Opossum One

(This is a spin-off from Raccoon :) )

First place…

Leaning back in his squeaky old gaming chair that he’d found at the local thrift store for ten bucks, Ian gave out a long sigh and closed his eyes.

I’m finally number one in the entire game…

They slowly opened a few moments later as he stared at his cute cat boy character on the screen in front of him. It was standing in one of the main cities of the video game and was surrounded by people offering their congratulations, but he had his away from keyboard symbol on, so they’d know that he wouldn’t respond right then.

And honestly, there was only one person he wanted to be congratulated by.

Won’t you log on and tell me I did well?

Grim was late.

The guy was usually on by six, and it was already close to seven.

He’d seen the other player on an ad for the game a while ago and while he was being portrayed as one of the demons of Infinity, Ian couldn’t help but see something else behind the guy’s greasy black hair, leering eyes and cold smirk.

Using the last of his money for the week, he’d purchased the game and a subscription for it. He then found the guy’s channel and subscribed to him before browsing it and realizing something…

Grim was quite the pervert.

He loved the cat girls in the game and had quite a few modified images of them posted on his channel. Of course, they weren’t exactly not safe for work , but they sure as heck were close!

He’d considered making a female cat girl to try and get in Grim’s favor, but quickly dismissed the thought. He didn’t like the idea of pretending to be a girl just to make someone else happy.

He’d wanted him to know that he was a guy.

So, he’d decided on a cat boy, but made him somewhat cute.

A little notification sound met his ears and had a smile immediately sliding onto his lips. Leaning forward, Ian tapped his mouse a few times, accepting Grim’s personal chat request.

As soon as Grim’s voice came over the speakers, he could feel his heart thrumming in his ears.

“Bitch, you got number one without me!” Grim chastised immediately, making Ian blush and smile so much his cheeks began to hurt.

Grim had a terribly foul mouth when he wasn’t streaming, and honestly, even when he was streaming, but he managed to tone it down a lot after a few warnings from his sponsors.

“Sorry love, the opportunity presented itself,” he said, knowing damn well that Grim didn’t actually give a shit about whether they did it together or not.

Grim had actually been pushing him to get first place, too. He’d constantly ask him why his little simp wasn’t already the best in the game.

It had taken Ian two months to get a paying contract, three months to cap his gear, and four months to become the number one player. People called him a prodigy, but he had just devoted every second of his minimal free time to learning how to play the game as well as possible.

He’d noticed a comment on Grim’s channel soon after he’d started playing the game about wanting a chain-wielder for assistance on harder quests and missions, but evidently, most of the ones in the game sucked. At least, according to him.

“Did you get your crown already?” Grim asked, making Ian frown.

When he didn’t respond right away, Grim scoffed as his character appeared beside him, then invited him to a private party.

Ian immediately accepted, then followed Grim’s stalking character out of the massive crowd that had surrounded them. He evidently hadn’t been moving fast enough, though, because his cat boy was soon grabbed by the wrist and tugged along.

Soon they were in his personal digital house and he was deposited in front of his delivery NPC, or non-player character .

Reading the signals loud and clear, Ian clicked on the NPC and opened its menu.

Uh…

His delivery box was completely full of congratulatory gifts ranging from flowers, to fireworks, to gold, but thankfully the first slot was the item that Grim wanted to see. He clicked on it, then selected to withdraw it before exiting the menu, not caring about any of the other items.

He then clicked on it in his equipment screen and equipped it to his head slot before exiting the menu.

Oh, that actually looks pretty cool.

The crown was black and dark red with a rim of spiked gold around it. It also had a glowing dark purple aura.

“Fuck, I’m not a cat boy person, but I’d bend you over with you wearing that,” Grim said as his larger character slowly circled his smaller one.

Ian felt his heart thump in his chest at his words.

“I’d let you, love,” he replied honestly, though he knew that Grim would think that he was joking, like he always did.

It was fine like that, though.

He never dared flirt with Grim unless the man started it first, but once those gates were open, he would gladly dote on him and agree to the perverted things he said here and there.

Thankfully, he never asked him if he was being serious.

“Well, you just gonna stand there or are we gonna go get those items we’d planned to farm today?” Grim said, his voice snarky yet somehow comfortable.

Farming was basically just collecting items from monsters you killed. It was a gaming term he’d learned pretty quickly.

Ian smiled and nodded at the screen as he changed his head gear back to his normal one.

“Shadow that crown, it looks good on you,” Grim said immediately, making Ian quickly choose to have the crown as his visible gear, basically projecting the image of it over his normal gear without actually removing the better head piece.

As soon as he was done Grim teleported them into one of the highest level dungeons… that would normally take at least a group of four people to kill anything without someone dying.

“I’m gonna be streaming, babe. Be sexy, okay?” Grim said, making Ian immediately scoot his old chair in and straighten up, determined to make his friend look perfect.

“Why don’t you turn on your camera, too, Ren?” Grim added, using the nickname for his game character, Renegade.

Ian’s heart did a little flip at hearing it on Grim’s lips, but instead of doing as told, which he almost always did without question, he, instead, pursed his lips and sagged his shoulders.

“I know your laptop camera sucks,” Grim said, remembering the excuse he’d used five thousand times already.

“You know I’d buy you a good one right now if you’d just accept it,” Grim grumbled as they began tearing apart high level monsters like they were nothing.

He’d give Grim everything he had, but receiving something from him felt wrong.

“I wanna see your pretty face, babe. Let’s talk about a deal for the camera after my stream,” Grim said, not caring in the least that he was already streaming, meaning that his followers could hear every word he was saying.

That doesn’t sound appropriate… but Ian didn’t respond, because honestly, he was way too busy focusing on the crazy amount of monsters Grim was determined to fight at once!

“My stream has nearly double the amount of people it normally does with you here after your win earlier. Let me at least give you some of my earnings to get yourself a camera if you don’t want me to send you one myself. You’ll also make more money streaming if people could see your face,” Grim continued nonchalantly as Ian’s character swung his chains at four different monsters, casting a thunder spell simultaneously.

You said we’d talk about it after your stream…

Compared to the amount of work he was doing, Grim was mostly just sending him some buffing spells to speed up his abilities… which he was already having trouble keeping up with! He refused to look bad in front of the other man, though. Especially since he was streaming on his account right then.

So, he bit his lip and buckled down, putting all of his attention on what he was having his character do.

By the time Grim finally joined him in physical combat Ian was panting quietly, his fingers aching as they flew across the keyboard five times faster than Grim’s with his controller.

“I can hear you, babe,” Grim purred through his mic, making Ian blush and quickly close his mouth.

Grim chuckled quietly in response, then added, “hey guys, don’t you want to see our handsome new king?”

Ian pursed his lips and swung his chains to finish off the final three monsters in their current pull, then leaned back with an exhausted sigh.

“Aw babe, am I wearing you out already?” Grim continued to tease as he began slow-walking towards another large group of monsters.

Needing an honest minute to rest, Ian had his cat boy swing out a chain and secure it around Grim’s waist, then tugged the man’s character back to him and cast a three minute bind spell.

“My watchers like it when you’re rough with me,” Grim said as he turned around where he stood, then leaned over and picked Ian’s cat boy up by his collar.

“…but I prefer it the other way around.”

Ian felt his heart jump into his throat, coloring his entire face a bright red and making him extremely glad that he didn’t have a camera yet.

I’d let you top me , he whispered in his own mind, refusing to utter a single word in response for fear that he might give himself away.

Grim’s fans already knew that he followed the man around like a dog. He didn’t need to make himself look anymore pathetic.

“I’m not sharing,” Grim grumbled after a few moments of silence, making Ian raise an eyebrow, confused.

He never read Grim’s chat anymore, because the first few times he’d tried he’d just gotten uncharacteristically jealous of all the people trying to get the young man’s attention.

“He’s my simp, go find your own,” Grim continued as his bind effect wore off, freeing him up to go run ahead and grab more monsters.

He seemed especially trigger-happy now that he could move again, and quickly gathered twice the amount of monsters they had before!

Quickly casting an offensive reflective barrier around himself, Ian ran forward and claimed all the monsters, pulling them to himself as he began spinning his chains in a circular motion like a tornado.

He then added an actual tornado spell into the mix, sending all of the monsters flying, then crash-landing hard on the ground around them. All but one died instantly, with the last one barely struggling back to its feet before Grim flicked it in the forehead, taking away its final three hit points.

“See guys? This bitch is mine. He’s too damn good to be wasted on noobs,” Grim said, clearly not caring what other people thought of his words as he grabbed Ian’s character’s wrist and began tugging him further into the dungeon.

They cleared a few more groups of monsters and fought one of the extremely hard bosses, getting two of the items they’d been looking for, before Grim finally turned off his streaming camera, then abruptly teleported them away from the crowd that had grown around them.

Now they were at Grim’s in-game house and he had just been pushed into a pure black Victorian-style chair.

He then found himself looking up at Grim’s gruff in-game character as he crossed his arms over his chest and stared down at him.

“Now then, about that camera. Which model do you want out of these three?” Grim asked at the same time he heard a notification in their chat channel, making Ian frown and click into it, then glance over the three links he was given.

Three hundred dollars… for a camera?

The first one, unfortunately, was the least expensive!

Three-hundred would last me nearly a full month of groceries if I was really careful.

His stomach growled at the idea.

“…did you eat today?”

Shit.

Ian quickly reached forward to turn off his mic, but before he could push the button his character was grabbed by the collar again, but this time, instead of being lifted up, Grim leaned forward, getting into Renegade’s face.

“Babe, what did you eat today?”

The acidity in Grim’s words had Ian’s heart twisting painfully in his chest as his stomach growled a second time. He had terrible luck when it came to hiding his lack of food. Grim had caught him several times because of his loud stomach.

He heard Grim grumble out a few expletives under his breath, then heard a chime from his game signaling an incoming message.

Swallowing down his nerves as best he could, he clicked back into the game and read the message.

Grim: Give me your Paypal or Venmo or whatever the fuck you receive money with.

Err, the guy was really mad if he was only typing now.

Ian reread the sentence three times before shakily replying.

Renegade: IanLReese212

He waited silently for several minutes, his heart beating in his ears, before his phone beeped, making him reach for it and nervously glance at the screen.

“Today was my match day. You are the reason I got so much, so take what I just sent you and get a god damn good camera and some fucking food.”

Ian pressed the accept button with a shaky finger, but couldn’t bring himself to look back up at the screen. Thankfully, Grim ended their voice chat at that moment, then ended up logging out a minute later.

That’s when Ian finally glanced sheepishly at his lone character on the screen, sitting comfortably in Grim’s fancy chair, as if he had no idea how stressed his other half was.

He had never accepted help from anyone in the past six years… ever since he’d run away from home when he was seventeen.

His mother and step father had practically starved him half to death for the majority of his high school life after he’d told them that he didn’t have time to sweep, mop, do dishes, laundry, dust and weed the yard by hand every single day before he had to do all of his honors homework for the special classes they insisted he take.

All while his half siblings did nothing but play video games and hang out with their friends…

So, the day before he would have became a senior he dropped out and run away, then got a shitty job at a warehouse sorting packages after faking his age.

Fast forward five years and he was struggling to make ends meet, even with two jobs, was having trouble eating even when he could afford food, and was honestly just uncomfortable in his own skin. He’d just been going through the motions in a hungry haze but unable to stomach much when he stumbled upon that video for Infinity with Grim in it…

And he suddenly felt like he could breathe again.

Leaning back in his squeaky chair in his nearly-empty, eerily quiet studio apartment, Ian held his phone above his head, staring at the number being reflected back at him on the screen.

Five-hundred dollars.

It was more than enough for a good camera and food.

His stomach growled again, making him lick his lips as the image of Grim’s frustrated face settled behind his eyes.

He hadn’t planned on eating that night, because he barely had enough food right now, but since Grim had sent him money and specifically told him to use some of it to buy food…

Looking at his watch, Ian realized that the grocery store across the street would still be open for another thirty minutes and made the decision to slip on his old tennis shoes and go do as he was told.

Opossum Two

He ended up getting a big jar of peanut butter, a few loaves of cheap bread, and some dollar TV dinners. He also grabbed a big pack of ramen, since it was easy and also quite cheap. His cart definitely didn’t end up being the healthiest, but it was  the cheapest. 

It also left him with a reasonable amount of money to get one of the cameras Grim told him to buy.  

I’ll be able to eat well until my next pay check and get a cool new camera to make Grim happy. 

He was all smiles as he checked out at the front with one of the older ladies that had worked there since he was a boy. 

“Good evening, sweetheart. You seem to be in good spirits today,” she said with her own warm smile as she rang up his usual meals. 

Ian nodded with an affirmative “mhm!” as he stacked his little haul on the conveyer belt so that she could start scanning them. 

He noticed that she’d slipped a big Snickers bar in between items, but hadn’t scanned it, drawing his eyes up to hers and a faint warmth to his cheeks. 

“You know me, I’ve already paid for it, hun. Just want to bring a bigger smile to that handsome face of yours,” she said, doing exactly what she intended as he beamed at her, excited for the rare dessert. 

“Thank you, ma’am. I really appreciate the treat,” he said honestly as he handed her his card to pay for his things.  

Once he had his two bags he stepped back out into the cool evening air, then paused as something to his right caught his eye. 

A little boy? 

Ian turned his head to get a better look, but the boy quickly ducked behind a dirty brick wall next to an alleyway entrance. 

Curious, and also a little worried, he slowly walked closer, but made sure to keep his eyes off of that spot as he approached. 

He was nearly to the entrance of the alley when he saw the little boy peek out from behind the wall again, then immediately disappear, clearly startled by his sudden close proximity. 

“Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’m just worried about you,” Ian said as he stopped at the entrance and looked inside. 

Oh…

The little boy had run halfway down the dark alley to stand in front of what appeared to be a body. 

Pursing his lips nervously, Ian made the decision to ignore the boy’s fear of him and quickly walk over. The kid, surprisingly, stayed standing where he was even as Ian stopped next to him, then knelt down to check and see if the other person was alive. 

Ah, a woman. Maybe his mum? 

She was incredibly dirty and very thin, but to his surprise, he found a pulse at her neck. 

“Let me help your mom, okay?” he told the little boy as he tugged out his old phone and dialed 911. 

They didn’t have to wait long for the police to show up, but as soon as people began to swarm the enclosed space, the boy began to shake and cry. 

An officer was trying to calm him down, but nothing seemed to work. Especially after they ended up carting his mom away in an ambulance. 

“Do you happen to know this boys name?” 

Ian looked over his shoulder as he finished speaking with an investigator to see an officer walking over holding the boy’s hand. 

The kid was still shaking and clearly stressed out of his mind, but he understood why they hadn’t brought him with his mom, considering the state she was in and the possibility of her dying. 

Swallowing down his own nerves, Ian knelt down in front of the little boy and took out a few of the small TV dinners he’d bought. 

They were nearly thawed out by now, which meant that they needed to be eaten or discarded soon. 

“Would it be okay if we go have a bite to eat at the little store down the street?” he asked the boy and the officer at the same time. 

He knew that the kid likely wouldn’t be able to stomach much right now, but he also knew that he was clearly starving and very malnourished. Even if he threw it up, if he could keep it down for a little while it might help him. 

“Want to go eat a little while the nice doctors help your mom?” the officer asked with a friendly smile as the boy looked between them both with wide eyes. 

Eventually, thankfully, he nodded, and they all wandered down to the little grocery store that was just about ready to close. 

Thankfully, they seemed to realize that something had happened and gladly kept some of the lights on, as well as let them use their little nook they made for customers who wanted to eat their meal there. 

The little boy decided on, of course, a macaroni and cheese dinner with a little side of chicken nuggets, while Ian had a spaghetti and meatball and the officer, after the boy pointed at the other container for a bit, wanting him to eat, too, ended up eating the lasagna. 

They definitely weren’t high end, even for TV dinners, but the boy eagerly shoveled his entire tray of food into his mouth without an ounce of hesitation, likely not even tasting it, anyways. 

Ian ate a good bit slower, so when the boy finished with his meal in less than five minutes, he slid the remainder of his own in front of him. 

It, too, was gone in moments, leaving the boy sleepy and content. 

He was clearly still worried, but the rarity of a full belly wasn’t lost on his body, and soon he was snoring quietly with his head cradled within his arms on the little table. 

“Thank you for helping him and his mother,” the officer finally said as he finished his meal and wiped a bit of sauce from his mustache. 

Ian smiled sheepishly and shrugged his shoulders a little. 

“It was no problem at all. I’m glad I was there to help.” 

He really was glad that he’d been at the right place at the right time. 

I should head home soon. 

It was getting close to midnight and he had work in six hours. He was just about to dismiss himself to go get some rest when the officer’s phone rang. 

The conversation was clearly about the boy and his mother, and when he finally hung up about ten minutes later, he sighed and looked across the table at him. 

“It was an overdose. They managed to reverse it with Narcan and she’s in stable condition now,” he said, prompting Ian to give a quiet sigh of relief as he looked at the sleeping boy beside him. 

“He’ll likely go into foster care while his mom does rehab, but I’ll try my best to keep them in contact with each other. Losing family is never a good thing,” the officer said, making Ian fidget on the inside. 

He wouldn’t argue that losing his family had hurt a little, but it had also likely saved his life. 

It wasn’t worth bursting the man’s bubble by saying that, though. Besides, he agreed in this situation. The boy still clearly cared for his mother and he knew that drugs could do terrible things to people. As soon as she was lucid, he didn’t doubt that she’d worry about where her little boy was. 

“I’m glad. I hope things work out for them. I’m going to head home now,” he said as he quietly got up, leaving the sleeping boy with the officer as he cleaned up, then took his remaining bag of food and headed out. 

He intended to go home, but a sign across the street drew his attention as it flashed open . Then, right next to that sign, he saw one of the cameras Grim had told him to get. 

It’s still open…

After hesitating for only a moment, he hurried across the street, but then turned toward the store and made the short walk over. 

The store looked like it was about to close, too, so he hesitated even walking in, but when he saw another one of the cameras behind the register, he walked inside and pointed up at it. 

“Could I buy that please?” 

The guy that had been cleaning up behind the desk looked up to where he was pointing and smiled. 

“Sure man!” he said as he reached up and took down the fancy looking streaming camera. 

“It’s on sale, too. Fifty dollars off,” he said as he rang it up for him. 

Two-hundred and fifty. 

It really was cheaper than the same one online.

Wait, that means I can add the fifty dollar savings to my bills. 

It was a good night! 

He was all smiles as he took his items home and got the meager supply of food put away. 

As much as he wanted to play with the camera and talk to Grim, he was about ready to keel over. 

Thus, he just set the box on his worn desk, then went into his tiny bathroom to rinse off, brush his teeth, and wash his hands. 

Once everything was done, he tossed his clothing into his dirty hamper and pulled on a clean pair of boxers, then, finally, settled down onto his little floor mat. 

It definitely wasn’t a bed, but it was padded well enough so that he could sleep without waking up too sore in the morning. His feet also didn’t hang over the edge… if he curled up a bit. 

Once he was all settled, he turned his phone on and went to Grim’s channel and played the first video on his list as he tugged his blanket up and over his head, building himself a little tent to hide away from the world for a bit. 

It was the video of his most recent stream where they were playing together. As soon as the young man’s face came up on the corner of the screen, Ian couldn’t help but smile. 

When he got to the part where he told his followers that he belonged to him, Ian felt his heart thump harder in his chest. 

I am yours, and it makes me happy just hearing you say that. 

He didn’t dare wish for me, because he already had way  more than he ever thought he would. There was a roof over his head, food in his belly, and someone who was waiting for him that called him theirs. 

He let the video continue playing, since his phone was hooked up to the charger, and closed his eyes. Before it even finished it, he was out cold, his smile still settled on his pale lips. 

Unfortunately, it didn’t feel like he’d been asleep for long before he heard his phone buzzing with a strange, unfamiliar sound. 

Reaching blindly in its direction, he eventually managed to grab it, then bring it over in front of his bleary eyes. 

When, after a few blinks and a bit of squinting, he finally figured out what was going on, he quickly sat up, startled, and hit the accept  button on the Discord call. 

“Hello?” he rasped tiredly as his eyes closed again of their own accord. 

“The hell do you mean, hello ? Didn’t you forget something?” Grim admonished, making Ian groan quietly and shake his head, trying to rid his fuzzy mind of the haze of sleep settled within it. 

It didn’t really help, so he decided to just go the placate route and mumbled a groggy “I’m sorry.” 

There was a long pause before Grim replied, seemingly having gotten lost in thought… or he was just multitasking, since he often stayed up way later than him. 

“Babe, is everything okay?” 

Trying his best to stay upright, Ian rubbed at his left eye as he processed Grim’s question. 

“I was just sleeping,” he eventually ended up saying, unsure what his friend was trying to get at. 

Grim paused again for a moment and Ian could hear some shuffling sounds on the other end of the line. 

“I got that part, cause you sound sexy as fuck, but since you aren’t seeming to understand, I was just checking in because you never messaged me good night  like you always do before you go to bed.” 

  Oh!

Suddenly a decent bit more awake, Ian felt his face warm as he yawned, then shook his head again.

“I-I’m sorry, I ran into some people near the store when I went to get food, then I bought the camera you wanted me to get,” he replied, though he knew he was just rambling excuses. 

Another few moments and some more shuffling sounds later, Grim replied. 

“Alright, good. Just wanted to make sure nobody kidnapped my bitch.” 

Ian couldn’t help but smile, then chuckle sleepily. 

“Thank you, love. I appreciate you checking in on me,” he said as he finally settled back down, then yawned again. 

“Damn right, now go to sleep. You sound exhausted but fuckable and it’s becoming distracting,” Grim said before he heard him  yawn on the other end. 

So cute…

“Alright, good night, Grim. See you later.” 

Grim scoffed, then yawned again. 

“Damn right! Don’t show anyone else your face before me,” he said sternly, though his sleepiness made his warning just sound adorable. 

“Yes sir, good night,” Ian replied as he nuzzled into his pillow, pretending that it was Grim, a smile firmly settled on his face. 

“G’night,” Grim echoed.  

Ian was out cold moments later, having completely forgotten to even end the Discord call.

Opossum Three

“I-I fell asleep with the call still on,” Ian whispered sleepily as he pushed the end call  button on his phone and heard the little beep  sound confirm that it had disconnected a moment later. 

Surprised he didn’t turn it off, himself. 

They both might have just fallen asleep at the same time and forgotten. 

The thought of pretending to sleep next to him while hearing his breathing over the phone made Ian’s face turn bright red. He’d missed a golden opportunity! 

Darn it, snap out of it. You’re not in high school anymore. 

He couldn’t get his humming heart to understand that, though. 

Thankfully, his phone alarm began to go off right at that moment, startling him and making him hurry to his feet! Ten minutes later he was dressed and out the door, a baseball cap covering his messy hair and two pieces of plain white bread between his teeth. 

Work was about a mile away, but thankfully it wasn’t too hot out so the run was reasonable. He ended up clocking in ten minutes early, panting quietly as he finished off his meager breakfast. 

He got to work as soon as he was done, immersing himself in lifting and stacking box after box. Everyone else had earbuds in, so thankfully they didn’t bother him… except for the one that normally did. 

His stomach immediately twisted at the sound of the man’s familiar footsteps as he approached, then got way  too close, forcing him to turn around or likely get groped again. 

Well, turning hadn’t saved him from unwanted physical contact this time. Peter had his hand on his waist before his mouth even opened to make things worse. 

“You know I’ll give you a ride to work so you don’t have to walk everyday, babe.” 

He knew he would, but that ride would cost him a ride . 

Doing his best not to glare down at the slightly shorter, younger man, Ian forced a polite smile, since Peter was his boss’s son, and politely declined for the fiftieth time since they’d met. 

“Thank you for the offer, but I enjoy the walk.” 

He’d been a fool before and accepted some attention from the man in return for getting on his knees, but things never progressed after that one bit of messing around, no matter how many times the guy tried to get him naked. 

He’d been in a very dark mental state at the time and had needed some sort of proof that at least someone  would want him, so he’d used his mouth to pleasure the man in return for a few pats to the head and a couple good boys . 

The day after that had happened, however, he’d come across the commercial for Infinity with Grim in it, and the rest, he wished, was history. Yet Peter refused to forget their little ten minute session in the janitor’s closet six months ago. 

Stepping back just enough for the man’s hand to fall from his waist, Ian looked toward the pallet of stuff he was trying to load, then back to Peter. 

“I apologize but I’m really busy right now. I need to get back to work.” 

He was just turning back to start stacking again when he felt one of Peter’s fingers slip into one of his belt loops and tug lightly. 

“I’m afraid dad’s had to let go of a few people who aren’t keeping up with the numbers we need, but I managed to argue that you’re doing as much as you can and really need to keep this job, but he did say that he’d have to decrease your wage a bit…” 

Ian felt his face drain of color as he slowly set down the package he’d been about to load. He couldn’t make himself turn around again, but it was clear that Peter didn’t expect him to. 

The guy was already patting his shoulder falsely-apologetically. 

“I got you, babe. Just gotta work a bit harder for my dad, okay?” he said before finally walking away. 

Not keeping up with the numbers…? 

He was the fastest person they had and also the only one with perfect attendance! 

With a shaking hand, he took his old phone out of his back pocket and turned the screen on, then opened his banking app. Today was payday, and as he pulled up his account, he immediately saw a number that made his stomach drop into his feet. 

In seconds he did the math, then nearly fell over as he was forced to use the shelf beside him as support. 

Ten… 

He’d been making nearly sixteen an hour, now it was down to ten, and before he was even told about it! 

Tears began to stream down his face before he could stop them, forcing him to turn to face the shelf completely or risk getting even more unwanted attention. 

After several long minutes trying to calm down, he gave up and stepped out, then opened the Discord app on his phone. He knew that Grim wouldn’t be home right now and was probably at the gym, but he couldn’t help his fingers as they shakily typed out message after message, then deleted each one before it could be sent. 

He was just typing out his tenth message, his face completely twisted in terror and stress and covered in tears, when he suddenly stopped and noticed the three little dots moving right above his own text box. 

Grim was typing. 

Time seemed to stand still as he watched those three dots rise and fall in succession, over and over and over again. Then, after nearly five full minutes, a message came through, though it wasn’t what he’d expected to see. 

Grim: Voice chat, now

Before Ian had a chance to respond, his phone began ringing with Discord’s incoming-call chime. 

He picked it up immediately, refusing to ever let Grim wait, no matter if he was ready or not. 

“Talk to me, babe.” 

When Grim’s voice came over the receiver, Ian felt his shivering body instantly begin to calm.  Unfortunately, every time he tried to speak, he just ended up choking back a sob and sniffling, no matter how hard he tried to stop. 

“You’re that happy to fucking hear me?” Grim said as Ian noticed the sounds of stuff being moved around and people talking in the background. 

He is at the gym… I’m disturbing him. 

He tried to tell him that he didn’t mean to bother him and that he should get back to what he was doing when he heard a notification beep  come through their chat, signaling that a picture was sent. 

“What do you think of that? Thirsty, my little pet?” Grim said, clearly half joking, but Ian was honestly having trouble hearing him due to the blood suddenly rushing through his head!

A-abs…

Not just  abs, but the nicest fucking set he’d ever seen! 

He knew that Grim liked going to the gym but he would have never  imagined that he was hiding something so incredible beneath his wide array of black band and anime shirts! The guy was rather thin, too, so they weren’t insane like some buff gym bro’s, but they were  the most beautiful things he’d ever seen. 

“You haven’t sniffled in nearly two minutes. Better be fucking drooling, cause you’re the only one that’s ever gotten a pic of my sexy abs,” Grim said, making Ian quickly close his mouth because he had  been drooling!

He quickly wiped his mouth, then realized his nose had been running just as much as it and frowned as the back of his hand came away rather messy. 

He let out a quiet sound if disapproval as he stood up, having not even realized that he’d squatted against the back of the building at some point. 

“Why are you upset, Ren?” Grim finally asked, sensing that he had clearly calmed down a bit. 

Wiping his hand on his already-dirty clothing, Ian sniffled one last time, then heaved a long sigh as he leaned back against the building, lifting the phone close to his mouth. 

“My boss’s son has been bothering me… for a long time. I did something with him, wh-when I started, but I don’t want to do it again. He does…” 

Grim stayed silent, clearly waiting for him to finish speaking… and thankfully not asking for any details about what  he’d done. 

“W-well, today he tried to bother me again, and I told him no . H-he then told me that they’d decreased my p-pay because I wasn’t working hard enough, b-but I have the best numbers here. I-I have a second job, but I-I can’t afford to not work two, but for ten dollars an hour…” he finished, starting to cry again even though he was trying hard to hold it back. 

There was silence on the end for a while before Grim finally replied, but not with what he’d expected him to say. 

“Do you work your other job today?” 

Blinking away some tears, Ian shook his head, then replied in a scratchy tone. 

“N-no.” 

A few more minutes passed then, leaving him to silently question if Grim had gotten distracted by someone else. He waited patiently… but he didn’t like the idea of someone else , even if it was just a friend at the gym. 

You have no right to be jealous of anyone else. You can barely even afford to feed yourself, don’t have your high school diploma, and —he internally flinched as he heard familiar footsteps approach. 

He didn’t dare look up as Peter stopped next to him, already feeling defeated enough for one day. He didn’t want to show him how badly he’d gotten to him with his tear-stained face and reddened eyes. 

He could likely still see most of his shame since he was shorter than him, but it made him feel like he had the slightest fraction of control left over their situation when he didn’t immediately meet his eyes. 

“Why are you making me go through all this? I don’t want to stress you out, babe, but you’re not playing fair. You can’t expect to suck me off the first week you’re here, then just push me away for the next six months,” Peter said in a chastising, falsely-sweet tone. 

Ian desperately wanted to end the discord call so that Grim couldn’t hear it, if he was even still paying attention, but he didn’t dare hang up on him. 

Either way, he was now even more  embarrassed, and honestly, he was beginning to think that none of this was worth it. 

Grim would get grossed out by what Peter had just said, because who wouldn’t? Then he’d end the call and tell him to go fuck himself… or Peter. 

His heart was beating so hard in his ears that he couldn’t even hear the toxic guy rambling on about how sweet he’d been to him and how he was being unreasonable for not repaying him for all of his kindness. 

 Honestly, all Ian really wanted to do right then was bash his head into the wall behind him so that he didn’t have to live in his current hell, but then he heard another chime from his phone, signaling that something had been sent to him over chat.

It somehow managed to break through his panic, as well as Peter’s grating voice, drawing his eyes downward. 

Huh…? 

Staring at the screen, he read over the letters and numbers printed on the image over and over again. 

It’s… a train ticket. 

The rush of blood ringing through his ears slowly ebbed, as did his fumbling heart. 

“A… ticket?” he whispered out loud, making Peter falter in his admonishing to look down at his phone, too. 

“What’s so important that you can’t listen to your boss?” he grumbled as he reached for the phone, making Ian have to quickly yank it away and hurry to the side to keep him from looking! 

Grim’s voice came over the receiver a moment later. 

“Come here, babe. I’ll be waiting.” 

Ian’s hands shook as he held the phone against his chest like a lifeline. 

“The fuck is that guy talking about? You screwing someone behind my back while tempting me every fucking day?!” Peter yelled, his face turning red as he finally stopped pretending to be nice. 

Ian took several steps back as Peter quickly encroached on his personal space, clearly intending to pin him into a corner. He honestly had no more fight left in him, so he simply continued to retreat and shake, any words he might have wanted to speak, stuck in his constricting throat. 

“Hey you fuck face! This guy is mine and if you try to fucking touch him again I’ll get the cops on your fucking ass for reducing his pay illegally!” Grim suddenly yelled through the phone, startling both of them. 

“You hear me you asshole?! If you think I’m fucking bluffing I’ll be down there in less than an hour to either drag your ass to jail or rip your fucking junk apart with my bare hands! Take your fucking pick!” 

Neither of them knew how to respond to that verbally, but Ian definitely understood what else he could do right then… and immediately took off running! 

Peter tried to grab for his shirt collar before he turned, but managed to only grab the bill of his hat, allowing Ian to quickly dart away and out onto the sidewalk.  

Surprisingly, Peter tried to chase after him, but the guy had no chance now that he had some distance between them. He might not have been obese, but he rarely did actual physical work and he didn’t seem interested in exercising, so he quickly fell behind and out of sight. 

Ian didn’t stop, however, until his worn tennis shoes stepped onto the train. 

The person checking tickets looked a little shocked by his panting and disheveled appearance, but they still offered him a careful smile and checked his electronic ticket when he presented his phone. 

The two hour trip was quiet, with only a few words here and there from Grim. He was very  clearly busy, because Ian could hear him talking in the background as more movement sounds came through his receiver than actual words, so he gladly kept his dry mouth closed and simply tried to control his own erratic breathing. 

He’d calmed down from his run, mostly, but now the stress of the whole situation was making him nervous and shaky. 

By the time he finally got off the train at the designated stop, he was close to breaking down again. 

A chime took his attention as he stepped to the side to let other passengers off easier. Holding his phone up, he squinted through threatening tears to read what Grim had sent him. 

The gym’s address…

He wasn’t sure he was okay enough to walk into a bustling facility, but even as his heart continued to race in his chest, his feet moved forward, one step at a time. 

After nearly twenty minutes of mindless walking, he came to a stop outside of the biggest gym he’d ever seen. 

Just from glancing through the floor-to-ceiling windows, he could easily count more than forty people milling about inside. 

It took him nearly five minutes as he looked between the people inside and the address on his phone before he finally managed to make his shaky hand grip one of the door handles and slowly tug it open. 

The chill that enveloped his sweaty body when he finally stepped inside brought several rounds of shivers, but also helped clear his head a little. 

He quietly stepped to the side as people began to try and move around him, not wanting to get in the way as his eyes finally began earnestly looking for his man. Except, it didn’t take long for him to realize that he was only looking at one tiny portion of the building, and there were several other massive rooms where he could be. 

“Excuse me, sir? Can I help you?” one of the girls at the front desk asked with an awkward smile on her face. 

Ian flinched, knowing that he probably looked about as good as he felt. 

He inched a little closer, then glanced back towards the double doors leading outside. 

“Oh, are you Ren, by chance?” 

Hearing his game name, Ian jerked his head back around to stare at the young woman. 

“Y-yes,” he rasped, his voice nearly inaudible from stress. 

The woman’s nervous look changed into a warm smile as she grabbed a small paper badge and held it out to him. 

“Take this guest pass and go ahead to the furthest room on the back right. Chester is waiting for you.” 

Chester? 

Mechanically, Ian walked closer and took the little badge before clipping it to his shirt and slowly moving around the desk. He could feel plenty of eyes on him as he wandered further into the room, but thankfully no one tried to get his attention or talk to him. 

After two tense minutes, he stopped outside another see-through door but paused after grabbing the handle in order to look to his left. 

Several people were watching through the large windows and talking amongst themselves about hiring some personal trainer or something. 

Chewing his lower lip, he disregarded their chatter and forced himself to tug open the door. 

The moment he stepped inside, however, his feet froze in place and his already-dry mouth suddenly felt more arid than a desert. 

There were easily twenty or so people in the room, and each one was busy doing some form of workout… all except one. 

Ian couldn’t help but just stand there and stare, and after nearly five minutes of doing so, almost every head in the room had turned to him. None of them mattered, though. He waited with baited breath until, finally , the only person he cared about in his entire world, finished speaking with a young woman who had just turned their attention to him, drawing Grim’s over his shoulder, too. 

Those gorgeous chocolate eyes…

They widened the slightest fraction as they fell upon him, then narrowed as a knowing smirk tilted the man’s lips upward. Grim then lifted one arm and slowly curled his fingers, gesturing for him to come to him… and without an ounce of hesitation, Ian did.

Opossum Four

Ian slowed to a stop in front of Grim.

His teeth were chattering and his body shivered even through a sheen of sweat. He was absolutely struggling to keep from passing out or throwing up… or really, both.

Thankfully, most of his panic was on the inside. The stress Peter had spawned was now being replaced with a different kind of worry.

He didn’t want to look so pathetic in front of the one person that meant everything to him, but he couldn’t manage to calm himself down!

Grim looked away from him for a moment and spoke to several of the other people in the room, but the ringing in his ears had Ian unable to hear anything but a faint deepness from his voice.

He couldn’t remember how many nights he’d dreamed of that voice, and yet here he was right in front of its owner and he couldn’t even hear it!

Ian was just about to shake his head to try and dispel some of the stressful noise when he felt a warm, calloused hand take his wrist firmly, then guide him down a long, brightly-lit hallway.

He wasn’t being forced to move, and honestly, Grim barely put any pressure on his wrist , or person in general, to follow him.

He was doing it because he wanted to.

They eventually stopped at one of the rooms on the left and ducked inside. It was nearly pitch-black, with only a few emergency floor lights giving off a soft glow to keep people from tripping over their own feet.

It smells like fresh grass and citrus.

He walked until Grim stopped, then released his wrist to turn around and sit straddling the edge of a long wooden bench.

Without thinking, Ian settled on his knees between the other man’s, then looked up at him in the darkness. He couldn’t see his face very well with such poor lighting, but that also meant that Grim likely couldn’t see him all that well, either.

At least, he hoped not, because he knew that he looked like a mess, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get his teeth to stop clicking together in the silence, nor could he manage to calm his body enough to stop its shaking.

At least, not until he felt the bend of Grim’s pointer finger gently brush against his bottom lip, then press forward, silently requesting entrance.

Ian opened his mouth.

Grim’s smaller pointer knuckle settled just-barely inside.

Ian immediately realized what was going on and forced himself to stop clicking his teeth together so that he didn’t accidentally bite Grim.

His body calmed down soon after and ceased shaking.

His heartrate followed, slowly relaxing into a steady beat for the first time in hours.

A few moments later, he allowed the last of his stress to slip through his nose in a calm, content sigh as he lifted his eyes to Grim’s.

The man gave him a smile, the edges of his eyes crinkling the slightest fraction.

“There’s my babe,” he said as he gently began to sift the fingers of his free hand Ian’s hair, making him nearly fall asleep right where he was. A few moments later Grim withdrew his finger from his mouth, then used that hand to cradle Ian’s head.

“You came so quickly,” Grim said, a hint of humor to his words that made Ian’s heart flutter.

He didn’t mind if Grim messed with him, as long as he had his attention, he was beyond happy. In fact, even though he was now realizing how tired he really was after such a stressful start to his day, he happily returned the jab with a poke.

“As long as it’s you, I’ll come as soon as I can.”

Grim chuckled, his smile turning into a beautiful smirk as he playfully tugged at a bit of Ian’s hair.

They were silent for a good while before Grim spoke again, but it took Ian’s foggy brain a few moments to put things together and respond.

“I… don’t have allergies.”

A gentle head pat later and Grim was asking another question.

“Food preferences?”

White bread and peanut butter?

He bit his tongue on that response, since he doubted Grim would want to hear about his lack of eating. Instead, he replied with a simple, “I’m not picky.”

Another pat to his head was his reward for answering, and he accepted it wholeheartedly.

“Alright. I still have a class I need to finish teaching, so we’ll go eat in about two hours,” Grim said as he finally, unfortunately, released his hold on him, making Ian’s head bob once, then twice, as he tried to shake the sleepiness from his system.

“Come here, Ren,” Grim said as he stood and stepped away from the bench, making Ian immediately push himself to his feet, his exhaustion taking a backseat to Grim’s order.

He followed him a little farther into the dark room, then around a small corner.

A bed?

“Sometimes I have classes really late, then some early the next day and don’t feel like going home in between,” Grim explained as he pointed to a few sets of clean clothing, then the small shower behind the sleeping nook.

“Everything here is clean, including the towels. Take a nice long shower and get some rest. I’ll come get you when my class is over,” Grim said, making Ian rub at his eyes, then yawn, trying to wake himself up a bit more.

He was just beginning to nod even though he couldn’t manage to get his right eye to open all the way yet, when he felt a firm arm wrap around his waist, then tug him forward into the best, and strongest, hug he’d ever gotten.

“Fucking cute little shit,” Grim stated as he squeezed him hard enough for some of Ian’s muscles to pop, earning a content groan from the pressure.

He smells like fresh grass and citrus, too…

Ian was a bit confused by the little part, though, since he was clearly at least an inch or two taller than Grim, but he definitely wasn’t going to mention it.

Besides, next to Grim, and what he had evidently accomplished, he felt pretty damn small.

At the same time, however, he was actually beginning to feel taller than he ever had.

Before he could help himself, Ian leaned forward and tilted his head to rub his cheek against Grim’s warm one, a quiet hum coming from his throat that he usually never had to worry about suppressing.

How are you awake so early?

His other half usually only woke up after midnight and rarely ever bothered to come out. There was never much for it to play with, nor eat, so it tended to just sleep its days away.

He wanted to immediately apologize for doing something without permission, but when he felt one of Grim’s hands leave his back and lift all the way up to gently pat his head, his nerves slowly calmed down.

“You never mentioned that you had a shift, Ren,” Grim said, curiosity clear in his voice as he moved his hand down from Ian’s hair to trace along his cheek, then jaw.

Ian leaned back slightly, sensing what the man wished to do, and wasn’t surprised at all when Grim gladly grasped his chin, then stroked it thoughtfully with his thumb.

His animal immediately responded with another content rumble, seemingly making Grim quite pleased.

“Sounds like you’ve got a pussy hidden in there, babe.”

Ian felt his face warm but nodded.

“He never really interacts with anyone, and he’s usually asleep until late at night,” he said honestly, still surprised that it was awake already, not to mention actually interacting with Grim.

Grim seemed like he wanted to say more, but then glanced back toward the door and pursed his lips.

“I’ve got to go. Rinse off and get some rest. I’ll wake you up later for dinner.”

Ian quickly nodded again, then watched Grim walk away and around the corner.

It was the hardest thing he’d done all day.

Okay, shower.

His cat wasn’t the biggest fan of water and immediately voiced its displeasure in his head as he got the shower turned on. He wasn’t going to disregard Grim’s request, though.

If he wanted him to shower, he would.

If he wanted him to rest, he would.

He was also probably a decent bit sweaty from running earlier, too, and from stress… likely mostly from stress.

Ignoring his frustrated feline, he tugged off his shirt and folded it up to set aside, then removed his pants and did the same.

He was just reaching for the waistband of his boxers when he heard footsteps behind him and immediately tensed!

“Just me babe,” Grim said as he walked back over, clearly unbothered by his mostly-undressed state.

It was thankfully still pretty dark, even in the back of the locker room, so Ian managed to keep himself reasonably calm as Grim wrapped a large, super soft towel around his bare shoulders.

“Use this. I forgot I washed it earlier. It’s much better than the old ratty ones they offer here.”

Ian couldn’t manage to even swallow the saliva in his mouth, let alone respond with anything verbal. His mind just kept replaying the thought: Grim uses this towel.

“Christ, you really are my simp. Want me to wash you, too?” Grim teased as he pressed a firm finger to Ian’s chest and used it to nudge him backwards, while at the same time tugging the towel from around his shoulders so that it didn’t get wet.

The warm water now pattering against his hair snapped Ian out of his blushing daze right away and made him realize that he was making a fool of himself.

“I-I got it!” he stuttered as he quickly turned to grab the little bottle of body wash to his right… only for it to slip right out of his damp fingers and thump to the floor.

Both their gazes followed it, but while he saw Grim lift his eyes after a few moments, Ian couldn’t bring himself to do the same.

“Fucking cute,” Grim eventually muttered with a chuckle as he leaned forward and down, into part of the warm spray, and picked up the bottle.

Once he’d straightened back up, Ian finally managed to look at him, but his tongue was completely tied. He couldn’t even utter a thank you when Grim slid his fingers gently down his arm and into his hand, then settled the bottle against his palm.

He then leaned forward and slightly up.

“Don’t tell anyone that I bent over for you, babe. It’ll be our secret,” Grim whispered against his ear… before it wiggled the slightest bit, clearly taking the other man by surprise as he leaned back and tilted his head curious.

“Your ear…” Grim mumbled before reaching up and promptly grabbing it between two fingers.

Ian felt his cat respond by immediately wiggling his left ear again, making his mind whirl like a merry-go-round on acid!

He desperately wanted to explain that his cat was the one doing the ear-wiggling, because it was clearly interested in Grim for some reason, but words continued to fail him. Especially after he realized that Grim could clearly see in the dark much better than he previously thought he could!

Thankfully, he was finally given a break when Grim stepped back, allowing his fingers to fall away from his ear.

“Be a good boy and clean up, then bed,” Grim restated before finally walking back around the corner and out of sight.

Ian waited in the shower, the only sound the quiet pattering of water mixed with the panting of his breaths until…

The door to the locker room clicked shut, informing him that Grim had actually left this time.

