hallway, the nervousness of being in his best friend’s house returning after having faded away in his room. Kai was already sitting down, and there was a new hyena sitting at the head of the table. She stood up- damn, she was tall- as she saw them enter, walking over to Miguno and squeezing him tight.

“Oh, baby, I missed you so much.” She said softly, giving Miguno a kiss on the cheek. “How’ve you been?”

“Maaa,” Miguno whined, trying to push away from her. “My friend’s right there! Please.”

She huffed, but relented and let him go.

“Ma, this is Durham. He’s my, um, he’s my best friend. We sleep together at Cherryton. In the dorms-” He giggled a bit, and Kai let out a snort. “Um- and- uh. Yeah.”

“So you’re the coyote that my little Miguno talks so much about.” She said, seemingly sizing Durham up with a glint in her eyes. After a second though, she relaxed and smiled wide. “Aw, I’m just joking. It’s nice to finally meet you, Durham. If you need anything at all while you stay with us, please let us know, okay?”

“Of course, ma’am.”

“Oof, don’t ma’am me, I’m not that old. Imani is fine.”

“Okay.” Durham doubted he’d be comfortable enough to actually take either her or her husband up on their directions, but he really hoped he would be. They seemed so nice, and if they were anything like their son, they definitely were.

“Alright! Introductions out of the way, Fisi, ice of my heart, what lovely dish have you prepared for us today?”

“Nothing special!” Fisi replied as he carried a casserole dish to the table and put it on a corkboard mat. “I wasn’t sure if you had any allergies, Durham. I hope you can eat an alfredo lasagna. It’s got carrots, zucchini and broccoli in it.”

“That sounds great, thank you. And, I don’t have any allergies, so don’t worry. Thank you, though.”

“Perfect, I’ll keep that in mind.” Fisi placed a spatula on top of the lasagna, and Durham could see that it was already pre-cut into eighths. “Please, Durham, serve yourself.”

Durham grabbed the spatula and carefully picked up a piece and deposited it onto his plate before returning the spatula. Kai served himself next and began eating as soon as he put the spatula back. Durham almost joined in, but he was so used to waiting for everyone to serve themselves at his own home that he just decided to wait. But, once he allowed himself to take a bite, it was amazing. He accidentally let out a happy noise, and Fisi smiled wryly.

“Compliments to the chef, thank you, thank you. I’m glad you like it.”

Dinner was much the same as their car ride, except this time it was their mother that was catching up with Kai and Miguno. She occasionally asked Durham a question, mostly questions about his own family and a few about his favorite foods. When everyone was done eating, Fisi, Miguno and Kai helped clear the table (while Imani insisted that he stay seated) and they were served some pie as dessert. Once that was done, Durham finally helped clear the table and then brushed their teeth and changed into pajamas before retiring to Miguno’s room.

They listened to more music, talked about school, and gave a cursory glance to their homeworks to see how screwed they were without Jack. Miguno reassured him that they could ask his mother if they had any questions, so Durham was only tentatively worried. Eventually, though, they both began to yawn too often to ignore, and Miguno sighed in defeat as he closed his laptop.

“We shou-” he was interrupted by yet another yawn, one with the squeak that Durham thought was so funny, and Durham yawned in response. “probly go sleep,” he continued, not even bothering to correct himself.

“Yeah.” Durham replied, fighting off another yawn. He stood from the bed and stretched a bit. “Good night, Miguno.”

“G’night.” Miguno replied, rubbing at one of his eyes. Durham left the room and closed the door behind him before stepping into his own room, or at least temporarily his. It was much less lived-in than Miguno’s obviously, but the bed looked soft. He plugged in his phone charger and set his phone to charge on the bedside table, before turning off the light and shuffling through the dark room back to the bed. He slid beneath the covers and gathered the sheets around him, settling in for the night.

This was way better than home, he thought groggily, not caring how unfilial of a thought it was.

An insistent knocking on Durham’s door startled him awake. He groggily scratched at his eyes as he tried to piece together being awake.

“Durham, c’mon, it’s Rexmas!” He heard Miguno’s excited voice from through the door, and his tail began to stir just from how excited he sounded. “Get up, it’s breakfast time!”

“Ye-” Durham cleared his throat, his voice have come out more akin to a croak- “Yeah, one second!”

He pushed his covers aside and got out of bed, yawning a bit as he walked over to the door. He unlocked it and pulled it open, and he was quickly enveloped in a big hug from his best friend. He could feel the hyena’s tail wag, something he’d eventually picked up from living with all canines for three years.

“Merry Rexmas Durham!”

Durham hesitated for just a moment before returning the hug, tail joining Miguno’s as they stood in the doorway embracing.

“Merry Rexmas, Miguno.”

Miguno eventually broke the hug, and pulled Durham along down the hallway a bit before stopping in front of Kai’s room, just for long enough for Miguno to pound on the door twice and shout “Kai, wake up, it’s Rexmas! If you take too long I’m gonna open your presents!” He led Durham out of the hallway and into the dining room, where Fisi was humming in the kitchen as he cooked what unmistakably smelled like pancakes. He felt Miguno’s hand grab his wrist and quietly pull him along the wall, trying to sneak into the living room as his father was humming and dancing to the Rexmas classics playing from a speaker he’d set up on the kitchen counter. He flipped a pancake, and said aloud, “Nice try, Miguno, sit down, you know breakfast is first.”