Grabbing the shampoo and conditioner bottles with shaky hands, he slowly sank to the floor of the shower, with the body wash, too, and scrubbed himself to the bone, lost in a daze with a permanent blush on his face.

By the time he finally stepped out and turned off the water, he was absolutely exhausted .

He dried off about as quickly as a zombie that had overeaten, then tugged on a pair of clean shorts and fell over into the little nook bed.

He would have passed out right then and there if he hadn’t noticed something uncomfortable beneath him, making him have to lean up and tug it out from under the blanket.

A big plushie?

He squinted his eyes to get a better look, then raised an eyebrow before smiling.

“A possum, huh? You’re a cutie,” he told it as he snuggled the huge plush against his chest.

It was surprisingly soft.

“Hmm?”

He felt something firm rub against his nose as nuzzled into the stuffed animal, quickly realizing that it was a collar… though it seemed a tad big for the large plushie.

I wonder what your name is?

He was going to check, but before he could make himself move again his eyes decided to close, then refuse to open again.

Another minute later and he was drifting off, no longer willing to try and stay awake any longer.

He would just find out the stuffed animal’s name later.

Opossum Five

He hadn’t felt so relaxed in years . 

The bed was so  comfortable. 

The temperature in the room? Perfect. 

And the gentle feeling of someone running their fingers through his hair just light enough to be soothing, but not fully wake him? Bliss. 

Even his cat was content and began curling and uncurling the fingers of his left hand in the soft fur of the plush he was snuggling. The texture making his feline purr happily through his slightly-parted lips. 

“Sweet Ren…”

Ian purred louder as he nuzzled his face into the stuffed animal and curled up a bit more. He didn’t remember having a blanket over him, but he could feel its softness against his arms and legs. 

“Comfy, sweetheart?” Grim asked as his hand wandered downward along Ian’s cheek, then gently grasped the tip of his nose. 

“As much as I could watch you sleep all night, we have to go eat, babe.” 

Ian’s stomach growled loudly in response, making Grim chuckle quietly and squeeze the tip of his nose a little. 

“Let me take my gorgeous chain-wielder out to dinner, hmm?” 

Ian finally  blinked open his eyes slowly, then look up at Grim, who was evidently lying next to him, propping himself up on his elbow with a smirk that fit him far too well. 

At first, Ian froze, startled by the man’s proximity, but he quickly relaxed as Grim moved his hand from his nose to his cheek, then rubbed it gently with his thumb. 

“I was thinking, let’s go to a big Chinese buffet down the street? They have tons of good stuff and I can put it all in your mouth until you can’t handle anymore,” he goaded as he squeezed Ian’s cheek. 

Ian’s heart thumped hard in his chest, but he knew that Grim was just trying to provoke him into blushing. 

Pressing his nose into the stuffed possum he still held in his arms, he replied with a sleepy yet firm voice. 

“I’ll let you fill it with anything you’d like.” 

Grim’s smirk faltered slightly as his eyes widened the slightest fraction. 

“Oh?” he rasped as he leaned closer, moving his fingers along Ian’s jawline until he could grip his chin. 

“Anything?” Grim asked quietly as he leaned over him slightly, then nuzzled his nose partially against the stuffed animal and partially against Ian’s burning cheek. 

His stomach twisted with nervousness as a yawn forced him to open his mouth a little… only to feel something soft brush against a few of his upper teeth before quickly withdrawing! 

His mind short-circuited for a solid ten seconds before he clamped his jaw shut with a loud, startled squeak!

He sat up moment’s later, holding one hand over his mouth as the other held up part of his weight. 

Grim was nonchalantly grinning down at him, having gotten up while Ian was resetting his brain. It was still tweaking a bit, too, because Grim was now licking his own lower lip slowly. 

So hot…

“You did say anything . I just wanted a taste,” Grim said when Ian continued to silently stare up at him. 

  I… you… 

“Alright babe, time to go get dinner,” Grim said as he walked over to a small dresser and picked up something that had been folded on top of it, then returned and promptly tugged it over Ian’s head. 

“I washed your clothes since you slept for four hours,” Grim said as he helped him settle it on himself correctly, then tugged him up onto his feet. 

The guy then looked further down on him, drawing Ian’s attention downward until he noticed the shorts he’d borrowed from Grim. 

“O-oh,” he said as he quickly grabbed the waistband, but stopped right before he was going to yank them off. 

Slowly looking up, he met Grim’s entertained eyes and impish grin. He opened his mouth to ask him why he was staring, but then slowly closed it and averted his eyes. 

Does he actually want to look? He’d said that he wasn’t gay, but then he just put his tongue in my mouth and n— Grim turned around, giving him his back. 

Ian frowned and his brow furrowed, further confused. 

He didn’t comment on the man’s response, however, and instead just quickly changed into the pants Grim had tossed onto the bed beside him a moment ago. 

“O-okay,” he mumbled in a rather late response as he finished buttoning his pants, then smoothed his shirt down comfortably over them. 

Grim immediately turned around again once he was done, then gave him a quick appraising look before nodding… and reaching out toward the stuffed possum that Ian was somehow still holding. 

Oh yeah. 

Ian held it out to him, but retracted his hand a second before Grim could grab the plush. 

“Wasn’t he wearing a collar? I was going to check what you named him…” he asked as he looked through the thick fur around its neck that had clearly been displaced by something pressing against it for a long while. 

Grim was silent for a moment before stepping closer and gently taking the stuffed animal from him. 

“He doesn’t have a name. Don’t worry about him,” he said before setting the plush on the pillow on the bed, then turning to offer Ian a hand. 

“Let’s go eat, hmm?” 

Ian stared at the possum for a few more moments before taking Grim’s hand and allowing himself to be lead out of the room. 

The gym was quieter now, but there were still a good amount of people working out. The lights had dimmed in a few rooms, including the one Grim had been teaching in earlier, leaving the atmosphere more relaxed. 

He wasn’t normally someone who ever considered going to a gym since he was always working or on the game helping Grim, but he could definitely see himself going if Grim wanted to workout with him. 

I need to start looking for another job…

Grim started swinging their joined hands as they walked, distracting Ian enough to bring him out of his stressful thoughts rather quickly. 

“How long will it take you to get to your other job from here tomorrow?” Grim asked, making Ian chew on his lip for a moment as he considered where he was. 

To his surprise, it wouldn’t be too bad. 

Looking back at Grim, he gave a small smile and replied, “about the same amount of time from my apartment. An hour or so.” 

It would be an easier trip, too, though a tiny bit more expensive, since he would be riding the train instead of walking. 

“Cool, then you’ll stay at my place tonight,” Grim said nonchalantly, making Ian’s eyes go wide as he was silently tugged along down the sidewalk. 

I’m staying with Grim? 

His heart was in his throat the entire walk. Thankfully, it was pretty cool outside, but that didn’t stop him from sweating a little from nerves. 

Grim didn’t seem bothered by his silence, though, and happily walked him into a large buffet-style restaurant and got them a booth in the back. 

The place smelled amazing  and as they walked past the lines of food, Ian couldn’t help but stare… and nearly trip over his own feet. 

Grim was thankfully paying attention and gave his hand a firm squeeze, pulling his focus back to where they were walking with a gentle but admonishing look. 

Ian made sure not to get distracted again as they sat down on the same side of their booth, then gave their drink orders of two waters. Once the waitress left to fill them, they got up again and Ian obediently followed Grim over to the closest buffet line. 

It was honestly a little overwhelming since he’d never been to one, but after watching Grim for a moment, he figured that he could just get whatever he wanted. 

The sheer amount of food was a little intimidating, though, and since he wasn’t one to waste anything, he only filled his plate about halfway before returning to their table and scooting in so that Grim had plenty of space. 

Soon the other man returned, but with two  heaping plates of food!

Oh wow, that’s a lot. 

It all looked fantastic, though, and to his surprise, Grim began putting it away much faster than he ever thought possible! He was so entranced by the guy noshing away that he jumped slightly when he felt something soft, yet slightly firm, press against his lips. 

He didn’t hesitate for even a second and opened his mouth to accept the food. It was something he’d never tasted before, but as he slowly chewed, then swallowed, he wasn’t sure what to honestly think of it. 

The rice, he was familiar with, but it didn’t taste like normal white rice. There was also a lot of different flavors wrapped up inside it, making his mind whirl a little as it tried to place each one. 

“Never had sushi before, love?” Grim asked as he popped a small piece into his own mouth and happily chewed. 

Ian licked his lips and shook his head. 

“I’ve never had it before. It tasted interesting, but good,” he said as he looked at the different colored pieces on one of Grim’s two plates. 

Now he was curious, though he knew better than to ask for someone else’s food. He could just go get his own once he fini—another piece was pressed against his lips and he immediately opened his mouth to accept it. 

This one tasted completely different!

Spicy, but crunchy. 

“You look like you’re about to orgasm. It seems we have a winner,” Grim said with a big grin as he easily picked up another piece of the same type with his chopsticks and slid it between Ian’s waiting lips as soon as he swallowed the first one. 

So good!

Grim took another bite for himself afterward, from a different kind, and gave Ian his last crunchy one a few moments after that. 

“That’s barbeque eel with sweet sauce, avocado, cucumber, and cream cheese,” he said before picking up something else with his chopsticks. 

Ian was already eagerly waiting, leaning closer to Grim and the incoming food, not even realizing that he had settled one of his hands on the man’s left leg, his excitement distracting him. 

Grim clearly didn’t mind, however, because he was contently picking apart their three plates, looking for better and better things to feed Ian, instead of himself. 

He was honestly glad that the man didn’t give him everything outright, though, and was taking the time to eat what he wanted, too. 

“What about this? Don’t worry if you don’t like it. You can spit it out,” Grim said as he held up a piece of what appeared to be some sort of fried item covered in seasoning. 

Ian, once again, didn’t hesitate, but after a few moments of chewing his eyes began to squint and water and his lips pursed in distaste. 

He’d never spit out food is his entire life, but when Grim pressed a napkin to his lips and stroked his cheek, he relented and nudged the spicy food from his mouth with his tongue. 

“I wasn’t sure how well you’d handle heat, but I guess this is a bit much,” Grim noted as he folded up the little disposable napkin and set it aside, then quickly lifted his own glass of water to Ian’s lips, not even caring that he’d grabbed the wrong one. 

Ian drank a bit, but his eyes were still watering when Grim lowered the glass. Thankfully, he replaced the water with a spoonful of something sweet that quickly took the pain from the spices away. 

“Like that, babe? It’s rice congee, or porridge. They make it sweet here and with milk, so it should help the heat since the water didn’t,” Grim said as he took a spoonful for himself… using the same spoon he’d just fed him with. 

Wiggling a little on the inside from excitement, and his cat’s intrigue, Ian gladly accepted another spoonful of congee, then a bit of some sweet and savory pork. 

Grim ate a few shrimp as Ian slowly chewed, then lifted a tiny bowl of soup up to his lips for a sip. 

“Egg drop soup,” Grim supplied.

The man finished off the little bowl, then grinned down at their empty plates before smirking back at Ian. 

“Round two?” 

Ian blinked, then looked down at their empty plates, too, shocked that they’d eaten so much so quickly. By the time he looked back up Grim was already standing at the end of the booth and holding a hand out to him. 

Grinning so much his cheeks hurt, Ian gladly accepted the man’s proffered hand and followed him to the next buffet area. 

He filled his plate with teriyaki skewers, noodles, and a big pile of fruit, since it was always a treat for him due to its cost, while Grim stacked his third plate with crispy wantons, more sushi, and little egg tarts and tiny sugar donuts. 

The guy was clearly much more adventurous than him, but just like their first few plates, Grim quickly took over their meal and began feeding him from both. 

Ian realized as he began to get full, that the guy actually wasn’t taking much from his place, but was gladly giving him bites of everything from his own. 

Out of all the stuff they managed to go through, Ian had to agree that the congee, with its light, sweet flavor, and the egg custard pastries, were his favorite desserts, while he definitely fell in love with the savory teriyaki chicken and noodles as main course items. 

Leaning back in the booth, Ian pressed his hands against his overly-full belly, feeling, for the first time in months, absolutely stuffed. He closed his eyes for just a moment, only to have to slowly force them back open when he felt a warm hand press against his right cheek. 

“Time to go home, babe.” 

Huh…?

Groaning quietly, Ian leaned forward, rubbing at his eyes before hiding a yawn behind one hand. He’d already napped for quite a while, but that evidently had no affect on his new sleepiness gifted to him by his very full belly. 

“I already paid. Let’s get home and get you to bed,” Grim said as he gently guided Ian out of the booth, then took his hand again and led him out into the crisp evening air. 

That thankfully woke him up a bit, making the twenty minute walk home honestly rather nice. 

Grim pointed out a few things here and there that he liked about the part of town they were in along the way, but the majority of the walk was comfortably quiet. 

“Hey Ren?” Grim asked as they finally turned onto a little walkway leading up to a small, cozy home. 

They slowed to a stop at the front door, then turned to face each other. 

“What’s my babe’s real name?” Grim asked, surprising him a bit. 

My real name?

He’d honestly thought that he’d never want to know. It would break the fictional bubble currently wrapped around them. 

And yet, he found that he couldn’t, and wouldn’t, stop himself from answering. 

“My name is Ian. I-Ian Wielder.” 

Grim chuckled and shook his head, clearly getting the unintended joke about his last name being the same as part of his in-game job. 

“Ian, hmm? It fits you well,” Grim eventually said, his cheeks a faint pink from laughing. 

How cute…

“Mine is Chester Berringer,” Grim said, making Ian smile like an absolute goofball. 

I know his real name!

“I do prefer Grim, but you can call me whatever you want, as long as we’re not on the game,” he said, making Ian quickly nod. 

“Grim, then!” he said, having no problem with calling him the name he preferred. 

He was just overjoyed that he’d told him his real name! 

The guy seemed pleased with his response because he got a gentle head pat and a smile from Grim before he turned and opened the door, then stepped inside and held it for him. 

Ian gladly walked in, slipped off his shoes, then paused as he took in the little home. 

It was extremely  clean, with no extra anything sitting around to collect dust. The kitchen to his left was shrouded in darkness but seemed cute and comfortable. He wanted to turn the light on and look, but when Grim began walking past him and took his hand again, that thought slipped right out of his mind. 

They were soon standing in the little bathroom, the space barely big enough for the two of them. 

When he was handed a toothbrush with some toothpaste already on the end, Ian quickly realized what Grim wanted him to do and accepted it, then began brushing. 

As soon as he spit into the sink a minute later, he was handed a cup of water to rinse his mouth with, then a tiny plastic one half full of mouth wash. 

He used it right away, swishing it around in his mouth for about thirty seconds before spitting it out, too. 

Grim finished with his own routine a few moments later, then they took turns relieving themselves and washing their hands before he was lead into what appeared to be a very neat spare bedroom. 

A real bed…

His tired mind didn’t even register that he should get undressed first before having him climb right up into it with the biggest sleepy smile on his face. 

He turned around to face Grim just in time to receive another pat to his head. 

“Bed time for you, sweetheart. You need to leave around five-thirty for work, right?” Grim asked as he continued running his fingers through Ian’s hair, lulling him to sleep even as he tried to stay upright. 

“Mhm…” he mumbled in response, his eyes already closed as he leaned into Grim’s hand that had descended to settle against his left cheek. 

They stayed that way for some time before he felt Grim’s other hand gently press against his neck, making Ian instinctively tilt his head back for him. 

He wasn’t sure why he wanted to look at his neck, but he gladly allowed him access, since he seemed to want it. 

“You trust me too much, babe,” Grim said after a few silent moments as his thumb moved to the middle of his throat and rubbed gently. 

Ian swallowed in response, feeling the man’s thumb slowly rise and fall with the action. 

There was another stretch of silence before he felt a warm moisture brush against his throat, but before he could make his sleepy mind decipher what it was, the sensation vanished, along with both of Grim’s hands. 

“Good night, Ian.” 

By the time Ian returned his head to its normal position and forced his tired eyes open, Grim was gone and the door to the bedroom was mostly shut, leaving only a tiny bit of comforting light to slip in through the gap. 

Reaching up to rub lightly at his neck, Ian yawned quietly, then tugged off his shirt and set it aside before slipping beneath the blankets, too tired to bother with his pants. 

Once comfortable, he took the spare pillow and hugged it to his chest, then snuggled his nose into it as he whispered a barely-audible “…good night, Chester.”

Opossum Six

“Alright, who is it?” 

Grim snapped out of his thoughts as he forced himself to sit up in his computer chair. 

“Your mom,” Grim growled back as he tightened his grip on the little collar in his left hand. 

He had no doubt that his gamer friend, Ammo, rolled his eyes at his comment. 

“You couldn’t handle her. Now stop evading my questions. You’re so distracted you nearly died during our last match and we aren’t even streaming yet.” 

Grim scowled at the screen, then looked back at his partially open bedroom door. 

The hallway was dark, of course, and comfortably quiet… but not completely so. 

He could just-barely hear the softest remnants of a content, rumbling purr. 

It made his shift cower in his mind like the wimpy shit it was. 

“Are you even listening?” Ammo asked, making Grim huff out an annoyed breath and tap on the side of his headphones, muting himself as he stood up. 

A moment later he was walking back to Ian’s room… for the second time in the past three hours. 

He never went in, but he did nudge the door open a tiny bit in order to check on the sleeping man. 

Still curled up. 

He wanted to go in and press his hands against the man’s hips and legs until he extended them into a more logical sleeping position, but he knew better. 

Ian didn’t belong to him. 

“Dude, are you even there anymore? Our next match teleport timed out because you didn’t accept!” Ammo yelled into his headphones, making Grim sneer and quickly tug the door mostly closed again before returning to his room. 

Dropping back down into his chair, he grabbed his controller and accepted the second match request… that was about to time out again. 

The collar he still had in his left hand kept pressing against the controller as he had his character rampage across half the combat zone moments later, but he didn’t feel like putting it down yet. 

When the match ended early with a congratulatory chime, Grim leaned back in his chair and reached up to unmute his headset mic. 

“You gonna be my partner for the stream?” he asked, wanting to know if he was going to have to go with some random or not. 

“Sure, I have time,” Ammo replied, then added. “But seriously man, what’s going on? You’re never this quiet unless you have someone on your mind.” 

Pursing his lips, Grim leaned back further and held up the collar still in his hand so that he could examine it for the hundredth time. 

“…Ren is here.” 

Ammo was silent for a long  stretch of time. 

“Ren… as in Renegade?” he asked in a quiet, stunned voice nearly two full minutes later. 

Grim turned the collar as he held it slightly over his head, allowing him to see the name he’d had engraved on the little metal heart plate. 

When he didn’t respond, Ammo continued. 

“You don’t mean your simp from online, do you? Grim? Answer me, man. What the hell is going on?” 

Grim licked his lips as his eyes narrowed on the name Ren

  carved on the little metal heart. 

“I wanna tie him to the bed…” Grim finally mumbled, more to himself than to his friend. 

His friend didn’t seem as interested in his delusions. 

“Dude, that situation is dangerous! Why did you let someone who is obsessed with you into your house?!” 

Unbothered, Grim reached forward and turned on his streaming camera but didn’t join the game chat yet, then ran his fingers through his damp hair, freshly-washed hair. 

“He’s no threat. The guy’s more submissive than that skank who was after you recently,” he said honestly, making a face at the memory of the desperate shit that had tried to weasel her way into his friend’s bed. 

Thankfully, his friend figured out that she was planning on forcing him to have kids, and also had several STI’s she didn’t want to disclose, even though she wanted to bareback with him. 

“Tch, she just pretended to be. Bitch nearly got me,” Ammo grumbled as he turned his own camera on, showing a handsome face with brownish-red hair and caramel eyes. 

He was a looker, and a pretty nice dom, but tended to draw the bad lot in most of his relationships. 

“Well, Ren is different. Some dude was harassing him at work and shit got tense so I told him to come to me,” Grim said, understanding that his words sounded a bit crazy, but he wasn’t interested in lying. 

He already had when he’d told Ren that his stuffed opossum didn’t have a name… or a collar. 

“And?” Ammo asked as they both got teleported to their official match together. 

“And he came to me at the gym… then I got him to calm down and rest before I took him out for some food. He’s way too thin, so the least I could do was feed him. I could have sent him home afterward, but it was going to be at least an hour of travel and he was already starting to fall asleep again at the restaurant.” 

He knew that he sounded pathetic. 

He’d told people in much worse condition to fuck off many  times before after just meeting. The only difference between them and Ren was that Ren hadn’t tried to suck up to him. He hadn’t tried to offer anything, nor did he try to take charge of anything . 

“I can mold him into whatever I want,” he said, voicing his thought out loud. 

 “Dude, you sound psychotic,” Ammo scolded, though his words didn’t hold much real force. 

Grim rolled his eyes. 

“You know that I would never force anything on anyone. I want my subs to want  it, not to fear it,” he said as he finally joined the voice chat for their streaming match. 

He ignored the MC as he got things started, deciding instead to continue his conversation with Ammo, even though everyone now watching their stream could hear every word. 

“It’s too bad I’m not very interested in ass.” 

He would just need to let Ren go come morning. The guy might tick a lot of his boxes when it came to what he wanted in a submissive partner, but the biggest issue was what was between his legs, unfortunately. 

Now that he thought about it, though, the guy did  have a nice ass. He needed some more meat on him, but it did look pretty good. 

“Do you have a picture of him?” Ammo asked as they were teleported to the battlefield and began buffing up their characters with spells. 

Grim tugged out his phone and sent the guy the only picture he’d taken of Ren… while he’d been sleeping, cuddled up with his possum plush. He only ever shared stuff with him, and they knew that what the other sent them wasn’t something to spread around.

Ammo replied a few moments later as their characters began running through the forest towards their enemies pillar. 

“Fuck dude, I think I just became bi.” 

 “Shut up,” Grim said as he nonchalantly dodged a sudden magical attack from his left, then parried a too-large weapon to send its wielder stumbling forward from the sudden redirection of its weight. 

Ammo stepped in with his tiny dwarf character and swiftly ended that opponent before they could recover. 

“No seriously, if you really aren’t interested can I send him a private message?” Ammo asked, making Grim’s eyebrow twitch in annoyance. 

“What are these two talking about?” the MC asked their audience, since neither of them seemed to be paying him any mind at all. 

Grim could hear the chat blowing up as they continued to stomp their opponents, but as Ammo nudged him again and again about Ren, he decided to turn the tables and ended up getting the other man killed on their second pillar attempt. 

“Dammit Grim, I’m being serious,” Ammo grumbled as he waited on his respawn timer. 

He was long-since used to Grim’s antics of getting his own teammates killed, so he didn’t take it to heart, but he was  clearly getting annoyed with his lack of response concerning Ren. 

Grim was about to tell him to fuck off for the fourth time when he heard something that had his inner animal screaming in terror. 

Purring? 

It was growing in volume rather quickly, drawing his attention over his shoulder and to his bedroom door just in time to see a medium-sized cat walk into view. 

A bobcat? 

They stared at each other for several moments as the cat’s ears and tail flicked here and there. 

“Go back to bed,” he eventually told it, not needing a distraction right now. 

His inner animal was already making him fidgety with the cat there, he didn’t need to have a full-blown panic attack because of the worthless shit’s overreaction. 

Unfortunately, the cat listened about as well as, well, a cat. Soon it was stalking towards his chair, purring louder and louder as it approached. 

Grim’s hands began to shake as they tightened their grip on his controller and he returned his attention to the game, trying to distract his other half. 

Hell, it was more his one-eighth at this point. He hadn’t let it out in months, but for good reason. No matter what he did or how quiet it was, the stupid thing would just freak out and play dead for hours  until he finally managed to wrest control back from it. 

It was even terrified of everything when still safely inside his human body!

He snapped out of his stressful thoughts as he felt the cat rub the side of its face against his left knee, purring even louder  than it had been. 

“Did you get a cat?” Ammo asked at the same time the MC questioned the same thing, clearly hearing it through his mic. 

Everyone knew that he hated animals… mainly because his inner one was an absolute pussy. 

“Shut up,” he growled again as they started attacking the enemy’s pillar. 

He was doing his best to ignore the attentive feline, but nearly dropped his controller when the thing leaped right up onto his fucking lap seconds later!

Ammo had to quickly change tactics to guard him in response, sending bursts of strong magic at their approaching enemies as Grim froze, his eyes narrowing into slits and his jaw clenching from the cat’s sudden proximity. 

It even went as far as to settle against his chest, a paw on either shoulder, as it rubbed the left side of its face against his left cheek, purring and flicking its ears and whiskers. 

“That’s so adorable…” the MC cooed, completely forgetting to do his job as he simply watched the big cat nearly give Grim a heart attack!

Grim, on the other hand, was wrestling with his inner worthless shit, trying to keep it from shifting and playing dead to save  them from the evil cat.

He managed to regain enough control to mash a bunch of buttons on his controller a few moments later, sending a wall of magic over Ammo’s shoulder at their opponents, obliterating their healer and sending their damage dealer running for the hills, his armor on fire!

“Fucking hell!” Grim snarled as he threw set his character to automatically attack the pillar, then muted his microphone and threw his controller on his desk, then turned his head to glare daggers at the cat still vying for his attention. 

It seemed to notice that it finally had it now, too, because it leaned back a little so that their eyes could meet. It’s big paws also began to knead the fabric of his shirt into little wrinkles.   

“Ian, get down, now!” he hissed, literally five seconds away from grabbing the vibrating sack of fur and throwing it off himself. 

The cat seemed to understand that it had made him upset and slowly leaned back a bit more in order to sit comfortably on his lap, but it didn’t show any actual indication that Ian was the one in control… or it would have listened right away. 

He was honestly about to just shove the damn thing down when he realized something and glanced at his screen. 

Their opponents were still busy, with one respawning and the other being chased down by Ammo, but that wasn’t what stole his attention. 

Reaching forward slightly, he grabbed his mouse and clicked onto his profile screen, then furrowed his brow. 

I don’t normally make that much money unless it’s my match day…

Scrolling down, he read through one comment, then another, then another… 

T he fuck  is going on? 

QuintessentialApplesauce: 20$ for the kitty giving Grim a hard time! 

HornyMommy: Who is the cat?! You guys know Grim isn’t keeping a cat of all things!!! 10$ for an answer, Grimmy! 50$ if you say it’s your Renegade baby!

HonkHonk: Donated 10$ to Grim’s pussy. 

Reaching up, he tapped his mic back on, since it had to be on for the majority of a match in order for him to get his streaming credit. 

“Let’s just finish this shit,” he told Ammo as he leaned forward alittle more and grabbed his controller, flinching slightly when the cat resettled its paws, and claws, against his left shoulder in order to hold on and not fall backwards. 

It took all of his focus and effort not to try and push the cat away as he settled back in his chair, but he managed, and  allowed it to curl up a little against his chest as he reclined and began honestly wailing away at their enemy’s pillar. 

It was already at half health, but Ammo wasn’t with him, making the task far more tedious. Not to mention that he’d just been auto attacking instead of using any of his good spells or abilities on it. 

“You guys know that I hate cats, but I’ll let this little shit hang out if you make it worth my while,” he goaded, not bothered in the least that he was using Ian to make more money. 

If his cat wanted to force its way into his space during a match, then so be it. 

He heard his donation chime constantly ring after he finished speaking, making him smirk and lift his left hand to pat the cat between its twitching ears. 

At least he’s soft. 

There was also a ton  of fur, so he could barely feel the cats actual head beneath his fingers. 

He didn’t like petting bones, whether it was on a person or an animal, though he much preferred petting people over any kind of other living thing… thanks to his shift. 

It was still running around screaming about the feline now holding them down, just waiting  to bite their throat and suffocate them in blood, but thankfully it had retreated a good ways into his mind, allowing him to at least not pass out from stress. 

Ammo rejoined him a minute later and, while keeping their enemies at bay, they managed to topple their pillar with plenty of time to spare. 

When all was said and done, he’d made nearly twice the amount of money his normal late night stream did, earning Ian’s cat another pat on the head. 

Huh?

Glancing in his game screen as it went black for a moment after they were teleported out of the arena, Grim realized something that finally  had his inner animal calming down slightly as he saw his and Ian’s image reflected at him. 

It fell asleep?

Ian’s cat was contently settled against him, purring with its head resting against his left shoulder. 

His donation chime continued to go off. 

“So then, Grim and Ammo!” the MC began, making Grim want to mute him.

Too bad he had to do an after-match interview. At least this one wasn’t going to be one on one. 

Thankfully, his headphones didn’t allow much sound to escape,  so Ian’s cat remained fast asleep, even with the MC’s loud enthusiasm blowing up his ears. 

“I think we all know what my first question is going to be,” the man said, making Grim roll his eyes. 

“I’m not telling you guys who it is. They are a guest who’s shift evidently woke up and walked into my room. They don’t seem to respond to me so it’s probably just their cat wanting attention while the human part is still asleep,” he answered truthfully. 

Thankfully, Ammo understood that he wanted to be discreet and played along perfectly. 

“Just a friend staying with him for the evening,” he confirmed, taking over the conversation no matter how many times the MC tried to bring it back to the bobcat fast asleep against Grim’s chest. 

By the time they finished it was close to two in the morning. That didn’t stop Ammo from rejoining their private chat and immediately questioning him, though. 

“How can you not fall in love with someone who likes you so much that even their cat  subconsciously goes to you?” he chastised, now singing a very different tune from his original cautious warning earlier. 

“Let me know what you plan to do, okay? I really am serious. I’ll totally talk to him about a possible relationship if you aren’t interested. He’s cute as heck and is an amazing Infinity player, too.”

Grim bit back a scowl and silently sighed. 

“I’m gonna send him home tomorrow… do what you want after that.” 

Grim left the chat, not waiting for his friend to respond again.

He was annoyed, but there wasn’t anything he intended to do about it. Ian was a guy, and  a cat. It wasn’t going to work. 

With a bit of effort, he hefted the big cat up, along with himself, and got the lights turn out. Then set the sleepy thing down on the floor so that he could go to the bathroom. 

When he finished relieving himself, he realized that there were eyes on him and glared toward the cat now sitting in the bathroom doorway. 

“Like the view, ya furry pervert?” he asked it as he tucked himself back into the shorts he’d changed into earlier, then went to wash his hands. 

He heard the sleepy little beast purr in response, making him roll his eyes even as a smile snuck onto his lips. 

“Well too bad,” he said as he dried his hands on a towel, then turned off the light and walked back into his room. 

Soon he was situated in bed, stretching out comfortably beneath his thin blanket. To his surprise, Ian’s cat hadn’t joined him. Instead, it had stopped near his computer chair, seemingly watching him in the darkness but unwilling to move closer. 

It ended up slowly circling his gaming chair then, to his surprise, hopping up into it and curling up.

His shift immediately gave a dramatic sigh of relief as it settled down for bed, but for some reason, as Grim began drifting off to sleep, he found that he wasn’t nearly as happy about their sleeping arrangements as his other half was.

Opossum Seven

Someone was gently brushing their fingers over his hair. 

It took him a few moments to remember where he was, then a couple more for his heart to begin thumping harder in his chest. 

Grim…

He really was in Grim’s house. 

I really did meet him yesterday. 

Everything quickly came back to him as his eyelids slowly lifted to reveal a blurry face looking down at him. 

“Grim?” he whispered as he slowly stretched his body out beneath the comfortable blankets. He hadn’t slept so well in months . 

“Feel good, babe?” Grim asked as Ian blinked a few times to clear his vision. 

So handsome. 

The man had clearly already freshened up and gotten dressed, but the thin tank top he’d chosen to wear right then was a tiny bit distracting. 

In fact, he was so distracted that he’d evidently not heard something Grim had said, because after a few moments, the man reached down and, after grabbing the hem of his tank top, tugged it right up and over his head!

“If you like what you see that much, you can just ask me to take my shirt off,” Grim teased, his words finally echoing into Ian’s ears as a tiny line of drool slipped from the corner of his lips. 

Forcing his eyes to look away, Ian quickly reprogrammed his scattered brain cells, then sheepishly sneaked a peak at Grim’s face as he sat up. 

He looked away almost immediately, then peaked again, but right as he was about to avert his gaze a second time, and  apologize for being a pervert, his chin was grabbed by firm, warm fingers and forcefully turned back to face the man standing in front of him. 

“Cute little fuck,” Grim said, a chuckle to his words as he forced their eyes to lock for a few moments before releasing him, then tapping beneath his chin lightly. 

“Breakfast is on the table.” 

With that statement, he was gone, leaving Ian blinking after him for a few moments before he quickly snapped himself out of his daze and jumped out of bed! 

He was ready in moments and was dressed with his mouth and face scrubbed, and honestly, he felt pretty darn good for once. 

When he walked into the living room, his eyes immediately found Grim standing in the kitchen, but unfortunately, he had put his shirt back on, and while he wanted to drink him in either way, his nose diverted his gaze toward the dinner table… and made his stomach grumble right away. 

“Sit, babe.”

Ian walked over and sat.

Grim walked over a few seconds later, twisting the cap off of a protein shake as he moved. The drink was then placed in front of him, then Grim went back and opened several containers. After taking out this and that, he returned to set them down beside the empty plate in front of Ian. 

Vitamins? 

Grim didn’t explain what they were as he returned to the kitchen for two glasses of water and his own protein shake then, finally, sat down beside him… instead of across from him. 

The man had brought his own stack of supplements and vitamins, and as soon as he downed them all in one go, Ian began taking his, one at a time, using the protein drink that he’d been given. 

He had no idea what they were for, or what they were made out of, but he didn’t care. Grim gave them to him, so he would take them. 

“Eat whatever you’d like,” the man said as he calmly began stacking his own plate with a pancake, a huge stack of eggs, and six pieces of what looked to be turkey bacon. 

Ian glanced over the massive amount of steaming food and felt a bit overwhelmed. Grim could not only cook, but he had cooked for him . 

Feeling his face warm, he gave a little nod and carefully reached forward to grab the tongs sitting on the pancake plate. 

He added two to his own plate, then got a small scoop of eggs and some fruit that had been cut up into bite-sized pieces. 

“Thank you for the meal,” he told Grim with a smile before earning a gentle pat to his head in response, because the man’s mouth was clearly full. 

He tried the pancakes first, because they were honestly one of his favorite foods. 

Blueberries! 

The moment he felt warm berry juice on his tongue he nearly died from happiness. As it were, he hummed in appreciation and happily ate the entire first pancake before even realizing that there was a little container of syrup for them in front of him. 

“Like them, hmm?” Grim asked as he watched him happily chew away at his mouthful of pancake. 

Ian made an immediate affirmative sound as he nodded repeatedly, overjoyed with his rare morning meal. It definitely beat his regular two pieces of white bread he normally ate in the morning. 

Grim cut a big piece from his stack a few moments later, then stuck them with his fork and lightly dipped them in the little bit of syrup he’d put on the side of his plate, before offering them to him. 

Ian quickly swallowed his remaining bite of egg and accepted the proffered one. 

Woah wait…

He’d never tasted such delicious syrup!

He had honestly never been a fan of the syrup his parents had bought when he was a kid so he never bought any for himself… even on the rare occasion that he managed to make a pathetic pancake here and there. 

“It’s fresh syrup from a farm just out of town. They sell it at the farmer’s market every Saturday,” Grim told him. 

Ian lifted up the little bottle and looked it over curiously, but his eyes widened when he saw the price tag on the back!

Twenty dollars?! 

“Don’t you even think about feeling bad for eating something I’m offering you, alright?” Grim said in a tone that brooked no argument. Not that he would have ever even considered it. 

Ian hurried to reply with a stuttered “y-yes sir,” before accepting a grape that Grim had grabbed from his plate and held up to his lips. 

Since that seemed to be the end of that conversation, they returned to eating, with Grim managing to polish off four pancakes, five eggs, two more pieces of bacon, and a handful of fruit, while Ian, shockingly, ate three pancakes, the remainder of the fruit, his little scoop of eggs, and the last three pieces of turkey bacon. 

Once he was finally done he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes on a long, content sigh. There was then a damp cloth pressing against his mouth, then chin, gently but firmly wiping away any mess he’d managed to cause while stuffing his face. 

He was a little surprised at having his mouth cleaned, but he didn’t hesitate to straighten back up and thank Grim as the man walked back to the kitchen carrying some empty plates. 

Putting two and two together, Ian quickly hopped up and grabbed the remaining dishes and glasses, then followed after him. To his surprise, Grim ignored the beautiful new-looking dishwasher he had and began scrubbing the dishes by hand. 

Granted, he didn’t even have  a dishwasher at his apartment, as it had broken right after he’d moved in, and he’d reported it, but his place had never bothered to fix it. 

It was for the best either way, though, because it was cheaper and faster to just do it by hand. 

Grabbing a clean dish cloth, he settled himself beside Grim near the sink and quickly wiped dry each dish that he finished washing before putting them away in their designated areas. 

Once they were done Grim walked around him and opened the fridge, then took something out and handed it to him. 

“Your lunch for work,” he said simply as Ian took the fabric lunchbox in his arms while Grim grabbed a second one for himself. 

It’s heavy…

He wanted to look inside, but Grim was already walking over to the door and getting his shoes on. That made Ian pause for a moment, then glance at his watch. 

Oh man! I ’m going to be late if I don’t leave soon! 

Ian quickly got his own shoes on, then checked to make sure that he had his phone and wallet before following Grim out the… garage door? 

  Holy…

He nearly dropped his nice lunchbox as he stepped down into the garage and the light came on as the large garage door opened. Now, he wasn’t really a car guy, mainly because he could never hope to afford one, but he’d seen such a car around quite a lot and couldn’t help admiring its looks. 

Before him was a gorgeous dark red Dodge Charger that looked absolutely pristine! 

Honestly, the entire garage was extremely clean, with only a few things inside it and nothing out of place. 

“You a car guy?” Grim asked as he walked over to the passenger side door and held it open for him. 

Ian blushed and shook his head as he followed him over, then carefully slid into the spotless car. 

It even smells new. 

“I don’t know much about cars,” he said honestly, though he was embarrassed about that fact. 

Grim leaned in with one hand on the top of the car and the other on the door. 

“Good, because I don’t give a shit about cars. I just wanted it because it looked nice.” 

Grim shut the door before he could comment, then walked around and dropped down into the driver’s seat with a grin. 

“I’ll drop you off at the station, babe.” 

Hugging his lunchbox to his chest after fastening his seatbelt, Ian nodded. 

“Thank you so much,” he said as Grim got the car started and began backing it out onto the street. 

“For everything, really. You’re awesome.” 

He meant it, wholeheartedly. 

Grim smirked but kept his eyes on the road, allowing Ian to relax into his seat and take in their surroundings. 

He lives in a really cute neighborhood. 

The houses were small, but everything was kept up well. There were also a lot of yards with natural wildflowers and fruit trees. 

“So, how old is my husband?” Grim asked nonchalantly, nearly giving Ian a heart-attack! 

Clearing his throat after a startled cough, Ian pursed his lips, then hunched his shoulders and felt his stomach twist. 

“I-I’m twenty-four.” 

Grim hummed in consideration, though he didn’t seem to be upset. Ian knew that he was nineteen, but he didn’t put his age on his own profile because he’d never felt a need to. 

“When’s your birthday?” the guy asked suddenly, surprising him. 

You’re not worried that I’m older than you? 

Most guys didn’t like it when girls were older than them. Well, at least most guys that he’d known, and the few gay ones he’d dated when younger only wanted to go out with him because he was older than them… and wanted him to top. 

Wait, when is my birthday again? 

He thought for a few moments, then frowned as he realized something. 

“Um… I guess I’m twenty-five now. It was last Thursday.” 

Grim tapped the brakes a little harder than necessary as they stopped at a red light, then glared over at him, making Ian fidget and fight himself to keep from looking away from the other man. 

“You mean the Thursday I dragged your ass through that hellhole dungeon and got you killed four times?” he asked, his frustration just-barely audible in his tone of voice. 

Licking his lips, Ian nodded. 

“I really enjoy playing with you so I—” he let his words trail off into silence when he realized that Grim wasn’t interested in his explanation. 

Thankfully, they arrived at the train station a few moments later, before Grim got out, however, he turned to look at him with a serious expression on his handsome face. 

“I’m not mad at you, alright?” 

Ian quickly nodded. 

“Okay.” 

They remained staring at each other for a short while longer before Grim gave a quiet sigh and got out of the car. Ian was about to get out, too, when he realized what Grim was doing and stayed put until the man had opened his door for him. 

When he leaned in instead of stepping back, however, Ian frowned, confused. 

“This is your late birthday present,” Grim said quietly as he leaned in closer, sealing Ian’s parting lips before he could question what he was planning to do. 

The kiss only lasted three seconds, but Ian would be daydreaming about it all day. 

Even after he was ushered onto the train and had to watch Grim’s form disappear into the distance, and while he was stacking boxes and running errands at work. 

The only time his mind gently nudged the daydream aside was when he was  finally  able to sit down and eat an extremely late lunch towards the end of his shift and opened his gifted lunchbox. 

I…

He was crying. 

Well, not just  crying. He was barely holding himself back from bawling like a freaking baby. 

The lunchbox Grim gave him not only had a huge turkey, lettuce, tomato, and cheese wrap settled inside it, but also a turkey bacon, chicken breast, salad wrap, and even a third one that looked to be just an insane amount of fresh veggies all snugly wrapped together. 

The man had made him three  huge wraps and  put all of the dressings and sauces in little stackable containers on the side so that he choose which he preferred to use with which meal. 

He would have been absolutely honored to call Grim his husband for real…

Tugging out the veggie one, because he was honestly craving the crunch, he unwrapped the cling wrap, then chose the ranch dipping sauce. His first bite was everything he’d hoped for, and more. 

Oh man, I never thought vegetables could taste so good. 

Grim had seasoned everything with a light mixture of Mediterranean spices and just a tiny bit of yogurt. 

He’d never had anything that tasted similar, but before he knew it, the wrap was gone, and he’d only used half of the sauce he’d picked!

To his surprise, it also filled him up pretty well. 

Since he’d eaten lunch so late, he decided to dawdle a bit until it was time to clock out, which left him exploring the remaining pockets of the lunchbox. 

Hmm? 

 He pulled out three medium sized bottles, reading over their labels as he did so. 

A bottle of supplements, vitamins, and an immune-boosting gummy. 

They were what Grim had given him earlier that morning. 

Unable to help himself, he tugged out his phone and sent Grim a quick Discord message, though he figured that the man would be busy and not likely reply right away. 

Renegade: Thank you so much for the wraps and supplements, love! The veggie one was fantastic and I’ll save the others for dinner and breakfast :D

Clicking off his phone screen when he didn’t see the man replying right away, he got his new stuff packed up with a big smile on his face, then headed over to the time clock. Right as he lifted his badge up and heard the little chime  telling him that it had accepted it, his phone vibrated and made an incoming message  sound. 

He waited until he was out on the sidewalk and away from the majority of pedestrians milling about before turning his screen on to read the message. 

It had been a good plan, because he nearly gave out a very unmanly squeal of delight when he read what was written. 

Grim: Eat the rest for dinner and drink at least twenty more ounces of water. I’ll be in your part of town tomorrow morning and I’ll make you more food if you dream about me ;)

Opossum Eight

(I swear the opossum will appear soonish XD Just gotta get to the right spot in the story. 4080 words) 

“Not interested? Just gonna let him go and I can do what I want?” Ammo said for the hundredth time… even after Grim had gotten him killed five times already on their current farm run. 

He was past the point of irritation. 

“Listen you fuck face, I—” Ammo cut him off with a chuckle that quickly elevated itself into a full-blown laugh “I bet you’d love for him to fuck your face!” 

Grim was seeing red!

“Aren’t you going to be late for your date?” Ammo added before Grim could manage to unclench his jaw enough to verbally berate the man to his death. 

Looking at the clock on his computer screen, Grim paled. 

Ammo now completely forgotten, he jumped up and grabbed his phone, slid his tennis shoes on, then ran out the door! By the time he was down the street, zooming towards the other side of town, he realized that he hadn’t even logged his character out, let alone his discord voice chat. 

It didn’t matter. If his character died, then he’d die, and Ammo could just talk to himself. And fuck himself. And leave his… 

Slowing to a stop at a red light, Grim ran a hand over his face and groaned. 

“Hey there sexy!” 

Grim felt his eyebrow twitch as he lowered his hand and looked out his open window at the gorgeous women staring back at him from the car to his left. 

Normally he’d at least give them a smile, but he was already glaring at them from behind his sunglasses and didn’t feel like playing nice. As soon as he looked back at the light it turned green, allowing him to floor his car and leave them in his fucking dust. 

He pulled up to Ian’s apartment building with five minutes to spare, and thankfully, he’d managed to cool off a bit on the drive over. 

The buildings themselves looked surprisingly well kept. Considering how limited Ian seemed to be on money, he’d expected something a lot more rundown. 

Following the directions he’d been given, he easily found Ian’s specific apartment on the second floor and knocked firmly on the door. 

It opened not two seconds later. 

He was waiting for me…

The look on Ian’s face when he saw that he’d actually come to him was priceless, too. 

Grim was in the process of smirking and was about to open his mouth to tease his babe when he realized that Ian’s face was turning more and more red, and he was having trouble even looking at him. 

Furrowing his brow, Grim thought for a moment, then looked down. 

Oh.

Yeah, that would definitely tongue-tie his simp. 

I forgot to put a shirt on. 

“This is your other late birthday present, my little pervert,” Grim said, running with his mistake like he’d totally meant to leave his shirt at home. 

No wonder those girls were catcalling me.

Ian slowly backed up and to the side, allowing him into his little home. 

Little might have been an understatement…  

It didn’t take him long to take in the entirety of the room. There was a tiny nightstand that was likely acting as a dresser, A little desk that was being propped up on one side with a stack of old newspapers, and a computer chair that had clearly been salvaged from a thrift store… with a broken lift lever. 

After a cursory glance around, he returned his attention to Ian. The man looked extremely nervous now, no doubt embarrassed by his tiny home compared to his house. 

Reaching up, he began patting Ian’s head, his fingers happily sifting through his soft hair like he was petting the sweetest dog. He continued giving him attention until he began to hear a quiet little purr start up. 

There’s my kitten. 

His other half wasn’t nearly as excited to hear the beast within Ian, but he didn’t give a shit what it thought as it began to scream in the depths of his mind. 

“I’m proud of you for having your own home and taking care of yourself,” he said honestly. 

Ian looked up a little to meet his eyes, his gaze sheepish and still a tiny bit nervous. 

“Why are you living in this kind of apartment though, love?” he asked once he slid his hand down to press against Ian’s left cheek. The other man quickly leaned into it. 

“When I left home I looked everywhere for a place, but everything was full with a long waiting list. After sleeping on the streets for a few nights, I found this place. It was much higher than what I could reasonably afford, but I really wanted to sleep inside…” Ian replied in a voice that was close to a whisper. 

Grim reached around the man’s waist with his other hand and pressed him closer. Ian immediately sank into him, easily managing their slight height difference. 

“When is your lease up?” Grim asked after a few moments of content silence. 

Ian lifted his head as his hands moved a tiny bit against Grim’s bare chest, but didn’t try to grope it at all. 

I literally press you against my bare ass chest and you won’t even cop a feel. 

“I-I was going to sign again for another year next week…” 

Grim felt his eyebrow twitch.

“I called the other places but they said I still had a long wait,” Ian added, reading the annoyance that Grim was clearly showing on his face. 

Of course you’re still going to be waiting. You don’t have a cosigner and you’re now down to one job, and likely only have minimal credit, if any. 

“I just need to go find another job. I applied to several after work yesterday, so it’s only a matter of time,” Ian said, a smile on his lips that Grim wasn’t happy with. 

“You quit the other one?” he asked, needing that information confirmed first. 

Ian’s eyes lit up a little at that question. 

“Yes! They even gave me a severance package for the hassle the owner’s son put me through. I’ll be able to afford the raised rate for the new lease next month already!” 

He was clearly looking forward to not have to worry about the money for once, and Grim couldn’t blame him. 

“I’m going to start working towards my GED, too, so I can start applying for better jobs. I already sent in a request to the local library to reserve the books I’ll need,” he added, excited about the new possibilities his hard work was going to provide him. 

Grim gave him another gentle head pat for his efforts. 

“I’m proud of my adorable husband.”

Ian returned his words with a nuzzle of his cheek against his shoulder and a happy purr and ear wiggle from his inner cat. 

“Did you get to work alright from my house yesterday?” Grim asked after a few more moments. He might have been getting a little addicted to hearing Ian purr for him. It was becoming a tad distracting. 

He’d honestly had several subs try to get his attention by acting like cute kittens, but it always seemed disturbingly fake. 

This pussy though…

“It was actually faster than I thought it would be,” Ian replied.

Leaning back a little, Grim reached over and grabbed Ian’s jaw gently but firmly, then made his eyes meet his. 

His man’s purring only grew louder with the comfortable attention. 

Fuck, I can feel it vibrating through my fingers. 

He silently wondered if he’d be able to feel it in other places, too. 

“What will your rent be raised to for the new lease?” he asked… instead of what he’d wanted  to ask. 

Ian blinked. 

“U-um, it’s going to be sixteen-hundred.” 

Sixteen-hundred my ass!

“Do you smoke?” Grim asked abruptly as he released Ian’s jaw. 

The man quickly shook his head as he replied with an immediate “no.” 

“Drink a lot?” 

“Never.” 

“Drugs?” 

“No sir.” 

“I’m going to say something, but before I do, I want you to understand that this offer will have absolutely nothing to do with anything  else we do together, okay?”

Ian furrowed his brow and frowned, clearly a little confused. 

“What I’m trying to say, is that what I’m going to offer you right now will not be taken away even if you do something I don’t like, alright? It will be a month to month situation.” 

He could see the realization dawning on his love’s face. 

“Look at you getting all excited before I even say it,” Grim teased, though nothing could possibly hamper Ian’s enthusiasm now that he realized what was about to happen! 

Another pat to his head only seemed to make him more excited. 

Those little wiggly ears. 

Reaching down, Grim tugged on one of those ears, making Ian’s purr rise in volume as the guy’s eyes squinted mostly shut in pure bliss. 

He wanted to see what kind of face he’d make if he bit it…

“Right, I’ll draw up a contract that will be month to month. Four-hundred dollars will include everything,” he said, forcing his mind out of the gutter. 

Ian was now hopping on his heels, his hands clasped together against his chest and the biggest dorky smile on his face. 

“Since your renewal would be next week, let’s plan for me to come by and pick you and your stuff up Saturday?” Grim offered, already feeling a little nervous about his decision. 

He wasn’t a people person, which was abundantly clear from his streams and personality in general, but he just couldn’t leave his gaming partner to suffer from such bullshit. He could handle another person in his space for at least long enough for them to save up some money to get themselves into a better situation. 

I’m gonna have to lock that closet in the spare room… or move my stuff. 

He doubted Ian would be happy opening it to find a bunch of different ropes and what not. 

“Ah right, did you eat everything I gave you last night?” he asked, changing the topic before he imagined tying the man down to his bed, again. 

“Yes! It was all fantastic,” Ian said cheerfully. 

Grim grinned. 

“Good, now let’s go get some food to make for dinner,” he said, then turned towards the door… only to have his hand gently grabbed, drawing his attention back over his shoulder. 

“U-u-um,” Ian stuttered, clearly struggling to speak as he looked down slightly, drawing Grim’s attention downward, too.  

  Oh, right.

He’d forgotten to put on a shirt, again. 

“Lend me a shirt?” he asked as he looked up nonchalantly. 

Ian, face redder than a tomato, hurried toward his tiny dresser and quickly sifted through his items before tugging out a perfectly folded shirt. 

He presented it to him with shaking hands. 

“I-I just washed it.”

Grim was a bit surprised by his reaction to the shirt request, but then he remembered something and bit back a chuckle. 

Right, my simp is probably in heaven with me wanting to wear one of his shirts. 

Deciding not to tease him more, Grim simply said “thank you” and tugged the black and gray shirt on. It was soft from being worn and washed so many times, but it was comfortable and fit like he preferred. A little bit long. 

“Alright, let’s head out,” he said as he took Ian’s wrist and tugged him out the door. 

Ian locked it with a shaky hand, then after failing to slip his keys into his pocket for the third time, Grim gently took them from him and slid them into his own pocket. 

“Come on, babe,” he said to try and calm him down a bit, realizing that he might have messed with him a tad too much already. 

Sliding his hand down to slip into Ian’s, he lead him to his car and buckled him in once he sat down.  

They were soon on their way, but Ian’s phone rang as they pulled into the parking lot, so Grim just put the car in park and waiting patiently. 

It seemed like he was talking to a police officer about something that had happened, but for some reason, it irked him when he kept referring to the officer as sir . 

By the time he had finished Grim was fidgety. He tried to hide it, though, and quickly hopped out to retrieve Ian from his side. As soon as they started for the building he slid his hand, which was still holding Ian’s, into the pocket of his cargo pants. 

Their hands fit perfectly. 

“What would you like to eat?” he asked as they stepped inside and he grabbed a cart, easily steering it with one hand. 

Ian grabbed the corner of the push bar but left him to direct where they were going. 

“I-I’m fine with anything,” he replied after a moment of thought. 

That wasn’t the answer he wanted, though. 

“What are your favorite foods?” Grim asked, wanting more specific information. 

Ian looked a little surprised, but he quickly wracked his brain, then responded with, “hamburgers, macaroni and cheese, and fruit salad.” 

That stuff was easy enough to make. 

They started near the fruit section and within moments their cart had quite a few fruits and veggies in it. With each new item he put in, he could see Ian’s eyes widen slightly, no doubt nervous about the cost. 

“I’m paying,” he stated firmly as he put a bag of potatoes in the cart, then continued tugging Ian along. 

Their hands eventually slid from his pocket, but he still refused to release Ian’s… and the guy didn’t seem interested in being let go, anyways. 

Soon they had more than enough fruit for a nice big salad, as well as some good veggies and spices. 

Alright, next. 

There were plenty of types of pasta in the store, but he actually preferred the brown rice variety on the rare occasions when he made macaroni and cheese. It was a little more expensive, but the texture was perfect as long as you cooked it right. 

The cheese was next, and while he saw Ian eyeing the simple bag of shredded cheddar, he was far more interested in the gouda and pepper jack. He did  grab some sharp cheddar for Ian, too, but he made sure to get it as a block instead of bag. They were usually fresher and were simple to grate. 

Before they got to the meat section he made sure to grab a grater and extra large pot and pan, since Ian mentioned that he only had tiny ones. 

When they did finally get to the meats, he was extremely  picky. He had no doubt that Ian wanted to grab the premade and seasoned burger patties by the way he was staring at them, but Grim quickly tugged him over to the fresh ground meat and picked up two packages of the best stuff. 

They stopped and grabbed a container of eggs, cream, and a few other things, too, before wandering down the frozen sections. 

“What’s your favorite kind of ice cream?” he asked as they stopped in front of a wall of the stuff. 

Ian looked from brand to brand, but it was clear what he was going to say before it even left his mouth. 

“I haven’t really tried most flavors. Vanilla and chocolate are always good, though.” 

Grim held back a seriously?  stare as he stepped forward and took out four miniature containers of ice cream and tossed them into their cart. He made sure that one was chocolate and another vanilla, but the other two were specialty ones. 

“Alright, I think we’re good now,” he said as he pushed their cart to the checkout line and finally released Ian’s hand to begin scanning the items. 

Ian scurried around him and quickly began bagging, allowing them to finish their task promptly. 

The last thing he scanned was a Snickers bar, which he immediately handed to Ian, remembering that it was his favorite. 

“Thank you!” 

Grim pushed their groceries out the door as Ian happily walked at his side, munching on his treat. 

“So, how was work?” he asked once they stopped at his car. 

Ian was just picking up a bag to begin unloading the cart when he looked over, a little surprised by the question. 

“I-It was g—” his words were cut off from shock as Grim leaned over and took a bite of his candy bar. 

Eh. 

It had been years since he’d had one and it definitely wasn’t his favorite, but it was reasonable.

He put four bags in the trunk before Ian managed to snap back to himself. The guy then quickly grabbed the rest, then ran the cart back to its proper place before sliding into the passenger’s side seat. 

He allowed him to buckle his seatbelt without a word, then waited patiently as Grim walked around to his own seat and slid in. 

The drive back was comfortable and quiet, his previous question evidently forgotten from the surprise of him having taken a bite of Ian’s candy bar. 

The guy was still working away at the big treat, and each time they stopped at a light he couldn’t help but look over at him. 

How do you not have a boyfriend yet? 

Well, safety was the real answer for that one, because he could have definitely acquired one at his last job, but that guy had been a sleaze-ball.  

Ammo’s words replayed in his mind as they headed up the stairs to Ian’s apartment. As much shit as he gave the guy, he was a really nice person. 

“U-Um, is it okay if I grab the keys?” Ian asked with a fresh blush on his face. 

Oh right, I took them. 

He also had six bags split between his two arms. Unless he put them all down, they wouldn’t be able to get inside. 

“Yeah, grab them,” he said nonchalantly. 

Ian began to do as told, but he was clearly losing steam as his hand approached Grim’s pocket. 

“Come on babe, these are heavy. I’m giving you permission to grope your husband, take advantage,” he teased, though the bags were getting pretty heavy. 

Ian fidgeted for another moment before shoving his hand right into Grim’s pant’s pocket. The look on his face as he fished out his keys was so adorably determined that he nearly leaned forward to kiss him, just to add fuel to the fire, but he knew that the guy’s poor heart might give out with too much more, so he restrained himself… but just barely. 

I feel like I’m teasing a high school girl. 

Grim watched as Ian turned and unlocked the door, then stepped inside. Before he turned to hold it open for him, Grim glanced down. 

He doesn’t even have an ass. Literally nothing. 

Of course, he was also malnourished and could likely build up a decent bit of muscle if fed right with a dash of exercise, but still…

Why am I even here? 

 “Grim?” 

Blinking out of his thoughts, Grim looked up to see a nervous smiling Ian. 

“Ah, right. Sorry, got distracted,” he said as he ducked inside. 

They got everything they weren’t going to use immediately put away, then Grim started getting the pots and pans ready after giving them a quick scrub. 

Somehow, they worked like a well-oiled machine with Grim doing the main cooking and Ian preparing each item before it was added to this and that. 

By the time the sun had gone down outside they had a buffet of garlic onion burgers with fresh baked bread as the buns, a mushroom and potato macaroni and cheese bake, and a big bowl of mixed fruit salad for dessert.

Ian seemed a little embarrassed by his lack of seating available, but Grim didn’t hesitate to settle himself against the wall, then pat the spot between his spread legs. 

Ian happily settled there, then went to town on his food like a starved teenager. Grim was the opposite and ate slowly, not quite hungry enough to stuff his face at the moment. He was honestly just enjoying watching Ian. 

It had been a while since he’d actually cooked for someone and he’d even made the bread from scratch, too. 

Girls usually only eat three bites and say they’re full…

He considered asking if he liked it, but there was really no reason. The guy was already halfway through his plate of two burgers and a giant scoop of macaroni bake, and he didn’t seem like he was planning to slow down anytime soon. 

 In fact, he didn’t actually stop until nearly an hour had passed. 

He ended up eating three burgers and two huge scoops of pasta, as well as a bowl of fruit salad and drinking two cups of water. 

It was no surprise then, that after a quick bathroom break and a few minutes to put away the leftovers, Ian changed into pajamas, then passed out within seconds of settling into Grim’s arms. That left him with a bit of a predicament now, though…

I have a match soon.

Grim unlocked his phone and turned his Discord on to see several messages from Ammo. The newest one was currently being typed, however, so he waited for the wrath of his friend. 

Ammo: Dude! Our match is in thirty minutes, where are you?! It’s showing you’re on your phone right now!

Sighing, Grim moved his left hand a little, then blinked and realized that he’d slid it underneath Ian’s shirt at some point to rest it against his full belly. 

The guy ran quite warm, especially after eating. 

Moving his thumb over the warm skin, he began typing with his free hand. 

Grim: Got distracted, won’t make it in time. 

Ammo: …

Ammo: Get on his computer, man.

His computer? 

Grim looked up, furrowing his brow. 

He technically could, but that wasn’t his to just use. 

Looking down, he slowly removed his hand from beneath Ian’s shirt and began to gently brush the man’s bangs away from his face. 

“Babe?”  

Ian groaned quietly, then nuzzled against his shoulder a little more. 

“Babe, may I use your computer for a little bit?” he asked as he switched his attention to gently tugging on one of his cute ears. 

Ian yawned, then twitched his nose before his eyelids began to flutter. 

Cute little fucker. 

“Ren Ren, can I borrow your computer for a bit?” he asked again as he pressed a kiss to that cute nose. 

He felt Ian move a little more against him. 

“Of course,” he eventually rasped out as he tried, unsuccessfully, to get out of Grim’s lap. 

With a deep chuckle Grim got up, easily lifting Ian up with him. The man really was too light. 

“To bed with you, though,” he said as he carried him over to his sleeping mat. 

When he sat him down, however, Ian seemed quite determined to suddenly stay awake. 

“Bed, love. I just have a quick match with Ammo I need to do,” he said as he tugged Ian’s small blanket over him and guided him to lie back down. 

“I wanna watch…” Ian whined, his voice barely above a whisper as he finished his sentence with another yawn. 

“Not tonight, babe. You have work in the morning, now be good and go to bed,” Grim said as he pet his head. 

Ian grumbled a little even as he began to purr, but after only a few moments, he relented and closed his eyes. Soon, he was sleeping soundly with Grim’s hand settled against his soft hair. 

“Dream of me.” 

When he got no response from Ian, Grim stood back up and got himself settled in the man’s old computer chair. It was actually reasonably comfortable, though he fell a bit short of the height he normally liked to be while playing. 

After turning the computer on, he opened Discord, then the game. While those were loading, he got Ian’s headset on, then clicked into the voice chat that Ammo had waiting for him. And, of course, the guy didn’t hesitate to immediately sour his mood. 

“Fuck, you really are at his place. Well, how was your first experience with gay sex? Are you a newly-awakened bottom now?”

Leaning back in his chair, Grim withheld a groan and glanced over his shoulder at Ian’s sleeping form.  

This is going to be a long night…

Opossum Nine

He’d been right about it being a long night, but not for the exact reason he’d thought it would be.

I swear to god, cat!

The match was already half over but he’d fought tooth and nail to keep himself from getting killed over and over again! 

“Isn’t he Ren? Why is he trying to distract you during a match?” Ammo questioned as he blocked a sixth  attack aimed at Grim’s flailing character. 

There’s no way my Ian would distract me on purpose! 

“He keeps trying to swat at my controller but when I switch to keyboard he smacks at the keys,” Grim growled as he unleashed a massive barrage of magic attacks on their opponent’s poor healer, removing him from existence and sending him back to his respawn point.  

Ammo thankfully finished off their damage dealer, allowing them to both start attacking their pillar… and giving him a chance to toss Ian’s frustrating cat across the room!

The fuzzy feline agilely soared through the air, easily rotating its body to land on all fours without a sound or sign of distress. 

It then immediately  ran right back to him and jumped into his lap, purring with excitement, evidently ready for another round of toss-a-kitty. 

He ended up having to put his character on auto attack so that he could grab the cat again, but instead of tossing it a second time, he grabbed its big fuzzy front paws and lifted them up, forcing it to stop kneading its claws against his chest. 

“Listen, you, I’m going to sell you! Fifty cents a pound,” Grim grumbled as he shook Ian’s left paw. 

“Two dollars for this foot,” he said, then shook the other. “And three for this one!” 

Ian’s cat happily purred, not minding the roughhousing in the least as it flicked its ears and whiskers constantly. 

Grim flipped it onto its back in his lap and began tickling the shit out of its belly. 

“You think you’re so tough?! Think you can boss me around?!” he scolded as Ian’s cat swatted at his hands and tried to bite his fingers, clearly enjoying their interaction. 

Thankfully, he wasn’t on a broadcasted voice chat or video right then, so the only person who could hear his angry cooing was Ammo. 

“Bro, just get fucking married already, Jesus Christ,” his friend groaned as the enemy’s pillar fell and the match ended with their victory. 

Grim frowned at his friend’s words. 

“I’m not marrying this heathen! He’s been trying to eat me for the past hour!” Grim complained as he continued to try and subdue the feline that was happily wiggling about in his lap, overjoyed with all of the attention. 

“He’s your simp, of course he wants to eat you,” Ammo said with a long sigh worked into his words, as if he were in disbelief that Grim couldn’t understand such a simple thing. 

Grim was about to tell him to go fuck off as he held Ian’s cat up off of him, but when his view suddenly got a lot lower and the big cat slipped from his fingers, he blinked, confused. 

Wait…

No. 

Ian’s cat’s paws appeared on the edge of the chair a moment later, followed by its much  larger head. 

Grim felt his stomach twist into a tight, worried knot. 

Be a good boy, Ren. I’m just going to lie here and play dead. Nothing to see here… or nibble on. 

Except, of course, the cat couldn’t hear him, and it seemed like Ian really was absent as it began to reach forward to tap at Grim’s now-fuzzy head curiously. 

When he felt that paw press against the top of his head, however, something Grim had never seen his opossum do before, happened. 

Not only did it not  play dead, but it actually raised its hackles and after a deep breath in, screamed at the top of its tiny little lungs before lunging right at Ian’s poor startled cat!

Thus began a chase scene he never thought he’d see as his terrified possum ran around Ian’s tiny apartment, screaming at his cat as if their animal’s had suddenly been swapped and he’d become the predator! 

Ian’s poor cat scrambled and skidded on the carpet, then tile, then chair, trying its best to get away from the marsupial charging at him, but no matter where it ran, it couldn’t seem to get away from the crazy thing. 

They ended up running around for nearly fifteen minutes before Ian’s cat finally turned around abruptly, then pounced! 

Grim’s possum couldn’t respond in time, and as the cat landed on him, one paw pressing down on his face, his entire body suddenly seized up as he made a startled gasping sound, then he flopped over, completely still. 

Now, with his confusing assailant evidently incapacitated, Ren-cat tilted its head and slowly removed its paw. 

It circled his opossum a few times, its tail flicking curiously. 

Nothing to eat here, just go ahead and curl up and go to bed…

Of course, things couldn’t be that easy. 

Soon Ian’s cat was settled right up against him, a leg over his shoulder as he began cleaning Grim’s poor possum’s fur with its sandpaper tongue. 

His shift had switched to screaming internally, giving Grim a headache as Ian’s cat contently purred. 

This is not how I wanted to spend my night…

And yet, that was exactly how he spent his night. 

Yawning quietly, Grim stretched his body, surprised by how warm he felt. 

My toes are cold, though…

He tried to adjust his body to get his feet under the blanket, but quickly realized that he was stuck. 

Why can’t I move my lower body much? 

His arms and head weren’t restrained, but it felt like there was something around his midsection…

Blinking open his eyes slowly, Grim moved his arms a bit, then furrowed his brow. 

Didn’t I sleep at Ian’s last night? 

His memory was a little fuzzy, but he could have sworn that he hadn’t slept with anyone last night. 

He moved his arm again so that he could press his hand against the soft hair he could feel against his wrist. 

A quiet purr immediately started up, making him frown and finally look down. 

Ian? 

Not just  Ian, however… naked  Ian. 

And naked Ian had his arms wrapped around his midsection. 

Okay, what happened last night. 

Instead of freaking out right away, he pursed his lips and thought back through his hazy memory. 

So my possum went crazy, then, of course, played dead. 

He glanced at his upper body, and was silently thankful that a blanket was mostly wrapped around his lower half. 

Not very many bite marks. His cat must have behaved. 

Now that he thought about it, he’d fallen asleep with Ian’s cat grooming him. Glancing internally, he could sense his opossum’s stress, but it was surprisingly asleep. 

Sighing out his remaining worry, Grim closed his eyes again and began sifting his fingers through Ian’s hair. He knew that he should be a little more nervous about being naked with an honestly-unfamiliar man hugging his chest, but before he could really let their situation sink in, his fingers brushed against something that had them freezing immediately. 

I don’t want to look…

Of course, his eyes didn’t listen because they knew  what they’d see. They were open within two seconds and looking downward, locked onto what his fingers had bumped against. 

Take it off. 

He immediately reached around to the back of Ian’s head and grasped the clasp, but before he could undo it the man made a quiet humming sound, then moved to nuzzle against Grim’s chest. 

“Ian?” he questioned nervously, unsure if the man was truly waking up or just getting more comfortable. 

When the guy didn’t respond, Grim carefully undid the clasp on the back of the collar, then slid the item off. 

Phew. 

Not willing to risk it, though, he quickly pushed it under the pillow beneath his head. 

There. I’ll just grab it again and shove it in my pocket once I’m dressed. 

With that situation taken care of, Grim grabbed his phone and turned the screen on. 

Ah, we still have about an hour before we need to be up and getting ready. 

He had an early morning class to teach and he knew that Ian worked an earlier shift at his job today. 

Deciding to just let him sleep, since their situation would be awkward either way when he awoke, Grim began browsing on his phone, taking some time to answer important emails and check the news. 

Eventually he finished what he intended and began to browse Facebook. That lead him to searching for Ian’s profile, but to his surprise…

You don’t have a Facebook? 

He furrowed his brow and logged into his other social media accounts, but none showed any hint of the guy. 

Reaching down with one hand, he brushed his fingers against Ian’s hair a little. 

“Not a computer guy, hmm?” 

It made sense, now that he thought about it. Ian had to work so much, what time did he have to kill on social media? 

Glancing over his shoulder, he noted Ian’s old laptop. 

Definitely not a tech guy. 

That was fine with him, though. He liked having the nice new stuff, but he definitely wouldn’t scrap his nice set up just to get the newest on the market. Ian, however… 

He could use an upgrade. 

Heck, even an old gaming PC would be better than Ian’s current laptop. 

Surprised he’s so amazing at the game with that old thing. 

Thinking about the game reminded him of Ammo, and without really thinking, he lifted his phone up and switched it to selfie mode. 

He managed to catch himself right before he took the picture, though. 

Not appropriate. 

Especially since they were both naked… even though he definitely wouldn’t take a photo of anything important. 

Ian was also asleep, so he couldn’t consent, anyways. 

He was just about to set his phone down and close his eyes to rest for a bit longer when he felt it vibrate, signaling that he had a message. 

Discord? 

He was about to question who was awake so early to message him, but before the thought even finished, he knew who it was. 

Ammo: Where’s my cute pic? I know you took another picture of him! 

He almost had…

Grim: Didn’t do it. I’m a decent human being. 

Ammo: …

Grim: Fuck off. Why are you even awake right now? 

Ammo sent him a screenshot of the game. 

Ammo: To farm you this, you ungrateful slut. 

Furrowing his brow, Grim reached up and moved his fingers on the screen to blow up the image a bit. 

Wait a second…

Biting his tongue to keep from waking Ian, Grim covered his mouth and wiggled a bit. 

He really got it! 

Him and Ian and Ammo had been trying to get that item to drop for over a month! 

Grim: How the hell did you get that?!

He zoomed back in on the photo, wanting to log in and accept the delivery from Ammo, but not wanting to wake up Ian early. 

Ammo: Got lucky and saw it spawn while I was running to another area. I guess the people camping it weren’t paying enough attention. 

Enough attention my ass. 

That darn dragon was camped twenty-four hours a day. There was no not paying attention  with him because he dropped one of the best back pieces in the game. 

It was also a three percent drop rate, so claiming it was only the first part. It also wasn’t an easy kill, especially solo. 

Grim: Fuck man, are you sure? I know you could use that, too. 

Ammo: Consider it a late birthday present, hun.

Grim felt his heart squeeze in his chest. 

As much shit as they gave each other, he really did appreciate Ammo so much. The guy must really like him, too, because he put up with his shit and evidently camped a monster that was nearly impossible to claim, let alone get lucky enough to get the drop from. 

And to give that drop away?

Grim: Thank you, man. I really appreciate it. 

He really did. 

Ammo: You’re welcome. Enjoy the rest of your morning with your man. I’m jealous. 

Grim raised an eyebrow at that as he saw Ammo go offline before he could come up with a response. 

His attention was taken soon after he clicked his phone screen off, too, because now Ian was  beginning to wake up, and his adorable little yawn made Grim want to grab his cheeks and ask him why he thought it was okay to be so cute as a guy!

What he did instead, however, was rustle his hair until the man slowly looked up at him. 

That sleepy face…

“My friend wants to see a picture of my beautiful husband… is it okay?” he asked before quickly editing his statement. 

“I-I mean once you’re dressed, of course!” 

The fuck did I just stutter for?!

“A picture?” Ian questioned quietly, still clearly waking up. 

Grim nodded. 

“Ammo thinks you’re cute and asked if he could have a picture,” Grim said, not daring to say that he’d already shown him what he looked like before. 

The light blush he saw come to light on Ian’s cheeks made Grim’s eyebrow twitch slightly, but he managed to stop it before it was likely noticed. 

“He’s your friend. Of course he can have a picture,” Ian replied with a smile as he finally removed his arms from around Grim’s waist and sat up, rubbing at one eye. 

It was no surprise that he agreed. He’d played with Ammo some, but their schedules tended to be opposites… which worked perfectly for him. 

Another yawn followed a content moment of silence, along with a bit of blinking to clear his vision. 

It was too fucking cute. 

“We’ll do the picture later. Go get ready for work,” Grim said as he got himself up, but kept the blanket wrapped around his important bits. 

That’s when Ian seemed to realize that they were both naked and turned a bright red color as he looked down at himself, then back up at Grim, clearly confused. 

“Your cat came out again last night, and my opossum decided to join him. Nothing else happened,” he said, lying slightly but not really feeling a need to explain everything in detail. Nothing important happened so he wouldn’t waste his words stressing the poor guy further.

Ian took a moment to process his words, then nodded as he slowly got to his feet. 

“O-okay. I’m sorry if he caused any problems, though,” he replied before quickly doing as told and heading towards the bathroom to get ready. 

Grim would have been lying like hell if he said that he hadn’t watched him walk away until he was completely out of sight. 

Still no ass… even without clothing on. 

Even as he thought that, he looked down at his phone, his thumb hovering over his Discord app. 

Ammo would take great care of you…

Sighing, he turned off his phone screen and rubbed at his face. 

Perhaps it was time to finally meet him face to face. 

He knew that the guy was a sweetheart from having played with him for over a year, having met him right after his wife passed away, but he wasn’t sure about his own situation right then. 

Ian isn’t even mine, but I don’t want to give him to someone else, either. 

Grabbing the collar from beneath the pillow, he slid it into his pocket as he tugged on his clothing, as well as Ian’s shirt he’d borrowed, then got busy using what they’d bought yesterday to make them some nice lunches. 

I’ll talk to him later. 

Even if he decided against introducing him to Ian directly, he was still worried about how Ammo had been acting recently. He wasn’t a mushy guy and he rarely gave a shit about anyone, but he didn’t want his friend to suffer alone if he was getting depressed.

Opossum Ten

(For those who have seen me post pictures of my mom’s dogs, Boo passed away recently from sudden heart failure at ten years old. She was the squeakiest border collie known to man. I found her in a backyard as a puppy with a family that didn’t even let her inside. She was quite spoiled with my mom.)

Holding an armful of books, Ian waited in line to check out at his local library. He’d spoken with an advisor at the community college he was interested in about working on his GED and she had suggested taking a simple college course at the same time, since community college was currently free for the first two years in their state.

He didn’t argue, but now he was wondering if he had bitten off more than he could chew. It was just a simple English course, but adding it to the high school English and algebra he already had to do was now seeming much more intimidating. 

He’d also forgotten how huge textbooks were. 

As he waited his turn, his mind wandered back to his normal fixation. 

Grim could probably hold these heavy books up with one hand without even trying. 

The thought of the man immediately brought a dopey smile to his face, making the librarian checking them out return it with a happy one of her own as he finally stepped forward to meet her. 

“Hello sweetheart, have you been having a good week?” she asked as she started scanning his books. 

Ian couldn’t have nodded faster, making the woman give a quiet giggle. 

“That’s wonderful, hun. You have a fantastic rest of your day and good luck on your classes,” she said as she handed him his books back. 

“Thank you, ma’am. You have a wonderful day as well.” 

Upbeat and honestly in a truly good mood, Ian left the library and walked the three miles back to his home. 

It was already Friday evening and he’d spent nearly all of his time since he’d last seen Grim trying to focus on getting his affairs in order. 

He’d already submitted his request to not renew his lease and had cleaned up and donated anything he didn’t want to bring to Grim’s home… which wasn’t much, honestly. 

He was just setting his things down on the counter and was going to start reading after he got himself something to drink when he felt his phone chime in his pocket. 

The specific sound had him immediately tugging it out to look at the message. 

Grim: Getting online soon, babe? 

His heart did a little backflip!

He wanted to respond that, of course he would hop right on, but he hesitated for a moment, then pursed his lips and sighed as he glanced sideways at his books. 

Ian: I just picked up my books to study, he replied back, then waited.  

If Grim told him to ignore them for now and get online, he definitely would. 

Grim: Read three chapters, then do the quizzes at the back of each one. I’ll see you in the Dragon’s Quandary zone when you’re done. 

Three?! 

His fingers hovered over his phone’s keyboard, but he couldn’t make himself type out any kind of complaint. Grim had told him to study. That was that. 

Resigned to a boring few hours, he grabbed one of his books and began reading. He truly wasn’t a very good student, and his concentration began to wander after only a few minutes… just like it had during his school years. 

Even the idea of Grim being upset with him didn’t help as much as he’d hoped it would. Thus, by the time two hours had passed and his phone chimed again, he was dreading  the scolding he knew he’d get. 

Grim: How is the reading coming along? 

Ian wanted to cry. 

He tried to respond, but his hands were shaking from anxiety and messing up the words he was trying to type. 

After a few moments, Grim seemed to be typing again so Ian deleted the gibberish he’d written and waited as he wiped at his watery eyes. 

His parents had been mad enough about his academics as a kid. He didn’t want to disappoint Grim, too, but it seemed like it was inevitable. 

Grim: Come play with me, babe. 

Ian blinked at the simple, plain message. 

He’s not mad? 

He knew how bad Grim’s mouth could be, especially when someone didn’t listen to him. Yet his response seemed completely relaxed. 

Sniffling a little, Ian wiped his eyes one last time and replied. 

Ian: Okay 

He did as told immediately and set his book down next to him on his old desk. He logged into the game as soon as the computer booted up, but hesitated to get into the Discord chat he saw Grim in because the man was with his friend, Ammo. 

He had played with him a bit, but they hadn’t really talked much. 

He’s the one that wanted a picture of me? 

They had forgotten to do that. 

Grim: Hop in chat. 

He joined immediately and tugged his headset on. 

“H-hi,” he hurried to say in greeting as he got his character teleported out to the area they were in. 

“Good afternoon, hun,” Ammo said, his voice calm and gentle, just like it had been during the streams where he’d watch the man play as Grim’s partner. 

“Who you callin’ hun ?” Grim groused almost immediately as they sent him his invite to join their in-game party. 

Ian smiled as he checked his map for their location, then headed that way after casting an invisibility spell on himself so that he didn’t get attacked by any of the monsters in the area.

He watched Grim’s and Ammo’s hit points on their party bar go up and down every so often, prompting him to check what job the two had come out on. 

Ah, Ammo is a healer. 

He’d seen the guy play as a damage based tank in his matches with Grim, but never a straight healer. 

Grim doesn’t normally take so much damage out here…

When his character walked up to the two a few minutes later, he realized what was happening. 

Grim had pulled half of the monsters in the zone and was using area-effect damage to whittle them down instead of giving Ammo a break and fighting things one at a time. 

Ammo was somehow managing to keep up while not garnering too much hate from the monsters himself, considering how much he was healing Grim, but it was a fine tightrope the two were walking. 

Noticing that Ammo was running low on his magic points and his regeneration ability for them wasn’t keeping up enough, Ian had his character step in and began casting on Grim’s. 

“There’s my little bitch,” Grim cooed as Ammo, realizing that he was finally being given a break, made his character kneel down to begin recuperating his magic points faster. 

Ian focused all of his attention on taking care of Grim and throwing in a few area damage spells here and there. As they worked, Ammo began sorting the items that were dropping, casting his lot on everything so that he could tally up what amounts they were getting to make it easier to distribute in the end. 

“How is studying going?” Grim asked after a little while, his words immediately dragging Ian back into his nervous depression. 

“I-it’s…” 

He didn’t want to sound like he was whining by saying it was too hard to focus on, nor did he want to make it seem like he hadn’t tried… even though it felt like he hadn’t. 

“What chapter did you get to?” Grim asked a moment later. 

Ian sent out a particularly strong blizzard spell, killing all their current remaining enemies. 

“A little into chapter two,” he replied as he knelt down to rest his magic points and Grim ran off to grab about group of monsters. 

“What subject are you working on?” Ammo asked, quietly stepping into the conversation. 

 “English,” Ian replied, his voice nearly just as quiet due to embarrassment. 

To his surprise, however, Ammo replied right away with a more enthusiastic tone. 

“Ah, I had some trouble with that when I was in high school, too. If you’d like, I’d be happy to go over some things with you?” he offered as Grim’s character returned with another massive group of monsters, prompting them both to stand back up and begin helping with them. 

Not being someone who was good at saying no, Ian looked at the big book beside him, then back to the screen. 

“I-if you don’t mind. I haven’t read very much of it yet, though,” he added with a faint blush that he was glad they couldn’t see since he still hadn’t hooked up his camera yet. 

“Ah hey, get your camera on, Ren,” Grim said not a moment later. 

Uh…

Setting his character to start casting an inferno spell, he reluctantly did as told and got the new streaming camera set up on his desk. 

He then had his character heal a few times, then kneel down to recuperate before plugging it in and testing it out. 

Seeing himself staring back at him in the test screen had him quickly fixing his messy hair and shirt, then blushing again. 

Just go with it. 

Not wanting to upset Grim, he linked the camera to their Discord chat and got the little chime notification that the other two could now see him. 

“Not bad,” Grim stated as he clearly split his attention between what he was doing and glancing at Ian’s video screen, which was likely overlapping the upper left part of the game screen, as was normal when streaming or sharing a screen. 

Ammo was a little slower to comment, but when he did, Ian felt his face warm further. 

“What a cutie.” 

 “Fuck off,” was Grim’s immediate response to him, to which Ammo simply chuckled, then replied, “alright.” 

Before Ian could process what was going on, Ammo began warping himself out of the area! 

His spell was actually nearly complete before Grim’s character whirled around and sent a knock-back spell at him, sending Ammo’s character skidding backwards a few steps, interrupting his casting. 

“Um…” Ian mumbled, unsure of the situation. 

Ammo started casting warp again, but before he could even get halfway through the spell Grim sent a length of cable towards him and easily yanked him forward and into the mess of monsters he was still fighting without a second thought!

Ian quickly put all of his effort into keeping them both alive as Ammo struggled to get out of Grim’s bindings while at the same time trying to heal himself. It was clearly a strenuous task, because he was also having to time his casting to keep it from getting interrupted by all of the damage he was taking! 

It was a bit of a clusterfuck, to put it lightly. 

“So, I found a copy of the book for the current GED courses going on. It’s the Fowler fifth edition for English, right?” Ammo asked after a minute or two of anarchy. 

Ian, who was already going slightly insane trying to keep up with the fighting, took a few moments to process his calm words before nodding. 

“Y-yes sir,” he replied automatically before sending a massive healing spell towards the two of them… only to get himself aggro from a few of the monsters in response for healing too many hit points in correlation to the damage the monsters were being dealt.  

Ammo, thankfully, put up a reflection barrier just in time to rebound the monsters, but instead of helping finish them off, Grim completely ignored them, leaving Ammo and Ian’s character, Renegade, to kill them one by one. 

“Leaving your love to me already, Grim?” Ammo questioned, making Ian furrow his brows in confusion. 

Is he mad? 

Grim remained silent as he fought off the monsters that still had hate on him, meaning that he clearly was, likely, for some reason, now upset at them. 

Did I say something wrong? 

He honestly hadn’t said much at all recently, though. 

Is he mad I didn’t get further in the book? 

“Let’s do some practice questions just for fun, hmm?” Ammo offered, ignoring Grim’s silent tantrum, much to Ian’s dismay. 

He wanted to know what went wrong first!

“S-sure, but I really haven’t read much…” 

“That’s fine, I promise. I’ve tutored a lot of kids in different high school courses, so we can just try doing things a little backwards and see if it helps the information stick better,” Ammo said cheerfully. 

How is he so happy? I feel like Grim might try to light us both on fire at any moment and Ammo is just relaxing, getting ready to do some quizzing while we’re getting mauled by monsters left and right? 

It didn’t add up, but somehow, things seemed to settle down and even out soon after Ammo got his own online copy of the book pulled up, then began asking some simple questions to start with. 

Ian, unsurprisingly, didn’t do well right off the bat. Not only was he trying to focus on a mixture of damage and healing, but he was also trying to rack his brain for the answers to Ammo’s questions. 

Thankfully, the guy was extremely patient with him, and after about ten minutes of simple quizzing, he managed to get a question right without needing to glance at his now-open book. 

“Very good, now toss a fireball at Grim,” Ammo said calmly as Ian responded without thinking… and promptly lit Grim’s character on fire! 

“W-wait!” he squeaked as he immediately dispelled his fireball, nearly bursting into tears at his abrupt treachery. 

He honestly expected Grim to yell at him, but instead, his character picked up one of the nearly-dead monsters he was fighting, an orc, and promptly threw it at Ammo!

The other man managed to dodge the assault, but just-barely. 

“You forget to equip your accuracy gear, Grimmy?” Ammo taunted as Ian moved his character into the fray to try and kill more enemies… before they could be thrown at Ammo again. 

As soon as he started attacking stuff Grim abandoned the throng and began running after Ammo, ignoring the group of angry monsters still vying to kill him!

Grimmmmm.

To his surprise, Ammo managed to outrun the other man without much issue, prompting Ian to examine his character. 

Oh, he’s got movement speed gear on. No wonder Grim can’t catch him. 

Grim was finally talking again, at least, but it was mainly to just throw cuss word after cuss word at his quietly chuckling friend, their previous monster-farming goal evidently forgotten for the time being. 

All the while, Ammo continued to quiz him, and the longer they worked on things and ran around, the more he was beginning to put things together. 

Using a little pack of sticky notes, he made notations through the first chapter, while at the same time picking off monsters here and there that were still chasing after Grim. 

He managed to kill the last one as they finished the last question for chapter one, making him lean back and give a quiet sigh of relief. 

One chapter down. 

“You’re going down!” Grim snarled suddenly, bringing Ian out of his thoughts as he quickly leaned forward and refocused his attention… only to see the man’s character descend from above Ammo, having clearly jumped off a flying mount he’d summoned to set up for an aerial attack. 

Reacting instinctively as Ammo approached him, running as fast as he could, but clearly no longer fast enough, Ian had Renegade intercept them both, casting a binding spell on Ammo while at the same time setting a barrier spell up above them to block Grim’s incoming attack!

Ammo’s character skidded into his own, slowing him down just enough to keep from pushing them out from beneath his barrier. 

Said barrier managed to repel Grim’s attack, but it quickly dissipated after it absorbed all of the damage, leaving a fuming Grim standing right in front of them. 

Ian quickly tried to figure out how to diffuse the situation and was about to say something when Ammo calmly spoke. 

“Alright, let’s start on chapter two.” 

M-more studying? Right now?! 

Ian lifted his weapon and stepped between the two at the same time Grim swung towards Ammo, blocking his giant axe just in time!

“G-guys, weren’t we farming item—” Grim summoned his red dragon mount and hopped onto it at the same time the dragon reached forward and abruptly grabbed Ian’s character around the waist with its teeth and lifted him up into the sky!

The dragon was a specially gifted mount to some of the higher-ranking players in the game, and while it was a two-seater mount, he thought that you’d have to accept the ride before you hopped onto it… not just get grabbed and carried away like you were some sort of sacrificial sheep!

His cat boy didn’t seem very enthusiastic about the ride, either, because he was flailing his legs and tail, trying to get himself free, though he was clearly failing miserably. 

“Stubborn guy,” Ammo said as Ian turned his in-game camera to look behind them. 

He’s catching up.

The double mounts were nice, but with two people, you would obviously fly a bit slower, and Ammo was using the fastest mount in the game right now, too. It was a much longer, Chinese version of a dragon colored in a mix of silver and white from head to toe. 

It wasn’t easy to get and was a valuable asset to PVP matches that allowed mounts. Especially if the weather in the arena that day was foggy. 

Soon Ammo was flying right beside them, and even reached out to tug on Renegade’s tail after a few moments. 

“You took him away before we even got to start chapter two,” he teased as Grim’s character reached down and swatted his hand away, his dragon mount snorting out a little puff of smoke from its nose for the annoyance. 

“How am I supposed to get to know him if you carry him off into the sunset without me?” Ammo questioned, making Ian realize that not only were his words just a little cringe, but they were actually true, too. 

There was currently a very nice in-game sunset going on. 

Grim remained mostly silent, only giving out a quiet grumble every now and then as they continued to fly steadily side by side, eventually leading Ammo’s character to reach over and gently tug on Renegade’s tail again, a little lopsided grin on his face. 

“So then… chapter two?”

Opossum Eleven

He needed to talk to him face to face.

It was thankfully not clear to Ian, but to him? He could tell that Ammo was still extremely depressed.

Yes, meeting Ian and goofing off had helped a little, but his friend still hadn’t sounded right. His words had also been a little hesitant, which definitely wasn’t Ammo’s normal way of speaking. Especially not to him.