Fisi turned around, and looked at the pair. He tutted playfully. “Are you being a bad influence for poor Durham? Durham, don’t let my son turn you into a delinquent.”

Fisi and Imani had quickly begun to treat him as a sort of honorary third son, and although it felt weird at times, Durham soaked up the love as much as he could.

“Of course not, Fisi.” Durham replied with a grin. “I’ll be the one to bail him out when he gets in trouble.”

“Good. Now sit down, you two, breakfast is almost done.”

They sat down at the table, and Kai joined them after not too long. Imani eventually came in from the backyard, looking a bit annoyed but perking up once she saw her husband dancing.

“Everything okay, my angel?” Fisi asked as he poured the last of the batter. Imani slotted up behind him, showing off just how much taller she was than Fisi as she easily rested her chin on the top of his head.

“Something at work, but it’s not my problem. Not today, at least.” She kissed the side of his cheek and mumbled something to him, and Fisi nodded. She smiled, and let him go and sat down at the table.

Once Fisi was finished cooking, he brought the giant stack of pancakes to the table and let everyone grab as much as they wanted. There were strawberries, blueberries, butter, syrup (of course), and even whipped cream. Everyone had their fill, and they left the dishes in the sink while they all went to the living room.

There were plenty of presents under the tree, and Durham suddenly realized that… he wasn’t home. There wouldn’t be any presents here for him. It sort of shattered the happiness of the morning, but he didn’t let it show. He sat down on one of the couches next to Miguno as Kai passed out the presents one by one (which, as Miguno explained, was Kai’s job since he was the youngest). He passed out presents from Sanda, from each other, until he grabbed a smallish one and read it twice before walking right up to the couch where Durham and Miguno sat. He held it out, and Durham expected Miguno to grab it, but he didn’t. Kai was looking at him.

“Um?” Durham managed to get out.

“It’s for you.” Kai said, as if it were obvious. “Take it.”

Durham grabbed it tenderly, letting gravity take his arms and the present into his lap. He looked down at it, a sticker on the wrapping paper said:

To: Durham
From: Sanda

He looked up and over at Miguno, who was smiling, and then at Fisi and Imani, who had on sly grins like they were hoping he’d be this surprised by it. Kai was sitting on the floor next to the remaining presents, looking them over and separating them into piles while he waited for Durham to hurry up.

Durham tore the paper carefully, unwrapping it until he caught a glimpse of the gift within. It was a pair of earbuds- name-brand earbuds, ones that were way better than the no-name knockoffs he’d had for forever.

He looked up at Miguno’s parents again, and felt like crying.

“Thank you.” He said, voice threatening to crack. “For- for telling Sanda where I’d be this Rexmas.”

“Of course.” Fisi said softly, and Imani nodded as she grabbed her husband's hand lovingly. Durham wiped at his eyes that all of a sudden felt too moist- Miguno bumped against him, and Durham bumped back. The hyena brought an arm around his shoulder and squeezed him in a side-hug, tapping twice softly with his thumb.

“You okay?” He whispered, as Kai brought a gift to their father, and the focus shifted off of Durham.

He tried not to sniffle. “Yeah, Miguno." He smiled and hugged Miguno back as best he could. "I’m great.”

Chapter Text

Miguno was awake, but barely. It was bright, light easily bypassing the blinds that hung in front of the window next to his bed. He was warm in his bed- he’d been having a nice, innocent (he swears!) dream that starred a certain coyote. What reason was there to get out of bed, anyway?

Rexmas had come and gone, New Years too. Sure, he smelled breakfast wafting into his room from under his door, but… Ugh, he just wanted to stay swaddled under his covers like he was right now. Maybe he could even fall back asleep and resume his dream. He pulled the covers a little closer around himself, and let his eyes close.

He heard laughter. Happy laughter, a combination of voices that he knew well. His dad and mom must have been talking to Durham, which meant they were all awake.

Which meant he should probably get up and join them. He sighed, opening his eyes and readying himself as he peeled the oh-so warm covers off of himself, and swung his legs over the side of the bed, feet idly patting around to find his slippers as he stretched his arms up. He could already feel the warmth sap from his arms as he held them up, and he let his grogginess win for a moment as he flopped back onto the bed. He stared up at the dim ceiling, stretching his arms a bit more before he finally slipped the slippers on, and forced himself to get up. Miguno opened the door and shuffled down the hallway towards the conversation, rubbing at his eyes a bit before turning right into the dining area.

Sure enough, his parents were chatting happily with Durham, who was nearly finished with his plate of scrambled eggs and soy breakfast sausage. His dad and mom, on the other hand, still had fairly full plates.

“Well, good morning!” His father said playfully, and Miguno rolled his eyes just as playfully in response. “Good morning.” He eventually replied after a short yawn- and he could see Durham trying to hide a smile when he opened his eyes again- and walked over to his seat. His mother passed him a plate with some lukewarm toast on it, and he served himself the rest of the food as the conversation continued, only now including him.

“Miguno,” His mother said, in an almost shocked tone of voice. “Durham was telling us he hasn’t ever gone ice skating! They’ve set up a rink downtown, if you boys want to go.”

Miguno gave it a thought as he shoveled a forkful of eggs into his mouth- only to take a moment to savor the food. Rex, his dad could cook good.