His fingers were hovering over his keyboard after having said goodnight to Ian, leaving him alone with Ammo, but the other man hadn’t said anything after his own quiet farewell to his new friend.

Pursing his lips, he lifted his hands up to his hair and tugged on it a little before silently sighing. He wasn’t an emotions kind of guy. He wanted to try and be gentle about it by typing something out first, but he just couldn’t find the words to say with his fingers.

Fuck this shit.

“Ammo, what are you doing tonight?” he asked instead, needing to just cut to the chase.

His friend seemed a bit surprised by his question and remained silent for a moment, but when the words he expected to come after nearly a minute never did and silence remained the only answer, Grim ground his teeth together and scowled at his computer screen.

“So what you’re saying is that you’re coming over to my place to crash tonight,” he told him, not even bothering to put a question mark at the end of his sentence.

There was another stretch of silence before Ammo finally spoke.

“You… you really want me to come over there? Why?”

Fuck, you sound like you’re about to cry because someone wants to see you.

“You’re forty fucking minutes away and deserve to get your ass beat for being such a bitch tonight!” Grim growled, his filter falling away.

He then typed out his address for Ammo in Discord.

“Get your ass over here, Michael. I’m gonna start making dinner,” he said, his tone a little softer this time.

“I’ll be waiting for you, alright?” he added.

He waited so long for Ammo to respond that he decided to get up and actually go start prepping to cook. He left his headset on the entire time, though, waiting for the other man to answer.

It took about five minutes, and quite a few faint shuffling sounds from Ammo’s end, before he finally did.

“Alright… I-I’ll see you soon.”

Grim expected him to disconnect the call, but he never heard the sound to signal the guy had left. He was going to question him after a few minutes, but then he heard the sound of keys jingling, followed shortly by a door opening, then closing.

He was using Discord on his phone the whole time?

Shrugging, Grim started chopping up vegetables while letting some seasoned ground turkey brown in a large pan.

By the time everything was ready to work with, he had boiled some large cabbage leaves and lined a pan with several open ones. Now that his filling was all set, he mixed the ground turkey, veggies, and a bit of mozzarella cheese together and began wrapping up his cabbage rolls one by one.

It was one of his favorite meals because it was full of vitamins and protein, so he easily knocked out the normally-arduous task in a little under five minutes due to muscle memory.

They were in the oven a moment later with the timer set.

Alright, next.

He wasn’t a big fan of muffins, mainly because they often had more sugar than donuts or cake in them, yet were marketed as a healthier option, but if it was one thing he knew about Ammo… the guy loved lemon poppy seed muffins.

He calmly got to work making a general recipe he’d memorized from scratch, but subbed in lemon juice and zest, along with some poppy seeds he already had on hand, and some monk fruit sweetener instead of sugar.

Within about fifteen minutes those were in a muffin tin and in the oven, too.

Alright, now to clean up a bit.

His place wasn’t messy to begin with, so he easily got things taken care of by the time he heard a hesitant knock on his front door.

He knew that Ammo wouldn’t be in the best shape since he’d gotten pretty depressed from his wife passing away so suddenly, but when he opened the door, he felt as if his own heart was breaking.

His friend, who was honestly one of the most relaxed, put-together guys he knew, looked about ready to pass out. The dark circles under his eyes were enormous, and his normally-soft blueish-brown eyes were nearly lifeless. His hair had also clearly been neglected and looked like a dried-out blondish-brown tangle atop his head.

Okay, slight change of plans.

Taking the guy’s small backpack of things that he’d brought with him, Grim swung it over his shoulder, then took his warm hand and led him to the bathroom.

“Bath first, then dinner,” he said, glad that the food had finished cooking only a few minutes ago and he’d already taken it all out of the oven.

He could tell as soon as he said those words that Ammo wasn’t really interested in cleaning himself up, but that was no surprise. Depression made a lot of tasks infinitely harder to accomplish.

“That’s an order, Michael,” Grim said calmly but sternly as he nodded to the man’s unkempt clothing.

“Strip, but leave your boxers on.”

The man’s brow furrowed, but after a moment of hesitation, he slid his bare feet from his untied tennis shoes and began doing as told. His clothing came off and was dropped to the floor one article at a time until, after about three minutes, he finally stood before him, naked except for his black boxers.

“Alright, good job,” Grim said as he lifted a hand to gently pat his hair.

He knew that Ammo was technically a dom, but he’d also said that he’d be willing to sub for him, and considering his current situation, even if he’d been joking at that time…

You just need some love right now.

Giving a rare gentle smile, Grim walked over to the bathtub and got the water started. He kept it warm, but not hot.

Thankfully, Ammo didn’t need any nudging to step in, then sit down for him.

Once the water was about three-fourths of the way up, he switched it to the overhead function but turned the sprayer off as he took it down from its holder.

“Alright, hair first,” he said as he knelt back down.

He expected Ammo turn a little so that he had better access to the back of his head, but as he moved, he seemed to shrink…

Uh… well. I was not expecting that.

In fact, what even was that?

A big rat?

Tilting his head, Grim looked over the odd creature now staring straight at him.

You look like a mix between a rat and a schnauzer.

When it didn’t move or react at all, he mentally shrugged and lifted the nozzle, then gently sprayed down its tannish-brown coat.

Almost seems waterproof.

It took him a good while to get enough of it wet to begin working in some shampoo. All the while, the strange creature simply stared up at him with Ammo’s soft, curious eyes.

“At least you’re a well-behaved rat-dog,” he said quietly as he continued to scrub the miscellaneous animal.

He let the shampoo sit for a minute as he dried his hands and looked up the animal on his phone. It didn’t take long after typing in giant rat dog before the image of Ammo’s shift popped up.

“Capybara? The fuck is that?” he mumbled as he stared at the strange pictures.

It was evidently a huge water rat native to South America. He’d never heard of or seen one before, but the more he looked at it, the more he thought that it wasn’t too ugly.

“Alright, let’s rinse this off, then do some conditioner,” he told it after setting his phone aside again and grabbing the spray nozzle.

The dog-rat, or really, capybara, slowly followed the nozzle with its gaze, moving its whole head as Grim picked it back up. It turned out to be quite an inquisitive little rat-dog… and his own inner animal didn’t know what to think of it.

Of course, that didn’t stop it from screaming every now and then as it nervously peaked out from behind Grim’s eyes, but thankfully it wasn’t running around yelling loud enough to wake the dead.

At least, not yet.

He managed to get the conditioner worked into its coat after a bit of effort, but it didn’t sit still very well for the brushing that came next.

“Your hair is pretty coarse, isn’t it?” Grim told it as it sidestepped for the tenth time, clearly not interested in the brush… unless it could chew on it.

It didn’t seem to care when he told it not to do it, too, and nearly nipped his fingers more than once!

“Alright alright, we’ll just wash it out,” he grumbled, even as he saw the amount of hair still coming off with each brush stroke he fought for.

I guess I’ll just brush your hair when you shift back… and vacuum a lot until then.

Resigned, he put away the brush to save it from being gnawed, then knelt back down with the intention of grabbing a towel to dry him off, but before he could reach to the side where he’d put it, he had a capybara already halfway in his arms!

“Um, we need to get dry before we do the hugging thing,” he told it as he tried to reach for the towel again, only for the strange creature to promptly jump out of the tub and land right in his lap!

It quickly tried to climb up his front, and once it managed to strong-arm its way to a spot it liked, it settled down against his chest and began to purr.

Why does this situation feel so familiar?

It didn’t take him more than ten seconds to remember, and another five for his expression to deadpan.

Ian’s cat did the exact same thing to him when he was trying to play.

Feeling his shirt and pants begin to soak through, Grim sighed and gently picked the capybara up and set it back in the tub, then reached over and flipped the switch so that it could begin draining.

“I’m going to go grab a few more towels. Stay right there, okay?” he told it, earning a twitch of whiskers and a quiet squeak in response.

I’m going to take that as an agreement.

Slipping out of the bathroom, he quietly closed the door, then ran to the laundry room and grabbed an armful of towels.

When he returned, however, he froze for a moment in the doorway, surprised that the bathtub was empty!

He thankfully noticed a slight movement to the left of the tub after only a moment and looked in that direction, only for his lips to immediately turn downward into a frown as his eyes fell upon his new large rat-dog friend… contently sitting in the toilet bowl.

I…

A quiet, tired sigh slipped from his slightly-parted lips.

I guess it’s time for a second bath…

Opossum Twelve

He was unbelievably giddy! 

It was noon, an hour before Grim was planning to come by and help him move his things to his new home. 

I’m going to live with Grim. 

He still couldn’t believe it. 

Rubbing his hands over his face vigorously, he felt his inner cat flick an ear and twitch its whiskers. It was rare that it was awake during daylight hours and while it didn’t seem  very interested in the current situation, it was clear to Ian that his cat was just as excited as he was, if not more.

“We’ll see him again soon!” he told it excitedly as he finished taping the small box of kitchen items he had. 

He then added that box to a little stack near the doorway. That was all of his stuff besides the old desk and chair, which Grim had said to leave on the side of the road for garbage pick up. 

Without those two bigger items, since his bed was just a little roll on the floor that was already tucked into its little carrying bag, it would be a very easy move. 

“I think that’s everything,” he mused as he checked the empty living room/bedroom area, then went to the fridge and freezer. 

He’d eaten every little bit of food Grim had made or brought him, even if he’d had to eat some of the veggies raw since his cooking skills just weren’t up to par. He’d also gained two pounds in the process, which was exciting since he always struggled to keep weight on. 

He did one final sweep of the area and made sure everything was spotless for his deposit, then waited. 

It was the longest wait of his life, but when he heard his phone chime and glanced at it eagerly, he couldn’t stop smiling. 

“He’s here!” he squealed, glad that his love wasn’t within earshot yet. He wanted to dance, but Grim was waiting for him so he calmed his inner child and quickly opened the door and grabbed a few boxes to bring down. 

His love was waiting for him, having just gotten out of his car in front of his apartment. 

Grim popped the trunk as Ian approached so that he could put his things away, but instead of turning the car off, Grim left it running and headed upstairs to help Ian grab the rest of his stuff. 

“Have a tag-along, have to keep the A/C going,” Grim said as he easily picked up a box that Ian had struggled to move after having overpacked it. 

He might have drooled a bit as the young man’s muscles flexed, but he caught himself before he could make a fool of himself and quickly headed back downstairs with the boxes he currently held. 

Curiosity got the better of him after he finished loading those boxes, however, and he walked around to the side of the car and leaned down to glance into the back window. 

Huh? 

His brow furrowed as his mind tried to make sense of what was now calmly looking back at him, buckled up in the backseat like a toddler. 

What is that? Did he get a dog? 

That was kind of hard to believe, since Grim had made it clear that he wasn’t an animal guy, but then what was in his back seat? 

“Hmm, no hug for your husband after being away from me for so long?” Grim said as he came up behind him and trapped him against the side of his warm car with his arms!

Ian about had a heart attack as he nervously looked over his shoulder, his face bright red at the dream he was currently somehow now living! 

He’d always wanted Grim to press him up against his car, or a wall, or literally anything, yet now that he was, he couldn’t manage to find his voice to say a single thing! 

“You look like you think I’m about to eat you, babe,” Grim teased, only making Ian’s heart struggle further as the guy tugged on one of his ears playfully, then walked around his car a moment later. 

“I locked up since there was nothing left. Let’s go drop off your key at the office and head home, hmm?” he said. 

Ian pressed his forehead against the warm exterior of the car as he tried to calm down his overheating body while simultaneously doing his best to piece together what Grim was saying. It honestly felt like he was trying to pluck his words out of a rushing river surging through his ears, then string them back together into coherent sentences again! 

By the time he had figured out what had been said, Grim had gotten out of the driver’s seat and walked back around to hold his door open for him. 

“Home babe,” he repeated, finally getting Ian to straighten back up and look his way. 

Grim immediately chuckled and reached forward, brushing the warm spot on Ian’s forehead from where he’d pressed it against the car. 

“You can daydream about me while I drive,” he added with a wink as he guided Ian into the passenger seat, then buckled him in. 

Ian blinked as he stared at Grim’s muscles as the man leaned over him to click the belt into place, because why not? He’d been told that he could daydream about him, but what was the need when the real thing was mere inches away? 

“That’s Bubba, by the way,” Grim said as he slid into his own seat and began backing out of their parking spot. 

Oh yeah. 

Looking over his shoulder, Ian stared at the strange creature as it stared back at him. 

“What… is he?” he eventually asked as the car slowed to a stop outside the office for his apartment complex. 

Ian quickly took the key Grim handed him from his apartment and hopped out to return it. Thankfully it only took a minute, and soon they were on the road… and more nervous than ever. 

I really am going to live with Grim. 

He couldn’t believe it. He couldn’t understand how someone as amazing as Grim could look at him and think I’m okay with this guy living in my house . And honestly, he couldn’t believe that he was even worth looking at, let alone living with!

“He’s a capybara,” Grim said, responding to his previous question. 

Ian looked back at the animal. It had turned its attention to outside the window, but when Ian looked at it, it seemed to notice and slowly turned its focus back to him. 

“Hi sweetheart,” Ian said quietly, a warm smile on his face. 

The capybara gave a little squeak of interest at the new attention. 

“That’s Ammo, by the way. He shifted and has been in that form for over a day now,” Grim said, drawing Ian’s attention for a moment before it immediately went back to the capybara. 

“He did? Is he okay? He sounded a little stressed while we were playing the other day,” he noted, now clearly a little worried about his new friend as he looked back at him, having turned his attention to Grim as he’d spoken.

Oh!

Before he could react there was a big fuzzy baby climbing across the middle console armrest and right into his arms! 

It was a tad awkward because Bubba was quite a big boy, but Ian quickly made it work, and soon he had a capybara settled against him, purring just like his cat. 

Oh my god, I think I’m in love!

He eagerly looked over the adorable creature that was snuffling at his shirt and hair curiously. 

“Hi sweetheart. It’s nice to meet you, Bubba,” he told it, drawing its attention up to his face for a moment before it looked across the car to Grim. 

“You’re not coming over here right now. Play with Ian until we get back home,” Grim told it as he glanced over after stopping at a red light. 

Bubba looked from him to Ian slowly a few times, but didn’t seem to process what was said, because soon enough, he was trying to step over the middle console. 

Ian quickly but gently grabbed him and tugged him back against his chest, but the big guy seemed more stubborn than Grim, because he continued to try and slowly make his way back across the console. 

“There’s a bag of lettuce down by your feet,” Grim said, drawing Ian’s attention in that direction. 

Oh. 

He quickly reached around his new friend and picked up the bag. As soon as he opened it there was a big nose nudging its way inside, sniffing enthusiastically. 

“He can be pretty stubborn, but he’ll do anything for some lettuce,” Grim said as Ian tugged out a large piece of romaine… and immediately had a capybara grabbing at his hand!

He didn’t have it in him to tease the big guy, so he just let him have the piece. 

The little chewing noises!

Ian happily fed his new friend as they headed home, making the time fly by. 

Soon enough, they were pulling into Grim’s driveway. 

Oh? That must be Ammo’s car. 

They parked beside a black and dark blue Kia Soul. It was a cute car and, he thought, fit Bubba quite well. 

Undoing his own seatbelt, he waited for Grim to come around and open his door before handing off Bubba to him. 

He’s a heavy boy…

Grim didn’t have any trouble lifting the chunky baby, however, and easily carried him against his hip towards the house like one would a real child. 

Those muscles…

He quickly got half of his things out of the trunk and brought them inside, then ran back out with Grim on his heels to finish retrieving the rest. 

As they stepped back inside, Bubba was waiting right at the door. 

Ian tried to make him back up a little so that he didn’t try to run out the door, but Grim didn’t seem nearly as worried. 

“He won’t run,” Grim said as he went to set the rest of Ian’s stuff down in the spare bedroom. 

Ian watched him disappear into the hallway, then looked back down at Bubba, who was still sitting right at his feet staring up at him expectantly. 

“You wanna stay with us, huh?” he told it as he gently closed and locked the door. 

Before he could turn back around, however, he felt a warm body press up against him, nudging him forward against the door. At the same time, a hand slid into his back pocket before withdrawing a moment later. 

“Your key, babe,” Grim said as he patted his backside twice, then walked away. 

Ian was melting . 

He didn’t even realize that he’d slid to the floor until he felt Bubba’s head nudging its way beneath his arms, seeking attention. 

Ian allowed him into his lap without a word, still in absolute shock from what Grim had done. He wanted to bury his face in Bubba’s fur and squeal like a high school fan girl, but he knew that he couldn’t do that anymore since the target of his affection was literally in the same house as him now. 

So, instead, he squeezed Bubba until he gave an annoyed grunt, then released him and gave him a piece of lettuce for his trouble. 

“Your bath is ready, Bub!” Grim called a few moments later, drawing Ian’s attention over his shoulder. 

Bath? 

His fuzzy friend quickly dismissed him and hobbled away, drawing Ian’s curiosity enough for him to stand up and follow. 

Oh.

He watched with a growing smile as Bubba wiggled his way up and over the edge of the tub, then plopped down into the water below. 

“He’s only allowed in the bathroom if he has to use it or there’s water in the tub. If he gets in otherwise, he’ll sit in the toilet,” Grim said from directly behind him, making Ian jump a little as he spun around, nervous about the man possibly touching him again so soon. 

“Come see your room? I changed it a bit for ya,” Grim said, making Ian blink in surprise as he looked to the right, as if he could see the room beyond the doorway. 

He didn’t need to be asked twice! Ian excitedly followed behind Grim, then paused in the doorway of the spare room he’d slept in just two nights ago. 

The bedding had been updated with a black comforter and pillowcases, as well as dark red sheets. A large dresser was now sitting to the right of the bed, as well as a second nightstand. But those two things weren’t what had his attention now. 

Ian’s eyes were on Grim as the gorgeous man walked inside and dropped down into a brand new red and black gaming chair in front of a brand new black desk… and brand new gaming computer. 

“I’ve been wanting to put a computer in my spare room,” Grim said as he turned it on, the beautifully-quiet hum of the computer making Ian inch closer in wonder. 

“The password is IbelongtoGrim,” the guy said, smirking up at him with a wink before typing it in. 

The desktop was nearly empty besides the Discord app and the game they play. It really was brand new. 

“You can just use your laptop for school now,” he added as he got up, then gestured for Ian to sit. 

He did as requested immediately, though he couldn’t find any words to say as he blinked back tears and reached forward to run his fingers lightly over the new keyboard. 

“There are some new clothes, too, though I’m not sure what actually fits. We can return anything that doesn’t, or anything you don’t like, though,” Grim said as he walked over to the large closet and slid one of its doors open. 

A row of shirts hung across the entire bar before him, drawing Ian back to his feet as he walked over. 

At least fifteen pairs of pants were folded neatly in a tall cubby to the right, too, making his jaw honestly drop. 

All of this is for me? 

Reaching down, he picked up a pair of soft blue jeans and hugged them to his chest. He only had two pairs of pants to his name, and one already had quite a few holes in them. Heck, he probably hadn’t owned fifteen in his entire life, let alone at one time! 

“Cry for me when you’re on your back too, alright?” Grim said with a chuckle as he ruffled his hair and stepped out of the closet. 

Ian looked over his shoulder as his love made his exit, tears streaming down his face in earnest now. 

He could hear Grim talking to Bubba in the other room, so he decided to leave them be for a moment so that he could absorb everything that he’d just been given. 

He ended up walking over to the bed and falling into it. 

The blankets smelled like Grim’s laundry detergent. 

Reaching over, he grabbed one of the pillows and hugged it to his chest. 

I have a real bed. 

He hadn’t had a real bed since before he’d started high school and his younger sibling had been given it. 

Rolling onto his side, he looked at the new computer and chair. 

Grim is so amazing. 

He’d always known that, of course, but he couldn’t believe just how  awesome the guy really was in person. 

Getting up again, he set the pillow back on the bed and dropped down into his new fancy chair, but right as he was reaching for the mouse to look around on the computer, his hand paused. 

Hmm? 

Reaching past the mouse, he picked up a little collar that had evidently been left by mistake. It was simple, but extremely well made. 

He grabbed the little nametag gently between his fingers and turned it so that he could re— huh? 

Furrowing his brows, he read over the name again. Then again. 

“It’s for your cat, babe,” Grim said, making Ian jump a little as he quickly looked up in surprise. 

“M-my cat?” he asked, confused and still a little stunned. 

Ignoring his worry, Grim walked forward and took the collar from him… then slid it around his neck. 

“Just in case your cat wanders out of the house and gets lost, since this is a new area for it,” Grim said as he fastened the little buckle near the back of his neck. 

The feeling of the man’s fingers brushing against the sensitive skin there had Ian’s face burning again. 

He didn’t dare say that his cat had never shown any interest in wandering around outside, and instead simply gave a little nod of agreement. 

“Good boy,” Grim praised as he rustled his hair again. 

“I’m going to go start working on lunch. Can you go check on Bub?” he asked as he offered a hand to help him up. 

“O-of course,” Ian replied as he stood. 

He could feel the collar firmly press against his neck, but before he could start towards the bathroom, Grim settled a hand on his chest, then reached up to carefully adjust the item.    

“Better?” he asked after a moment, prompting Ian to move his head side to side a little. 

Ah, yeah. Definitely better. 

It was still in place, but much more comfortable now. 

“Good,” Grim said quietly as he nudged the collar with his thumb, the rest of his warm hand nonchalantly settled against Ian’s neck. 

He waited patiently as his heart secretly hammered against his ribs. 

Grim took his time caressing the item, though, seeming far more attached to the idea of it on him than one normally would simply putting it on their cat. 

And then, just like that, the man smirked and left, disappearing down the hall and around the corner to begin cooking. 

I…

Ian wobbly began walking toward the bathroom to check on Bubba. 

I don’t know if my heart will be able to handle living here…

Opossum Thirteen

He felt… stressed. 

It clearly wasn’t coming from his own mind, but at the same time, the sense of uneasy dread enveloped him so thoroughly that he couldn’t find a way out. 

He also couldn’t see anything, which wasn’t really surprising, since his mind was normally comfortably dark, but then…

What is making me feel so stressed? 

His life was going pretty darn well now, and he’d just moved in with his idol and an adorable— wait a minute.

“Ammo?” Ian questioned as he wandered through his mind, moving carefully and listening closely. 

He didn’t hear anything in response, but as he moved, he could feel the air around him grow more tense with each step he took in a certain direction. 

“You’re over here, sweetheart?” 

He was used to feeling stressed and depressed, as it had been his two main emotions before he saw Grim in that Affinity ad. Now he had hope and excitement, though the stress still inched its way into his thoughts every now and then. 

“It’s going to be alright,” he told him as he finally caught a glimpse of something far up ahead. 

It felt like it took nearly half an hour just to get to the faint outline he could see, but he never slowed. Neither did he speed up, though. He understood what it felt like to be scared and depressed. And sometimes, when people reached out too quickly and tried to force you to accept help before you were ready, it actually did more harm than good. 

Once he was reasonably close, Ian sat down in the darkness and put a calm smile on his face. 

He couldn’t see all of the young man, but that was perfectly fine. 

Depression and stress could eat up parts of your soul if it got bad enough. 

“Ammo, it’s nice to finally meet you in person,” he said quietly as he kept his eyes focused off to the side, not wanting to startle his new friend. 

There was no audible response, but that was alright. The response he did get wasn’t comfortable, but he embraced it all the same.

“I’ll help you hold your burden for a while,” he said as he relaxed his body, even as wave after wave of anxiety and stress flowed into his system. 

It was a struggle to keep himself calm, but he knew that Grim was still home, watching over them both. 

“He’ll take care of you, too. He’s an absolute sweetheart,”  he told Ammo as the mostly-shadowed form moved the slightest fraction, as if he was turning his head to look in his direction. 

Ian smiled and leaned a little closer but kept his posture calm and relaxed. 

“Sweetheart, would you like a hug? Or maybe something smaller?” he asked, reaching out a hand slowly. 

“Perhaps just a hand to hold?” 

The top of the shrouded body tilted slightly, as if considering his question. At the same time, Ian began to see bits and pieces of Ammo’s features begin to appear from within the dark miasma. 

After quite some time, he saw a wisp of darkness inch closer to his still-outstretched hand, but hesitate every few moments as it got closer, then withdrew over and over again. 

Hmmm, maybe…

Licking his ethereal lips, he looked around in the darkness until he could sense his other half. It didn’t seem like it was a fan of their intruder and was staying at the edge of his mind, pacing and grumbling quietly. 

Ren? he questioned, using Grim’s nickname for his feline. 

His cat grumbled again and shook out its coat. 

Ren, sweetheart? Could you come here and say hello? He’s not a bad guy, he’s just upset and could use some of your sweet purrs, he told it, hoping that his cat would calm down enough to listen. 

It paced for a few more minutes before, finally, inching closer. 

Of course, it didn’t just up and run over, because the only person it seemed to do that to was Grim, but it didn’t seem completely against greeting Ammo. 

Good boy, Ren. He’s a sweetheart, he thought to it, coaxing his sweet cat closer. 

He could see Ammo’s form watching silently, but that was okay… and important. Because he was  watching. 

A faded, nearly-invisible eye was following the cat’s movement from within the darkness of Ammo’s soul. 

“Isn’t he a pretty cat?” Ian asked quietly as he looked between the two, his smile never fading. 

Ammo’s form wavered gently, then became a little clearer. 

Aww, hello there, cutie. 

He honestly was, too. The young man seemed a little older than him, but as his handsome features slowly became more visible, Ian couldn’t help but internally gush.  

He’s so adorable!

While Grim was gorgeously-handsome, Ammo was looking to be adorably-handsome, in a mature way.

While he was lost in his thoughts, his cat had moved closer and was now only a few steps away. 

“Hey there,” he called to it quietly as he was about to reach towards it, only to feel a shaky pressure quickly grasp his still-outstretched hand. 

Ammo? 

The man beside him was now more than eighty-percent visible, and his hand was firmly wrapped around Ian’s as he stared nervously at the bobcat pacing nearby. 

Ian reached over with his free hand and settled it overtop Ammo’s, then squeezed gently. 

“He’s a sweetheart and his name is Ren. Would you like to meet him?” he asked softly. 

Ammo scooted a little closer, practically leaning against him as his other hand gently grasped Ian’s arm, then slid past it to hug it against his chest as he continued to stare at the cat. 

Ian watched his calm reaction and decided to reach toward his cat and coax it the last few steps closer. 

Thankfully, it obeyed without a fuss, evidently now curious about the other person instead of worried that they might do something. 

It took Ammo a few moments to react, but soon, he was reaching out a hand towards Ren. 

His cat slowed to a stop and leaned in, nudging Ammo’s fingers with his nose. 

The initial touch was brief, but it seemed to brush away the remaining tension between the two entities, because Ammo was now reaching out in earnest, wanting to touch the cat, and Ren was circling excitedly, ducking beneath Ammo’s hand every few seconds for a full-body pet.

It didn’t take much longer before Ren was snuggled up in Ammo’s arms, purring happily. It was calm but content, accepting being pet without aggressively demanding more attention. 

I remember Grim telling me that my cat was a bit forceful, but maybe he just wasn’t used to him yet? 

Ren didn’t seem pushy at all right now. 

He sat with Ammo for a long while as they simply paid his cat attention in the comfortable quiet, Ren’s purring the only sound echoing around his mind. 

He wasn’t sure how much time actually passed before Ammo drifted off to sleep against him, his cat contently snuggled in his arms, but that was when he noticed something gently brushing against his hair. 

“…—an?” 

The faint whisper might not have awoken anyone normally, as it was barely audible, even to him, but because it was Grim, Ian immediately began to stir. 

“Baby, it’s time for dinner,” Grim whispered before kissing his ear, making Ian’s eyes immediately blink open and a red blush paint his face!

Thankfully, he didn’t jump up or move abruptly, because he soon realized that someone was sleeping in his arms, and it wasn’t Grim. 

At first, he thought that he should  move and explain himself, because he really hadn’t intended to fall asleep with a naked man partially on top of him, but when he saw Grim’s calm, relaxed expression, as well as his finger pressing against his lips to signal for him to be quiet, he realized that the situation wasn’t an issue.

Wait, he said that it’s dinner time? 

He hadn’t even eaten breakfast!

Looking back at the young man contently resting against him, Ian realized something. 

Ammo? He’d shifted back to his human form? 

He looked absolutely exhausted, but also, thankfully, at peace. 

With Grim’s help, they gently managed to extricate him from beneath the other man, then get Ammo comfortable and tucked in without waking him. 

He watched the man sleep until he felt a warm hand slip beneath the front of his shirt and grab his side, then squeeze. 

“Time for you to eat,” Grim said as he easily guided him over to the small dinner table that was already set with two heaping plates of food. 

The food of choice, however, was a bit shocking as he settled into the seat Grim pulled out for him. 

Pizza? 

It clearly wasn’t ordered, though. 

He made this… from scratch? 

“Haven’t tried this dough recipe before, so let me know how it is,” Grim said quietly as he settled in the seat across the table from him, then picked up a large slice of pizza. 

It had every vegetable topping he could think of on it, and as he took his first bite, Ian couldn’t help but inwardly moan from the crunchy, savory, garlicy flavor that caressed his taste buds. 

Then came the cheese. 

Mozzarella was clearly there, of course, but mixed into it was also what tasted like sharp cheddar and parmesan. 

“If you’re gonna come, make sure you call my name, alright?” Grim said cheekily. 

Ian quickly nodded as he swallowed his first bite, then immediately went in for a second, then a third. He’d never had pizza so good, and before he knew it, he’d eaten four huge pieces!

The odd thing was, however, that even after having filled his belly, he didn’t feel the normal food coma that came with indulging in junk foods. 

I actually feel really good. 

“No stomach aches here,” Grim said, as if reading his mind. 

Ian glanced up from his empty plate, curious about what he meant. 

“I don’t use any junk in my cooking and while I was light on the cheese, I used ones that had strong flavors,” he explained, then added with a wink, “I knew my man would eat a good bit if he liked it.” 

Ian fought himself not to look away as he smiled happily. 

“It was really delicious, thank you for making me some.” 

He paused for a moment before remembering something important. 

“I-I need to pay you rent,” he said as he took his phone out. 

“Do you have Cashapp? Paypal?” 

Grim grinned and gave a quiet chuckle as he pulled his own phone out of his back pocket and slid it across the table after turning the screen on. 

His Cashapp had been opened, and Ian carefully got the correct screen up and sent him his first rent payment. 

As soon as he got the text receipt for it, he gently picked up Grim’s phone and held it out to him with both hands, being extra careful not to accidentally drop it. 

Grim took it back and nonchalantly set it aside instead of returning it to his pocket. 

“Now then, let’s get some things done, hmm?” 

Things? 

The man’s words said one thing, but the look in his eyes were saying something completely  different!

He soon found out why. 

I’m glad he’s not making me try on underwear, but still…

Ian tugged off his fourth outfit, glad that it fit, but also blushing from head to toe since Grim’s eyes haven’t left him in nearly half an hour. 

The guy had figured that since Ammo was asleep on the couch, they needed to be quiet, and he also needed to try on his clothes to see if anything needed to go back to the store. Thus, they were now both in his new room, with Grim sitting cross-legged on the bed and Ian awkwardly tugging on and off pants, shirts, sweaters, and what not. 

Turning around for the fifth time, Ian pursed his lips and slid his hands into his pockets as he nervously looked at the carpeted floor beneath his feet. 

He was now wearing a pair of black cargo shorts and a black and silver tank top. It looked like a workout outfit… much like the other four Grim had pulled out of nowhere that were next in line to try on. 

The man made another  turn around  gesture with his hand and Ian immediately turned in a circle for the tenth time. 

When he stopped facing Grim again, the guy was smirking. 

“Yeah, I could get used to looking at that while I work out,” he noted as his eyes looked Ian over from head to toe. 

While he works out? 

“I work some nights, but most of my shifts are days and mornings. if you aren’t working, come work out with me?” Grim asked, though it didn’t seem quite like a question so much as a statement. 

Either way, he would never decline hanging out with his love, and especially not while they were both getting sweaty!

“O-of course!” Ian replied right away, stuttering from excitement. 

Grim laughed quietly in return as he gestured for him to come closer. 

“These are a bit loose, so make sure to use the drawstrings, but once you build some muscle they should fit perfectly without needing tied,” he said as he tugged on the waistband, his warm fingers brushing against Ian’s skin several times in the process. 

“Don’t you agree, Michael?” 

Ian jumped slightly as he spun around. 

Ammo was standing in the doorway, clearly still drowsy and more than a bit unkempt. He’d put on a pair of shorts at least, though. 

“Yeah,” Ammo responded with a raspy voice as he took a hesitant step closer, then averted his eyes slightly and bowed his head. 

“I’m really sorry for b—” his words died off into silence as his eyes widened and he lifted his head. 

Ian was a bit confused until he heard Grim get off the bed and walk past him. He expected them to start talking, or perhaps go into another room for some privacy before they did, but to Ian’s surprise, Grim simply reached out and yanked the other guy right into his arms, then squeezed the ever-loving hell out of him until Ammo was a sobbing mess against his chest. 

Unsure of what to do, Ian stood there for a moment, too stunned to look away, even though he knew he should have. To his surprise, though, one emotion he didn’t feel immediately bubble to the surface was jealousy. 

It was there, sure, but it was only just-barely a whisper in his belly. Easily ignored. 

Instead, his attention was quickly pulled towards something he didn’t expect. 

Are those… cat ears? 

Inching closer, Ian let himself partially slip into his mind, calling for his own cat. 

Where is Ren? 

It wasn’t responding. 

By the time he stopped about a foot away, he knew why. 

Ammo’s fuzzy cat ears were flicking quite a lot. 

He was also making a sound that was all too familiar. 

As the tears died down, the unmistakable sound of content purring could easily be heard in the silence. 

Ren… is with Ammo?

Opossum Fourteen

It was interesting to see his shift from a different point of view.

Ren had always been inside him, but rarely active during the times he was awake. Now that his cat had decided to spend some time with Ammo, it was suddenly much more attentive to what was going on around its host.

He wasn’t really sure how his cat had jumped ship in the first place, but whenever they tried to swap him back by holding hands, Ren would swat at him mentally, sitting at the faint barrier between their two minds, clearly not interested in returning yet.

“You know, his shift already loves me. I might as well steal your boy, Grimmy,” Ammo said over the speaker phone.

Ian chuckled as he washed the dishes, but when he looked back at Grim, who was finishing up cooking, he struggled to read his expression.

He knew that Ammo was just poking fun at them, and honestly, he was glad to hear it. He’d stayed with them for the past few days, sleeping on the couch and generally just being out of it between bouts of sobbing and barely-eating.

Yesterday, however, he’d woken up with a cautious smile on his face and asked Grim if it would be okay if he went home for a little while.

Of course, he didn’t have to ask Grim anything. They had no relation besides being friends who met online, but at the same time, Ian figured that the question hadn’t been asked so much for Grim, but for himself.

The stipulation Grim had asked him for when he agreed was that he call them after being home for a day or so.

This was that call.

“We’re going to go workout in about an hour, after we eat,” Grim reminded him, his voice a little darker than normal, but still clearly inviting.

In fact, they’d already agreed to meet up to go work out together, so the reminder was valid.

“Grumpy already, bud? He hasn’t even seen me in workout clothes. He might switch sides yet,” Ammo continued, clearly enjoying poking fun at Grim.

He could admit that Ammo was a beautiful person, but he’d never outright tease Grim about him looking at someone else. His heart wouldn’t be able to take it if the man got mad at him for pushing his buttons, even if he knew that Grim didn’t like him that way.

In fact, he got so lost in his thoughts that when he felt an arm slip around his waist, he didn’t even notice. Until, that is, words accompanied the action.

“You better not be thinking about someone else’s dick between your legs,” Grim growled as he bit his ear hard enough to make Ian yelp!

Ian quickly spun around as Grim stepped back and crossed his arms over his chest.

“I-I would never!” Ian stuttered, his face burning even though he doubted Ammo had heard what Grim had whispered in his ear.

“Are you traumatizing my baby?” Ammo asked, clearly having not heard the traumatizing words, but figuring things out all the same.

Ian couldn’t help but grin at their antics, but his smile was immediately wiped from his face by Grim’s lips pressing against his own.

“Hungry little fucker, smiling and thinking about someone else when your husband is standing right in front of you.”

That time he did speak loud enough for Ammo to hear, but the guy just laughed off his words as they heard the sound of keys jingling and a door sliding closed.

Ian stood frozen in place as Grim leaned away a moment later, then walked away to go finish getting ready.

“Ian? Ian, babe, you okay?” Ammo asked through the phone Grim had left on the opposite counter.

Ian managed to get his mouth to open and close a few times in response, but the fish gesture did nothing to make actual words happen. In fact, by the time Grim was back and helping him slide his own tennis shoes on, Ian was still struggling to English.

“We’ll meet you at the gym in a bit,” Grim eventually said as he finished tying Ian’s shoes, then stood up to grab his phone.

The call was ended before Ammo could respond, and somehow, finally, the ending chime managed to snap Ian out of his kiss-induced coma… only for Grim to reach over and promptly mess up his hair between an inch of its poor life!

“Wh-what are you doing?” he questioned as he lifted his hands to try and fend off Grim’s assault!

“You’re going to the gym, not a fashion show,” Grim grumbled as he looked over Ian’s black tennis shoes, black gym shorts, and maroon tank top.

He seemed to notice something off, though, because he quickly leaned forward again, only to press his lips to Ian’s earlobe and lick it a few times before nonchalantly leaning away.

“My bad, you were bleeding a little.”

Figuring that he wouldn’t get a response right away, since Ian was right back to sputtering silently in embarrassed terror, Grim simply fed him a quick dinner right there in the kitchen, then took his hand and, after slipping his phone into his pocket and picking up their shared gym bag, tugged him out of the house.

The car ride was quiet, allowing Ian to thaw from his previously-frozen state so that by the time they pulled up to the gym, he was smiling, excited for the chance to watch Grim exercise.

I really am a simp.

Well, he would be if he had any actual money or items to offer the man he was obsessed with.

All I’ve got is myself.

And he knew that wouldn’t be enough for someone like Grim.

Just enjoy things while you can.

“Hey cutie,” Ammo said as he walked up after they entered the building, snapping Ian out of his thoughts.

Ah, he’s wearing a hat.

A red and black one, to be exact… to hide the cat ears his feline seemingly refused to retract.

“Decided to leave Grim for someone sexier yet?” he asked as he reached out a hand for a quick shake.

They had moved beyond such pleasantries rather quickly, though. The contact was really to see if his cat was ready to come back home. Unfortunately, it swatted at him again, clearly declining to return.

Stubborn thing.

He paused for a moment as they were brought into the back training room he’d seen Grim working in the first time he’d met him.

It was empty now, and the lights had been turned off.

Grim quickly remedied the light problem as he walked over and flipped a switch, but that’s when Ian looked around and realized something.

There’s almost no equipment in here…

Were they not going to use a treadmill or weight bench?

“We’re going to focus on stretching today,” Grim said, making Ian and Ammo look at each other, then back at Grim.

Stretching?

He had the hottest guy on the planet willing to help him learn how to work out, and he wanted to spend their entire first session together stretching ?

“Need to learn how to relax your muscles or you won’t be able to handle me in bed, love,” Grim said as he got down into a simple-enough looking pose.

Ian immediately tried to mirror what he was doing, with Ammo kneeling down a few moments later, shaking his head silently.

Evidently, neither of them were able to figure out how to do the stretch correctly, because soon Grim was back on his feet and walking over to first Ammo, to correct his stance, then to Ian, to half-grope and half-help him do it correctly without hurting himself.

He was living a dream, but was too self-conscious to enjoy it!

“We do push ups now, right?” Ammo asked once Grim finally returned to matching their stance in front of them.

“No, this is called a plank. We aren’t doing the full version today, though. I just want to work out your muscles a bit,” Grim said, making Ian frown.

Then they were just doing this for a while?

He didn’t understand how it would work out their muscles, but after only a minute, he was beginning to feel them begin to ache a bit.

We aren’t even doing push ups, why am I starting to hurt?

“Feel it?” Grim asked as Ian looked to his right.

Ammo was surprisingly shaking a bit.

“Okay, relax on your bellies,” Grim said, making them both lower themselves the rest of the way to the ground with matching sighs of relief.

Okay, I can feel it.

Grim gave them a minute to rest before having them do several more rounds of the stretch. He then moved into another position after bringing over a mat for each of them and himself.

“Kneel down with one knee on the mat and slowly lean forward,” he said, showing them how to do the new stretch again.

Ian tried to copy him, but he found that his balance was surprisingly iffy, while Ammo’s was perfect.

Oh right, he still has Ren.

He paused his thoughts for a moment as he focused on the stretch. then realized something.

If Grim gave me this collar for Ren, and Ren is with Ammo…

He reached up towards the collar while unintentionally furrowing his brow.

Should I… give the collar to Ammo?

Ian looked up towards Grim, curious what he would think, but immediately felt his body stiffen as he rechecked his posture and pose!

If looks could kill!

He checked over what he was doing two more times before looking back up, his expression likely one similar to that of a lost puppy. He hadn’t meant to not pay attention!

Grim still looked livid…

In fact, the man had stood up and was just starting to stalk towards him when the door behind him and to his left suddenly opened, drawing all their attention in that direction.

A man seemingly in his mid twenties walked in, but that wasn’t what really grabbed Ian’s attention.

That’s… a lot of muscle.

They fit well with the man’s build and height, but… looking back at his love, there was no comparison.

My man is definitely more beautiful.

“I didn’t see your name on the training list,” the man said as he walked over, stopping besides Grim before looking at him and Ammo.

His brow furrowed beneath his brown bangs and his lips pursed slightly, as if trying to figure out what kind of secret situation was actually going on.

“They’re friends, Harrison. We’re just doing stretches,” Grim said simply, but with more than enough inflection to his voice to warn the other off, too.

Except, the man just shrugged off his words and walked forward until he was standing in front of Ammo, who was now staring up at him.

Ian could tell that his cat’s hackles were likely raised, too, just by judging the expression on the man’s face.

The new guy didn’t seem to like the look he was getting in return, either, because he opened his mouth to say something, but before words could exit, his expression abruptly changed to one of confused surprise.

“Oh, hey Bubba,” Ian said as he finally broke his stretching pose to scoot closer and greet the sweet capybara.

It looked quite entertaining still dressed in Ammo’s shirt and gym shorts, and add the baseball cap to it? It could pass as a baseball team mascot with ease.

The deadpan stare would be the only thing that wouldn’t quite match the mascot image.

“What… the hell is this thing?” the guy eventually muttered as he reached forward and poked Bubba on the nose… yet got zero response as the adorable creature simply stared up at him.

Ian chuckled quietly and reached over to pat Bubba on the back as he looked up at Harrison.

“He’s a capybara,” he said happily as Bubba finally began to move and slowly meandered his way into Ian’s arms for some attention.

He was forceful, but not aggressively-so. He just simply used his seventy or so pounds to push himself against Ian’s chest until he was settled comfortably in his lap. Ian happily pet Bubba as Grim stepped back into the situation, putting himself standing right next to Ian’s feet as he glared up at the other man.

“What do you want? We were busy,” he growled, clearly no longer interested in waiting for the other guy to get to his point in being there.

Harrison glanced at Ian, then right back to Bubba before reaching toward him as he said “I see one…”

Ian eyed the man’s hand, unsure of what he was talking about, but not being one for confrontation when there wasn’t a threat, he nervously held Bubba a little closer and kept his mouth shut.

Except, when Harrison gently grabbed Bubba’s chin and tilted the large rodent’s head up so that he could see its neck, Ian felt his feline jump back into his own body and promptly take control of him… and swat at the man’s hand with his own slightly-clawed one! A warning hiss was added for good measure, too.

Harrison reacted right before the swipe could land, moving his own hand out of the way in a blur that spoke of a possible shift beneath his own skin.

“This is the part where you get the hell out,” Grim said as he moved directly between them, forcing Harrison to stand up from the kneeling position he’d taken to better interact with Bubba, and take a step back… or risk getting kicked.

The other guy seemed angry, at first, but he quickly calmed himself down and grinned as he looked past Grim briefly, before returning his attention to his confronter.

“Of course, I was just curious,” the man said as he raised a hand dismissively, then turned and walked back to the door.

Before he stepped out, however, he glanced back at them.

“See you next time.”

Ian blinked as the man left, then looked down at Bubba as he simply stared up at him, likely wondering why the petting had stopped.

Clearly, neither of them were interested in a next time.

Opossum Fifteen

He could hear his heartbeat. 

He could also hear Ian calling himself a pervert over and over again as he internally freaked out about sitting in his lap… in front of Grim’s streaming camera. 

It was off, of course, but he couldn’t help but think about what it would make his man think if he turned it on. 

“You sure you don’t want to play our next match from right here? I think you’d look pretty darn sexy on your man’s lap,” Grim teased, enjoying himself far too much. 

“I-I don’t think it would be a good idea,” Ian stuttered, stumbling over his words, then nearly swallowing his tongue as Grim nonchalantly slid his left hand up and underneath his shirt to play with his belly. 

It was beginning to take shape after going to the gym every other day for the past week and a half. Of course, the guy did manual labor, too, so it wasn’t taking much to get some progress. 

In fact… 

Grim added his other hand and contently began feeling him up a bit.

Definitely getting there, just a few more week— his thoughts were cut short as Ian promptly gasped a near-mute squeal and bolted out of his lap and into the bathroom! 

Grim watched him go with a raised eyebrow, then felt that brow twitch as he heard quiet splashing, then watched as a damp Bubba was scooted out of the room, looking rather dull, in all his uncaring glory. 

“I-I have to pee!” Ian then yelled as he shoved the door closed, then turned the shower on not a second later. 

In the shower…? Grim thought as his smile turned into a knowing smirk. 

Leaning back in his chair, he grabbed his controller and got the game booted up. He could sense eyes on him, but he knew that Bubba wasn’t going to move from the bathroom door when he could hear the shower running. 

When his character was ready to go and he still didn’t hear the shower turn off, however, Grim pushed himself up and walked over. 

Without thinking about it, he reached down and pet Bubba’s head as he stopped in front of the closed door. 

After a minute, he lifted his free hand and was about to knock when he heard something that made him hesitate, his knuckles just an inch from the wood. 

He’s…

It was incredibly hard to hear, at first. The patter of water from the shower swallowed nearly all extra sound, but as time went on, he began to hear something that made his own heart fidget in his chest. 

Ian was panting, but clearly trying to hide it behind the spray of the water. 

He knew that he should walk away and let the man take care of his situation in private, and possibly chill out a bit on teasing him so much, but right as Grim took a step towards Ian’s room, intent on getting his computer up and running for their match, he heard the faintest whisper that froze him in his tracks. 

“P-please, Grim…” 

Swallowing, Grim slowly looked towards the door. 

He could feel Ian’s heart somehow beat faster as his panting got a little louder, but what kept Grim frozen in place were the continuous whimpers calling his name. 

Fuck…

He’d never even thought  about doing a guy, but he couldn’t get his darn feet to move! He couldn’t even force himself to think about getting Ian someone to break the current spell he was under, either! 

The hell is wrong with me?! 

As he intentionally listened to Ian jack himself off in his shower, groaning his name, Grim felt his own frustration grow… but along with the sexual tension coursing through his body, he also felt an uncomfortable anger. 

He wasn’t used to not being in complete control of a situation. 

He should have been able to walk away, but he couldn’t. 

Well, there was one person, or at least, animal, that could, however, and did. 

What finally snapped him out of his horny daze was the sound of the refrigerator being clawed at, startling him into a panic as he hurriedly ran into the kitchen to prevent another great lettuce heist  like what had happened three days ago! 

“Bubba!” Grim hissed as he quickly leaned over and wrapped his arms around the ever-so-slightly annoyed, overgrown rodent.

It had managed to get the fridge open and was just reaching for one of the new bags of lettuce they’d intentionally put out of reach when he’d caught it at the last second. 

“You little shit, you just ate a bunch earlier,” Grim hissed as he dragged the mediocrely slow-motion flailing capybara away from its treasure. 

He eventually ended up lifting it up into an extra large booster seat they’d found at a local thrift store Ian had wanted to explore. It somehow managed to fit Bubba, with a few modifications, and since it hadn’t figured out how to get out of it yet, it was a good time-out spot for the little vagrant. 

Of course, the time-out came with a frustrated glare and disgruntled nose twitches, but it was a small price to pay to save part of their meals for the week. 

…the gas you had, too. 

Followed by constipation, which poor Ammo had to deal with as a human. 

“Here, this is all you’re getting for right now,” Grim said as he pulled a large carrot out of their vegetable drawer and handed it over. 

Bubba still didn’t look happy, but he took the carrot nonetheless and began to gnaw away at it in his big highchair. 

…much better. 

Grim looked towards the bathroom as he heard the fractured thought.   

When the bathroom door finally opened, he was pretending to wipe dry a dish he’d already washed a few hours ago. 

The simple workouts are definitely doing him some good. 

While Ian closed his eyes to finish rustling a towel through his hair, Grim calmly looked over the remainder of his body not covered by the simple pair of kitten boxers settled on his hips. He’d given them to the guy as a gag gift but, of course, Ian now treasured them. 

If he were telling the truth, the little cats running around with balls of yarn and wrestling each other somehow matched his cute personality perfectly. 

He’s staring…

Grim internally rolled his eyes as his possum inched its way closer to his eyes, cautiously curious about the cat shifter’s return from the land of the wet water. 

Of course I’m staring. Even though I’m not gay, I know a nice looking bitch when I see one. Good thing I put that collar on you or we might have had a lot problems at the gym other than just Harrison being annoying. 

And the guy had  been annoying, but only when they’d brought Ammo along, which was only two other times. 

Speaking of Ammo, he was slowly getting better control over his grief, with Bubba’s help, but he still needed some extra love here and there. 

He was also going home more often than staying over, but Grim still made sure to call and check on him each night that he was away. 

Ian’s attention turned towards Bubba as Grim watched him walk forward after settling the towel around his bare shoulders. 

“Oh my god you look so cute,” he told the large rodent as he walked over and wrapped him in a big hug. 

Bubba immediately began whining quietly about how he was starving to death and he never got fed… even though he still had a bit of carrot hanging between his teeth as he nibbled away at it. Not to mention the orange bits and pieces woven into his furry beard. 

“It’s alright sweetheart, I know you’re hungry but you have to wait for dinner,” he told it in a cute baby voice that made Grim roll his eyes. 

Reaching forward, he was about to grab the waistband of Ian’s boxers and tug him away from the inflated gerbil when he just-barely caught himself and yanked his hand back right before Ian looked over his shoulder and grinned at him. 

Uh, stop making my heart itch. 

His possum screamed for good measure, making him internally flick its nose. 

And you, hush. 

It hung its head and slowly scampered away, giving out little muted yells in the process. 

“Oh hey, Grim? I figured out how to do something recently,” Ian said cheerily as he turned to face him completely and lifted his hands up to grasp either side of the towel still hanging around his neck. 

“Show me,” Grim said as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the counter by the stove. 

Ian’s face turned a little bit pink as he looked at his feet, but he quickly regained his composure and lifted his eyes back to him. Except, when his gaze settled back on his own, Grim raised an eyebrow… at the same time his possum gave out the loudest ear-piercing scream from deep within his mind, forcing the sound to echo throughout his brain and rattle his skull!

The reason for such an overstated reaction? The adorable cat ears now settled atop Ian’s soft hair. 

Ammo had them for a bit, too, you noisy little fucknugget!

That didn’t stop it from suddenly running back up to the forefront of his mind, bringing its impressively-loud voice with it. 

It was so loud, in fact, that Grim couldn’t even pretend to speak, because he wouldn’t be able to hear what he said. So instead, he simply walked forward and settled his hand on Ian’s head, patting his hair and new ears gently. 

He hadn’t really touched Ammo’s when he’d been borrowing Ren, but now that they were on Ian’s head, he happily squeezed them a bit… even though it made his possum nearly have a heart attack in his mind. 

Well, at least until it ran screaming down his arm and suddenly just… vanished. 

Um… 

The startled look on Ian’s face as his cat ears abruptly vanished told him all that he needed to know. 

Shit. 

Ian looked to the left, then right, then left, down, right, left. He was going nuts, and Grim couldn’t blame him. 

You little bitch, get back here before I skin you! he cursed, embarrassed that his useless shift was now running around in Ian’s mind!

He couldn’t tell what was going on with either it or Ren, but it was clear that they were definitely not getting along.

Reaching up with his free hand, he settled his palm against Ian’s face. 

“Come back here, you,” he told his opossum sternly, trying to sound nice out loud, at least. 

He could sense Ian’s panic through whatever kind of bond he’d formed with the guy, but no words were coming through as the man stepped into him, clearly seeking some help with the no-doubt crazy animal now tormenting him and his other half. 

Grim held him in a gentle hug, frustrated that he couldn’t do more to help bring his useless shift back. 

He was just about to try closer physical contact when he felt something dart up his arm and disappear into the back of his mind!

About damn time, you useless piece of— an angry hiss cut off his words immediately, then a swat against his brain had him jumping back, breaking contact with Ian. 

The fuck? Did I just get man-handled by a pussy? 

Another angry hiss confirmed that indeed, he had. 

Why didn’t you chase him back in here? Aren’t you an animal that hunts opossums? he questioned Ren, a little frustrated that the thing had evidently run away instead. 

Ian’s cat didn’t seem interested in being reprimanded, or talked to in general anymore, because it gave him one final growl, then settled in to begin cleaning its paws in the comfortable silence of his mind. 

Grim inwardly scowled, but didn’t seem able to do much else right then, so he glanced back at Ian, who in turn was looking to his right with one hand held against his likely-aching forehead. 

Hmm? 

Grim turned his attention to what he was staring at… just in time to watch as Bubba gave out the most exaggerated sneeze of all time that sent bits of carrot sailing all over themselves and the kitchen. 

He then belched and wiggled his nose contently. 

What… what is even going on with my life right now?

Opossum Sixteen

(Racket took one of my throw pillows) 

While Grim got the carrot mess cleaned up in the kitchen, Ian sat down on the couch and tried to figure out how to calm down the little creature in his mind. 

It didn’t seem to matter what he did, though. The poor guy just kept screaming and running around. 

“I’m sorry about him, he never shuts up unless you can scare him to the point of playing dead,” Grim said as he wiped off a cabinet. 

He didn’t want to scare him… the poor thing already seemed more than scared enough. 

“Does he have a favorite food? Or toy?” he asked. 

Grim stared at him with a frown, then shrugged one shoulder. 

“No clue, but he’s never taken an interest in anything. It’s always just screaming and playing dead when he gets too stressed or tired.” 

Ian pursed his lips as he tried to think, but the screaming was just too hard to focus through. 

No wonder Grim has a short fuse sometimes. 

He couldn’t imagine his cat yowling so much. 

Deciding to take things one step at a time, Ian leaned back in the reclining sofa and put his feet up, then closed his eyes. It took a bit of focus to get himself to relax through the noise, but he eventually managed to step into his mind. 

The little guy was still scurrying around and, of course, screaming, but it was clear that it was running low on steam now. 

It eventually stopped a short distance away, gasping for air, then slowly looked to the left, then let out a little scream, then looked to the right, followed by another tired scream. 

Then, finally , it flopped over and stuck its tongue out. 

He waited a few minutes after that to be sure that the opossum wasn’t going to get back up, then quietly made his way over, slowly becoming visible as he moved as to not startle the little guy, who still had his eyes partially open. 

Once he was close enough, he sat down beside him, then slowly reached out a hand to gently pat his fuzzy back leg. He didn’t want to touch near his face yet, because that was never somewhere you wanted to pet any animal if you didn’t already know them very well. 

The little possum didn’t react, but that was to be expected. It was still trying to catch its breath, so it wasn’t playing dead all that well, but Ian gladly played along and didn’t instigate anything. He simply sat there and softly ran a few fingers along its fur, not moving them too far and being consist in his tempo. 

It’s not so bad, sweetheart. 

He didn’t broadcast that thought, but as time went on, he noticed that the little guy was slowly getting his breathing back under control. 

There we go. 

As the possum began to come around again, Ian carefully tucked his face against his arm that was resting on his bent knee. His hand continued to move in the same rhythm until the opossum inched away from it, but Ian didn’t move a muscle after his hand drifted to the floor of his mind. 

He could hear the possum snuffling around him, but it didn’t dare come too close. It was hard to hold still for so long, but he was managing decently well. He just had to thinking about a few different things to keep his mind busy, while still paying attention to the sounds from the possum. 

What felt like hours passed, but in all honesty, he knew that there was progress being made. For one, there was barely any yelling for the majority of that time, and if there was, it was just little startled yips here and there. It probably wasn’t used to seeing any people, too, so he couldn’t fault it for being so stressed all the time. It seemed like a puppy with no socialization.   

Eventually, the little guy wandered off into the depths of his mind, likely intent on resting. 

Ian waited a little while longer before slowly opening his eyes with a quiet sigh. He moved his shoulders a bit and gave a small yawn, but then realized something. 

I can’t move my right leg much.

Looking down, he immediately realized why… then fell in love all over again. 

Grim was asleep with his head in his lap and a forest green throw pillow hugged against his chest. 

Ian immediately lifted his hands up, but then found himself at a loss as to what to do with them. He wanted to hug his handsome love, but knew he shouldn’t, but then he wanted to stroke his hair, but that might wake him up. 

Instead of doing either, he lifted his hands to his hair and tugged as his eyes began blinking constantly, snapping mental photos of the beauty to look back on. 

He continued to stare like the pervert he was until he heard a light thump  on the carpet near the breakfast bar counter by the kitchen. 

Oh, he climbed out of his highchair. 

Ian paused for a moment and looked over at the clock on the wall, then stared back down at Grim with a deadpan expression. 

You left him in that highchair for two hours? 

Now he did  feel like waking him up, but Bubba took his attention back as he slowly made his way over to them, then promptly put his front paws up on the couch next to Grim and, before Ian could stop him, jumped right up onto his chest without a care in the world!

Grim immediately grunted and woke up with a cough, but Ian managed to grab Bubba right before Grim could toss him off the couch like a giant fuzzy football!  

“Little shit…” Grim grumbled as he pushed himself up and glared at the capybara Ian was still hugging against his own chest. 

“You left him in his high chair. You can’t blame him for being upset,” Ian said, though he wasn’t sure if Bubba had come over just to piss off Grim, or simply wanted to snuggle and didn’t care who was in the way. 

Judging by the expression the animal was making towards Grim, which was still mostly blankness, but with an added hint of malice, it might have been both. 

“I-I think our match is starting soon,” Ian said, trying to smooth things over as Grim and Bubba glared at each other. 

They might actually be a little late if they didn’t get on soon. 

Grim stared at him for a moment, but his gaze did soften a bit before turning away to look at the clock. 

“Tch…” 

Soon he was standing and walking away, allowing Ian to give a quiet sigh of relief as he released Bubba. 

The capybara calmly slumped off the sofa and wandered around the corner, making Ian hurry after him… until he noticed that he was slowly sauntering towards his room instead of Grim’s. 

“I-I’ll log on now,” Ian said to Grim, raising his voice a little so that the man could hear him from where he was already getting himself ready to stream. 

Ah, I need to get dressed, too. 

After quickly logging his character in and helping Bubba wiggle his way up onto the bed, Ian tugged on a pair shorts and a black long-sleeved shirt.

Once he felt he was ready he settled down into his chair and looked at the camera now pointed at him on his desk. He’d tested it out a few times with Grim beforehand, but still…

This would be his first time streaming with it. 

If he did well, they might offer him more money, too, so no matter how nervous he felt, he wanted to have a good stream match with Grim. 

And, of course, most importantly, he wanted to impress his love. 

Logging into the voice chat, he kept himself muted for the moment as the MC quickly announced his presence. 

“Here’s the other half of our second duo, our current King, Renegade!” 

Pressing his push-to-talk button, Ian greeted them. 

“Good evening, loves.”

He opened his user channel so that he could keep an eye on the chat every so often, too. 

“Hang on a minute,” Grim said, startling Ian a little as he turned his chair to face him, confused as to why he’d suddenly come into his room when they had a match about to start. 

“I knew you’d put on something simple,” he told him, making Ian look down at his basic red shorts and black long-sleeved shirt. 

He wasn’t used to it mattering. 

“You need to look sexier than that. I want them to be jealous that you’re my bitch,” Grim said as he walked over to his rather-full closet and began looking at item after item. 

I feel like you keep adding things to my wardrobe cause I don’t remember seeing half of the stuff you’re looking at right now. 

“This will work,” he said after a minute as he returned to his side and held up a nice-looking dark red silk shirt. 

That… you want me to wear that for a live video game match? 

There were at least fifteen other shirts he could think of that would be a better fit, but before his mind could even form that thought completely, he was tugging off his current shirt and accepting the item. 

It was pulled on a second later, then Grim leaned in to straighten out his collar, then nip his neck! 

“I know you love it,” Grim teased as he leaned away a moment later, not an ounce of remorse to his words.       

He looked incredibly smug, and the grin on his face only grew as he reached over and picked something up that he’d evidently put on the bed a few moments ago. 

“Bottoms,” he said, making Ian’s brow furrow as his face warmed. 

You really want me to wear those on camera? 

They were workout shorts… and a tad tight. 

“They don’t need to see those. They’re for your husband,” Grim said, making Ian quickly jump up and tug his pants and boxers down right in front of Grim in order to pull the tight shorts on. 

They hugged him like a second skin, leaving little to the imagination… but thankfully didn’t give him a wedgie. Once he was sure they looked okay, he straightened back up and smiled, except… the guy was no longer standing in front of him. 

“Let’s go, bitch! We have a match to win!” Grim shouted from his room, making Ian frown and blink a few times before slowly sitting back down and checking that everything else was ready to go. 

When Grim appeared at the top right corner of his screen a few moments later, Ian swallowed down his remaining nervousness and turned his new streaming camera on for the first time. 

The MC, who had been in the middle of introducing Grim, suddenly seemed to become tongue-tied as the voice chat went completely silent. 

Did I do it right? Can they see me? 

He was about to lean forward and check the connection, even though he could see a little screen beneath Grim’s that clearly showed his own face staring back at him, when he suddenly heard the notification for his personal chat channel start chiming like crazy. 

A quick glance to the window told him plenty. 

BichWut: WAIT. HOLD ON. Grim thinks he can get THAT fine piece of man?! 

MimiIsAPerv: Boi, my face deserves to be between your pecs!

DiviIsAPerv: Do you have an OnlyFans? Because I want to be your one and only fan.

MimiIsAPerv: Divi… I’m willing to share since your name speaks to me. 

OhLawdHeCumin’: Heck no he’s mine! Ren baby, call me Daddy and I’ll take care of you forever! 

“Alright all you bastards, he’s my bitch. Go get your own,” Grim snarled through his mic as Ian finally relaxed and gave his audience a thoughtful smile. 

“Hello, loves. I do apologize, but I can’t argue with my man,” he said honestly, even as his chat continued to blow up with fans going crazy over his appearance. 

He’d never really thought that he looked particularly above average, so the extra attention just made him chuckle a little as their characters were teleported to the arena to begin their match. 

He had decided to play more like a healer this time, but also had a few good melee attack skills up his sleeve in case of emergency. Of course, that left him limited on space for his healing abilities, so he’d had to plan which ones to put on the easy-access key bars. 

When he saw Grim’s character teleport in beside him, his inner fanboy twitched and he had to force himself not to squeal. 

He’s so cute! 

While Grim’s character was definitely more manly than his own cat boy, the guy’s human had evidently had a bit of an overhaul. At least, in terms of cosmetic gear. 

Grim didn’t normally waste time applying cosmetics to his character and usually preferred the look of his normal armor to anything fancy, but right now his character was wearing dark purple robes with gold trim, dark red oriental pants, and he even had a monocle settled over his left eye.   

Needless to say, Ian happily took several screenshots as he had his character dance around Grim’s a few times. 

MayonnaisePacket: Nooooo, don’t be fooled Ren!

Ambidickstrous: Boy’s gone…

He knew that his expression was still reasonably passive, but he couldn’t help but take the screenshots. Grim’s character never  dressed up! It would have been a wasted opportunity if he hadn’t!

The MC went on about introducing their opponents, but he paid them no mind until Grim’s character finally reached forward and flicked him on the nose, snapping him out of his excited daze immediately. 

His chat continued to blow up as they started the match, but his entire focus was now on making sure that he performed to Grim’s expectations. He might have taken a few more screenshots as they were running and during their first interaction with their opponents, though. 

After making sure that they were going to win that altercation, of course.   

“Ren is on the ball today! Look at those perfectly timed heals, and to pair them with melee attacks? Has anyone seen a healer charge into an actual fight without getting slaughtered when their casting is interrupted by damage?!” 

It honestly was a pretty daunting task, and he struggled a bit at first since healers were generally the initial targets during a match, but Grim never left his side for a second, and if he was being honest, he seemed even more protective than normal. 

D1ckDoodler: Guys, Grimmy is totally being a jealous boyfriend right now! 

ChocolateChipSpaghetti: I can’t argue… and I thought Renegade was obsessed. What’s wrong, Grim? Worried you might lose your simp when he realizes that someone better will be dboxing him after this match? 

FlamingosAteTheDinosaurs: silently slips away to message him

“I have to agree with the chat. Can’t blame the guy for playing defense,” the MC said, making Grim snarl and sneer   out quite a few choice words that were not exactly suitable for fragile ears. 

That led to Grim slipping up and actually dying, leaving Ren to fight two on one… and barely survive. 

He managed to take out the opponent’s healer before having to run from their damage dealer. Somehow, though, he was able to make it back to their own respawn point just in time for Grim to revive and knock out the pursuing elf’s remaining hit points!

“Thanks, sweetheart,” Ian said calmly as he settled his character down for a quick rest to recuperate his own hit points and magic points. 

“Gotta take care of my bitch,” Grim replied with his classic snark, earning a content smile from Ian that sent his chat into a frenzy. 

DNT: How can Grim say such things to such a sweet boy?!

CatTastrophe: Grim’s got him delusional. Ren, you can do so much better! 

Ian gave a quiet chuckle as he set out with Grim’s character again to hunt down their enemies. 

CricketsInMySoup: That is NOT the look of someone who seems delusional. He’s absolutely OBSESSED! 

He couldn’t argue that one. 

His attention quickly had to turn to their next altercation, forcing him to focus as he healed and defended himself while Grim went characteristically wild. 

Perhaps a little excessively…

Once again, he had to hunker down and try to keep Grim from getting himself killed. He even ended up taking a pretty nasty fireball attack for him just to give himself enough time to heal the stubborn guy. 

That managed to allow them to kill both enemies, but when the dust settled his cat boy was still suffering from a pretty severe burn over most of his body and the effect still had two minutes left to tic away at his health. 

This might kill me…

His mana points were completely drained, too, so he couldn’t cast anything or rest until the ability wore off. 

He was just getting ready to give up and let his character die when Grim’s pulled him into a tight hug and began whispering a healing spell that quickly engulfed them both in a bright white light. 

When the light finally dimmed about ten seconds later, his sweet cat boy, Renegade, looked up into Grim’s eyes and immediately wagged his singed tail.

Ian was all smiles now that all of his hit points and magic points were restored by the spell Grim had evidently been holding onto just in case of such a situation, even though he’d chosen to play a damage dealer this round. 

Wait a second. No wonder why he has been taking a bit more damage, he must have taken off one of his shielding abilities to add that healing one. 

His thoughts were quickly diverted when Grim’s character patted his head, then started running off towards the enemy’s pillar, silently signaling that it was time to get a move on. 

Ian quickly got Renegade moving as the MC called out that they were heading towards the finale if the other team couldn’t get themselves back in the game! 

Unfortunately for him and Grim, the other team wasn’t interested in going down so quickly. To their surprise, however, they bypassed Grim somehow and actually ambushed Renegade, forcing him to divert abruptly and put up a shield in order to block two massive simultaneous blasts from both their opponents! 

The attacks shattered his shield and sent him flying backwards into the forested area he’d just emerged from, making him take a good bit of damage as he slammed into a sturdy tree. 

He wasn’t given any time to shake the hit off, and as his character staggered and fumbled into a run, still a little stunned from the impact, their opponents closed in. 

Ian did his best to heal himself as he saw Grim’s character quickly approaching on his radar, but right before he could appear, Renegade’s hit points dropped to zero, making his character fall to the forest floor, unconscious. 

The MC announced the knock out right before Grim’s snarl cut off any further words. 

“How dare you fuckwads touch my bitch!” 

The two opponents that had just killed him turned to look Grim’s way, but they were given no further chance to respond as a massive wall of fire incinerated not just them, but the entire forest around them. 

Grim even burned his own character a little bit from the rebound effect of such a massive spell, but he clearly didn’t pay it any mind as he turned right back around and darted for their opponent’s pillar, his robe still sizzling. 

Grim made short work of its hit points since he’d geared mainly for damage this round. Ian had intended to join him, but when he noticed their revived opponents going after him again as he approached, he realized something. 

We’re getting low on kills. I can’t risk dying again. 

So, instead of trying to continue onward, he quickly skidded to a halt, then spun around and darted back towards the middle of the map. 

“Oh? Perhaps Renegade has figured out their plan now? He’s also not as heavily equipped as he normally is, so he’s managing to pull ahead rather well!” the MC announced, though Ian was no longer paying attention. 

He was  managing to get away decently well, though, which was buying Grim precious seconds to continue wailing away at their enemy’s pillar. 

Alright, I just need to distract them for a few more m— Ian was immediately taken off-guard by the large rodent forcing its way up into his lap one slow-motion stretch at a time. 

Bubba! This really isn’t the time! 

The capybara couldn’t have cared less. It calmly climbed up into his lap as Ian put his character on auto-run and did his best to dodge trees with one hand while failing to at least direct Bubba in some sort of direction with the other. 

The MC was babbling a mile a minute at the same time, while his chat chime was going crazy, but he really couldn’t do much about any of that right then. 

As Bubba finally got himself situated… and facing the camera with the dullest expression known to man, Ian leaned around him and had his character dodge to the side just in time to avoid being frozen in place by a binding spell! 

He pivoted after the dodge, then put up a shield just in time to reflect an axe attack!

There’s no way I can fight with him in my lap. 

But at the same time, he couldn’t bring himself to push him down, either. 

“Stay away from my bitch!” Grim roared as the screen lit up in a second round of bright red flames, blotting out any other details around them. 

At the same time, thunder boomed through his speakers and the fur on his character’s body stood up from the static electricity surging through the area. 

By the time he was able to see everything again, most of the trees around him had been decimated and were sizzling like freshly grilled steaks. 

Two bodies were also lying nearby, completely burnt with little bits of electricity zipping around them from head to toe as they slowly began to fade away. 

Ian had Renegade slowly get up and shake out his coat a bit, but before he could fully straighten up, he was yanked off his feet and tossed over Grim’s character’s shoulder!

He could hear the guy grumbling under his breath as he started running back towards the enemy’s pillar, making Ian keep his mouth firmly shut. 

“Uh oh, Grim is really  mad! For those who don’t know, our foul-mouthed friend tends to get quieter and quieter the more infuriated he becomes,” the MC helpfully stated, making Ian internally fidget. 

He hadn’t meant to mess up so badly…

Thus, the moment he was tossed down on the ground next to the enemy’s pillar he quickly got to work dealing as much damage as he could to it. 

Since their opponents were already killed several times and Grim had previously dealt a lot of damage to the pillar, even though it had regenerated some of it, they still managed to take it down before being interrupted again. 

The moment the screen flashed with the word Victory  Ian muted his mic and leaned back in his seat, then gave out a long sigh of relief. 

Bubba took that moment to glance back at him, then slowly turned until he was facing sideways… and flopped right down against his chest, nearly making Ian fall backwards out of his chair!

His big fuzzy friend then took that opportunity to try and nibble on his hair, further distracting him as the MC seemed to start giving a play-by-play of the unorthodox wrestling match. 

Ian struggled with the seventy-plus pound rodent for several more moments before he heard the sound of some sort of switch being flicked. 

Huh? 

“Oh? It seems like Renegade is having trouble with his camera. We’ll take our break now before we do our winning interviews,” the MC said, though his words mainly went in one ear and out the other, because Ian honestly could barely hear him over the rushing sound of blood storming through his head as Grim shoved away Bubba, then grabbed his jaw in a vicelike grip and kissed him so deeply that he couldn’t even manage to take a single breath!

The man’s onslaught was welcome, of course, but it soon had Ian’s excitement turning into confused worry as he fought to get air into his lungs!

Grim even followed him down when he did finally lean too far back in his chair, tilting it over onto the carpet. It was like the guy was starving and only devouring his mouth could keep him alive as he pinned him to the back of the padded chair! 

Ian was at a total loss and truly tried to keep up, but by the time Grim ended his attack and got up, silently walking back to his own room, Ian was left frozen in place, his wide eyes staring up at the slowly rotating ceiling fan above him as his poor aching mouth hung open in shock, gasping for air!

The sound of Grim’s voice soon came through his headset informing the MC that there were some technical difficulties going on and that Renegade wouldn’t be able to be on camera for the remainder of the evening. 

Thankfully, the match was already done, and Grim easily stepped into the interview, talking about it as if he hadn’t just claimed another K.O., and of his own teammate, only moments beforehand!

Opossum Seventeen

(Evidently bad storms can cause dogs to feel static and most shower tiles don’t conduct electricity, so Racket decided it was shower time… at midnight.) 

It was strangely quiet. 

After dealing with his obnoxious opossum his entire life, having peace and quiet in his mind was something Grim wasn’t used to at all. 

Settling back down in his chair, he licked his slightly swollen lips, then rubbed at them with the back of his hand… before realizing that he was sitting in front of his streaming camera.  

The same streaming camera that was currently  streaming  him to the thousands of people who had just watched their match and were now waiting for the final interview! 

Fuck me. 

“Um, w-welcome back, Grim! Are you ready for your interview now or do you need another minute?” the MC asked, clearly reading between the lines. 

Pushing aside his internal frustration, Grim sat up a little straighter in his seat and smirked as he turned his mic back on. 

“Of course I’m ready. What are your questions?” 

As he asked that, he could hear his chat going crazy, prompting him to glance sideways at the chat log. 

Err…

HabaneroCondom: I… I love your filthy mouth, but why is it bruised right now? 

SimpleSimp: Where is our Ren? Why are your lips puffy? 

ClaustrophobicCashew: Where is our Ren baby?! Are you cheating on that beautiful man?! 

Cheating? We aren’t even together!

Rencat hissed in his mind, making Grim internally roll his eyes. 

Be quiet, you know we aren’t together, either. 

It didn’t seem happy with his response, because it was soon pawing at the back of his eyes, making him wince and growl out his own warning.

“The hell are you guys going on about? I’m not cheating on anyone, because I’m not going out  with anyone!” he snarled, earning a nervous laugh from the MC as he awkwardly got the interview going. 

Renegade was nowhere to be seen for the first part of it, leaving quite a few people to continue questioning his whereabouts. 

Thankfully, around the five minute mark Grim heard his mic become unmuted. 

“Hello guys, sorry I’m late. I was trying to fix my camera but it looks like it might take a bit more time so I hope you don’t mind if I just do the interview without it tonight,” he said, sounding perfectly apologetic. 

Grim gave an internal sigh of relief that Ren’s likely-bleeding lips wouldn’t be on display, but at the same time, he was annoyed for that very reason, too. 

The fuck is wrong with me? 

“Of course not! It’s totally fine!” the MC said, clearly happy to see that Renegade had returned to even things out. 

Of course, that didn’t stop the chat from going crazy, and immediately letting Ren know that Grim was cheating on him with someone else. 

His man simply chuckled and dismissed the accusations, because they obviously  weren’t true. 

“There you go. He says I’m not cheating,” Grim said as he then quickly turned the discussion back to the game. 

The chat still didn’t seem to believe him, but he just decided to ignore it since Ian was calmly chiming in here and there, not minding their viewer’s words in the least. 

In fact, at one point he even told them to behave and stop typing such mean things to the man he loved. 

His words made Grim want to gag, but at the same time, they made his heart itch, too. Ren gave a content purr as he paced behind his eyes as well, glancing out every few moments, curious. 

By the time the interview was over, he was a fidgety mess and immediately turned his camera off the second they were dismissed. Another moment later and he had flopped down onto his bed with a frustrated groan. 

My mouth hurts. 

Ren settled down in his mind and went back to cleaning his paws, leaving it far quieter than he was used to. 

It was so calm and quiet, in fact, that his body actually began to relax against his blankets as he nuzzled his face into the soft fabric. 

Pretty soon he was rolling around like an attentive feline, messing up his blankets more and more as Ren began to purr through his slightly parted lips. 

For some reason, though, the activity wasn’t really doing it for him. He was enjoying it more than he thought he would, but something still felt off. 

Stopping on his belly, he pawed at the blankets for a moment before promptly hopping out of his bed and walking across the hall into Ian’s room. 

The young man noticed him immediately from where he still sat at his computer, but then did a double take before spinning his chair around to follow Grim’s movement until he jumped into his bed and began rolling around like a cat on cat nip!

H-he’s too cute! 

The thought made Grim’s eyebrow twitch but he couldn’t stop himself. Ren seemed to not really care about the situation, but it was obvious that the cat was the mastermind as it continued to nonchalantly clean its paws. 

You little shit! Knock this off right now! I know you’re making me act like a pussy on purpose!

No matter how much he yelled at it, his words seemed to go in one fuzzy ear and out the other. 

It didn’t help that his sense of smell had suddenly been amplified since Ren had joined him, allowing him to take in Ian’s clean scent as he rolled amongst his blankets and within moments, sheets. 

The guy’s poor bed was beginning to look like it had witnessed a wild night of debauchery, but unfortunately for Ian, the only crazy thing messing it up was him. 

Sooooooo cute!

Grim groaned internally at Ian’s thought, but he honestly couldn’t blame the man. He was obsessed with him, after all, so it was only natural to think that he was being cute… especially when he was rolling around in his bed. 

Thank god he’s not an aggressive dom or I might be in trouble. 

He’d heard stories, and knew  several doms who wouldn’t hesitate to take advantage of such a situation. Harrison immediately came to mind on that train of thought, but he quickly dismissed grouping him with them. 

He was stereotyping him without really knowing him all that well. Not that he wanted to know him at all, but the guy didn’t seem nearly as pushy as some doms he’d met. He’d only asked Ammo for his number once, and was declined but not outright told to leave him alone. So, the two have talked a little while at the gym, but he at least wasn’t shoving himself into his personal space or anything, no matter how much he seemed to want to. 

Of course, he wasn’t sure if he wasn’t doing that just because he already had Grim watching out for him, but either way, Ammo wasn’t going to be an easy score for anyone so long as he was around. 

Refocusing on his current situation, Grim realized that something else had happened, courtesy of his new hitchhiker. 

Jesus Christ, I’m purring. 

And not just  purring. He sounded like a motor boat as he nuzzled the side of his face against Ian’s pillow just like a cat would if it were scent marking or showing affection. 

I want to take a picture. I want to pet his hair. 

Grim stared at the man looking back at him as he hugged his computer chair. He looked to be about ready to cry with joy. 

You like me that much? Even though I’m acting like an idiot right now? 

The literal stars in the guy’s eyes were telling him that, indeed, he was liked that  much. 

Fuck it. 

Forcing himself into a sitting position, Grim held some of his weight up with his hand as he licked the other one once, then shook it out so that he didn’t rub it against his hair. 

Can you chill for five seconds?! 

Ren looked deeply offended as he slowly lowered the paw he’d been cleaning and twitched his whiskers. 

Once he felt the feline’s control slip away a bit, Grim refocused on Ian and nodded towards the expanse of bed in front of him. 

“Come here.”

He was going to add you little shit to the end of his words but cut himself off when he realized that the true little shit  was sitting in his mind, nonchalantly driving him nuts. 

Ian seemed hesitant, at first. Instead of doing as told right away, he hugged his chair a little tighter and pressed his cheek to the side of the headrest. 

“Are you okay? It’s alright if I just sit here. I don’t need to get in bed right now.” 

You…

Feeling his invisible hackles bristle, Grim stalked forward on his hands and knees, much like an annoyed cat would. When he sat down again, much closer to the edge of the bed this time, it was clear that his patience was wearing thin. 

“Ian, come here.” 

Ian did as told immediately this time and got himself situated at the very edge of the bed. He couldn’t bring himself to look him in the eyes, and was fiddling with his hands in his lap, but at least he’d listened. 

Tilting his head quizzically, Grim inched closer until he was right in front of him.

“Ian?” he questioned in a commanding tone. 

The man responded immediately and straightened his back, as well as lifted his head. When his warm brown eyes met his own, Grim grinned. 

“Who do you belong to?” he asked now that he had his full attention again. 

Ian immediately perked up. 

“You! I belong to Grim!” 

There’s that cute smile. 

“How is my useless shift doing?” he asked, trying to keep his hands to himself as he felt Ren try to nudge him to practically roll all over the guy in front of him. 

“Ah, he’s doing well! He’s taking a nap right now so it’s calm and quiet,” Ian said, surprising Grim. 

“A nap? As in, not screaming? Not even a squeaking nightmare?” he asked, confused. 

Ian quickly nodded, his smile widening a little as his eyes squinted. 

“Mhm! It took a bit, but he went to take a nap before our match and is still curled up in the back of my mind.” 

Leaning closer, Grim let Ren’s purr slip from between his lips as his enhanced nose took in his scent. 

Ian tensed in response, but didn’t dare move a muscle besides that. 

Smells good. 

He smelled like his soap, since he’d been using it ever since he’d moved in, but he also smelled like Ian, too. It was a light scent settled just beneath the clean smell. It reminded him of a pine forest in winter. 

Leaning away after a few moments, Grim ignored Ian’s bright red face and reached up to rub his thumb over a healing bite mark. 

I guess I went a bit too hard earlier. 

Heck, he’d tasted blood in his own mouth, too. 

I really need to just go get laid. 

Tugging gently on Ian’s lip, Grim pursed his own. 

I bet he’d let me do anything I want to him, but I don’t want to take advantage. 

He was just wondering why no one had bothered to try their luck with Ian at the gym when he realized his own stupidity. 

I’ve been chasing away anyone who even looks his way. 

Lowering his gaze, Grim stared at the collar he’d put around Ian’s neck a while ago. 

I should take it off. 

His hand slowly lowered towards it, but before his fingers could grasp the smooth leather, he sighed and withdrew it. 

“I wanna watch a movie,” he said instead as he scooted back until he was leaning against the stack of pillows he’d bought the guy. 

Ian seemed confused, which was no surprise. He wasn’t really a movie kind of guy and rarely even paid attention to what was coming out, let alone watching anything at home. 

After getting himself situated, Grim patted the spot beside himself. 

Ian hesitated, but slowly crawled across the messy blankets to settle next to him… at a reasonable distance away. 

The hell? 

Ren shook out his coat in his mind before beginning to pace behind his eyes, his actions finally lining up with how Grim was feeling. 

“Your husband asks you to join him in bed for a movie and that’s where you want to lie?” 

He watched as Ian’s expression went through a wide range of emotions, honestly curious what the man would eventually decide to do. 

When he did  make a choice, Grim was pleasantly surprised. 

He watched in silence as the young man inched closer and closer, then hesitated for another moment before carefully climbing partially overtop his right side. 

When he wasn’t reprimanded, Ian excitedly settled down, getting comfortable with his head against Grim’s shoulder and one hand on his chest, its fingers slowly curling in and out as if his cat was still influencing his actions. 

“Making biscuits for me already, babe?” Grim teased as he got the television above the computer area turned on with the remote, then reached up to gently take Ian’s hand in his own. 

He wanted to play with those warm fingers. 

“Won’t you purr for me, too?” he asked as a random movie began to play from the recommended  section. 

Ian was all too-eager to oblige and quickly snuggled his face into the crook of Grim’s neck as he began purring. It was honestly a bit surprising, considering that he  currently had Ian’s cat. 

I guess it became a habit. 

He felt the need to purr well up in the back of his own throat as Ian’s content sound vibrated through his chest, but he managed to hold himself back… but just barely.   

What he was struggling to restrain, however, was his left hand. 

While his right arm lazily held Ian against his side with that hand settled comfortably on the man’s waist, his left one was left free to explore, and it was going a bit further south than he wanted it to. 

Thankfully, it stopped just short of grabbing the guy’s ass… because he literally just couldn’t reach. 

I don’t think I’ve ever been glad that someone was taller than me before…

That thought was immediately brushed away when Ian got himself a bit more comfortable… and lifted his right leg to partially settle overtop Grim’s waist. That affectively slid one soft portion of his backside right into Grim’s waiting hand. 

His self control went right out the window as he eagerly squeezed the warm flesh now between his fingers, internally reveling at the sensation of feeling a decent bit of muscle beneath the thin fabric of the shorts Ian was wearing. 

The gym was doing wonders for him. 

In fact, he could feel a good bit of meat beneath his other hand where it gripped his right side, too.

Glad I got him eating some more protein as well.   

“Mm, you’re off tomorrow, yeah?” he questioned a few moments later as his fingers continued to kneed the guy’s backside calmly. 

Ian quickly responded with a nuzzle and a “yes sir.” 

Grim was full-on making biscuits out of Ian’s ass as he replied. 

“Let’s wake up early and go get some breakfast, then take a run in the park instead of working out at the gym.” 

Ian happily nodded and made a sound of agreement, but then flinched a tiny fraction. 

Grim immediately relaxed his hand. He was used to people who liked a bit of pain with their attention, but getting used to Ian’s complete disinterest in it was taking some getting used to. 

When he relaxed his grip, however, the man’s purring grew quite a bit louder. 

Such a simple little… brat. 

For once, saying shit or simp just didn’t feel right to him. Not even fuck  crossed his mind right then. 

Finally relinquishing Ian’s backside, Grim allowed his fingers to trail up along the man’s now-wrinkled dress shirt until they slipped beneath the smooth leather of the collar he’d put around his neck a while ago. He then tugged on it gently, a grin slowly forming across his lips. 

“I should take this off since I currently have your Ren…” he mused aloud, curious about how Ian would react. 

He felt the man quickly snuggle in even closer, the action making his fingers slip a little more snuggly beneath the collar. 

“It makes sense, right?” Grim added, prodding him a little with his words as his grin grew. 

Ian moved again, trying to press his face somehow further against his neck, though there was no more room for him to advance. When he seemed to realize that, he gave out a quiet, pathetic whine, shook his head, and gripped Grim’s shirt where his hand had been resting against his chest. 

He wanted to chuckle at the man’s frustration, but decided against teasing him in such a way. He had no doubt that Ian wouldn’t say anything if he laughed at his response, but at the same time, he was starting to feel a little less comfortable mocking the other man. 

I blame you. Turning me into a pussy, he grumbled at Ren-cat, even though the feline had already walked off to explore the worthless recesses of his mind, clearly no longer interested in what was going on. 

Rolling his eyes up at the ceiling, he watched the fan spin for a few moments before gently tugging on the collar. 

“You know what this means to most people, babe?” he asked, then continued before Ian could respond. 

“It means that you belong to me.” 

I want to belong to you. 

The thought was expected. 

Releasing the collar, he raised his hand up to pat Ian’s soft hair, earning another snuggle, as well as a content sigh. 

It’s so quiet. 

Without his opossum screaming every hour of the day, he was oddly feeling much less volatile. 

“You goofball. How are you supposed to get a real husband if you stick to me so much?” he asked, though he knew that he hadn’t really given the guy much free time to run around, either. 

Ever since he’d moved in they’d been working, working out, looking after Ammo, and gaming. There really hadn’t been much time for Ian to look out for a partner…

The thought to find him someone in the BDSM community resurfaced in his mind, along with the idea of setting him up with Ammo, but he quickly dismissed both of those ideas as he heard Bubba slowly wander out of the room. 

I don’t think he needs a dom so much as someone who will treat him well. 

And Ammo might have been a switch, but he just felt off-limits.

Of course, he could tell that Ian was extremely submissive, but the guy could also stand up for himself fine. He also wasn’t a fan of pain, which would remove half the people he knew right off the bat. 

“What am I going to do with you?” he eventually mumbled as the television began some sort of action scene that neither of them cared about. 

Marry me, Ian thought without a second’s hesitation. 

Grim abruptly rolled overtop him, pinning his body with his own as he crossed his arms over the man’s chest and grinned down at his flushed face. 

“What are you thinking, you dirty boy?” 

Of course, he knew exactly what he was thinking. Or, at least, what he was hearing of it, but he wanted to see what his hubby would say. 

The guy looked about ready to pass out from embarrassment, but to Grim’s surprise, he answered honestly. 

“I-I’m thinking that you sh-should marry me.” 

Reaching up, he grabbed Ian’s cheek and tugged. 

“Me, marry you?” he teased playfully, enjoying watching the young man struggle to hold his gaze. 

“Why would I marry you?” he asked when Ian failed to respond to his own question. 

It honestly looked like the poor guy might really pass out, though, so after a minute Grim opened his mouth to tell him not to worry about it, but before he could get the words out, Ian finally replied. 

“B-because you buy me things.” 

Grim raised an eyebrow. 

He’d bought several people things in his lifetime. 

“Y-you also help me whenever I need you,” Ian continued. 