But anyways, he hadn’t gone ice skating in… Rex, almost four years. Would he even be able to skate still? What if he fell? If he made a fool of himself, it’d be in front of the boy he had a hopeless crush on for the past three years… But there was always the chance that Durham would make a fool of himself as well, and he’d give anything to see that. He looked over at his friend, who was in the middle of finishing up his plate- his fur was still a little scruffy from sleep, and when he noticed him looking, Durham gave him a smile. He felt his heart flutter and an entire train of thought barreled through his brain all at once.

If Durham had never gone skating before, Miguno would have to show him how, so Durham would probably be clinging on to him whenever he felt like he was about to fall, and maybe even take him down alongside him. Which all seemed very… d- Uh, date-like. The rink was open every year, how come they hadn’t brought it up last year? He chanced a look towards his mother, who was surreptitiously drinking her orange juice- except for the faintest curve of a smile at the edge of her muzzle.

Oh, his parents knew exactly what they were doing. Kai had stayed at Cherryton this year- for reasons his little brother had refused to explain to their parents, but Miguno had been happy to drop some feathered hints, as a big brother should- so it would just be him and Durham, assuming his parents did some shopping in the meantime to leave them be. Which, considering his mother’s smile and how much his parents seemed to… ‘approve’ of Durham, was entirely possible.

… Yeah it was definitely going to happen.

Miguno swallowed the eggs he was chewing, trying his best to not let the entire deluge of thoughts that had just blasted him affect his words, nor let it make him giggle nervously.

“So… D’ya wanna go? -Uh ice skating. I can show you how to skate, if you want. It’s not… that hard.”

“Yeah, dude,” Durham said, completely unaware of how wracked with nerves Miguno was. “That sounds like fun.”

“Alright.” His mother finally said. “Sounds like a plan.”

They finished up breakfast and Miguno’s parents put away the dishes as Miguno and Durham got changed. Miguno stared at his closet for what felt like way too long, trying to figure out what he should wear.

He kept looking between a knitted blue sweater and olive chinos combo, or a more casual, red windbreaker he’d thrifted with some jeans.

Should he dress nice? It’s not like it was a real d-date. It wasn’t even a fake date, it wasn’t a date at all! It was just him and Durham, hanging out alone in public. They didn’t really get a chance to… be alone that often, what with classes and dorming with the boys, but… They were just friends.

Rex! Why was his heart thumping so fast? This felt awful, his overthinking was on track to make his head hurt and he was just wasting time! Durham was probably already waiting for him.

He whined to himself, standing in his room, still looking between the two outfits before he finally broke.

“Fuck! Whatever.” He practically whisper-scolded himself, grabbing the nicer-looking sweater and pulling it over his head before jumping into the greenish pants. He straightened his clothes out before looking into the mirror hung behind his door.

… Ugh, he felt overdressed. It looked like he had jumped straight out of one of those stupid Howlmark movies. He almost considered changing-

“Miguno, Durham!” His father’s voice called from down the hall. “Are you boys ready yet?”

He heard the door across from his open, and saw the shadow of Durham fall across the gap at the bottom of his door. Agh, that meant there was no time to change. He swiped his phone and wallet off of his desk and shoved them in his somewhat tight pockets, before taking a deep breath and opening the door.

Durham was standing there expectantly, and his ears flitted and he cracked a smile when he saw Miguno.

“Should I… change?” He asked, eyes flitting down the hallway. Miguno’s gaze followed, and he saw his father dressed in a similar vogue to him- wearing nice pants and a flannel button up underneath a fuzzy-looking jacket. “I feel underdressed.”

Miguno properly gave Durham’s outfit a glance. He had grey jeans on, an unzipped, thick blue and black snow jacket that was a bit big on him, and a familiar graphic shirt that Miguno knew was a long sleeve. He looked…

“N-no!” Miguno finally blurted. Rex, he needed to get a hold of himself. “Yo- It looks good, dude.”

“Cool.” Durham said nonchalantly, even as his tail wagged a bit. “Thanks, Miguno.”

Miguno just nodded, and gestured down the hallway for Durham to go ahead. He followed after, finding his mother- also dressed a bit more formally than Durham, a long caramel coat covering her black shirt and pants- waiting by the garage door. She saw them approaching and beckoned them over conspiratorially. She took out her wallet and slipped out two bills before holding them out, one for each of them. Miguno took his and Durham hesitated to do the same, before his mother basically placed it in his hand.

“Don’t tell Fisi,” she half-whispered with a smile, “But get yourselves a snack or a sweet treat.”

“Thanks, Ma.” Miguno said, pocketing the twenty, and Durham did the same. “Uh, thanks Imani.” He echoed.

She put a finger up to her lips before turning around and opening the door to the garage, where Miguno’s father had already started the car. They all piled in, Fisi made sure everyone had their seatbelts on, and then they were off.

The car ride was spent in a comfortable silence, the car stereo playing a mix of old and new hits from one of Miguno’s parents’ phones, and suburbia giving way to the urban center they were headed into. They eventually parked in one of the mall parking structures, and made their way to the temporary ice rink that the mall had set up for the winter season. As they got in the small line to buy tickets and rent skates, Imani winked at Durham.

“If anyone asks, you’re adopted. Otherwise they’ll have to call your father for permission.”

Durham nodded quickly, and Imani smiled. She grabbed a clipboard and quickly filled out the attached sheet with the necessary information before pulling it off and approaching the payment desk. Once their tickets and skate rentals were paid for, Miguno and Durham got colored wristbands and then were ushered along to get their skates, before they sat down to take off their own shoes and put them on.