Cause I’m not an ass? 

To him, at least. 

“You also cook for me a-and don’t seem to mind being close to me.” 

I’m comfortable in my own skin and know you won’t do anything I don’t want you to. 

“Is that all you’ve got?” Grim finally asked as he settled his chin on his crossed arms, a smirk on his lips. 

Ian nervously gave his head a little shake on the pillow it was settled on, making Grim lean a little closer, putting their faces within inches of each other. 

“I-I think you should marry me…” Ian licked his bruised lips, then continued in a quieter tone, “b-because you like me.”

Opossum Eighteen

Grim immediately sat up on his chest, then reached down to shove his thumbs between Ian’s lips. He then pulled them to either side, startling him a bit.

“What did this mouth just say? You think you’re hot enough to bag this excellence?” Grim teased as he pulled a little more, making Ian groan until his mouth was finally released.

He immediately licked his lips, then turned his head and licked Grim’s thumb before it could retreat.

The man leaning over him immediately moved his hand to flick his nose in response, but he stopped himself right before he did.

“You brat, you think I’ll just roll over because you’re pretending to act cute?”

I love him so much , Ian thought as his heart raced in his chest.

Look at me more. I’m right here and I want to be here for you.

Reaching up, he gently settled a hand against Grim’s right side, then pressed there until the man, with a confused look on his face, slowly allowed himself to be guided until he was on his back with Ian on his hands and knees leaning over him.

The guy looked utterly taken aback as he stared up at him, unable to say a single word.

Maybe I pushed him too far?

Ian pursed his lips, then grinned wide, deciding to just roll with it.

“I made your excellency roll over!”

Grim’s slightly parted lips slowly closed until they were tightly pursed and his brow was furrowed.

Um…

Right as he was considering running for his life, Grim lunged upward and grabbed him! Soon he was the one on his back again, then there were blankets thrown over him as he was rolled around, his flailing arms and legs quickly subdued as they got tangled in the sheets!

It felt like it took him forever before he was able to partially crawl out from beneath them… only for his arms to suddenly be yanked behind his back and bound?

Huh?

He expected to just have his wrist tied up with whatever Grim had grabbed, but when the man swiftly and easily secured his arms nearly all the way up to his shoulders, he was more than a little confused.

What is going on? Where did this long rope come from?!

It actually felt closer to leather, so it couldn’t have been just a normal rope.

Once he felt the man’s hands leave him, Ian rolled over and looked to the side where he knew Grim would be.

The man was smirking down at him, standing beside the bed with one hand on his hip.

“Now who’s rolled over?” he asked, making Ian blink a few times, unsure of how to respond to that.

When he didn’t reply for a bit, Grim tilted his head and crossed his arms over his chest, making Ian subconsciously lick his lips as he saw the man’s muscles flex beneath his shirt.

It actually took him a few moments to return his gaze to Grim’s, but he was extremely glad he did.

His face… is red. Does he like tying people up?

Ian nuzzled a little against the pillow his head was on as he continued to watch Grim with one eye.

“I-I don’t mind if you tie me up, sir” he said, really trying hard to act cute for his love.

It actually freaked him out for a few seconds when he’d realized what Grim had done, but when the man simply stood back and stared at him afterwards, seemingly pleased with his work?

“I don’t mind, I swear. If master Grim wants to tie me up, I’m okay with it.”

The guy’s face turned even brighter red as he looked away while reaching up to muss up his own hair.

He’s so cute!

Ian was just opening his mouth to try and woo him again when Grim turned to face him more and pointed at him.

“Y-you be quiet and think about what you’ve done to your master!” he stuttered, then quickly hurried out of the room, storming off like an angry locomotive spitting and sputtering. 

Ian watched him go, then blinked a few times and frowned.

I… guess he’s not going to untie me.

At least the leather bindings weren’t too tight, and it felt like they were made well and even had padding so that they didn’t rub against skin too badly.

If this was what Grim liked, he could definitely get used to it.

At least, so long as the man was with him. He wasn’t exactly happy being left tied up away from his love.

He did his best to just relax as he waited for Grim to come back, but before that happened, he felt his body begin to tingle oddly, then itch.

Huh?

His arms soon slipped out of the ropes that had been holding him as his body shrunk down to the size of a small house cat.

Or really, opossum.

He could immediately feel sheer terror welling up in the poor things mind as its little body began to shake.

It’s okay, sweetheart. This is a safe place. No one is going to hurt you here.

A loud scene from the movie that was still on nearly made the possum pee itself, startling it so badly that it jumped off the bed and ran out of the room, its mouth wide on a silent scream until it stopped behind the sofa in the living room, its lungs heaving for mental trauma.

At least he didn’t run into Grim’s room. I don’t think that would end well right now.

Looking through the little guy’s eyes, he noticed something that caught his attention right away.

Ammo shifted back?

The man appeared to have just finished getting dressed, but for some reason, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right.

Wait, he’s heading out? He always lets us know before he leaves…

He couldn’t see his face, either.

Hey bud? Let’s go see if we can get his attention. Maybe he’s not feeling too good right now, he told Grim’s possum.

Unsurprisingly, however, the possum had zero interest in moving any closer.

Ian would have tried to calm himself down and maybe consider that he was overreacting, but then he noticed something else.

He’s not putting his shoes on? Or taking his keys?

When Ammo opened the door, then quietly closed it after stepping out, Ian felt his heart drop into the pit of his stomach.

Okay bud, we really need to scream right now, okay? Just yell as loud as you can! We need to get Grim’s attention!

That last sentence had the little possum quickly backing further behind the couch and clamping its mouth shut tight.

Darn it!

It was a cool, crisp, beautiful day to die.

He hadn’t thought much about anything before getting dressed and walking out the door. His feet quickly became chilled as he shuffled along the cold sidewalk.

After about twenty minutes, he slowed to a stop beside a busy road and sighed. There were no bridges in the area, let alone any large sources of water that would be useful.

His capybara perked up at the thought of water, not understanding his train of thought at all.

It’s okay, hun. We’re going to go visit our love soon.

He’d thought that he’d be able to move forward from her death over time, but he wanted nothing more than to join her.

Turning his head, he watched as a large truck went by, clearly speeding, though that was no surprise. Most of the vehicles were going faster than the limit.

A semi truck would do the trick.

When he saw one barreling down the road a few moments later, he didn’t hesitate. His right foot left the sidewalk and stepped down into the street… right as he felt an abrupt yank on the back of his T-shirt!

He landed on something firm yet soft, with both him and it grunting from the impact.

When he looked over his shoulder after pushing himself into a sitting position, Ammo blinked, then frowned.

That’s a big cheetah.

He paused for a moment, then took a closer look.

“…jaguar?”

The big cat made a deep rumbling sound and gave its head a shake, then yawned wide, revealing some surprisingly-large teeth.

Without thinking, Ammo reached up and grabbed one of the largest ones between his fingers, then leaned closer to examine it.

The jaguar seemed stunned by his action, making it hesitate to close its mouth or even pull away.

“You could probably kill me pretty easily with teeth this big,” Ammo whispered, more to himself than to the cat.

The jaguar didn’t seem impressed with his words, however, and got up, then walked around him until it was blocking his access to the street.

He wasn’t impressed, either.

Ammo stood up, then looked to the left, then right. He could possibly try to run past the cat, but he doubted that his own animalistic reaction speed was anything close to matching his new fuzzy friend’s.

“What do you want? I’m busy right now,” he eventually said with a huff, putting his hands on his hips like a frustrated mother.

When the big cat simply leaned forward and nudged his left leg, then nodded behind him, Ammo glanced over his shoulder.

No one in that direction was trying to get his attention, though a few people were staring at the beautiful cat.

Does he want me to go that way?

It looked like just a normal side street… and the traffic wasn’t nearly as ideal as what was in front of him.

Returning his attention to the cat, he narrowed his eyes on it to try and look intimidating, but the big feline simply raised an eyebrow, then looked down, drawing Ammo’s attention in the same direction until his gaze landed on his own dirty bare feet.

Okay, the intimidation route is not going to work today.

The big cat nudged him again and again until Ammo rolled his eyes and turned around to begin walking down the quieter sidewalk.

“You know, this could be considered kidnapping,” he told it as the beast moved to his left side, blocking the street.

These cars aren’t going fast enough anyways.

He was lead halfway down the sidewalk until the cat nudged his hip, making him slow to a stop and turn towards a small building. It looked like a house, at first, but as two people stepped out the door, chatting happily with containers of leftovers in their hands, Ammo realized what it was.

Glaring down at the cat, he pointed towards the building.

“You want me to go into a restaurant right now?” he asked, exasperated.

He wasn’t in the mood to eat anything, and he hadn’t even brought his wallet or keys, let alone shoes!

The cat seemed insistent, however, and even nipped the back of his leg!

Scowling, Ammo stomped up the clean white stairs and opened the door.

Oh…

Something smelled amazing!

His feet decided to take him inside without further hesitation, leading him up to the hostess stand.

This looks like an old house that was converted into a restaurant.

“Hello sir,” she said, seeming a little nervous after looking him over. Her eyes had stopped specifically at his bare feet.

Ah right, no shoes no service usually…

He was just about to excuse himself when his new fuzzy friend walked around the podium and grumbled up at the young woman.

“O-oh! I apologize, Mr. Warren, your booth is open,” she quickly said as she grabbed two menus, then looked between them both.

“Please follow me.”

Ammo raised an eyebrow but did as told, following the young lady through the restaurant until they got to the last booth in the back corner.

Once he’d settled in a seat, he looked up to see his feline friend directly across from him, a faint rhythmic thumping sound telling him that it was likely flicking its tail against the upholstery.

When their menus were set down and the lady excused herself for a moment, Ammo glanced down at it. Now that they were actually sitting inside the restaurant, he realized that his stomach really wasn’t interested. No matter how good it smelled around him.

I just want to sleep…

A new tapping sound and motion drew his attention to the large clawed paw now pushing his menu closer to him.

“I’m not hungry,” he said firmly as he met the cat’s golden eyes.

It simply pushed the menu closer.

Bristling, Ammo stared at him for several moments before glaring down at the menu and reading it in a blur.

“You’re paying for all of this,” he eventually said before looking up at their waitress as she came by to take their orders.

“I’ll have a pint of your strongest alcohol, a medium rare T-bone steak, garlic mashed potatoes, broccoli and cheese soup, and a piece of dark chocolate cake,” Ammo said before handing his menu back to the woman with a tired smile on his face.

His new friend just gave a quiet grumble and nod, earning a “yes sir,” from the woman before she left, then brought out their drinks.

Ammo quickly downed a good bit of his beer, drinking straight from the pitcher, before setting it down and looking across the table at the cat’s drink of choice.

Really? A dog bowl with milk?

The cat looked up at him and licked its lips, then flicked an ear as if to say and?

Ammo glanced around the restaurant as they waited for their food, but nothing seemed to make his poor mood any better. Everyone in the building was happy, whether it was people on dates, families out for brunch, or single people enjoying a relaxing lunch break.

He didn’t belong in this kind of world anymore.

The thought to simply walk out passed his mind several times as they waited, but each time he was about to get up his friend grumbled or sneezed, snapping him out of his thoughts just long enough to quell his racing heart.

After his third near-meltdown and also after draining more than half his pint of beer, their food came out.

He dug into everything without thinking, tearing apart the steak like a starved hyena. It was probably the best one he’d ever had, but his mind was so muddled by his depression, as well as the alcohol now taking over his system, that he really couldn’t appreciate it.

The soup was also amazing and disappeared just as quickly.

That eventually left just the cake, but by this time he was struggling to sit up straight. The cat across from him also looked quite blurry as it finished its own thick cut of meat.

I… might… puke.

He’d feel terrible if he did, because the food had really been fantastic, but he’d kind of brought it upon himself by eating in such a sour mood while adding a ton of alcohol on top of it.

After leaning against the table for quite some time, Ammo felt gentle but firm fingers calmly grasp his arm as another hand settled against his back.

He was given as much time as he needed to inch his way out of the booth. The person beside him helped steady him once he was out with an arm wrapped around his waist, but he was too nauseous to risk even looking to see who it was.

Probably just a restaurant employee hoping that I don’t make more of a scene by puking in front of their customers.

He nearly did a few times as he was walked to the back of the building then, for some reason, out the back door and through a small, well-kept lawn.

The person helping him paused as Ammo leaned over at some point and forced himself to just-barely hold back a wretch.

It took a lot of effort to hold it in, but the warm hand gently rubbing against his back helped calm his system just enough to keep moving.

They were soon back inside, the cool air from the air conditioner making him realize that he was sweating profusely.

I really need to puke…

He stumbled his way through the new building until, finally, he was slowed to a stop. That had him forcing one aching eye open.

With relief flooding his system, Ammo dropped to his knees on a towel that must have just been placed in front of him, then leaned forward over the toilet and began emptying his struggling belly.

The entire time he felt the other person’s presence, whether they were helping hold him up, brushing his sweaty bangs away from his face, or rubbing his back after a particularly painful bout of vomiting.

By the time he was finally done he had no idea if it was even light outside anymore. All he wanted to do was curl up into a ball and die.

Unfortunately, since he doubted that was an option right then, a shower would have been a close second since he was covered in sweat, but he doubted that he’d be able to stand long enough to clean much.

Once it was clear that he was done puking, he was helped backwards until he was settled against the wall. The hands that had been helping him disappeared then, making him tense up and begin to shiver again as his body started trying to recover from the shock and stress of his stupid mistake.

He waited impatiently for the hands to return, but by the time they did, he was nearly asleep.

His eyes refused to open as he felt fingers begin to unbutton the shirt he’d slid on earlier, but that was no surprise. He had completely soaked through it sweating, and wouldn’t be all that shocked if he got himself sick from stress.

“Here,” came a familiar voice as something soft was pressed against his nose, prompting him to blow into it… and realize that he’d had a ton of snot dripping down his face.

He should have been embarrassed, especially since Harrison was the one who had found him, but he just couldn’t find the energy to care.

“Again,” the man said calmly as he pressed a new clean tissue to his nose.

Ammo did as told, then did it again. Then again.

Once his face was reasonably cleaned up, Harrison moved around a bit, prompting him to finally squint open one tired eye to watch.

The man was dampening a washcloth in the sink.

Soon that cloth was being rubbed along his face, its slightly cool temperature relieving some of his remaining nausea. It traveled down his neck after a few moments, then wiped away a good portion of the sweat on his upper body before being returned to the sink for a rinse.

Ammo listened the quiet sound of the running water as he let his eyes drift closed again.

The cloth returned a few seconds later, wiping away more of his discomfort and nudging him closer to drifting off to sleep.

In fact, he didn’t react again when he felt himself picked up a minute later, nor did he even bother to open his eyes as he was set down somewhere soft.

The next thing he knew he was dozing, just-barely recognizing the sound of texting here and there.

One thing he did notice, however, was that the man didn’t touch him again once he’d gotten him settled to rest. He probably wouldn’t have bothered to fight even if he had, but just the fact that he was being left alone after having been taken care of made him relax a little better.

He wasn’t covered in snot or sweat, and his stomach was comfortably empty.

As he finally slid into a peaceful sleep, he had one simple thought cross his mind.

Perhaps today was just a beautiful day… and not the one I’m meant to die on.

Opossum Nineteen

Grim turned his head on the arms he’d crossed over his pillow in order to glare at his mostly-closed door for the fourth time. It had only been about fifteen minutes, but he was already feeling uneasy about having left Ian tied up. 

It was his normal go-to for punishments when dealing with someone from the BDSM community, but…

Sighing, he pushed himself up, then reached up and mussed his hair so badly that the gaming headphones he’d put on went tumbling to his blankets. 

He was still frustrated, but he couldn’t really consider himself mad. He hadn’t been mad during that whole interaction, to be honest. Running a hand down his face, he clenched his teeth and groaned out a sigh, then forced himself to get his ass up off the bed. 

 His first few steps towards his door were stomps, but by the time he walked into Ian’s bedroom, he’d pretty much calmed down completely. 

Until, that is, he saw what awaited him. 

It should have only taken him one glance to realize that the ropes weren’t untied, leaving Ian’s only possible means of escape as shifting, but for some reason, none of that even registered in Grim’s mind. 

All he noticed was that Ian was gone. 

His heart immediately began thrumming against his ribs as he hurried into the living room, only to find it completely empty. 

“Ian?” he questioned as he looked around, then doubled back to check the bathroom. 

Not there, either…

“Ammo? Bubba?” he called out next as he did another lap of his small home, yet still came up empty. 

He even checked to see if Bubba had gotten himself stuck in the refrigerator again, but the little vagrant was nowhere to be seen. 

Hang on.

Walking over to the counter, his brow furrowed as he picked up Ian’s keys, then Ammo’s. 

He then looked towards the door. 

Their shoes are still here, too. 

What the hell was going on?

He was just turning to go check the backyard when he heard his phone chime in his bedroom. 

Without thinking he turned and immediately went to check it, but when the message appeared on his screen, he was even more  confused about what was going on. 

Ammo’sHoe: Ammo is resting at my house. 

The man even sent his address a moment later. 

“What in the ever loving hell is going on?” 

Shaking himself out of his shock, Grim unlocked his phone and texted Harrison back. 

Grim: Is Ian with him? 

The man replied immediately, but not with the words Grim wanted to hear. 

Ammo’sHoe: No, he isn’t, and Ammo didn’t mention him. 

The fuck you mean he isn’t?! 

He was getting angry now, and he was three seconds away from calling the fuck face and telling him to bring his man home right away, but before his shaking fingers could start the call, he threw his phone on his bed and growled out his frustration. 

There was no reason for Harrison to be hiding his Ian. 

Grim stomped back into the living room, but then paused. 

I tied him up…

The guy had said that he could, though!

He turned around and paced in front of the sofa. 

But you left him tied up and alone. 

He started heading back towards his phone, but stopped abruptly in the doorway to his room and grabbed his hair for a good hard pull. 

“Where is my Ian?!” 

Unsure of what to really do after checking the empty backyard, since Ian’s phone was sitting on the counter, he ended up deciding that he’d just gone for a walk or to the store. 

Thus, that left Grim in a trance-like state as he began to clean every inch of his house so that it would be spotless by the time his man came home. 

Except when, after an hour, Ian didn’t come home… 

Then two hours went by… 

By the third hour Grim had scoured the entire kitchen and bathroom, and had even washed Ian’s laundry and bedding. 

When all of that  didn’t bring his love home, he headed outside and ran a nearly two mile circle around the area… twice. 

By the time he stepped back in the door on shaky legs, he was just about spent. Sweat ran down his face and bare torso as he blindly dropped his keys on the counter and wandered into the bathroom. 

Instead of actually rinsing off in the shower, however, he decided that the only logical thing was to continue cleaning. Unfortunately, there was only one more thing to do… and it was his least favorite activity in the entire world, because it always set off his possum. 

Well, it wasn’t there now…

Thoroughly depressed, he grabbed his big vacuum cleaner and plugged it in, then turned it on. 

Then it happened. 

Screaming? 

Looking around, he didn’t see anything obvious and quickly turned the vacuum off. 

I thought I heard…

It definitely hadn’t been inside his head, because he doubted Ren would stay if his possum had somehow returned. 

He waited a few moments to see if he heard anything, then pursed his lips and turned the vacuum back on. 

An immediate screech sounded nearby, making him quickly switch the machine off again and shove it away as he ran to look behind the couch! 

His mind couldn’t even form logical words as he laid eyes on the terrified little opossum hunched behind his sofa, shivering like a leaf. Grim felt his entire body crumple to his knees as he shoved the entire sofa to the side, then pulled the terrified possum into his arms! 

He was getting absolutely squished against Grim’s sweaty chest… and he was absolutely fucking loving it! Unfortunately, the little possum was having a heart attack so he needed to try and deescalate the situation. 

It’s okay, sweetheart. He was just worried about you. 

Of course, he knew that he was more worried that he’d run off, and not about his possum, but he wouldn’t dare tell the poor thing that. It didn’t seem to hear him, anyways, because every few seconds it gave out a stressed cry and alternated between trying to nibble at Grim’s shoulder and playing dead. 

Thankfully, Grim at least noticed that his attention was going to get them nowhere and eventually relaxed his hold a bit. 

The man stared at his pretending possum for nearly a minute after that before realizing something and looking down. 

“I’m still sweaty as hell,” he grumbled to himself, then sighed. 

His love then stood up and went to the bathroom to get the shower going, though he didn’t actually set them down until he’d stepped inside the tub and closed the curtain. 

The possum continued to play dead for a bit as Grim began washing himself, and since Ian couldn’t do much about where his eyes were directed, he unabashedly watched the man. 

Unfortunately, however, all good things had to come to an end and, after about three minutes, the opossum slowly got up and cautiously inched closer to a little spray of water that wasn’t being stopped by Grim’s body as the man turned to duck beneath it and rinse his hair. 

Please look up little guy. Just this once! I’ll never ask again!

His plea fell on deaf ears as the little marsupial reached forward and lightly swatted at the water like a curious cat. 

It seemed a little startled by the actual feel of it and quickly shook off its paw, but it wasn’t long before it was back at it, then even going as far as to start doing little stomps on the bottom of the tub in order to splash up little droplets. 

It went back and forth over the next few minutes, making sure to stay out of Grim’s way, but it was clear that the little guy was rather enjoying his time in the water. 

I wonder if he’s ever actually gotten to play in water. 

Grim had said that all his possum ever did when it was out was play dead, so maybe this really was its first time getting to play. 

It continued its little play session until Grim finished washing himself, but instead of turning off the water, like he expected him to, the guy simply moved to the back of the tub, then sat down to lean against it as if he were taking a bath. 

Ian’s heart melted at the sight, but the possum didn’t seem nearly as interested. It just accepted that Grim wasn’t mad at it and quickly went back to splashing in the much bigger space! The little guy put all of his effort into pouncing about now that he had more room, and happily squeaked and stomped to his heart’s content. 

By the time he was done, the water had gone cold, making his tired friend finally decide that it was time to rest and relinquish control. That left Ian sitting back on his heels, staring straight at a reclining Grim. 

That wet body…

Those gorgeous muscles…

That handsome smirk…

He might just die from happiness, and embarrassment. 

It took a lot  of effort to avert his gaze, but there was no way he could calm the blush covering him from head to toe, or his heart!

I’m such a pervert… but I just want a taste. 

He was just about to reach up and tug at his hair to try and dislodge the idea when he heard Grim move a little, immediately drawing his full attention. 

What he saw when he looked made Ian’s mouth drop open from shock. 

“You want it, right?” Grim asked as he held his own length in his one hand. 

It was partially hard, but could definitely use some more attention. 

I want it. 

He really  wanted it!

Realizing that he hadn’t actually answered the man out loud, Ian quickly nodded his head! 

“I want it! Please, I can make you feel good!” 

He could see the curiosity behind Grim’s eyes as the man watched him for several tense moments, but then, finally, he raised one eyebrow and tilted his head the slightest fraction. 

“Then let’s see what my Renegade can do.” 

There was zero  hesitation!

Ian immediately moved closer until he could gently but firmly take Grim’s length from him, then lean down to kiss its tip. He’d dreamed of being able to be this close to his love, and to actually be able to touch him? 

It took everything in him not to pass out from happiness right then as he got himself situated and eagerly took the majority of Grim’s length into his mouth. 

The sudden moan he heard in response to the attention just spurred him on as his mouth and hands worked in unison to pleasure his man. 

He honestly almost didn’t need his hands since the entire thing nearly fit perfectly into his mouth, but he wanted to make sure that he was doing absolutely everything he possibly could to make him feel good, so if there was a tiny bit that he couldn’t accommodate, he’d take care of it with his hands… and he sure as hell did!

Ian wanted to spend all day between Grim’s legs, but after nearly twenty minutes, he realized something and slowly allowed the man’s soft length to slip from between his lips and leaned back onto his numb knees.  

I… might have overdone it a bit? 

He wasn’t sure when Grim had slid partially beneath him with his legs up on either side of his shoulders, or how many orgasms he’d given him, but the guy seemed just about on the edge of a long, deep , sleep as he looked up at him with heavy eyelids, his breaths coming in quiet, adorable pants. 

He had to look away. Not just because his love looked beyond  kissable, amongst other things, but because his hands had also been raised at some point and now rested, palm up, beside his head on the damp porcelain. 

He desperately wanted to slide his fingers in between Grim’s slightly curled ones and make out with him until they couldn’t breathe anymore, but he knew that he had to calm down now. 

So, as gently as possible, he reached up and removed one of Grim’s well-muscled legs from his shoulder, then the other. He then let himself have one more look at the beautiful man before  reaching back to retrieve a damp washcloth. 

Soon, he was wiping that cooled water all over his love’s body, steadily bringing him out of his daze until Grim was able to push himself back up into a sitting position. 

He’s so cute. 

The guy looked quite drowsy, but also very  sated. 

Smiling with all the happiness in the world, Ian silently thought, thank you for the wonderful mea— but abruptly sneezed into the fold of his arm before he could finish the thought!

When he looked back up, sniffling a little, Grim’s hands were suddenly there, with one pressing against his cheek as the other settled over his forehead. 

When Grim’s expression turned, well, rather grim, Ian realized what was about to happen, but before he could get a single word out of his opening mouth, he had to quickly turn his head as another sneeze forced its way out. 

Within five minutes he was forcibly dried off, shoved into a pair of pink fleece kitten pajamas that he’d never seen before, and tucked into bed so tightly that he might as well have been tied up with rope again!

As Grim stalked out of the room to make something after his work had been finished, Ian furrowed his brow and stared up at the dimmed light above him. 

I must have gotten carried away under the cold water. 

He silently chastised himself to behave better next time, but that reprimand didn’t even finish passing through his mind before he heard Grim return, drawing his gaze back to his still-naked body. 

Hot naked Grim is bringing me tea… Ian paused for a moment, suddenly realizing something. 

Hot naked Grim is bringing tea, in his own bed! 

Yeah, he was going to struggle with the whole behaving thing if this was how Grim was going to take care of him whenever he got a little sick!

Opossum Twenty

Ammo stretched beneath the soft blankets tucking him in like a cloud, his warm skin moving between the upper comforters and the silky-smooth sheets. 

So warm…

He nuzzled against the equally-soft pillows, intent on going back to sleep, but before he could drift off again he heard a few quiet sniffs, then, unfortunately, felt a tiny tongue lap at the bangs covering his forehead!

Groaning, he tried to nudge at the fuzzy intruder, but no matter how much he pushed it away, it just kept coming back.

“Sorry about Winston, but once she’s decided to do something, not even I can stop her.” 

Harrison? 

He paused for a moment, letting the little fluffy dog slip beneath the blankets to snuggle up against him. 

Wait, did he just call this dog a she, but named it Winston? 

“I can tell that you’re judging her, but I can tell you that she’s got bigger balls than even me. She earned her name.” 

Ammo glanced over the edge of his thick blankets, giving Harrison a bland stare. 

“Hey now,” Harrison grumbled as he crossed his well-muscled arms over his well-muscled chest. 

The guy’s body and gesture just screamed gym bro . 

Head hurts…

Granted, he knew that he would have been a lot worse off if Harrison hadn’t found him. 

I wouldn’t even be here for my head to hurt. 

Turning his attention back to the little dog beside him, Ammo thought in silence for a few moments before tugging the little ball into his arms and disappearing partially back beneath the covers. 

“H-hey, that’s my dog,” Harrison grumbled, though it was obvious that he really didn’t mind. 

Meanwhile, Ammo began tickling the little wiggly thing as its tiny paws kicked at his fingers, trying to get the tickles to turn into a belly rub. 

The dog looked like one of those fancy frou-frou mixes. 

Maybe it’s a shit-poo. 

“You better not be making up funny breeds for my beautiful girl. She’s a bichon frise,” Harrison corrected him, making Ammo pop his head back up above the line of the blankets to narrow his eyes on him. 

Soon Winston was there too, narrowing her own eyes on her master as if she were a mini fuzzy copy of Ammo. 

The look of disbelieve on the man’s face only made Ammo want to tease him… so he did. 

Hugging the dog against his chest, he grinned and ducked back beneath the blankets. To his surprise, the dog was quite the snuggler, and even as Harrison began admonishing him for stealing his poor dog, Ammo was already falling asleep again. 

The next time he awoke was to the smell of something savory.

Hungry…

Blinking open his rested eyes, he gave himself a minute to simply go over his current situation. After that minute, however, his time seemed to be up, because Winston was done waiting for her attention. 

The little dog’s tongue quickly founds its way to his chin and began to lap at it, its excitement growing exponentially. 

“Hi baby,” he whispered, making the little dog even more excited, its little feet kicking happily against his chest as it continued to clean his chin. 

Ammo let the dog lick him for a few more moments before finally wiggling his way out of the blankets enough to sit up. 

His body felt surprisingly refreshed, and his mind had lightened up quite a bit from all the rest. 

How long was I asleep, anyways? 

Glancing around, he noticed an alarm clock on the nightstand and tilted his head. 

“Only five hours?” 

That didn’t seem right. 

“More like a day and five hours,” came Harrison’s voice near the doorway. 

As Ammo looked over, he noted that the guy wasn’t moving closer, just like the other time he’d woken up to see him there. 

“I got some lunch ready if you’d like to eat,” Harrison offered as he watched his little dog scurry off the bed and finally run over to him for some attention. 

The man immediately picked up his little dog, then hugged it against his chest, earning his own excited licking spree from Winston. 

I guess some food couldn’t hurt… hopefully. 

He was no longer feeling nauseous, and his mind had calmed quite a bit from the other day’s depression. 

“I’ll try to eat,” he eventually said as he slowly made his way to the edge of the bed, then swung his legs over the edge. 

The thought of actually standing up, however, made him a tiny bit nervous. That, in turn, brought back some of his anxiety from the previous day. 

“Need a hand?” Harrison asked as he finally walked closer and set his sweet dog down on the bed.   

Ammo gave the guy a look , but Harrison seemed to just let it slide right off his shoulders with a smile. 

“I’m okay,” Ammo said after a moment as he pushed himself up into a sloppy but mostly-upright standing position. 

He managed to take a whole five steps before his anxiety surged and his shaking legs refused to hold him any longer. 

The fall, though, never came. 

In fact, instead of falling, he was suddenly rising, having been scooped up into a princess carry by the gym bro that clearly didn’t know how to keep his hands to himself! 

Ammo immediately scowled up at the man as he was carried into the other room, but Harrison seemed immune to his glower. The guy calmly carried him over to the wooden dining room table, then settled him into a cushioned seat.

He wasn’t sure what to really expect for lunch, but when Harrison brought over a large plate of food with little portions dotted around it, he was pleasantly surprised… and a little relieved. 

Some of the items, like the meats, he knew that he wouldn’t be able to stomach yet, but the tiny portions made him less worried about leaving them.  

His inner capy was staring at the steamed veggies intently, making Ammo eventually reach up and spear one with the fork beside his plate. 

The cut up zucchini was first, and surprisingly delicious!

It had a very light sauce cooked into it that tasted faintly like lemon and butter, with a hint of salt, pepper, and garlic. The next one he ate was a thinly-sliced carrot. It was a little sweeter than the zucchini, but had clearly been cooked in the same sauce. 

Maybe it was sautéed with a little honey beforehand? 

Either way, it was delicious, too. 

He gladly finished off the small portion of vegetables, but hesitated trying anything else on the plate until he saw a small bowl of soup being slid next to it. 

“Vegetable broth with some shredded carrots and celery,” Harrison explained before disappearing back to the kitchen again. 

Ammo turned in his seat a little to watch him over his shoulder. 

What is he doing? 

It looked like the guy was chopping stuff up and adding it to a large bowl, but that couldn’t have been for him… right? 

Harrison seemed to catch him staring, because he nodded down to the cute little dog at his feet. 

“Winston gets fresh food,” he said as he moved to the stove and stirred something that was cooking, then reached over and took a slice of carrot and handed it down to Winston. 

Turning his attention back to the soup, Ammo picked it up, then turned back to the side so that he could see Harrison before grabbing the spoon sitting in the little bowl and beginning to sip at it. 

It’s good.

“I’d like to take credit for that, but my sister made everything. All I can really make is Winston’s dog food,” Harrison said, earning a small smile from Ammo as he continued to quietly eat. 

Licking his moist lips after a bit, he thought back to what had happened and realized something. 

“The place we ate at the other day… your sister’s?” he asked, already having a feeling that he was right since they’d literally walked out the back door and right over to Harrison’s. 

“Yessir, that restaurant belongs to my sister. She’s an amazing cook and when I told her that you’ll probably be hungry when you woke up, she immediately began putting something together.” 

Ammo narrowed his eyes on the man. 

“So you guilted her into making you lunch?” he said without an ounce of hesitation. 

Harrison glanced over his shoulder with a deadpan expression, then promptly grinned like a doofus. 

“Absolutely! I did  offer to pay for it, but she refused, of course,” he said, making Ammo roll his eyes before setting his spoon down, content to just sip the soup from its bowl. 

They remained silent for some time, both just enjoying the quiet… or at least, that’s what it appeared to be if one was looking from the outside. 

He wanted to cry. 

“Here, try this?” Harrison said as he brought something subtly sweet-smelling right in front of Ammo’s nose. 

Without thinking, Ammo opened his mouth just enough for Harrison to slip his finger between his lips. When the man pressed the morsel of food against his tongue, however, his other half wasn’t happy. 

Bubba promptly took over control of his human body and bit the poor guy… although, he did kind of deserve it. He hadn’t exactly gotten permission to stick his finger in his mouth. 

Harrison hissed in response and immediately withdrew his finger, but he seemed to understand that he’d technically been the one in the wrong, because he didn’t even look upset that he’d been bitten. 

“Sorry about that. I should have just put it on a spoon or something,” he said as he lifted his slightly-bleeding pointer finger to his own mouth. 

Bubba clicked his teeth behind Ammo’s eyes, adding a warning to the physical response. He’d do it again. 

Ammo almost apologized, too, but he caught himself at the last moment. He  was the one who’d had a finger shoved in his mouth. He shouldn’t apologize for his other half’s displeasure. 

He shouldn’t apologize for that little mistake, but he felt that he should  apologize for what he’d put Harrison through in the past day or so. 

Granted, he hadn’t forced the guy to save him, either, let alone take him home, but still…

I want to say sorry to someone, at least. Because I can’t say sorry to her anymore.

He was just sinking back into depression when he heard movement near him and looked up to see Harrison settling into the chair next to him. 

When he rested his hands on his legs calmly and offered him a relaxed smile, Ammo felt his racing heart slow down the slightest bit. 

“Is there anything you need, Ammo?” 

Anything I need? 

The guy had already saved him from himself, fed him, and taken him home to rest. What else could he possibly request? 

“I hear I give some pretty mean hugs…” Harrison hinted, making Ammo lift an eyebrow at his bluntness. 

A hug wasn’t going to fix his life. 

Grim had given me several hugs. Ian, too, but what had they fixed? 

He’d still tried to kill himself the moment his depression got bad. 

Why do I even matter? What makes me worth the hassle? 

“You’re absolutely adorable.” 

Ammo blinked out of his dark thoughts and was about to question Harrison when he saw the guy pick up his eager dog for a cuddle. 

His eyebrow twitched. 

Of course he wasn’t saying that to me. 

Reaching a hand up to rub at the back of his neck, Ammo pursed his lips as he felt his heart squeeze in his chest. He wasn’t adorable, or even cute. 

Why would I even want to be called those things, anyways? 

Maybe Bubba was cute, to a point, but him? He hadn’t even shaved in days, let alone showered properly. He’d kept himself just clean enough to not smell, but it was getting close to being an issue. 

“…much cuter.” 

Huh?

Frowning, Ammo blinked away his thoughts again and refocused on their current situation. 

“What did you say?” 

Harrison looked a little nervous all of a sudden, making Ammo narrow his eyes on him. 

Holding his little dog in front of him as some sort of pathetic, wiggling shield, Harrison replied. 

“I-I was just saying that while I think Winston is absolutely adorable, I-I… find you much cuter.” 

What…? 

Harrison looked like he was trying to pull some words together to talk himself out of what he’d just said, but after a few moments, his mouth slowly closed and he gently set his dog down so that he could stand up and walk into the kitchen. 

A moment later he returned with a few tissues and… is that an ice cream bar? 

Harrison took off the bar’s wrapper and handed it to him. Ammo lifted it to his lips without bothering to think about it. His teeth immediately crunched into the chocolate and almond coating as a soft tissue was placed over his nose and another dotted at his watery eyes. 

Ammo spent the next five minutes nibbling at his ice cream as Harrison silently tended to his nonstop tears. 

How could he think that I look cute after the other night? Ammo thought as he sniffled, then gave up when a clean tissue gently squeezed his nose. 

How could he possibly think that I look cute right now? 

He knew that he shouldn’t have been happy to be called cute , anyways, but honestly, he’d never seen a problem with the word. If someone thought that he was cute, then that was a compliment because it meant that they liked the way he looked. 

When his nose finally began to dry up, along with his tears, he felt a hand softly begin to brush against his hair, patting him reassuringly. 

“Would you like a warm bath, sweetheart?” Harrison asked as Ammo polished off his ice cream, then stared at the clean stick, surprised that he’d actually eaten the entire thing. 

When he didn’t answer his first question, Harrison posed a second one. 

“Would you like another one?”

Ammo nodded without thinking, but at the same time, stood and started shuffling towards the bathroom. 

Harrison hurried ahead of him and got the bath started, as well as added two super fluffy towels to the hanging bar. He then put two different scented bubble bath soaps on the edge, allowing him to choose, before disappearing back to the kitchen with Winston hot on his heels. 

By the time he’d tugged off his boxers, used the restroom, and washed his hands, Harrison was back… with a quickly reddening face. 

Ammo gave him a nonchalant smile. 

He no longer cared if he was naked in front of others if the other person didn’t mind and was reasonably respectful with their hands. 

Judging by the little glances Harrison was trying to sneak every other second, he doubted the man was any kind of upset about his decision to be naked in front of him. 

“Would you like help getting in?” Harrison asked once the water was halfway full. 

Ammo slowly looked over towards it, then back to Harrison before reaching forward, offering the man his hand. 

The guy seemed surprised, but quickly helped him step into the tub, then lowered him to sit. 

Ammo then reached to the side and took one of the scented bubble soaps and poured a good bit beneath the running spout. 

The soft scent of roses quickly filled the room, making Ammo’s nerves slowly begin to calm. 

Soon he was leaning to the side, intent on resting his head on his crossed arms and closing his eyes, but large hands settled against his body before he could and guided him backwards until he was leaning comfortably against a soft pad and waterproof bath pillow.

Normally, he wouldn’t dare risk falling asleep in the bathtub, but he doubted Harrison would leave him alone, for multiple reasons… even though a thick layer of bubbles was likely obscuring one of those reasons. 

“Relax, if you fall asleep, I’ll wake you up once the water begins to cool,” Harrison said, making Ammo blink open one eye to watch as the man turned around to do something while kneeling nearby.

Quiet music soon began to drift through the small room. 

So cheesy. 

He wasn’t some girl that needed spoiled in such a way. 

Crunching was heard a minute after that, making him realize that Harrison had offered him another ice cream bar, and he’d accepted… but forgotten about it. 

Eating my ice cream, huh?

Of course, he honestly didn’t care, since he’d forgotten about it anyways. Listening to the man quietly eat the treat was actually just as calming as the music, and while Ammo, surprisingly, didn’t end up falling asleep, he did  end up sneaking a few glances at Harrison’s well-muscled back as he leaned against the outside of the tub, giving him at least a little bit of privacy as he soaked away his anxiety. 

Today… isn’t too bad of a day.

Opossum Twenty-One

I have truly been blessed. 

Grim had to fight to keep his expression blank as he tugged down his pants, intent on changing before his match. 

They were actually supposed to team up again, but he refused to allow Ian to even think about it. The guy had gotten substantially worse over the past few days and, after an at-home test, had been diagnosed with the flu. 

You’re sicker than a dog, yet you still have time to ogle my body. 

A quiet, phlegmy cough answered his silent words, making him quickly tug on his shorts, then walk over to check Ian’s temperature again. 

The thermometer told him what he could already tell by just touching the guy’s forehead. His fever wasn’t subsiding. 

He’d given Ian his bed without really thinking about it, and even though he could have just gone into the other room to sleep in his, for the past few nights he’d just slept on the floor nearby. 

Thankfully, Ian was able to keep down chicken broth and water, as well as any medication he took, so he wasn’t worried that  much. 

He was  a little worried about the guy’s train of thought, though…

Thinking about sucking someone off should not be your first priority when sick! 

Hopefully it was only temporary, because while he’d switched half of his gym classes to video ones on the computer so that he could stay home more and look after Ian, it was a bit hard to teach workouts while getting snippets of all the things Ian wanted to do to his junk! 

The guy had even thought about asking him if he could still give him a blow job, even though he could barely lift his head off the pillow! 

Needless to say, Grim sent him a glare before the words could even leave his mouth, silencing any further thoughts of such things… for at least an hour. 

Turning around, he knew that he’d find Ian’s eyes closed, even though he knew  that the guy was staring at him just seconds ago. 

It’s a good thing Ammo seems to be doing okay with Harrison, but you…

“I’m going to start changing in the other room. You’re constant blushing can’t be helping your fever,” he said, making Ian immediately open his watery eyes. 

How are you crying that quickly?!

Pointing at the man staring up at him from his bed, Grim was about to darken his tone and tell him to cool off, but the guy suddenly looked like a terrified kitten, hiding partially beneath his blankets as he looked up at him with damp eyes and overheated cheeks. 

He… couldn’t yell at that face. 

So, instead, he gave out a big sigh and stomped off to the bathroom to dampen a few washcloths. When he walked back into the room, Ian was already in position. That is, he had nudged the blanket down to his waist and was now lying on his belly with his head turned away. 

Whenever he got sick, evidently his back sweat the most out of anywhere. And, since he was usually lying on it, it made for quite an uncomfortable situation. 

Moving over him to straddle his waist, Grim got busy wiping down his back. He could see Ian glancing at him out of the corner of his eye with his sweaty hair clinging to his forehead. 

Scowling, Grim reached up with his free hand and squeezed Ian’s warm nose. 

“You trying to act cute or something while drenched in sweat?” he chastised as he tugged his nose a little, but made sure not to squeeze much or risk blocking it in case Ian could still breathe through it right then. 

With the guy’s eyes all watery and his skin so flushed, it almost looked like when he’d given him that twenty minute blow job a few days ago. 

Suddenly feeling his body try to respond to the idea of a possible second one from an overheated mouth, Grim promptly shoved one of his cold wash cloths over Ian’s face as he quickly scrubbed his back with the other. 

“Behave, you little shit. You’re not going to get better if you don’t rest,” he said, even though Ian hadn’t even spoken or really done anything besides look up at him. 

Realizing that he’d just let himself get frustrated for no clear reason, since Ian didn’t know that he could sometimes catch his thoughts, Grim felt his own face warm as he finished wiping the guy’s body off, then got off him to go rinse the cloths and start a load of laundry. 

By the time he came back with a warm bowl of chicken broth, Ian was out cold, snoring quietly as he hugged one of Grim’s extra pillows to his chest. 

Look at you, all snuggled up on another man’s bed. 

It would be so easy for someone to take advantage of him…

I bet he’d beg me to take advantage of him , he thought dryly as he dropped into his computer chair and got his game set up. 

He was just loading into the voice chat, his mic on mute, when he heard Ian start to cough. 

Grim ignored it for a few moments, used to the sound by now, but when it began to sound strained and raspy, he hesitated turning on his camera, and instead got up and went to check on him. 

Settling on the edge of the bed, he carefully helped the guy sit up against the stack of pillows, then tried to get him to take a few sips of water. 

Unfortunately, Ian couldn’t seem to stop coughing long enough to swallow a single drop. 

“Now’s not the time to spit, babe,” he joked, trying to get a response from Ian. 

It didn’t work. 

The guy just kept hacking, and after a few more moments, a light dusting of red began to dot his bare chest. 

Oh hell no!

Grim quickly jumped back up and typed out a message to the MC for their match telling him that they would have to reschedule due to an emergency. He then dropped out of the voice chat before running into the other room. 

He returned a minute later with his keys, wallet, and shoes on. 

“Alright babe, we’re going out,” he said as he quickly but carefully got Ian sitting up and to the edge of the bed and adjusted his shorts on his hips. 

The man just-barely managed to stay upright long enough for Grim to slip some shoes on his feet. 

“Alright, I’m gonna pick you up, okay? I just need you to wrap your arms and legs around me, alright? I’m giving you permission, so you better take advantage,” he told him as he waited for Ian to catch his breath a little, then knelt in front of him and carefully lifted the man up as he straightened. 

Thankfully, Ian was able to wrap him up in a tight sweaty hug, allowing Grim the use of one hand as he got them out the door and safely into his car. 