Miguno stood first after tying his skates on tightly, wobbling on the blades as he tried to get used to the feeling of walking so unsteadily. Durham looked up at him and laughed before trying to stand himself and his laughter immediately fading.

“Woah, this feels weird.” Durham said, arms out in front of him to balance himself as he slowly rose up to his full height. “I’m so tall.”

The two of them slowly made their way to the ice rink, grabbing onto railings and walls to steady themselves. Once they got close to the edge of the rink, however, Fisi stopped them to take a photo. Miguno held back a giddy smile as Durham wrapped a tight arm around him, which he quickly returned- each of them using the other as an anchor- and with their free hands they gave a thumbs up for the camera.

Fisi took a few photos before putting his phone away with a smile, and then approached the pair. He reached into his pocket and took out his wallet… Durham and Miguno didn’t even have to look at each other to know what the other was thinking.

“Here’s twenty bucks, you two. I might lose track of time dragging Imani from store to store, so feel free to buy a snack or something. Don’t tell her, though.”

“We won't, dad, thanks.” Miguno said. “Thank you, Fisi.” Replied Durham.

“Alright, you boys have fun. If anything happens you give us a call, okay?”

They nodded, and Fisi gave each of them a hug (which Miguno noticed made Durham’s tail begin to wag) before waving them goodbye and going off to find Imani.

Miguno stepped out onto the ice tentatively, getting a good footing before bringing his other foot onto the ice and sliding out of the way of the few people skating slowly by. He took a few moments to reacquaint himself with ice skating, feeling more confident each second he didn’t feel like he was about to fall. He looked up at the rink entrance, and saw Durham practically shaking, still not on the ice. Miguno pushed his way towards the door and held out a hand.

“C’mon, I promise you won’t fall, Durham.”

Durham looked at him, entirely unsure. “I don’t think that’s up to you, dude.” He said, voice nervously comedic. “I can barely stand on land in these, the second I touch the ice I’m gonna fall flat on my tail.”

“Dude, I promise. You can-”

He was going to regret saying this, probably. For myriad reasons.

“You can hold onto me. If you fall, I fall. Promise.”

His coyote friend looked at him, still unsure, but put a blade onto the ice. He held it for a second, making sure it wouldn’t suddenly slip out from under him, before stepping onto the ice fully, still holding onto the wall for dear life.

“Holy shit.” He mumbled, overcorrecting himself a few times and threatening to fall over before he leaned his whole body on the wall. After a few seconds, Miguno smiled triumphantly.

“See! I told you you wouldn’t fall.”

“Yet.” Durham said solemnly.

“Yet.” Miguno repeated.

It took a few achingly slow laps of Miguno showing his friend how to stand, then push off of the ice, then a simple skating technique, before they were able to skate somewhat normally around the rink. It was mostly Miguno leading Durham, occasionally steadying him if he felt like he was about to fall, and then showing off a tiny bit to maybe impress his friend a little. Thankfully, neither of them fell, but there was a close call- a sika deer skated past them much too quickly and knocked Durham off balance- the coyote immediately grabbed Miguno’s arm in a desperate attempt to stay off of the ice. They wobbled to and fro for what felt like half a minute before they somehow regained their combined balance and managed to stand up once again.

A few laps later and both of them were beginning to get tired of constantly feeling like they were about to fall flat on their asses, so they decided to call it quits. They stomped over to the seating area where they’d left their shoes, feeling much more sure in their steps now that they had suddenly had friction again, and changed back into their normal footwear. Once they’d returned their skates, (and adjusted to the feeling of normal shoes again,) they went off in search of a food court to get a snack like both of Miguno’s parents had suggested.

They eventually found it, and walked around trying to make a decision about what exactly it was they wanted to have.

“They have a crepe- creperie? Is that what it’s called? A crepe place.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever had a crepe before.” Durham replied. “… If I’m being honest I barely know what it is.”

“Me either… Uh… Let’s see what else there is.”

“McPawnald’s has those cookies and cream flurry thingies…” Durham said as they walked by the red and gold logo of the shop.

“If their ice cream machine is working, you mean.” Miguno responded, and Durham let out a chuckle. “Yeah, I guess so.”

“Ooh, what about a cinnamon roll?” Miguno stopped outside of the shop, and took a deep breath of the scents coming from the storefront. “Rex, dude, that smells good.”

“I mean, if you want a cinnamon roll, get a cinnamon roll, dude. We can get different things, it’s a food court.”

“Oh! Right.” The hyena was embarrassed to admit that he hadn’t fully considered that. He hadn’t been able to- as much as he’d tried- stop thinking about this being a date, and as such, had imagined them both getting something from the same place and sharing. “W-well, let’s see what you want first, then we can split up if we have to.”

“Yeah, man.” Durham said with a smile. “Sounds good.”

There wasn’t, unfortunately, much else for the pair to choose from. The rest of the storefronts were all normal restaurants, with the only other option being a smoothie shop that they both agreed was ‘not it.’ Miguno followed Durham into McPawnald’s to see if the ice cream machine was working, and thankfully it was. The hyena quickly went over to the cinnamon roll shop to order one while Durham waited for his ice cream to be made, then they met up in between the two shops. After finding an empty table, they sat down, and ate in another comfortable silence that the two of them often shared.

“Do you, uh, want some cinnamon roll?” Miguno eventually asked, after having devoured a good half of it.

“Oh! Uh, sure dude. It’s been a bit since I’ve had one, honestly.”

“Do- D’ya just wanna tear off a piece, or-”

“Just gimme the fork, dude. We’ve lived together for like four years, you’re not gonna give me cooties or whatever.”

Miguno chuckled at that, trying his best to not let it turn into cackling as he handed the fork over to the coyote. He carefully skewered a chunk for himself and bit down on it, letting out a pleased noise.

“Fuck dude, that’s good.”

“Yeah, man.” Miguno mumbled, taking the fork back.

“You want ice cream?”

“Sure, why not.”

Durham handed over the cup with the weird thick spoon in it, and Miguno scooped himself a bite. It tasted as good as always, and he handed the cup back.

The pair finished their treats before standing up and throwing their trash away.

“Hey. Thanks for showing me how to skate. I don’t think I would have tried if it wasn’t with you.”

The phrasing made Miguno’s brain light up, but he didn’t let it show. “Don’t mention it, dude. I’m just glad you didn’t fall and take me down with you.”

“Almost! That deer was going crazy fast.”

“Haha, yeah.”

The two of them fell silent for a moment, before looking around at the rest of the somewhat busy mall.

“D’ya wanna go see if there’s a games store?” Durham asked with a smile.

“Do you even have to ask?”

Chapter Text

Durham was alone.

Completely, utterly alone. Alone in the room, alone in life.

He was eighteen, and he’d never had a girlfriend. Never had a crush, even. Was there something wrong with him? Like, on a basic level? Something… broken in his mind? He wasn’t- He was pretty sure he wasn’t gay. Males didn’t attract him, but neither did females, it seemed. Was there a word for that? He didn’t want to know if there was- he didn’t want to be whatever that was. He wanted to find love, to be loved by someone who would love him for who he was, not for who he was to them.

But here he was, staring up at the ceiling of his bunk, completely alone in his dorm room of six, three days before the first new years of his adult life, still alone. Feeling sorry for himself. And he hated feeling sorry for himself. What use did it have?

Was he depressed? He didn’t feel like it- sure, he got sad sometimes but… Ugh, what was the point?

His eyes stung slightly, but he didn’t move a muscle. There was no one to turn to, no one to turn away from, even. If he cried, he cried. Like a child, incapable of regulating his emotions.

Normally he’d turn to Miguno. It always felt like his emotions were on the verge of getting the better of him. The whiplash of the past two years- spending the winter break with Miguno’s family- only made it worse. The outpouring of love his friend’s parent’s were capable of giving constantly was… Unfair. And he hated how that sounded.

He wanted to be loved. He wanted people to think he was important. Sometimes it all just boiled over, and he couldn’t do anything about it, and he’d just start tearing up, and-

And Miguno would be there. He’d be there to hold his hand, to sit silently with him until his hiccuping would stop, and he’d dried his tears, and then- Miguno would ask if he wanted to talk about it.

Durham never did. And Miguno would just nod, and squeeze him. Letting him know he was there.

What would he say?

“I wish my siblings cared about me? I wish I’d get a call from any of them, even once, just to ask how I’m doing?” Is that what he’d tell him? That he wished his parents loved him more?

But what kind of son thinks that? What child doubts that their parents love them? Durham didn’t know what kind he was anymore. It’d been so long since he actually felt… loved , that going to Miguno’s house two years ago had been like a shock to his body. Like he caught a breath after being trapped under a sheet of ice- body numbing, life-stealing coldness that was his parents’ lack of interest in him. He seriously doubted any of his siblings had it as bad as he did, as fucked up as it was to think about.

And Rex, had he thought about it.

Chester was the first, the oldest. How could anyone forget the firstborn? He was their bundle of joy, the very first unconditional love.

His older sisters, Beverly and Kendal. Twins- the first set, at least- nearly identical, lovely and lively. Their mother’s first daughters, for her to pass everything down to.

Him. What did he have going for him? He was just another son by then- fourthborn, of unremarkable birth and middling stature in his family. Everything his father would want to teach had already been shown to Chester- and Simeon wasn’t the type to repeat himself.

Then Preston and Raleigh, his younger brother and sister, respectively. The second pair of twins, the babies of the family. Another pair of twins- a miracle, despite the genetic reality that because their mother herself is a twin and she’d already had a pair, the chances of having twins was greatly increased.

Statistically, at least. Durham, with ever the morbid curiosity, had done his research to see if it was just providence that had screwed him over, or if it had been genetics.

Regardless- Who was he? The second son of three, sandwiched in between his infinitely more memorable siblings.

Nobody. What did he have to his name? A few friends, some mediocre grades. He wasn’t good at wrestling, as much as he tried. He didn’t even know why he tried. He’d never beat Chester, or Collot, or Legoshi- they were bigger than he was.

His stomach growled at him. What time was it, even? He’d been spiralling for what felt like hours.

He checked his phone. 7:00. He’d miss dinner soon. Normally someone would be here to go with him, or at least remind him, but everyone was gone.

Collot and Voss were with their families. Miguno, too- his parents had taken him and his brother on a trip to a relative’s, somewhere in the north. Jack was at his study group for his special classes, and Legoshi? He didn’t know.

The wolf had been acting weird lately. He was always tired, and smelled like smoke and gross things constantly. Sneaking out during the day and not coming back at night. He’d gotten cut up by that tiger, a wicked wound on his arm last summer, and just last month he’d disappeared for an entire night before coming back with the weirdest fur-cut ever. And then a few weeks later grew it all back like nothing had happened.