He made sure to lean Ian’s seat back a little to help try to calm his coughs a bit and be more comfortable, then slid in on the driver’s side. 

“Just try to relax, babe. We’ll be at the doctor’s in a few minutes.” 

He’d thought about going to the hospital, but while Ian was  coughing up blood, that was a common side affect when you’ve had the flu for a while. 

Thankfully, the urgent care clinic was close to his house and they were there soon enough. 

Ian managed to hold onto him again after he undid his seatbelt, allowing Grim to carry him inside and set him down in a chair. 

He then went to retrieve the paperwork he needed to fill out, and without hesitation, and to not waste time about getting the guy what he needed, he checked the relation box for husband , then filled out the remainder of Ian’s personal information from memory. 

Once that was done and turned in, he settled in the chair next to Ian and finally managed to get him to take a few sips of water from the paper cup he’d had a worker fill while they waited. 

The office was thankfully not that busy and they were seen within fifteen minutes. Ian even managed to walk to the examination room with Grim’s help, then was lifted up onto the little table. 

Their doctor was a young woman and as soon as she stepped inside they got straight to business. She checked all of Ian’s vitals, gave him another flu test, and checked with Grim concerning what medications he’d already tried, as well as what food he’d been able to keep down. 

The list wasn’t very long, but it gave her enough to go by. 

Soon they had a prescription that the pharmacy next door was already working on filling, as well as some extra information on how to handle Ian’s symptoms. 

They also gave him some fluids through an I.V. and a stronger decongestant, since Grim hadn’t given him any medication for a bit and he was due for another dose. 

Both seemed to help him quite a bit, because once they picked up his meds and got back home, his nose was running a good bit but he was able to stand on his own and walk with minimal help. 

The doctor had suggested trying food again if he was feeling better, so Grim got him a bowl of chicken broth, but left in a few of the cooked carrots and noodles from the original soup he’d made. 

Ian managed to take his new meds and eat it all, and while he was clearly still hungry, his stomach was just-barely keeping the food down, so Grim had to promise him more later and get him back to bed after changing the sheets. 

By ten o’clock Ian was out cold, looking a lot better and with, at least, a lower fever than before. 

Dropping back down into his gaming chair, Grim heaved an exhausted sigh and moved his mouse to wake up his computer screen. 

After a quick email check, he saw that his match was rescheduled for tomorrow evening, which worked out fine. There would also be no penalty because he rarely canceled and an emergency was an emergency. 

If he canceled again so soon, however, there might be an issue. 

Looking over his shoulder, he huffed out a breath. 

Hugging one of my pillows again. 

Turning his attention back to his screen, he reached over and dimmed the one light he’d turned on, then got busy farming up some items he needed to craft with. 

He took his time making sure that they had everything they’d need for their next few matches, though he doubted he would let Ian play in their rescheduled one tomorrow. 

He was a bit worried that Ian might be penalized, though, since he had some issues the other day. Just in case, he scanned the doctor’s note he’d requested and emailed it to the person handling their contracts, just in case, so that the game organizers at least knew that he really was very sick right now and wasn’t just playing hooky. 

Once done, he leaned back and rubbed at his face as images of a certain shower scene came into view behind his eyes. 

Grim immediately shook the thoughts from his mind, then sighed and stood up to go to the bathroom. After relieving himself, washing his hands and face, and brushing his teeth, he still couldn’t quite calm the itchiness that had nudged its way beneath his skin. 

Sure, he couldn’t lie, he absolutely  wanted another twenty minute blow job, but that really wasn’t the problem. 

Any other guy, and hell, even half the girls that came to mind, didn’t seem like they’d be able to scratch the itch he now had. 

Why did I let him do that? 

Grim reached up as he thought that and scratched the back of his neck as he scowled into the mirror. 

Why did I let any of this happen? 

The sound of coughing immediately stole his attention away from his self-loathing and drew him back into his room with a cup of warm water. 

He made sure that Ian drank it all, then helped him to the bathroom to relieve himself before they worked together to get his hands washed, then back to bed. 

To his surprise, he wasn’t sweating nearly as much as he had earlier. 

“Do you want anything before bed time?” he asked quietly as Ian got situated against the pillows, much more mobile then he had been earlier. 

“Could I have some more soup? I think I can keep it down now,” he rasped, his voice quiet but audible. 

“Of course, I’ll go warm some up for you,” Grim said without a second’s hesitation as he hurried from the room to do just that. 

He picked through several of the leftover containers with a fork, making sure that he added some soft vegetables and a decent helping of noodles, then warmed it all up and brought it back with a spoon. 

As soon as he settled on the edge of the bed and saw Ian reach over with shaky hands, however, he refused to relinquish the spoon and spent the next half hour feeding the grinning man until he couldn’t hold his eyes open any longer. 

He’d managed to finish most of the soup, leaving only a little broth at the bottom of the bowl. 

For his effort, and since he was now out cold, Grim leaned over and pressed a kiss to his forehead, then stuck his tongue out. 

There’s your thanks for the amazing blowjob. 

He knew that he wasn’t being very fair, but he also didn’t want to tease Ian too much. Especially not when he was sick. 

At least  not while he was sick.

With a content grin, Grim set aside the mostly-empty bowl, then slid from the bed into his makeshift one on the floor. 

He ended up sleeping much longer than intended, and when he awoke the next day, it was to the smell of something sweet cooking. 

Stretching beneath his blanket, Grim waited a bit, then heard footsteps approach before something was set down on the carpet about a foot or so away from him. 

When he felt Ian gently pat his hair, then walk away and start the shower a minute later, Grim finally opened his eyes. 

Oh?

Pushing himself up onto one elbow, he looked over the plate, unable to keep from smiling. 

The banana pancakes looked absolutely terrible. Like he’d tried to flip them too early and they’d just fallen apart in the pan, but Ian somehow managed to recover them enough to finish cooking them through. 

Reaching forward, he picked up the fork on the side of the plate and cut himself a piece, then dipped it into the maple syrup Ian had put in a little ceramic container on the side. 

When it finally made it to his mouth, his eyebrows went up. 

That’s not bad at all. 

He honestly hadn’t thought that the guy could cook all that well since he’d said as much before, but Grim didn’t hesitate to straighten up, then set the big plate in his lap and go to town on his breakfast, pleasantly surprised by the man’s skill. 

Sure, he’d probably just copied a recipe he’d found online, but there was absolutely nothing wrong with that. 

As he leaned back against his bed, chewing in silence, Grim couldn’t help but ponder a few things. Mainly, that he had to make sure Ian begin eating more protein now that he’d likely recovered from his sickness. He also wanted to ask him if he’d be interested in learning how to cook, because he was always willing to teach someone who was willing to learn, and he’d gladly help Ian for free.  

As for the last thing weighing on his mind…

Grim shoved a big bite of pancake into his mouth, a pout on his face.

Fuck, I want his mouth back around my dick.

Opossum Twenty-Two

“Winston, catch!” Ammo shouted as he threw the little ball as far as he could!

The tiny dog yipped happily as she darted off to do as told, but unfortunately, if she didn’t catch it, which was half the time, she’d just let it bounce until it slowed to a stop, then stop, herself, and turn to wiggle excitedly at him. 

Ammo ran to her for the tenth time, his bare upper torso shining faintly with a light layer of sweat. 

He should have been doing just about anything besides  playing catch with a dog for hours, like checking on the job he’d likely been let go from for not showing up, or calling Grim and Ian to check in, or really a plethora of other adult activities, but none of that mattered enough for him to actually do it. 

It was childish and downright unprofessional, but Harrison had said that he could do as he wanted and that he’d support him for three months, so long as he was respectful of his property and Winston. 

It gave him a chance to breathe. 

Picking up the ball again, he watched as Winston ran off, intent on finally managing another catch after her last three misses. 

The little dog was always happy, no matter what it was doing. 

Happy meals, happy sleeping, happy playing. Heck, it even loved going to the groomers! 

The little dog managed to catch the ball on the next throw, and rightfully earned an excited cheer from Ammo as it hurried back to him for more praise! 

He gladly picked the pup up, slobbery ball and all, and hugged her to his chest, allowing her to lick his face in the process once she dropped the toy, too. 

“I think it’s about time for dinner,” he told her as he carried her inside. 

He’d cleaned up quite a lot while Harrison worked each day, and while his house had always been rather clean, it was now sparkling. He also found that he enjoyed cleaning a lot more than he had any of his previous jobs. 

In fact, the next day a couple that normally hires Harrison for private training came by and were so impressed with his house that they asked if he could come clean theirs. For a price, of course. 

Ammo had stayed out of sight that entire lesson and hadn’t actually met the people, but when Harrison told him later that night, he’d been surprisingly open-minded about it. 

Thus, the next morning he actually woke up to an alarm clock. The first time since his wife had passed, and got himself out of bed. 

He washed his face, brushed his teeth, and even combed out his hair before getting dressed. When he stepped out of the bathroom, Winston even seemed surprised, since he tended to not bother with a shirt or even socks, let alone shoes. 

Her surprise quickly turned into excitement and, of course, being picked up for a quick hug. 

“I’m going out for just a little bit, alright sweetheart? Look after the house for me until your daddy gets home,” he told her as he carried her into the kitchen and gave her a small treat, then let her out in the backyard to go potty. 

Once she was settled, he left a note on a piece of paper for Harrison, even though the man knew that he’d be out. 

Going to the neighbor’s to clean. Will return when finished. 

He honestly wasn’t sure how much they needed done, but for once, he was looking forward to having some work to do. 

After grabbing a protein bar that he may or may not eat, Ammo took the spare key Harrison had left on the counter for him and headed out. 

He immediately felt his nerves itch as he stepped outside and locked the door, but he pushed the anxiety aside and made the quick walk the next house over. 

A knock on the door and he was inside a moment later, greeted very briefly by the couple before they told him what they needed done… which was just about everything. They then headed out for lunch, leaving him to his own devices. 

It was the best circumstances he could have asked for. 

There were tons of different cleaning products in the garage, and since they’d said he could use what he needed, he happily grabbed a few items that would work well together and got down to business after tugging on his light pink and orange cleaning apron!

He got the dishes and laundry going first, then scrubbed the counters, wiped off the cabinets and appliances, then cleaned all of the windows. 

Next, he picked up anything that happened to be lying around and put it back in its proper place… or at least an easy to find place. 

Alright, vacuuming!

While most people, and his shift, hated the loud noise from them, Ammo absolutely loved to vacuum because it made it hard to think. It was one of the few times he could truly just not focus on anything specific and just do what needed done. 

By the time he was finished and ready to mop, about twenty minutes later, his mind was comfortably quiet and quite content. 

The mopping was a bit quicker, but he was completely focused on it, not daring to miss a single spot. 

He’d already put cleaning product in both of the bathrooms to soak while he worked, so now with the floor wet, he got himself situated in the first one and got busy scouring the tub and toilet, and cleaning the fixtures. 

By the time he was done with that room the floor was dry enough for him to be comfortable walking across to the other bathroom. 

By the time that one was done and he was double checking everything, it was dark outside. 

Ah, I think I hear the owners returning. 

Not wanting to overstay his welcome since he was comfortable that he did a good job, he put away all their supplies, then met them at the door with a tired, nervous smile. 

He wasn’t sure what to expect, but when the couple excitedly gushed over his work and handed him three-hundred dollars, he was more than happy!

“Thank you so much sweetheart. Can we call you again when we need a cleaning? Our old cleaner didn’t do nearly as well as you and she just retired last month,” the woman said, making Ammo quickly nod. 

“Of course, ma’am. Just let Harrison know and I’ll come right over.” 

The couple thanked him again before Ammo headed out, excited to show Winston the money he’d earned. 

Speaking of the little girl, she met him at the door, jumping eagerly on her hind legs to greet him!

“Hi baby!” Ammo cooed as he scooped up the sweet dog. 

She happily gave him several kisses, then allowed herself to be put down as Ammo stepped inside and shut and locked the door. 

Something smells really good. 

“Welcome home, Momo,” Harrison said as he walked into view, a spatula in his hand and their other apron tied around his him. 

Ammo ignored the nickname. It didn’t matter what he was called, and since the man never addressed him as such to other people, it was clear that he wasn’t meaning it in a demeaning way. 

“I actually tried to make something tonight, but it’s not as good as my sister’s,” he said as he walked over and held up a small bite of food for him to try. 

Bubba snorted in his mind, but relented and allowed him to lean forward and accept the morsel. 

Mmm. 

“It’s honey cornbread with a pinch of red pepper flakes and salt on top,” he said as he quickly retreated back to the kitchen, evidently a little embarrassed that he might not like it?   

Smiling, Ammo followed him into the kitchen, then hurried over to the stove when he noticed a big pot sitting on it. 

Chicken and dumplings!

“I can’t take credit for that one. My sister brought over the restaurant’s extras,” Harrison said as he offered Ammo a bowl. 

The credit is that you’re willing to feed me what you know I’ll eat. 

And while what he could stomach has grown a bit from his previous over-stressed state, it was nowhere near what he used to be comfortable eating. 

Bubba bristled, not as enthusiastic at their dinner options. 

“Of course, I made a big salad for Bubba, too, if he’d like some greens,” Harrison said, instantly winning over his capybara as he pulled out a massive bowl of salad from the fridge. 

It wasn’t just a bunch of greens, either. There was plenty of cut up cherry tomatoes, cucumber, shredded carrots, and even a peppering of parmesan cheese on top. 

Needless to say, Ammo decided to set the bowl aside and grab a large plate, then load it up with salad, a big thick slice of cornbread, and then a huge scoop of chicken and dumplings. 

Before he sat down to eat, however, he put his plate on the table, then went back into the kitchen and held out one of the hundred dollar bills he’d been given earlier. 

He understood that Harrison hadn’t requested money for his stay with him, but that didn’t mean that he wanted to just freeload. He made a good amount of money for one day’s work, and he wanted to share it to lighten the burden of having him around. 

The guy didn’t look too happy when he saw what was being held out to him, but he surprisingly accepted it with a smile and a “thank you”, making Ammo release the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. 

With that settled and out of the way, he smiled and pocketed the other two hundred, then got himself some water and finally settled down into his seat at the table. 

Harrison soon sat across from him, his plate equally full. 

Normally, their meals were mostly silent, but today, Ammo actually started a small conversation about the job he had done earlier. 

It wasn’t anything huge, but perhaps for him, it was. 

The words flowed slowly but freely, and for once, they had a relatively relaxed conversation while eating supper. 

That eventually lead to working on the dishes together, then settling on the couch, each in their own respective spots, with Winston on his lap, of course, to watch a movie. 

It didn’t seem like much, but after having lived in the spare bedroom nearly twenty-four seven when Harrison was home if he wasn’t playing with the dog or eating, it was a big step. 

He actually nearly fell asleep as the movie came to an end, but Harrison gently shook his shoulder to wake him so that he could go to his room. 

Rubbing at one eye, Ammo slowly got himself up. 

“Than’ you,” he mumbled as he held a pillow to his chest without even thinking, then slowly hobbled his way to his room. 

Winston followed on his heels, making Ammo hesitate from closing his door completely. 

He’d leave just enough room for her to open it if she needed to get Harrison to let her out. 

Unbothered by the possibility of the man coming into his room, since Harrison had been completely cordial since he’d been there, and honestly too tired to care, Ammo quickly removed his shirt and pants after taking the money out of his pocket and setting it aside. 

He decided to keep his boxers on, as per usual, then climbed into bed. Winston soon joined him to cuddle beneath the blankets, and within minutes the little dog was out cold. Ammo stayed awake for another ten minutes or so, petting Winston, before he, too, closed his eyes and drifted off to a comfortable sleep.

Opossum Twenty-Three

“You looking for Waldo in there or something?” Grim asked as he spread his legs a little further, giving Ian the most beautiful view as he worked on stretching his love’s hole with his fingers. 

Grim was already sweaty from the gym, his workout tank top clinging to the skin where it had been pushed up to rest just above his beautiful nipples. 

He wanted to stare at him forever, but it was obvious that the guy was just about out of patience. So, with one more hungry look, he positioned himself over his love, then quickly but carefully thrust himself inside.

Ian’s eyes jolted open as a cold sweat broke out along his tense body. 

H-holy…

He was panting hard, and quite a bit hard between his legs. 

Pressing a pillow over his face, Ian groaned out his frustration. The horniness didn’t really bother him, he was living with his crush, it was bound to happen more often than not, but that dream…

Why on Earth were you thinking about topping him?!

He’d never , not once , thought about dominating his love!

Grim was his life, and the man was clearly a very dominant person. Besides, he preferred to bottom and has dreamed about being beneath his crush ever since he’d seen him in that gaming commercial. 

Sighing, Ian slowly set the pillow aside and opened his watery eyes. 

Time for another shower. 

Swinging his legs over the side of his bed, he got himself up and grabbed a change of clothes. 

Once in the hallway, he gave a quiet exhale as he saw Grim sleeping contently in his bed beyond his open door, his arms wrapped around a spare pillow. 

Ian’s calming heart immediately hastened its pace at the sight. 

Absolutely gorgeous. 

Grim truly was the most beautiful man he’d ever seen. Both inside and out. 

Shaking himself out of his daze, and also admonishing himself for being a pervert, he ducked into the bathroom. Unfortunately, right as he was finishing taking care of his problem beneath the cool water, he heard a ring tone begin to chime from his phone that he’d hoped to never hear again. 

He knew that he should have blocked the number, and he also knew that he should just let it ring out and ignore it, but his hand quickly found the phone after brushing off the water from the shower on a hanging towel. He then answered it as he brought it up to his ear. 

Thankfully, he didn’t need to answer verbally, because as soon as his mom heard the call get picked up she immediately started to talk. 

“Are you done playing grown-up yet, Ian? This has gone on long enough. You’re costing us thousands in babysitting fees because you want to pretend to be an adult when you clearly suck at it. You already moved out of the apartment you said you could manage, and there’s no forwarding address, so you’re clearly on the streets.”

He knew that he should tell her to mind her own business and hang up, but he couldn’t bring himself to say anything. In fact, his only response was a silent sniffle as a few tears slid down his damp cheeks. 

Only one managed to make it all the way down to his chin, but before it could fall it was wiped away by a warm thumb, drawing his attention down to the most beautiful man in the world. 

“Why is my Renegade crying?” Grim asked quietly, his gaze a little unfocused with sleep. 

“Your what? Ian, who is that? Why are you with another man? Are you selling yourself?!” his mother ranted, getting more and more depraved as he began to tune her out. 

He couldn’t help but give Grim the majority of his attention as the sleepy man grabbed a clean towel from the hanging bar and reached up at the same time Ian leaned his head down a little, allowing him to begin drying his hair. 

They could both hear his mother continuing to curse at him for his sexual preferences, life choices, and a slew of other random things she was tacking on by the second, but neither of them responded, clearly a bit lost in their own little world. 

At some point his phone found its way to the counter and with Grim’s help, he carefully got himself out of the shower tub and onto the soft mat in front of it. 

That’s where Grim really  began to dry him off, quickly lowering the towel from his damp hair to begin wiping along his body. The guy didn’t hesitate or spare a single inch of him, seemingly not minding where he was touching. 

I really like sleepy Grim. 

The guy seemed to lose the tiny bit of reservation he had when touching him and nonchalantly dried him from head to butt and from toes to… Ian’s heart jumped into his throat as his privates were thoroughly dried. 

His mother was still complaining loud enough to be heard without the speaker on, but he didn’t give a damn. 

“Mm, breakfast, babe?” Grim asked as he held out the pair of clean boxers Ian had brought into the bathroom to change into. 

He quickly tugged them on, then allowed Grim to lead him right out of the room, his phone forgotten on the counter. 

Grim didn’t release his hand until they were both in the kitchen, and while the guy was still a little out of it, he quickly got busy taking things out of the fridge to begin making their breakfast. Ian got himself situated a few feet away and began cutting up what Grim set beside him. The man was surprisingly picky with the way certain foods were cut, but Ian had made it a priority to remember the specifics. 

When Grim accepted each set of cut items without a word and added them to a hot frying pan, Ian couldn’t help but smile.  He wasn’t given long to watch him, however, before Grim set a container of turkey bacon in front of him. 

Understanding what he wanted without any words passing between them, Ian quickly got the bacon set up on a baking sheet and added some pepper to most of the slices, but sprinkled a little bit of brown sugar on the two biggest ones. 

Once that was in the oven he got out of Grim’s way as the man added eggs and extra seasoning to one of the large pans he’d been working with. While he was busy Ian got the table set with cool water and set out plates for Grim to fill  

To his surprise, once their plates were made, Grim walked away, drawing Ian’s attention as the young man grabbed one of the two chairs at the table and brought it around to settle next to the other. 

When he then began to move the glass of water Ian had put in front of the other chair, he realized what he was doing and grinned. 

They were soon sitting next to each other as they enjoyed their veggie omelets, potatoes, and turkey bacon. It was all fantastic, of course, but the best part of the whole breakfast was the warm leg that was firmly pressed up against his own. 

Having completely forgotten about his mother and his now-silent phone, Ian finished his meal in the blink of an eye, then took the extra few minutes it bought him to rest his head against his love’s shoulder as he finished his own meal, having switched to using his left hand so that his right one was free… to settle on Ian’s thigh!

Heaven. This is heaven. 

He wasn’t sure why Grim was being more affectionate than normal, though, and without his familiar gruff attitude. 

“Let’s do some cardio before you have to go to work,” Grim said, making Ian nod his agreement right away. 

Cardio wasn’t his strong suit, but he was improving with his love’s help. 

“Treadmill or?” he asked, leaving his question open. 

“Let’s go for a run,” Grim said, making Ian blink in confusion. 

They’d gone on a few quick walks when Grim hadn’t wanted to go all the way to the gym, but a full on run wasn’t their normal. 

“Sure,” he agreed right away anyways as he got up and, regrettably, Grim moved his hand from his thigh. 

Ian quickly got the table cleared up and the dishwasher running, then they both got dressed and met back in the dining area a few minutes later. 

Grim already had a set of keys, so Ian simply headed for the door, but right before he could open it he felt Grim’s fingers slip into the waistband of his shorts and pull backwards. 

Ian immediately blushed and took a few steps back before turning to look at the other man. 

“Go put a shirt on.”

A shirt? 

Grim usually wanted him to not  wear a shirt so that he could see his muscles working and what he needed to improve on… but he wasn’t going to argue. 

“Y-yes sir,” he replied and immediately went to pull a T-shirt on. 

Once he returned he was given a pat to his hair for his obedience, then followed Grim out the door into the crisp morning air. 

Grim set off immediately, making Ian hurry to fall into place at his side as they set a brisk pace. It was a bit tough at the beginning, but when he heard a quiet purring sound between his ears, he realized something. 

Ren? 

Come to think of it, he couldn’t sense Grim’s opossum anymore. 

Stevie? he questioned, using the name he’d come up with for the little guy. 

When he only got another purr in response, he figured that the possum must have transferred back to Grim. Perhaps when he’d held his thigh during breakfast. 

The thought made him smile as his feline helped him keep pace with his love as they ran into a large wooded park and started making their way along a trail. 

It began to narrow as they moved further into the woods, forcing him to move behind Grim… not minding the new view in the least. 

He heard Grim chuckle in front of him and couldn’t help but give a goofy grin in response. 

The man likely knew exactly what he was thinking. 

Ian enjoyed the view on their run so much that he didn’t even realize he was getting badly winded until Grim slowed to a stop, then turned and shoved him down into a big pile of leaves about halfway through the trail. 

They pillowed his body with ease, allowing him to not worry about being hurt during the landing, and as he began catching his breath, Grim kicked a few leaves onto his rapidly rising and falling chest. 

A few moments later, he added more. Then more. 

By the time he finally stopped, Ian was nearly buried in a mound of leaves and would definitely need another shower before work!

The look of humorous joy on Grim’s face as his love smiled down at him made the oncoming task absolutely worth it, though. 

When Grim finally settled beside him, Ian wiggled his upper body free from the leaves in order to lean over and wrap his arms around his love’s waist, earning a pat to his head for his efforts that dislodged a decent amount of leaves mixed into his hair. 

“We have a match tonight, so make sure to be ready to go when I get there,” Grim said as he continued to pluck little broken leaves and twigs from Ian’s hair, allowing him to keep hugging his waist without a single reprimand. 

Normally, he’d just take the train and walk the rest of the way, but Grim had decided to pick him up the other day. 

And, it seems, again tonight. 

“Yes sir,” he replied without hesitation. 

He didn’t want to be a bother, but he wouldn’t argue with his love. 

“I want you to play a full damage dealer tonight,” he said as a bird began to chirp above them, no longer staying quiet for fear that they were something to worry about. 

“Okay.”

Allowing his eyes to close as his body finally relaxed back into a normal breathing pattern, Ian took the moment to simply enjoy Grim’s attention. 

The trail they had taken was evidently not traveled very often at the current time of day, giving them some privacy. 

The silence, however, did remind him of something that piqued his curiosity enough to ask about. 

“How is Stevie doing?” 

Grim raised an eyebrow as he reached down and squeezed Ian’s nose briefly. 

“Stevie, huh? You don’t think he already had a name?” he asked with a hint of humor to his words. 

Ian grinned wide as Grim withdrew his hand to return it to his hair. 

“I don’t think he had a… reasonable name.” 

Grim chuckled and finally fell back into the leaves with a content exhale.

“He’s doing fine. Moderately quiet, for once,” Grim replied, making Ian smile with relief. 

He was worried that returning to Grim’s mind would make Stevie panic, but thankfully the little guy was doing alright. 

“I’ll gladly look after him whenever you need me to. He was a sweetheart,” Ian said, making Grim grin before he was abruptly yanked down into the pile of leaves again!

He was about to say something cheeky, about who was being a brat now?  but quickly tossed those words right out the window of his left ear when Grim rolled over onto him and pressed a barely-there kiss to his lips. 

Before Ian could respond, the guy was back on his feet and dusting leaves from his clothing. 

“Let’s head back before I have too much fun teasing you and make you late for work… again.” 

You can totally make me late again. I have two more strikes before I even get my first write up. 

Of course, even though he thought that, he knew that he’d be upset if he were late again without a respectful reason. And, unfortunately, rolling around in leaf piles making out with your dream-husband wasn’t exactly an appropriate excuse. 

As he was internally chastising himself, Grim offered a hand to help him up. He took it without thinking, and was abruptly hoisted right out of the leaf pile and even stumbled a bit on the sidewalk with the extra momentum from Grim’s effort!

“Oops, used a little too much strength there,” the guy noted as he began to head back down the trail in the direction they’d come. 

Ian was a bit slower to follow, mainly because his heart was already struggling because of his love’s sudden show of strength. He really should have been used to it by now, but he honestly didn’t think he ever really would be. 

“Th-that’s okay,” he said as he hurried after him. 

They ran until they were out of the park, then slowed to a walk. That’s when Grim held something out to him.

“Your lips were chapped.”  

Ian quickly took the little container of chapstick and uncapped it, then brushed it against his lips, unable to hide his smile at the indirect kiss from the item. 

It was a childish thought, but he didn’t care. 

When he handed it back, Grim lifted it to his own lips and swiped it across them before putting back into his pocket. 

I’m going to die today. 

His heart had finally calmed down, but immediately jumped back into a frantic pace at the other man’s actions. 

“How is your studying going? You’ve been pretty busy these past few nights,” Grim said as they stepped inside the house and Grim immediately pulled off his shirt, making Ian lick his lips. 

He quickly averted his gaze as he tugged his own sweaty shirt off. 

“It’s going really well. Your advice has really helped,” he said, glad that Grim never once messed with him about the struggles he had with his GED courses. 

He didn’t even mind when he got distracted after a few questions, and even learned how to divert his attention to something else. If he got distracted while working on math, Grim would redirect him to language arts or science. 

He planned to study a little more after their match tonight. He was just about done with the math portion already. 

…—t a blowjob. 

Ian blinked. 

That thought definitely hadn’t come from him… but his inability to focus gladly grasped onto it and shoved all thoughts about his studies far away to the back of his mind. 

Looking back at Grim, Ian felt his heart jump into his throat as he realized that his love had been staring at him. His gaze was narrowed on him, too, a darkness and hunger in their depths that had Ian forcing himself to swallow hard. 

When Grim turned and silently ducked into the hallway a moment later, then stepped into bathroom, Ian quickly followed. 

He ended up late for work again… and had a rather sore jaw, but he regretted absolutely nothing and couldn’t stop smiling throughout his entire shift.

Opossum Twenty-Four

Ren had fallen asleep on him while he’d been working on some new crafting recipes in their game. The cat had, of course, jumped up into his lap without permission and made himself perfectly at home against his chest before passing out within seconds.

Thankfully, he wasn’t playing with anyone else at that moment and had no plans to start a match anytime soon, so he just let the stubborn thing do what it wanted.

And yet… now he had a very naked man cuddled up in his lap, purring loudly right next to his ear!

Of course, that put his possum on edge, and for the first time in two days, it began to give off little yelps of nervous terror as it paced around his skull.

“You know, I could take advantage of you so easily like this,” he said dully as he poked Ian’s nose twice, then squeezed it briefly before pressing a button on his controller that triggered a macro to continue crafting what he was working on.

While he was doing that Ian wiggled closer and turned the volume up on his purrs.

Yeah, my bad. You would like it if I took advantage of you, huh?

That hadn’t even really been a question. The guy would have probably spread his legs for him even dead asleep.

Rolling his eyes at the thought, Grim reached over towards his bed and grabbed one of his blankets, then quickly got it situated around Ian.

“There, now I won’t be tempted to do things to you,” he joked with a chuckle as he tapped the macro button on his controller again.

He felt the man move a little here and there before his arms slowly lifted to wrap around his shoulders.

“You… can do anything… to me,” Ian whispered, his words deep with sleep.

“Oh?” Grim replied nonchalantly as he pressed the button on his controller again.

While he waited for another response, his phone began to vibrate, making him pick it up after glancing at the name on the screen.

Ammo’sHoe, hah.

As soon as he accepted the call and lifted it to his ear, Harrison began rambling.

“Dude, how do I stop his rabbit from getting into the fridge? He’s already eaten a week’s worth of lettuce since this morning!”

Grim bit his lips to keep from bursting out laughing!

Rabbit?!

“He’s a capybara, and there’s not much stopping him unless you’re there with him. You could try to get a fridge lock since he’s pretty darn stubborn. That’s probably going to be your best bet,” he replied calmly as he began rubbing his thumb over the blanket covering Ian’s waist.

“It doesn’t even seem like his human side is there at all when he shifts! I mean, he’s only chased me around the house once, when I tried to get him out of the toilet, which was gross, but is he really going to keep opening my fridge?” Harrison asked, almost begging for another solution to his problem.

“Well, why not just take him with you to work? He’s a pretty chill capybara. He might do well just hanging around while you train your clients,” Grim offered.

Harrison seemed surprised by the idea.

“I… I mean I guess I could? Do you think he would wear a harness? I’m not too comfortable letting him walk freely yet. Especially since I live near a busy road.”

And the fact that he’s suicidal.

Whether the capy was or not though, he wasn’t sure. It was better to be safe then sorry, though.

“He probably will. Just get one that fits comfortably and let him wear it around for a while. You can probably take him to the pet store and even try them on there.”

He’d give good money to see Harrison carry Bubba into a pet store, then try to get him to stay still while putting a harness on.

“A-alright, I’ll give that a try. Besides that he’s been doing pretty well. He’s started cleaning houses for good money and after talking a little, he decided to not renew the lease he had on his apartment. We’ll figure out a rent thing in the next week or so, but for right now things are going well.”

Grim leaned back in his chair and did his best to ignore the warm tongue that was now calmly lapping at his neck.

“That’s good. Let me know if you need any help. I can also bring his car over whenever, but it’s also fine to just leave here until he decides what he wants to do with it,” he added, earning another thanks from Harrison before the guy hung up, seemingly scrambling to stop something that was currently in progress.

Guess Bubba got himself some more lettuce.

Setting the phone down, he now turned his attention to the rough tongue still lapping at his neck.

“Pardon me, but it appears your tongue is licking the wrong area,” he joked.

He expected his babe to lean away and blush, but to his surprise, Ian did immediately leaned away… only to drop down between Grim’s legs and lick his lips.

“H-hey, behave,” Grim grumbled as he pressed a finger to Ian’s forehead.

It wasn’t that he disliked the guy’s blowjobs. Quite the opposite, but he wasn’t sure if he could handle more than one a day, and he’d already had one… two hours ago in the shower.

They tended to leave him a melted pile of mush… and in need of another shower, so he didn’t want to overdo it.

Why are you looking at me like I’m denying you your favorite snack?

“Come here, babe,” he mumbled as he leaned down and took Ian’s face in his hands, then pressed their lips together gently but firmly.

The purring started up immediately in response to the kiss, which was to be expected and even made Grim grin.

This fucker is adorable.

“What do you want for dinner, babe?” he asked as he nudged his chair back and stood up, stretching a bit after having sat for so long.

He knew Ian’s eyes were on him, especially when his shirt rode up a bit, but he didn’t mind. In fact, he’d gotten quite used to the guy’s gaze.

“By the way, you is not the correct answer,” he added, knowing that Ian would totally go for his junk again if he were given permission.

Grim watched as the young man smirked up at him, wearing nothing but the blanket that had drifted down to bunch up on his bare lap.

“Here, you’re going to catch a cold before your tests start,” he said as he walked over and grabbed his favorite black sweatshirt and tugged it over Ian’s head, then pulled it down around his shoulders until it covered the important bits.

Except, it didn’t once the guy stood up.

Damn tall brat.

He quickly tossed Ian a pair of checkered white and blue boxers… also his own, but they would fit well enough… maybe.

“You never said what you want to eat for dinner,” he stated as he walked out of the room, foregoing offering Ian any pants. The guy was perfectly capable of getting his own.

“Can we make tacos?” Ian said after a few moments of silence as they both walked out of his room and headed for the kitchen.

Tacos is a decent idea. Can use up some of our extra stuff that’s already been cut for previous meals.

He was just reaching for the fridge to begin getting things out when he heard his phone ring again from the other room.

“I’ll get it,” Ian said, since he was standing right by the hall anyways.

He quickly disappeared, making Grim shrug and turn back around to get their food ready. When he heard Ian’s returning footsteps, he held his hand out for the phone while reaching for something that had gotten pushed to the back of the fridge.

When he lifted it to his ear and greeted whoever was on the other end, he was a bit surprised by their response.

“Hello Chester! This is the urgent care clinic, we just wanted to call and check up on your husband, Ian. He sounds like he’s doing much better!”

It’s been a bit since he was sick…

Still, he appreciated the check-in anyways.

“Thanks for calling, my husband is doing much better now.”

He nonchalantly leaned against the counter, watching Ian as he spoke for any kind of reaction.

His eyes widened from surprise, expectedly, but then he noticed something that stole his attention as he hung up the phone, finishing the quick conversation at the same time.

“You didn’t put any pants on.”

He didn’t mind looking at the guy’s body now that it was smoothly muscled, but it was a bit cold in his house so that the electric bill wasn’t run up too high.

Ian seemed to take a minute to process his words, then look down and confirm what he’d said to be true. When he looked back up, he was all goofy smiles, though.

“Oops, my bad,” he said without an ounce of remorse to his words as he slowly turned and walked to his room to find something to wear.

Grim watched him go, confused as to why he was nearly walking in slow motion. Oh well, it gave him a chance to check out the muscles in his ass… he was beginning to look really good.

While he went to do that Grim finished getting their leftover stuff ready and to the table. He didn’t bother actually making any tacos yet, since they both liked different things on theirs. Instead, he just brought all the containers and a few utensils so that they could do what they wanted.

When Ian returned a moment after Grim had sat down he was wearing a the pair of fleece pajama pants he’d bought him the other day. The guy barely had enough stuff to get through a week, so he’d slowly been grabbing him things here and there if they looked decently warm or well-fitting.

So far, he hadn’t made any mistakes on size, at least.

Soon they were eating rather noisily, thanks to the crunch of the taco shells they were using. He, himself, liked a lot of ground beef and chicken on his tacos, along with a little sour cream and tomatoes, while Ian went closer to the vegetarian route, with only a tiny bit of shredded chicken and a ton of tomatoes, lettuce and cheese.

Working together, they completely polished off all of the remaining leftovers, with Ian having the last few bites of Grim’s fifth taco, after he’d gotten too full to finish.

He could faintly hear Ian fanboying over how they’d just shared an indirect kiss because he’d finished off his food, but the thought just made him grin and internally shake his head.

I just kissed you thirty minutes ago and yet you’re still getting so excited about sharing food?

The guy was like a high school kid, brimming with excitement about anything that had to do with their crush.

Leaning on one elbow, Grim watched Ian begin to stack up the dishes in preparation to bring them back to the kitchen. He didn’t bother helping yet, since he’d brought everything out and set up himself, but that was always fine. They very rarely verbally divvied up the tasks that needed to be done around the house. Instead, they just seemed to understand each other.

Watching him carry the first round of dishes to the sink, Grim leaned back in his chair and followed him with his eyes.

You’re his crush.

It was a reminder that he desperately needed to start paying more attention to.

You’re leading him on constantly…

Ian knew it. And he knew it.

Internally shaking his head as his possum began to stir, Grim got himself up and walked over to help with the dishes. He was just in the process of finishing filling a sink with soapy water when he suddenly felt his body waver, then drop!

Thankfully, Ian was right beside him and managed to catch his little possum right before it could hit the floor. Of course, it screamed from the surprise of the sudden drop, but as soon as it was snuggled up in Ian’s arms, it quickly calmed down… until it saw the bubbly water in front of it!

“Hey there, sweetheart. Want to take a bath?” Ian asked as the little opossum reached excitedly towards the water, squeaking quietly as it did so.

Ian quickly moved the thankfully-less dirty dishes from the soapy sink, then lifted Stevie up over his head with a big smile.

“Ready?!” he questioned right before he playfully lowered his squirming possum halfway into the water.

It immediately gave out an excited cry and kicked its little feet in the warm soapy water, waving its arms and continuing to vocalize, clearly already having the time of its life.

Ian continued to play with it, lifting it up and down while cheering it on with a big smile. He was just setting it back down again when Grim watched fur begin to sprout as feline ears popped up from within Ian’s hair.

Soon enough, Ren was perched on the edge of the counter, staring untrustingly down at the little possum standing in the soapy water looking back at him.

Soon, however, Stevie was splashing around in the water again, clearly trying to entice Ren to hop in with him. Unfortunately for him, Ian’s cat was definitely not as enthusiastic about water.

Stevie wasn’t deterred and quickly inched closer to the edge, then reached out with a soapy paw to try and grab at Ren’s fur. It was promptly swatted down, but his other half was evidently just beginning!

Soon Ren was dancing around the sink, avoiding the splashing possum like a fuzzy game of Marco-Polo. Grim was about to start feeling bad for it, since he knew his opossum was being an annoying little shit, but then he realized something that made him relax a bit.

Ren can just jump down if he doesn’t want to deal with Stevie.

The cat was intentionally playing with his possum. Or, at least, tolerating it.

Either way, Stevie was having a great time and Ren was humoring him. It was now all in good fun.

His possum is so sweet. I’m glad he…

The thought made Grim smirk, because Ian didn’t realize that even though his possum might be acting kind of cute, his cat was truly far more adorable.

They both seemed to simply relax and let their animals play together, not minding anything else until they both froze the moment Ian’s phone rang on the counter.

That ring tone doesn’t sound familiar.

It seemed like Ren knew it, however, because the cat immediately stopped paying attention to Stevie and bristled, its hackles rising to pinpoints as a low growl started up from its chest.

In fact, Ren seemed so annoyed with the sound that he walked over and swatted the electronic device right off the counter, clearly hoping to silence it once and for all.

Grim internally winced when he heard it hit the floor, but instead of becoming silent, the impact seemed to cause the call to be accepted, because he soon heard a lady’s voice that he did remember hearing one other time.

His mom…

“Ian? How dare you ignore me last time and walk away with that other man! You better get your ass home right now before I decide not to let you come back! You ungrateful li—” Grim began to block her out as his possum swam over to the edge of the sink and slowly pulled itself out of its warm bubble bath.

It seemed quite annoyed, too, but then again, he couldn’t blame it. It seemed to have been having a great time splashing around in the water.

After a few more wiggles it slid from the counter and splatted onto the floor with a grunted squeak.

“What was that? Ian, why aren’t you saying anything? Can you not even talk to your own mother?!”

Stevie shook out his sopping wet coat and waddled over to the phone, his wet paws slipping on the tile here and there.

When he finally got close enough, he nudged the little spot where the microphone was with his nose, then leaned back a little and straightened his shoulders.

Ah, here we go.

Stevie pinned his little ears back.

Three…

Curled the tip of his pink tail.

Two…

Took in a deep breath.

…and one.

His possum leaned down and forward and opened its mouth, letting loose one of its most impressive yells to date!

At first Ian’s mom wasn’t sure what to do with the startling scream, though once she got a hold of herself, and try as she might, she just couldn’t manage to get a single word in over the volume of Stevie’s amazing lungs.

Thus, after trying and failing to do so for quite a bit, she abruptly hung up, clearly infuriated but unable to do anything about it.

The moment it heard the sound of her hanging up the call, Stevie quieted, then licked his lips twice for good measure before climbing back up to continue his bubble bath.

Well fuck. Good boy.

Opossum Twenty-Five

I want to win him over. 

He felt Ren pace right beneath the surface of his skin, clearly a bit antsy at the thought. His cat honestly couldn’t understand why they weren’t already together. 

Licking his lips, Ian fought himself to not think about where his mouth had been nearly every morning the past two weeks. He’d even slept with Grim in his bed a few times during some of their midnight gaming discussions. Or, really, he’d fallen asleep and been allowed to stay.  

Waking up snuggled in next to his love each of those days had been heaven.

Mussing up his hair a little bit, Ian sighed and stared down at his turkey and lettuce wrap. 

Does he really not love me the way I love him? 

The guy let him get away with so much more than a normal person would if he were straight, yet there seemed to be a firm wall he just couldn’t managed to get through now. It felt like he was reaching the end of Grim’s flexibility. 

Ian felt his stomach grumble, but he honestly didn’t want to eat for the first time in a long while. 

He put the wrap away and went back to work to try and relax his mind again. He actually ended up staying late, working overtime for the first time since he’d moved in with Grim. 

It honestly felt good to work off his frustrations, and thankfully the guys who worked overnights were more than happy to have the extra help.

By the time he returned to his locker to grab his phone, since he’d wanted to get lost in his work for a while, his brow furrowed. 

There were quite a few text messages, and even two calls from Grim. 

Frowning and feeling a little guilty, he quickly tugged his coat on and headed out, immediately dialing Grim’s number once he was outside. 

“Ren, it’s almost four in the morning…” Grim grumbled the moment he picked up the call… on the very first ring. 

Ian fidgeted at hearing the nickname the guy recently only used for his cat. He thankfully didn’t sound angry, but he did sound rather exhausted. 

Why didn’t you go to bed, love? 

The guy did sometimes  stay up late to game, but he’d been really busy with work recently and usually passed out around midnight, at the latest. 

“You’re done with work?” Grim asked when Ian forgot to respond to his first remark. 

“A-ah, yes sir! I stayed late without telling you, sorry,” he finally replied, feeling even more guilty as he heard his love’s fatigue. 

“Good, because I’m almost there,” Grim said quietly, startling Ian into hurrying his pace towards the spot Grim usually picked him up at. 

“Hey Ian! Have a good night, man! And thanks for the help, we really appreciate it!” one of the nightshift crew called out as he waved his cigarette in the air. 

Ian waved back, though he didn’t say anything because he didn’t want to yell through the phone. 

The sound of a familiar car pulling up behind him drew his attention immediately back that way. Then, after only a moment, and to his surprise, he saw Grim get out of the driver’s side and sleepily walk over to slip into the passenger’s seat. 

Ah!

Hurrying forward, Ian quickly leaned into the passenger’s side and got Grim’s seatbelt buckled for him, since he seemed to be just about on the edge of passing out, then he made his way around to the other side and dropped down into the driver’s seat. 

By the time he had himself buckled in and the seat adjusted he could hear Grim’s quiet even breaths beside him. The guy had truly fallen asleep in such a short amount time. 

It was hard to keep his eyes off the beautiful man while he drove, but he refused to put Grim at risk by allowing himself to be distracted. 

He drove as if a single miniscule bump would wake his man. That made it take a bit longer to get back home, but when he finally pulled over and glanced to the side, Grim was still comfortably out cold. 

The extra time had been worth it. 

Quietly sliding from his seat after turning off the car and clipping the keys to his belt loop, Ian walked around to the other side of the car and opened the door. 

He wanted to take a few extra minutes to simply watch his love sleep, but it was pretty cold outside and he refused to allow Grim to get sick for something so stupid. 