All that, and Durham didn’t have the balls to check on his friend. There was obviously… something going on with the wolf, but he was… too scared, maybe to ask. Nobody else seemed to be concerned, except maybe Jack, but they were best friends.

If Miguno started disappearing like that, Durham would probably be just as worried.

Another growl from his stomach. Fine, he’d get up and go get dinner.

Dinner passed in a blur- the cafeteria was mostly empty, leaving Durham to eat quietly, alone at a table he usually shared with his friends. He chewed almost robotically, staring off into nothing as he swallowed bite after bite until he was done, then went back to their dorm.

He opened the door- hoping, praying almost, that someone would be there- to an empty room. He brushed his teeth and got changed into his pajamas, before climbing the ladder back into his bunk. He turned on his phone, not willing to stare at the ceiling and spiral again. Having a pity party was the most useless thing he could be doing right now.

EweTube didn’t have anything interesting. His Roarter had nothing new. With a sigh, he grabbed his earbuds- the ones that Miguno’s parents had gifted him, which filled him with a fleeting warmth that almost made him smile- and plugged them into his phone, and opened up Spawtify.

Scrolling through his playlists. Morning Kickstart, Study Music, 00’s Hits, Good Noises, Video Game OSTs. Then he found it. Sad Boy Hours.

Rex, it was such a stupid fucking name. He wasn’t clever at all. He tapped on the playlist cover and pressed play. He didn’t want to think right now. Just let the music take him over, flush the shitty feelings out of his system.

A haunting piano began to play, then quickly-

For a girl of my age-

I haven't got much to show for my sins.

The singer’s voice crooned into his ears, full of sadness like she was confessing to the stars.

A blood stained smile.

A gunshot eye.

And a kiss, like a dirty child.

But you can save me,

Anytime.

Yeah, you can save me,

Anytime.

It was a somber waltz, a soliloquy for the last of a kind, if the album title was anything to go off of. Violins whining into his ears like a funerary procession, all joy sucked out of the air like water in the desert.

I retreat into myself,

For a week or maybe more.

I do these things that you and I deplore.

I can't be trusted with my friends, and I sure

Can't be trusted with myself anymore.

But you can save me,

Anytime.

Yeah, you can save me,

Anytime.

There was a short piano solo, before a sad trumpet, an almost jazzy dirge to nobody before the singer echoed herself.

You can save me,

Anytime.

You can save me,

Anytime.

The song slowly came to its end, then the next song played. Driving to Hawaii by Summer Salt, then On My Own from Les Misérables, Dreams by Bleatwood Mac, a song from Erminecraft, Vanilla Twilight by Owl City, on and on until the dorm door opening startled Durham from his half asleep state. He gasped loudly, and rubbed at his face in a confused lack of coordination- and felt his fur slightly matted near his eyes. He tried to fix it inconspicuously as he sat up in his bed to see who it was.

For a fleeting moment he hoped it’d be Miguno, back early from his vacation, come to soothe him. Then they could fall asleep in the same bed, playing Erminecraft, and Durham could exist in that strange limbo of silence with his sleeping friend. Miguno always looked so peaceful while he slept- something about it made him feel at ease. A sort of lovely calm washing over him, his heart both stilled and racing as he tried to let his friend sleep. It felt good, made him not feel so lonely.

Rex, was he really so dependent on his friend? He should be able to deal with this. Maybe he should get help, like medical help, from a shrink- or psychiatrist, psychologist, whatever they were called. … After that poor student had been predated on campus, the school administration had upped their mental health services- maybe he could take advantage of that. And maybe he’d go when he was supposed to be at wrestling club- it’s not like he was enjoying that anymore, anyways- just so he wouldn’t have to admit to anyone that he was going. It felt shameful even to think about, for some reason. He’d been doing just fine up until now- and he was a male carnivore. Emotions like sadness and that sort weren’t exactly meant to be shared.

But back to the matter at hand, his eyes adjusted to the brightness of the room, and he saw a decreasingly familiar grey wolf halfway to his bunk. His ear twitched as the coyote’s bunk creaked a little, and he turned to look up at Durham with a strange efficiency.

“Oh. Uh, hey Durham.” Legoshi said quietly. His normally soft voice was almost assertive, despite his hesitant words. “Did I wake you up? Sorry.”

“No-” Durham lied. The first time he’d spoken in what felt like ages. “It’s fine. I was just listening to music.”

“Okay.” The wolf looked around the room and sniffed. He seemed to think for a moment. “Is Jack…?”

“Studying,” The coyote replied. “I think.”

Legoshi nodded, and turned back to his bunk, grabbing some stuff to take a shower, and Durham chanced a sniff at the air. Now that Legoshi had been in the room long enough, his scent might have dispersed enough to catch, and Durham had guessed right. On the air he smelled then same weird gross scent- a hint of metal, but mostly sickly-sweet that Durham couldn’t quite place- cigarettes, a bit of alcohol, and-

Was that women’s perfume?

Would he say something now? Now that it was just the two of them? He would just be asking his friend if everything was okay- not confronting him in front of the whole room.

“Legoshi-” He began, but the way the wolf’s eyes immediately locked onto his, gaze full of… conviction. A glint of some sad, reserved righteousness- What was he getting himself into?

Durham wasn’t even sure who that thought was referring to.

“Uh. Goodnight,” he mumbled.

“Oh.” Legoshi said, and the steel in his look melted a bit. “Goodnight, Durham.”

Durham pulled the curtain closed on his bunk, and turned into the wall. A coward.

Maybe-

He didn't even want to think the words. He did deserve love. Who didn’t? But… maybe his parents had a point.

…

And maybe therapy was a good idea.

Chapter Text

They stepped out of the train cars, and immediately, they could hear and smell the liveliness of the pop-up night market. It probably wasn’t even that far away, hidden just out of sight by the park’s thick treeline, but Miguno practically flew onto the station platform regardless.

“C’mon, Durry!” Miguno said with a giant smile that made Durham’s heart flutter. The brand-new nickname scratched a part of Durham’s brain in a good way. One that made him want Miguno- his new b-boyfriend- to keep scratching.

“Coming, Migs.” Durham replied stupidly, following the hyena down the sidewalk and towards the park that the Deep Night market was taking place in.

It had been just under a week since they’d officially gotten together- after a whole three days of pining on Durham’s part. They’d been the three most agonizing days of his existence, it’d felt like, suddenly realizing that he loved his friend, and that he’d give anything in the world to be with him.

And he didn’t have to give up anything! Except maybe some of his personal space, but Durham was more than glad to share that space with Miguno even before it had all happened.

The past week had been a whirlwind to him- there’d been such a weight lifted off of his chest, but it’d been such a weird feeling. The sheer terror of thinking Miguno was upset with him, then the strange contentment, then the nerves as Miguno had pulled him aside and sung the song he’d written for him, only for catharsis and metaphorical fireworks, the sneaking off to the drama club room to lay in each other’s embrace for what felt like forever and not nearly long enough (plus a quick interrogation from Miguno’s Dall sheep friend), and then… Well, he didn’t exactly want to call it lying, but… They had certainly hidden the truth from Collot and Voss for a good few days. At least until it had become too obvious and Collot had slyly asked how his ‘whole thing’ with Miguno was going.

At that point, his stupid smile just thinking about the hyena had been far more than enough for Collot to confirm his suspicions. They’d told Voss, who was typically apathetic, and that was that, at least for the room. Miguno had video-called his parents that weekend to tell them the good news- apparently they’d known, and were overwhelmingly supportive of the new couple. In fact, Fisi had told Miguno not to mess this up, which Durham had found hilarious. Imani had been happy for them as well, offering to send Miguno some money for a proper date as well as a sobering talk about having safe sex.

That had gotten both of them cringing, and they’d said their goodbyes as quickly as they could before looking at each other, blushing, and then breaking out in even harder laughter.

Durham had no disillusions that… that wouldn’t happen eventually. He had absolutely nothing against it, in fact even just the slightest thought of it made him start blushing profusely, but… He didn’t want to rush anything. And neither did Miguno, it seemed.

So far they’d only cuddled (and they’d cuddled a lot so far,) and kissed occasionally. Of couse, Durham had used the newfound freedom to kiss his boyfriend while he was asleep, just like Miguno had told him to.

He kissed him when the hyena was falling asleep, after he’d fallen asleep, when he was tucking him in, and in the mornings when he was waking him up for class. Each time it gave him an electric tingle of pure adrenaline and love- seeing the sleepy hyena stir for just a brief second before relaxing with a small smile. Agh! It just made his heart jump.

Durham just wished he weren’t so weird about being in public with him. They’d been friends for so long, that whenever Miguno held his hand suddenly, or leaned on him, or kissed him on the cheek, his mind went blank for all of a second, and he panicked trying to figure out what was happening before remembering- Oh yeah! They were dating. And then his face would burn twice- once for forgetting, and once for remembering that the person he loved more than anything was right there next to him.

But the coyote shook himself out of his train of thought as he caught up to Miguno, who’d come to a stop at the park’s entrance. He was staring into the park with a big smile, and Durham appreciated it for a moment before turning to look as well.

The area was lit brightly by almost too many lanterns hanging from strings, criss-crossed between trees and over the large promenade. The lights were barely needed, though- the full moon hung in the sky like its own lantern, bathing the few parts of the park that the market’s lights didn’t reach in a bright silvery light. There were tons of stalls- food, snacks, sweets, a few small businesses- and beasts of all shapes and sizes, carnivores and herbivores, milling about with smiles.

Durham almost jumped as he felt a hand- Miguno’s hand- slip into his and clasp around it, before pulling him into the park. Once he realized what was happening, he squeezed Miguno’s hand tightly and tried to keep pace with the hyena as they stepped into the Deep Night market.

It was their first date. Well, their first real one. Deep in the recesses of Miguno’s mind, he still considered their ice skating trip a date, however lacking in romance it was. … Not that he’d ever let that slip to Durham. He was admittedly a little embarrassed with how hopeless he’d been over the coyote still.

Miguno pulled Durham along into the market, excited to see what food there was available to eat. From all the mixed smells, there was practically everything anyone could want, but he was still excited to see.

“This all smells so good.” Durham said from beside him while they passed by an open area with tables for sitting down and eating. “I hope they have yakisoba here.”

“Well let’s look!” Miguno said, pulling him closer. “There’s so many stalls I bet we can find some easily.”

They walked leisurely around for a few minutes, hand in hand, looking around at all the food and market-goers, and after weighing their options, they decided to both get yakisoba since the lines looked a little long. 

“So…” Durham mumbled a bit. “I think I know the answer, but… you’ve never dated anyone else, right?”

Miguno felt his cheeks heat up a bit. “No, I haven’t. Um- Have you?”

The coyote cleared his throat awkwardly as they shuffled forward in line. “Nope. Never even had a crush. B-before you, I guess.”

“Same. But, I mean that means we’ll be each others’ first?”

Durham choked on his own spit and Miguno’s face went cold as all the blood rushed from his face, just to come back and leave him burning up again.

“No- I didn’t mean it like- Oh, Rex.” He shoved his face into his hands out of sheer embarrassment, but after recovering Durham just laughed, and hugged him from the side.

“This is my first date, yeah.” Durham said, a bit of embarrassment in his voice, too. “But if it had to be anyone I’m glad it’s with you.”

Miguno looked up out of his hands at the coyote, heart fluttering a bit. “Thanks, Durry.”

“Of course, Migs.” He replied with a smile, but the coyote seemingly couldn’t help himself as it morphed into him trying not to laugh.

“Wh-” Miguno thought about what his boyfriend had said before it clicked. He couldn’t help but smile himself, though. “Oh, you-”

He had to stop himself as it was their turn to order, and the hyena ordered for the both of them as Miguno chuckled quietly behind him and held his hand. Once their order was ready, they went back to the main clearing and sat down at an empty table before digging in. The food tasted great, and the atmosphere phenomenal. The low hum of conversation, the soft clinking of the food stalls, the moon beaming down on them as they ate- it was relaxing and strangely fulfilling.

And sitting across from his best friend, now boyfriend, only made it all the better. And he hoped- no, he knew that it would always be the case.

Chapter Text

Durham was awake. How could he not be, it was Rexmas day! The smell of Fisi’s cooking was wafting eagerly through the door, and he could only imagine the hyena was already dancing in the kitchen, given the music. He didn’t even care about any potential presents, he was just looking forward to having a big holiday breakfast with Fisi and Imani- one that he’d missed dearly last year.

Speaking of missing, they’d been invited to a New Year’s celebration at Jack’s new apartment- Miguno had seemed very excited, planning stuff on his phone that Durham wasn’t entirely concerned with. Supposedly, Legoshi had also been invited, but only Rex knows if the wolf would actually show up. He was a full-fledged adult already: he had his own job, his own place, who even knew if he’d have time to show up? Even the thought of seeing the wolf made Durham excited though. He had been worried about the wolf last year, and seeing him alive and well might help to dispel some of his lingering doubts about not speaking up.

But despite all his excitement to get up and about, Durham didn’t move to leave the bed, no. Not even a little. All he did was smile as he looked down at his chest, his hands snaking up around the sleepy hyena who was half-laying on him.

“Migs~” He whispered, almost in a sing-song. Miguno didn’t stir but, his ear flicked slightly at the noise. Durham tried not to laugh at the sight as he shook him softly.

“C’mon, wake up silly.” The hyena moved a bit, his loose arm around Durham’s mid section squeezing a bit as he tried to burrow into his chest, and he let out a soft noise. “Mmmmm.”

Durham tried again, shaking them both side to side on the soft bed. Eventually it proved too much for the sleepy hyena, and his eyes cracked open.

“Whaz-” His eyes looked around slowly before looking up and finding the coyote. He closed his eyes again, but spoke. “Duurrryyy-” he whined, “‘s too early.”

The coyote rolled his eyes- that was always the hyena’s excuse, no matter what hour it was. “C’mon babe.” He tried to sit up, but Miguno felt him begin to shift and pressed him into the bed more.

“Noooo…”

“Your parents are probably waiting for us.” Durham tried, but the hyena just snorted softly.

“They can wait.” He mumbled.

“They can, maybe,” the coyote replied softly, “but I want your dad’s pancakes. I missed out on them last year.”

Miguno fell silent for a moment before rolling off of Durham with a dramatic sigh. He rolled until his back was to the coyote, facing the wall as he bunched up the sheets around him.

“Fine then,” he huffed melodramatically, “Leave me. Since you love my parents more than me.”

Durham couldn’t help but crack a smile- Miguno was so overdramatic when he wanted to sleep.

“That’s not true, Migs. I just want to have a nice breakfast with you. And I can only do that if you’re up.”

Miguno didn’t respond for a moment, and Durham almost thought he’d gone back to sleep, until-

“For a kiss.”

The coyote didn’t hesitate for a second, rolling over to spoon the hyena and give him a kiss on the cheek.

“There.”

“Hmm…” He sounded more awake. “Another one?”

Durham gave him another kiss, a bit longer this time, and he could see the hyena’s muzzle splitting into a smile.

“Is that enough? If we take any longer they’re probably going to come get us.”

“One for the road.” Miguno said definitively, and Durham snaked his hands around the hyena’s hips to pull him close and give him a deep kiss on the cheek.

Miguno let out a satisfied hum. “Alright, fine.” Durham scooted backwards until he stepped off of the bed, trying his best to push down some fur he saw sticking up in the mirror. Miguno joined him, hugging him from behind with a smile.

“Merry Rexmas, Durry.” He said with a smile, before yawning and making the same squeak as always.

Durham couldn’t stop the snort that left him, and once Miguno was done yawning, he squeezed him tightly like he was trying to suffocate him. “Hey!”

“Sorry!” Durham said quickly. “It’s just so cute. I love it when you do that.”

The hyena let out a soft harrumph but let go.

“And Merry Rexmas to you, too, Migs.”

The pair of them put on slippers before heading out the door, Miguno yawning again and rubbing at his eyes as they turned out of the hallway into the dining area, ready to celebrate Rexmas.

Together.