So, he quickly got the man’s seat belt undone, then leaned down and slid an arm behind his back. Following that, he lifted his free hand and gently leaned Grim’s head against his shoulder. Next, he slid that hand beneath his love’s legs and gingerly lifted him up. 

Unfortunately, he wasn’t sure how to close the door quietly with just his foot, making him wince when it made a small sound. 

Thankfully, it didn’t seem to disturb Grim, allowing Ian to get him inside without issue. Having the other man sleeping in his arms was a whole new feeling to him… and wasn’t making it any easier to try and not fall even harder for him. 

He brought his love straight to his room and got him settled, gently removing his shoes and socks, as well as his coat. He wanted to remove his shirt and pants, too, but it wasn’t worth waking him. 

So, after tucking him in as he was, Ian leaned down and pressed a simple kiss to his sweetheart’s forehead. 

“Love you sweet Chester, sleep well.” 

He silently made his way to the bathroom to relieve himself, wash his hands, scrub his face, then brush his teeth. A faint shuffling sound drew his attention as he was finishing rinsing his mouth, making him quickly spit out his small mouthful of water and straighten to look towards the open doorway. 

His heart immediately melted at the sight of his baby standing in the doorway, rubbing at one eye as the other watched him, barely half open. 

Hurrying forward, he gently settled a hand on one of Grim’s elbows as the other pressed against the man’s waist. 

“Are you alright, sweetheart? Do you need to use the restroom?” he questioned, a little worried that his love might fall asleep if he left him where he stood. 

Instead of acknowledging that he had to use the bathroom, Grim shuffled a tiny bit closer, then lifted one hand to grasp at Ian’s worn shirt. 

“Don’t mn back do work,” he mumbled sleepily, his words slurred and messy as he leaned forward, pressing his forehead against Ian’s chest. 

Back to work? 

Wrapping his arms gently around his love, Ian smiled softly and pressed a kiss to Grim’s messy hair. 

“I’m not going back to work, sweetheart. I was just getting ready for bed,” he told him in a hushed whisper, not wanting to wake his sleepy love up more than he already was. 

When Grim slowly lifted his head, with great effort, and looked up at him with half-lidded eyes, Ian wished that he could take a photo of him just with his eyes. 

“You’re ready bed?” Grim mumbled, earning a quick nod from Ian. 

“Yes sir, I’m all ready for bed,” he replied as he slowly began to help Grim get back to his own bed. 

His love nodded and began to tug him towards his room, making Ian grin as he watched his sleepy effort. He happily followed along, then helped his love get situated again. 

Except, when he tried to tuck him in, Grim nudged the blanket aside and frowned up at him. 

“Are you hot? You don’t want it tonight?” Ian questioned, wondering if Grim was maybe coming down with a fever, because it was relatively cool in the house right then. 

Grim shook his head, then rubbed at his eye again before yawning. 

So cute!

“Don go back,” the guy mumbled, clearly trying his best to stay awake as he held onto a few fingers on Ian’s left hand. 

Ian blinked, his brow furrowing, confused. 

“I-I was just going to head to bed, love. It’s almost five in the morning. We both need to sleep.” 

Grim seemed to be trying to process his words, but evidently gave up quickly and just decided to shake his head, his eyes looking a little watery in the dim moonlight coming in through his window. 

Unsure what the man wanted him to do, Ian carefully got himself situated on the edge of his love’s bed. He’d never seen Grim so tired, yet still somewhat awake. 

“Alright sweetheart, time to rest,” he whispered quietly as he pulled Grim into his arms for a gentle hug before getting him situated again. 

He considered leaving again, but Grim was still watching him, a frown on his face. 

Don’t frown, love…

Ian reached over and gently pressed his thumb along Grim’s soft lips, the man’s tongue tapping it as it reached the edge as it followed it across his lips. 

Ian’s heart immediately skipped in his chest as he leaned closer, his mind going fuzzy and just responding on instinct alone. He thankfully caught himself, his own lips mere inches away from his love’s. 

Quiet, steady breaths snap him out of his daze and had him drawing back. 

You need to knock it off. If he wants to flirt and mess around when he’s awake, that’s fine, but don’t you dare take advantage of him when he’s so tired. 

Continuing to mentally chastise himself, Ian stood up and headed for the door without looking back. He was just about to step through it when he heard a strange, groaning-whine that sounded like a mixture of Grim and Stevie. 

Frowning, Ian looked over his shoulder. 

He shouldn’t have. 

Grim was still lying down, nearly asleep, but now he was on his belly with his head turned to the side on his pillow, and there was one half-open eye staring at him as the man pawed at his nose with his left hand, much like Stevie did when he was nervous. 

“Go to bed, love.”

Grim tucked his head a little and whined again, allowing Stevie to take over a bit more to counteract his exhaustion. 

Unsure of what the man wanted from him, he slowly walked back over and sat down. 

Grim immediately wrapped his arms around his waist, then pressed his head against his left side. 

Before he could question him, his love was asleep again. 

What am I going to do with you? 

Figuring that Grim, or at least Stevie, wanted him to stay, he carefully undid Grim’s arms from around him and got the man settled again, then got himself situated beside him.

He’d intended to just sleep beside him, but as soon as he lied himself down, Grim began to stir again, and since he’d already grabbed for him, he figured that he might as well just hold him. 

Hopefully he’s not upset when he wakes up. 

Of course, he’d gladly accept some annoyed words and a shove off the bed if it meant that he got to sleep with Grim in his arms, but he didn’t want his love not to trust him to keep his distance when he wasn’t wanted. 

Fucking phone…

Grim rolled over, wrestling a bit with the constricting arms around his middle and chest. 

Once he had the annoying thing against his ear, Grim reached down with his free hand to begin playing with Ian’s fingers. 

“Hi dad, what do you want?” 

His father rarely ever called him, and when he did, it was because he needed his son to make an appearance at some event or another in order to pretend that they were some sort of close-knit family. 

“I have a gala I need you to go to tonight. Make yourself available. I already spoke to Mary. She’s free to be your date again.” 

Straight to the point, like always. 

A soft purr began to resonate from behind him, drawing a grin to Grim’s face as he answered. 

“I’ll come, but I’ll bring my own date.” 

His father was quick to respond to that, and his tone was clearly not impressed. 

“I don’t want to see another one of your one-night stands and—” he paused for a moment, clearly surprised by something. 

“Did you… get a cat? I thought you hated cats.” 

Grim’s smirk stretched even further. 

“I happened to find one that I couldn’t say no to,” he replied as he continued to gently tug on one of Ian’s fingers. 

“Isn’t that worthless rat of yours screaming its head off because of it?” his father sneered. 

Grim felt a warm puff of air against the back of his neck at the same time the fingers he’d been playing with wrapped around his hand. 

“He’s actually been pretty well-behaved the past few weeks. I think he likes this cat.” 

His father scoffed, but decided to drop the insignificant topic and return to the one he’d originally called about. 

“So, tonight? I’ll call Mary and have her come over to the house twenty minutes before seven?” 

Grim rolled his eyes and squeezed Ian’s hand. 

“I’ll bring someone.” 

Dead silence fell upon their conversation. 

Grim let his father stew for a few minutes as Ian’s arms tightened around him and a warm tongue began cleaning the back of his neck, the purring coming from the same entity growing in volume along with the attention. 

“I’ll bring someone, or I don’t go,” he added, not willing to negotiate. He had known Mary since they were children and she’d accompanied him to his father’s events, but there was no way he could just go with her now. Not with Ian in the picture. 

They might not be a thing, but neither was he and Mary, no matter how much his parent’s, and Mary, wished they were. 

“Last chance. I bring someone of my choosing, or I don’t go at all.” 

His father quickly cleared his throat, then sighed deeply before finally responding. 

“Fine, but they better be dressed appropriately and not get drunk off their ass this time!” 

Before Grim could respond, his father hung up, clearly frustrated by his refusal to do as told. 

Hmph, just be happy I’m going to come at all. 

Tossing his phone on the floor, Grim rolled over. As soon as he settled again, facing his man, Ian pulled him tightly against him and turned up the volume on his purring again. 

“Babe, I need to go to a party my dad is having tonight… come with me?” he asked as he slid his fingers into Ian’s soft hair. 

He thought that Ian would reply affirmatively right away, but when the man hesitated, Grim leaned away a little and reached around to nudge at Ian’s chin to get him to look up and meet his eyes. 

“Come with me?” he asked again, surprised that he needed to even repeat himself. He never thought Ian would hesitate replying yes  to any request he made of him. 

The man snuggled in a little closer and tucked his face against Grim’s chest. 

“I-I’ll go,” he eventually whispered. 

Grim was about to press a kiss to his head and praise him, but before he could, he was gently moved overtop Ian as the man rearranged their positions. 

Perverted brat.

Ian had tugged him overtop his body, spreading his legs right before he was settled.

“You want me to fuck you, babe?” he questioned, even though he knew the obvious answer. 

Ian knew that he knew, too, because instead of answering verbally, he simply reached up and wrapped his arms around Grim’s neck and tugged him down for a deep kiss. 

Think you’re gonna take control while lying in my own bed, hmm? 

Grim was about to lean back and pin the guy down for a stern talking-to, but Ian’s tongue quickly convinced him to wait a little longer before reacting. 

He shouldn’t have. 

By the time his mind finally caught up to his body, his pants, which he’d fallen asleep in, were halfway to his ankles and his boxers were dangerously close to joining them! 

There was also a hot hand painfully grasping one of his ass cheeks and something hard pressing against his own uncomfortable length. 

As he tried to catch his breath and keep his mind somewhat clear, he saw Ian try to lean up and seal his lips again. Thankfully, he was able to focus now and quickly narrowed his eyes, making Ian immediately frown but drop his head back down to the pillow.

He soon tilted his head to the side and back slightly, though, revealing a neck that looked far too inviting. Grim’s mouth began to water, but he forced himself to avert his eyes. That gave him the strength to calm himself further and, eventually, he was able to force himself to roll off Ian, then get out of bed. 

“S-sorry, I…” Ian began, but then allowed his words to drift off into silence. 

Grim ran a hand down his face and tugged his pants and boxers up to a reasonable height, but instead of walking off to go shower, since it was already close to one in the afternoon, he slowly turned around and stepped back up to the bed. 

Ian was now sitting on the edge, putting Grim nearly between his legs. 

In silence, they meet each other’s eyes before Grim slowly lowered his own to look over the man’s now well-muscled body. His eyes soon narrowed on the space between Ian’s legs. No matter how much he thought about it, and how much Ian seemed to enjoy it, he couldn’t stomach the thought of having the man’s dick between his lips. He could, however, maybe…

Slowly reaching forward and down, Grim pressed his fingers against Ian’s warm abs. His shirt had mysteriously gone missing at some point during their bout of kissing, leaving him with a perfect view of his previous hard work. 

He’d been a cute, nervous young guy when they’d first met in person, but now, after a good while on a strict, healthy diet and a good amount of working out, he was now quite a handsome man. 

Someone is going to fall all over themselves to get to you one day.

It was just a simple fact. 

However, that day wasn’t today. Today, Ian was staring up at him, having clearly expressed his wish to give attention and  receive it. 

You mess with him and lead him on so much, and you practically dragged him into your bed last night even though you’ve been trying to distance yourself a little. You can’t be mad when he tries to offer himself to you the next morning. 

With those thoughts in mind, Grim slowly got on his knees, then grasped the edge of Ian’s disheveled boxers and tugged them down just enough. He couldn’t wrap his mouth around him, but he found that he had little problem grabbing his impressive length with both hands and beginning to kneed it gently. 

The hand job soon had Ian moaning and panting, and while he figured that he’d try to hold himself back and revel in the physical attention he was getting from his love, he was unsurprised when Ian orgasmed a mere minute after he first touched him. 

He watched the man’s full response to the sensations he’d worked up within him, then finally leaned back on his heels and wiped his hands on his pants as Ian fell back on his bed, his chest still rising and falling quickly with his hastened breaths.

Standing up a moment later, Grim looked over the partially naked, sated man in his bed. 

When Ian opened his eyes again a few seconds later and noticed that Grim was watching him, he immediately nudged off his pants and boxers the rest of the way, then spread his legs and tilted his head to the side. He was offering himself again. 

He though that he might not be the happiest with a naked male spreading their legs for him on his bed, but Grim found that he really didn’t mind the display. Especially since it was rather submissive, but while he was slightly turned on by it, he had no interest in accepting.   

He wasn’t sure why he got turned on by the guy, yet had no interest in going all the way. If he was aroused by him, then he should want to do it with him, too, but no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t see himself topping Ian. 

Reaching up, he mussed up his hair and huffed out a breath in frustration, then turned and stalked away, needing a cold shower.

Opossum Twenty-Six

He wasn’t sure what to do with himself.

Within an hour they had both showered and eaten, and after a quick drive downtown, they entered a tuxedo and suit shop that looked like a foreign land to him. The prices were easily double what he could even pretend to afford, but that didn’t seem to deter Grim in the least. The guy piled his arms full of items, then followed him into their largest changing room to not waste time with him opening and closing the door to have them checked.

The lady who was assisting them blushed nearly the entire time, but Ian was too busy with his own racing heart and shaky fingers to pay her the slightest mind. He might have been able to change easily if Grim stopped grabbing him everywhere, adjusting the clothing from top to bottom as he considered each set critically.

By the time Grim finally chose a dark maroon suit for him, Ian was just about at his limit. He gently but firmly nudged Grim from the dressing room once his choice had been made, then closed and latched the door before the protests could begin.

Thankfully, Grim just grumbled a few confused words before walking off to go find himself something to wear. That gave Ian enough time to calm down, then change, before opening the door about five minutes later.

He handed the suit Grim said to get to the assistant who’d been waiting on them, then hurried off to find him… only to realize that Grim had already grabbed a few things for himself and was now locked behind a changing room door a few rows down.

I want to be upset that I can’t watch him change, but it’s probably for the best.

He didn’t need to embarrass himself after he’d already needed a few minutes to cool down.

Deciding to play it cool, he sat in one of the nice chairs outside the changing rooms and pulled out his phone. There was a text waiting for him, and when he opened it, he was surprised to see that it was from the officer in charge of the little boy’s case from a while ago.

His mom is doing well in her rehab and he’s started school again.

The boy was a little behind after having left months earlier to try and help his ailing mother, but Ian could tell that he was a smart young man. He’d catch up in no time.

Spending a few moments, he replied with a smile on his own face, then sent the message right as Grim stepped out of the dressing room. That drew his attention immediately away from his phone as it was tucked back into his pocket and allowed his eyes to lift to the man of his dreams.

Then he deflated the slightest bit.

“Don’t be sad, babe. You’ll see me in it soon enough,” Grim said as he handed a midnight blue suit to their assistant, then headed for the counter after swiping matching ties from a stand nearby.

But I want to see it now…

Biting back his frustration, since he really had no right to be upset, Ian followed behind Grim quietly and took the items once they were paid for so that Grim could have his hands free.

Once they were settled back in the car with their suits wrapped in plastic in the back, Grim got them heading toward his father’s mansion, where the gathering was going to be.

“We’ll just come in the back entrance and get changed. I don’t want to deal with walking through the front in case some people are there early.”

They weren’t dressed badly, by a long shot, but that definitely made sense after hearing a bit about his parents. He didn’t want to bother pissing his dad off for arriving in jeans and a sweater to a formal event.

Unfortunately, the drive didn’t take long enough for Ian to calm his nerves, so he was surprisingly quiet as they grabbed their suits and slipped in the back of the mansion that could have easily fit ten of Grim’s houses inside it, and then some.

Grim’s old bedroom was right up the stairs from the back entrance, making it easy to slip in without being spotted. When they shut the massive double doors to his room and Ian actually saw it for the first time, however, he couldn’t help but have reality crash down around him.

I… I’ve been simping for a guy, thinking that I could give him something he doesn’t already have, when his bedroom is bigger than my entire previous apartment.

His entire world just seemed to deflate.

What good am I compared to this?

“Babe? Come get changed,” Grim called, snapping Ian out of his disorienting daze.

He gave his head a quick shake, then hurried forward. Even if his mind was spiraling, his body still knew exactly what to do.

Listen to Grim.

He obediently stripped out of his clothing and allowed Grim to help him dress until the man was perfectly content with how he looked. That’s when Grim began to strip and Ian’s eyes glued themselves to his every move.

He didn’t snap out of it until the man was completely clothed again.

“Don’t worry babe, you can help me take it off later,” Grim said teasingly as he finally stepped forward and patted Ian’s clothed chest.

I want to.

He shouldn’t, because he really didn’t feel like he had anything he could possibly offer after seeing what Grim had grown up with, but he swallowed down his stress and forced a smile.

Except, Grim immediately reached up and grabbed his jaw, squeezing the smile right off his face.

“None of that. What’s wrong? Do you not want to go out? You can stay here if you’d like,” Grim offered right away, making Ian’s heart constrict in his chest.

He wanted to go out. He wanted to stand at Grim’s side and protect him from whatever stresses he knew were coming with this event, but did he have a right to?

Before he could figure out what to say, Grim was leaning up, pressing their lips together.

It was a rare, calm kiss, with neither of them trying to turn it into something more.

When they finally disconnected, Grim gave his nose the slightest lick, then grinned up at him.

“What would you like to do, babe?”

Ian had no trouble answering this time.

“I want to be with you.”

And he meant it. Completely and wholeheartedly. Not just for the party or as a roommate, but for life.

Grim nodded and took his arm in his, then led him to the door before they both opened one side and stepped through.

Two long hallways and four minutes of walking later and they finally slowed to a stop at the top of a massive winding staircase. Below them was a bustling gala with people dressed to the T and wearing more jewelry than what could fit in an entire store.

Before he could begin to have a panic attack, Grim tugged him closer and put his free hand on his arm where his own was still locked around it.

“Let’s get this over with,” Grim said as they began to walk down the staircase, attracting more and more attention as they descended.

Ian forced himself to stand straight and keep his head held high, just like Grim was doing. He somehow managed to keep his wits about him and as they finally took their last step down to the main floor. Grim’s father immediately met them there with a strained smile.

The man’s judging eyes didn’t hesitate to narrow on him after briefly acknowledging his son.

“Who is your friend , Chester?”

The venom was quite noticeable in his words.

“He’s my boyfriend. I’d like you to meet Ian,” Grim said as he grinned up at him at the same time a young woman dressed in a dazzling emerald green dress walked up to them.

Oh wow.

“Good afternoon, Chester, who is your friend?”

Grim turned his attention to the woman, his smile remaining a bright beam of light.

“Hi Mary, this is Ian, my boyfriend.”

His father’s scowl darkened as he turned his attention to Ian once more.

“Where did you graduate college? What was your GPA? Where do you work and who are your parents?”

What… am I supposed to say to that?

He never even graduated high school, though his test for his GED was next week. He also worked at a warehouse, and as far as his parents went…

This was a really bad idea.

“He’s finishing his GED next week and has been my best student by a long shot this year,” Grim said as he patted Ian’s arm where a good bit of muscle was clearly obvious beneath the cloth of the suit.

“His… GED? You can’t be serious?” his father said at the same time Mary chuckled a little behind one bejeweled hand.

“He’s a real cutie, and I can definitely see the muscles. You did a great job working with him, Chester.”

Ignoring his father’s continued stuttering, Grim smiled at Mary.

“Thank you, he’s a great student.”

Now his father stepped back into the conversation with a loud scoff.

“Student? He clearly wasn’t since he couldn’t even get through high school!”

Ian felt his face warm but had nothing he could really say in response. He hadn’t been a good student. He hadn’t been able to sit through half the classes without getting distracted or getting in trouble. His mind had struggled to focus when he was younger and even now, after several more years, he still needed Grim’s help to keep focused on his work sometimes.

“Not everyone learns the same way. He’s extremely smart and is the leading playing in the game I’m employed with right now. He’s also going to ace his GED exam next week,” Grim replied without missing a beat.

Ian stared at him, awestruck and honestly feeling a bit undeserving of such praise.

His father made a face but quickly covered up the expression so that those gathered nearby couldn’t read how toxic the situation really was.

“You still play that worthless game?” he spat out, clearly not a fan of it.

Grim smirked and unwrapped his arm from Ian’s, only to move it around his waist and pull him closer.

“I made seven thousand from it last night and my amazing boyfriend just recently signed a live camera contract and got his first big check for eight two days ago.”

His father and Mary both looked at each other, clearly a little stunned by the amount of money.

“I’ve put away half of mine already and I’ll be discussing good stock and savings options with him when we get home, but if you have any suggestions I’d be glad to hear them,” Grim said smoothly, his beaming smile calming down a bit as his father’s attitude seemed to simmer down a bit.

Ian blinked in shock as Grim’s father actually looked between them without displeasure then, shockingly, he gestured for them both to follow him as he began walking over to one of the fancy tables set up around the perimeter of a calm dance floor.

The moment they sat down food was brought over and quickly filled up the table, but Grim’s father clearly wasn’t interested in much of it. He took a sip of red wine then immediately launched into which stocks were doing well and which ones were currently down but likely to flare back to life depending on how a few situations played out.

He seemed to know just about all of the possible risks and rewards for each high-ranking stock and even listed several good saving accounts where he could let his money sit at five percent growth until he decided what he wanted to do, too.

Ian did his best to pay attention to everything and even requested a few pieces of paper so that he could write down some notes. Grim’s dad seemed a little put-off by that, but he soon realized that he really was being taken seriously, because Ian was quickly filling the pages one after the other.

It actually got to the point where Ian was talking directly with the man while Grim spoke with Mary, having switched seats with him.

By the time Grim’s father left the table to go socialize with his growing crowds of guests Ian felt like steam was coming out of his ears and he’d filled up at least five full pieces of paper, front and back, with notes about the stock market and different savings account options.

The pat that soon found its way to his head immediately calmed his warmed face, though, as Grim turned his attention back to him with a surprisingly-relaxed grin.

Mary doesn’t look too happy with me taking his attention back so abruptly, but do I have to care about her, too?

“I knew you could handle it, babe.”

Ian blushed and accepted the attention, and the fact that Mary didn’t seem to matter nearly as much as his dad had, but as soon as Grim lowered his hand, Ian quickly turned to the food that had mostly been left alone in front of him and began stuffing his face!

Grim chuckled beside him and even though Mary kept trying to get his attention, he simply scooted closer to Ian, then began picking up random things with his fork to offer to him in between a few bites of his own.

People began to come over to them now, too, and it seemed like a new person introduced themselves or greeted Grim every time Ian took a big bite of food. Thankfully, no one seemed to mind that he could rarely respond to them besides a nod or a hum. Grim easily spoke for him, though, fielding every single person and conversing with ease.

He wasn’t sure how much time passed before things began to quiet down and then, finally, Grim’s hand gently squeezed his shoulder and stood up.

“We’re all done, babe.”

His love’s outstretched hand beckoned him to his feet, then out of the massive gathering hall and back to Grim’s bedroom, much to Mary’s chagrin and even a frustrated shout. They changed out of their clothes, though Ian needed a bit of Grim’s help. He might have eaten too much and gotten rather sleepy because of it.

By the time they were done he was doing his best not to doze off as he sat on the edge of the massive king bed.

“Want to stay here tonight?”

Ian would normally blush as he thought about the amount of space on the bed for certain activities , but he quickly shook his head.

“I like your small bed more.”

He hadn’t meant to say that. His mouth just tended to be too straightforward when he was really tired.

Grim’s chuckle met his ears and put a sleepy smile on his face before he heard him walk away, then return after a few moments. Soon, a cool cloth was being wiped along his cheeks and forehead, bringing a bit of lucidity back to his mind.

Covering a yawn with one hand, Ian stood up, then stretched with his hands over his head. He took the cloth a moment later and wiped off his face again, then lowered it as he smiled sleepily.

“Thank you. I’m ready to go now.”

They calmly walked out hand in hand and while he managed to put one foot in front of the other and even hold a tiny bit of conversation on the way to where they parked, Ian couldn’t help himself as soon as he sat down. His eyes drifted closed and pretty soon, he was snoring quietly, completely out cold before Grim even got them back on the highway.

He awoke some time later as he felt his body gently being lifted, then carried.

Not wanting Grim to hurt himself carrying his weight, Ian pushed himself to wake up enough to walk, but he couldn’t manage it until he was settled in a soft, familiar bed.

Grim’s…

He drifted off again, only waking when he felt the mattress beside him dip.

Hands were soon undoing the button of his pants and tugging them off, then doing the same for his shirt before it went up and over his head. Feeling that his shoes were already off, Ian rolled onto his side and squinted open one eye in order to reach out and wrap an arm around Grim’s well-muscled middle.

“I was going to log on for a bit,” Grim said, even though he didn’t try to remove his arm at all.

Ian considered letting him go, but when Grim just began petting his head, he realized that the guy was mainly just teasing him. They were both tired from the event earlier.

“Mm… cuddle mm boyfriend,” he mumbled, trying to make his words somewhat audible.

He heard Grim huff out a light laugh before he felt the man pinch his nose.

“Boyfriend, huh? Did my husband just demote me because I played it safe with my dad?” Grim teased, his words finally making Ian finish tightening his hold, then roll over, effectively pulling his love with him until they were spooning.

His arms quickly settled into a more comfortable hold for both of them, then he nudged his nose right into his love’s soft hair.

“Mm sorry, my husban’. I love you.”

Ren began to purr loudly as they both settled in and got more comfortable and Grim tugged his blankets up and over them.

Grim began to grumble some random things about not being the little spoon again after that night or something or another, but Ian was already partially asleep, contently snuggled up to the love of his life.

Opossum Twenty-Seven

Grim watched as his opponent fell to the ground for the fifth time, ending the special one-on-one match he’d been challenged to. The player had been good, sure, but he hadn’t considered the shitty mood Grim was in before the match. 

He often played a tiny bit more carefully when he had Renegade at his side, but without anything to make him hesitate? Even though he’d died twice, himself, he’d beaten Revengor to a pulp more than enough times to earn victory… and quite a bit of donations. 

Evidently, the guy had quite the mouth and loved taunting people as he crushed their hopes and dreams in the game. Granted, he did, too, but even though he’d never admit it out loud, he’d calmed down quite a bit since Ian had moved in with him. 

Just the thought of his man mad his body respond and grow hot, making him tug his headset off and quickly dismiss himself for the regular break they got before the end-of-match interviews. 

Reacting with just a thought…

It wasn’t too much of a surprise, though. Since coming back from his father’s he’d realized just how fine a line he was walking with Ian. The guy wanted him, which had always been obvious, but now he realized that, somehow, Ian was also considering the possibility of not  being with him. 

Granted, he didn’t show it very easily and was more than obedient whenever Grim spoke to him, but there were times he’d caught a nervous glance or an unsure response to things that should have been answered immediately with clear precision. 

Splashing water on his face, Grim gave his head a good shake and sighed. 

This is so stressful. 

The sound of the door opening immediately stole his attention and had him hurrying that way. He met Ian right as he stepped inside, then reached up and removed the bag from his shoulder and after setting it on the ground, grabbed the man’s chin and pulled him in for a rough kiss. 

Ian returned his kiss and pulled him into a strong hug, eliciting a moan from Grim. He’d never really cared for people trying to restrain him in any way, even though he loved tying up others, but with Ian and his hugs, and hands, and—Grim broke the kiss and mussed up Ian’s soft hair. 

“I passed,” Ian said breathlessly, his smile shining even in the darkness of the entryway. 

Grim smirked and squeezed Ian’s nose. 

“Of course you did! My husband is a genius,” he said firmly before pressing another kiss to his man’s lips. 

When they separated again Ian took his hand and squeezed it as he walked over to the couch and dropped down, pulling him into his lap for another tight hug. It was strange being in such a position, but again, with Ian, it didn’t really bother him the way it would with anyone else. 

Actually, straddling his man’s lap gave him just the right angle… 

“How did your match g—” a loud moan broke his sentence as Grim clamped down on Ian’s warm ear. 

He felt the man’s reaction beneath him immediately and smirked, then leaned away after one more tug on his ear. 

“Good, the cocky bastard bit off more than he could chew,” he said right before Ian leaned forward and tugged on his sweatshirt with his teeth. 

“Want to bite me too, babe?” he asked with a chuckle. 

Ian looked up at him with hungry brown eyes, his teeth still firmly holding the fabric of his sweatshirt. 

His silent answer was quite obviously, yes. 

“Unfortunately, I’ve got to go back and do the end-game interview,” he said with a crooked grin, having known that he’d get away with the teasing because of that. 

Of course, he could get away with anything when it concerned Ian. The guy was extremely accepting of the whole consent thing. He could push him to the brink of insanity and he’d still stop if he simply said the word. 

Although, each time he’d done it he’d felt worse and worse about walking away. 

Better stop now. 

He did  have to go do his interview, anyways. 

Cupping his loves face in his hands, Grim leaned in for one more kiss before climbing off his lap. 

“I’m proud of you, babe. Let me go get this done, then we can make some dinner together.”

Ian nodded and let him go with a blush and warm smile. 

Even though his love didn’t make a fuss about him leaving after teasing him, Grim still wasn’t very happy about walking away. He was always the one walking away. Teasing, playing around, and saying things that he wasn’t ready to finalize in reality. 

Stopping right before the range of his camera, Grim sifted his fingers through his hair and pursed his lips. 

Eh, fuck it. 

Spinning on his heels, Grim walked back into the living room and stopped in front of the couch right as Ian was getting comfortable lying down. 

Now confused and a little worried, he quickly sat back up, only for Grim to grab his hand and pull him to his feet! 

“G-Grim?” 

Marching into his room, he pointed to his computer chair. 

“Sit.” 

Ian’s eyes were wide as he stared at him, then back to the chair, then back at him. 

“You… want me to sit in your chair in front of the camera?” he whispered, clearly worried that he might be picked up by the mic he hadn’t muted. 

Grim nodded, then tilted his head up slightly, a grin on his face.  

“You don’t want to?” he asked after a moment of silence, his smile faltering slightly. 

He could see the conflicting emotions on Ian’s face and to say that it fucking hurt was an absolute understatement. 

I did that. 

Before, Ian would have jumped into that chair and pulled him down into his lap with the giddiest excitement, overjoyed to show him off to the world and finally have his love claiming him. 

Yet here we are, and he’s hesitating.

He wanted to just drag him over to it anyways, but dammit if he could force him. 

“Do you… really not want to?” he said after nearly a minute of silence between them. 

He didn’t know that his heart could beat so fast, but Grim knew that he deserved whatever negative might be coming. He’d led him on and on and on. 

Ian was rubbing the back of his neck, a clear sign that he was extremely uncomfortable. So, when he finally did speak, it was no surprise that he said what he did. 

“I-I… don’t want to do that u-unless you really want me in th-that way.” 

Fuck me. Fuck me fuck me fuck me!

Pulling on his own hair, Grim paced in a circle ten times before finally walking over to his desk and pulling a small container out of the mess there. He then turned and walked back over to Ian, even though he knew that he had likely walked in front of the range of his camera, but he didn’t give a fuck. 

“I’m sorry I’m a fucking idiot sometimes,” he paused, then ran his free hand over his face, then sighed out his growing frustration before continuing. 

“Okay, most  of the time, but I don’t want to make a mistake this time. With you.”

He could just-barely hear something coming from his headphones, but pushed it to the back of his mind as he awkwardly knelt down, his face burning with nervousness. 

“I’m probably going to make more mistakes and say stupid shit, and we both know I’m going to do  stupid shit but, um, I uh…” 

Grim felt his tongue tie itself into knots, making it hard for him to get another word out even as he struggled with himself. Eventually, he reached up with his free hand and lifted the item he’d taken off his desk, then opened it for Ian to see. 

The man’s eyes widened to saucers as he stared at the custom made ring before him. He’d had it specially crafted last week by an artist he’d met on the game. He’d requested a rush order the night they’d gone to his dad’s, and boy had the girl delivered. Everything on it, from the gold base to the silver and rubies melded into it in the design of both their in-game crests mixed together. 

Thank god the girl had only lived one city over, too. 

In all honesty, he’d known what he’d wanted the moment he told his dad that he would only bring Ian to his party. The thought of standing beside anyone else had made his stomach churn. Of course, he knew that he still had some issues he needed work through, and hadn’t really planned to present the ring yet, but at the same time, he didn’t want Ian to look at anyone else or feel like he wasn’t wanted in that  way. 

Ian slowly dropped to his knees on the carpet in front of him, his expression still one of disbelief. 

As the silence between them stretched, Grim’s heart began to suffocate him as it pounded against his ribcage. 

He was just about to lower his shaking hands and go crawl into a ball when Ian reached up and gently took the little ring from its container and brought it closer so that the light from the hallway could illuminate it better. 

“Wow… gorgeous,” Ian whispered as Grim thought the exact same thing, but his eyes were on his man, not the ring. 

Ian stared at it for another minute before gently removing it from the little holder and sliding it onto his ring finger. 

The guy was literally transfixed. 

“You really want me?” he eventually asked, his voice a quiet, unsure whisper. 

Grim finally felt his body relax a little as he inched closer, then pulled Ian into an awkward kneeling hug. 

“I really, really  want you, and I’m sorry that I’ve made you think, even for a second, that I might not. I know I’ve got some things I still need to work on, but you’re the only one I want to try with. Will you marry me, Ian?” 

Ian lifted his eyes to meet his, then slowly nodded his head, as if using those few moments to confirm in his mind what he’d just heard. 

“Yes. Please, I want to marry you. I-I want to marry you!” Ian replied, his voice cracking as he began to cry. 

Grim quickly sat down and pulled his sweet husband into his arms, intent on comforting him, but before he could even get him into a complete hug, he was abruptly lifted up and carried over to his computer chair! 

“Wh-what are you doing?” he squeaked out right before Ian dropped down into the chair, like Grim had previously asked him to. 

But why am I am in your lap already?!

He’d honestly planned to walk over and settle himself right where he was sitting now, but he’d meant to do it with a swagger, not a blush!

Hearing the MC begin shouting from his headset, Grim swallowed down his nerves and reached as far forward as he could… with Ian’s arms wrapped firmly around his middle, and managed to swipe his headset from his desk. 

As soon as he put it on he felt his ears begin to bleed at the volume of the MC’s insane screams. 

“Oh my god, Grim! That’s Renegade! You have Renegade in your house! You’re in his lap! What’s going on?!”

Jesus Christ.

Straightening up as well as he could in Ian’s lap, Grim narrowed his eyes on the camera and put on his best haughty expression. 

“Of course he’s here! He’s my husband!” he said, then grabbed Ian’s left hand and held it up in front of the camera as his love buried his face in his neck, perhaps a little embarrassed, even though he was sure he was probably elated, too. 

“See the ring, bitches? He’s taken, and has been taken! He’s mine!” 

The MC was sputtering a bunch of unintelligible nonsense and his profile chat was flying off the hook with notification sounds, but Grim just sat there in his man’s lap, glancing over only a few as he held Ian’s hand tightly in his own. 

Daddy’sBelt: BOY I KNEW IT! BUT WE ALSO SAW HIS LEFT HAND LAST WEEK! YOU LITTLE SHIT! YOU JUST PROPOSED! 

DumpTruck: Ren! You can do better! Baby don’t let him fool you! 

DiviIsAPerv: We allllll know who’s the bottom, right? ;) 

MimiIsAPerv: I’ve got the hidden cameras ready! 

ThatKindOfMilkChocolate: You better invite us to the wedding! (I just wanna lick Ren once before he’s taken away to your dungeon!!)

“Wh-wh-when did this happen?” the MC finally managed to ask. 

Grim snorted and smirked, but instead of answering, he leaned back and pressed a kiss to Ian’s hair. The sweet gesture had Ian finally lifting his head to stare straight at the camera. 

“I’ve belonged to Grim from the very beginning,” he told their viewers before tilting his head and pressing a kiss to Grim’s ear. “I’ve always belonged to my husband.”  

Grim felt his face burn red in response, but he ignored it and kept his smug attitude as he answered a few more questions from the MC, then abruptly turned off his camera at the exact second he hit the mandatory interview time. 

The second it was off he exited the Discord voice chat, then tossed his headset and fell back against his husband’s chest with an exhausted sigh. 

I actually did it, Stevey. 

He’d not only come out to his watchers, but also officially claimed his man. 

Turning and curling up in said man’s arms, Grim pressed himself against Ian’s chest and tucked his head, then channeled his inner opossum and let out a close-mouthed squeal. 

It felt good. 

It had been the first time he’d ever intentionally made any kind of sound similar to his inner animal. 

Ian smiled and nuzzled his hair, a purr starting up to mix with Grim’s second stifled scream. 

He could sense Ian’s elation and happily let it flood his system as they cuddled in his chair, the game, dinner, and everything else, momentarily forgotten. They would just enjoy each others’ company for a while in the now-quiet, dark room. 

He would enjoy his husband’s  company.

Opossum Twenty-Eight

I’m married to Grim. 

He’d told himself that for nearly a week already, but it just hasn’t sunken in yet. 

“You sure are working hard recently. Don’t push yourself too much, okay?” his boss said as she walked over and patted Ian on the back after he set the last box down from the load he’d been working on. 

“Yes ma’am, just in a good mood this week,” he said with a cheerful, though tired, smile. 

She watched him for a moment before returning his smile. 

“Is it that beautiful young man who’s been coming to pick you up most days?” she asked, clearly curious. 

He had seen a lot of his coworkers checking out his man, but the ring on his finger easily nudged away any doubt he’d previously had about Grim possibly not wanting him. 

The thought brought his eyes down to that beautiful ring, drawing the woman’s attention down to it as well. 

“Oh my, that is gorgeous!” 

Hell yeah it is, and it’s from my amazing husband. 

His face warmed at the thought. 

I’m such a dork. 

He couldn’t help himself, though. 

“Wait, is that young man your fiancé?” she asked, her voice rising in volume as she realized what was going on. 

By now he was blushing from ear to ear, but even though he was a little embarrassed, he wouldn’t dare hesitate to claim his man. 

“He’s my husband, ma’am!” 

Oops, he hadn’t meant to shout that last part. 

I’m still too excited, even after a week. 

The best week of his life, honestly. 

Grim had been fawning over him constantly, not only picking him up from work and making him the majority of his lunches and breakfasts, but even having baths ready for him on the Tuesdays and Thursdays he knew he wouldn’t be able to come pick him up. 

Almost every night they enjoyed each others’ attention, too, and while that wasn’t always sexual, he realized that Grim was honestly just as perverted as he was. 

They hadn’t gone all the way yet, but he was no longer worried about that, either. Grim clearly wanted him. 

Ian quickly shook the perverted thoughts from his head to keep from embarrassing himself. 

“Oh, well that’s wonderful. He’s a handsome young man and he’s lucky to have such a charming, hard-working sweetheart as his match.”

Ian’s heart swelled as he smiled bigger. 

“How about you head home a little early? We’re just about done here and your man tends to get here a bit early anyways. Maybe he’s already waiting for you?” 

After having done a few hours of overtime already that week, Ian couldn’t help but excitedly accept the offer. He was gone as soon as he grabbed his stuff from his locker, and just like his boss said, Grim was already outside, leaning against his car. 

Ian felt his heart sore as he hurried over to his man and received a tight hug and slightly painful kiss. He’d honestly gotten quite used to Grim’s roughness, though the man thankfully understood that there was always going to be a limit. He would gladly sacrifice his lips to his love, though, since they seemed to be what he liked biting the most. 

I’m gonna start moaning in public. 

Reluctantly, Ian pulled away and quickly got into the passenger’s side. He could tell that Grim hadn’t been done with him, but they had quite an audience already, and he was definitely not someone who liked other people looking at what was his. 

Even if said man was only loving on him. 

Grim dropped down in the driver’s seat, then smirked at him. 

“My babe doesn’t like being watched?” he asked as he got the car started. 

Ian immediately shook his head. 

“I hate it. I don’t want anyone else thinking about you the way I do,” he said honestly, earning a raised eyebrow from his love. 

“And how do you think about me, babe?” he asked as he focused on the road. 

Ian looked directly at him and didn’t hesitate a second. 

“As mine, and I don’t want to share you with anyone unless i have to. The game, I absolutely understand, but after that? The face you make when I come home with treats for you after a long match. Or the look you give me when we absolutely destroy someone in a team game off stream. But most importantly, I refuse to share the look you give me when you’re thinking about how I’m going to go down on you the second we get home.” 

Even in the minimal light, he could see his husband’s deep blush. 

I love it. I love him!

Grim might be just as much of a pervert as him, but boy did he blush adorably when he was caught off guard!

“I knew you were always a little pervert,” Grim said after pulling himself back together. 

“Only for you!” Ian chirped right away, not missing a beat! 

“Yeah yeah, and you better never forget it,” Grim said as they turned a corner. 

Ian could tell that the guy really was eager to have some time alone with him because the fingers of his right hand were tapping against the steering wheel. It was a really cute habit he’d noticed he did recently whenever he wanted affection. 

And I’m the one who gets to love on him! 

Okay, now he  was giddy. 

The moment Grim parked the car he reached over and grabbed Ian’s jaw, then yanked him close for a deep kiss. Likely the one he’d intended to give him in front of his coworkers… He was glad he hadn’t. It would have been hard not to reciprocate. 

As it were, they didn’t even get out of the car until fifteen minutes had passed and he’d begun to taste blood on his lower lip. 

The look he saw in Grim’s eyes when he finally pulled away, however, was absolutely worth his sore mouth. 

I want other places to be sore, too.

He quickly nudged the thought aside, because he was never going to push his love, but there were plenty of other things he could definitely do. Grim clearly read his mind at that point, because he was smirking like the Cheshire Cat as he hopped out of the car and met him at his door right as it opened. 

He was soon pulled along into their home, then promptly stripped down to his boxers without so much as a single word! 

His body had improved a great deal after being under Grim’s wing for quite a while, leaving him with plenty of smooth muscle and an all-around toned body. A body that Grim was eagerly ogling without a care in the world. 

I did it for you. It’s all for you, love. 

He would have never worked so hard just for his own satisfaction, but when it came to what his man liked? All the hard work had been well worth it to earn such a look for him. 

“Fucking gorgeous,” Grim whispered gruffly as he reached forward to run his fingers over the lines of his muscles. 

Before Ian could decide on a response Grim dropped to his knees and easily pulled down his boxers in order to free his target. 

The blowjob that followed brought Ian to his knees, too, but Grim refused to relent until he’d orgasmed for him. 

Ian had tried to get better at lasting longer, and he’d somewhat succeeded, but it was still nearly impossible to hold off for very long when his husband was kneeling in front of him with his length between his lips!

Before Ian could even consider what to do next, Grim had him pinned down on his back with his hot mouth on his, bringing with it the salty flavor of his own release. 

I might die tonight… 

He would definitely be going to heaven, though!

The kiss lasted more than long enough for his body to recover from his first orgasm, and Grim immediately noticed the item pressing against his belly and sat up, yanking his shirt off in one fluid motion to reveal the abs Ian dreamed of licking every single night.

In fact, before the clothing could even slip from his fingers, Ian was leaning up, managing to get just close enough to begin licking. 

“Horny, babe?” Grim asked, a smirk in his words. 

And honestly, was that even a question at this point?! 

Whenever Grim was interested, he would always be ready and willing! 

Ian let out a moan in agreement, earning a chuckle as he felt one of Grim’s hands muss up his hair. 

Mine. 

Grim was his. The attention he offered? It was all for him. 

Ian wrapped his arms around his love’s torso and leaned closer. His back ached from the odd position, but he would gladly deal with it for the opportunity he was being given. 

His cat seemed to think the same thing, too, because he soon began to purr quite loudly through his human mouth. 

“That tongue of yours…” Grim rasped as his fingers tightened just enough in Ian’s hair to not hurt too much. 

He’d found out, quite recently, in fact, that Grim rather liked his sandpaper tongue. A trait he’d procured thanks to his feline shift genetics. It left some rather dark marks during his longer licking sessions, but if his love was okay with it, and even wanted it, then he was glad to mark him wherever  allowed. 

While they were busy with each other’s fronts, Ian eventually found his left hand wandering lower from where it had been resting against his love’s back. He’d long-since learned how to read his partner, so when Grim didn’t even respond, he happily slid said hand beneath the waistband of his shorts, then boxers. 

So soft and smooth. 

He wasn’t sure how Grim did it, because he knew  that he wasn’t very particular about skincare in general. It was likely his healthy diet and constant exercise. 

Either way, he was loving the feel of his left butt cheek in his hand right then! 

Judging by how Grim’s breathing was getting heavier, he wasn’t minding the added attention, either. 

That had Ian wondering as he continued to lick a darkening red trail up along his husband’s gorgeous abs. 

After a few moments of contemplation, he slowly slid his fingers between the man’s warm cheeks. It was easy enough to find his target, but he just-barely tapped it with a single finger when he did. 

He absolutely had  to have permission before pushing any further. Thankfully he thought that way, because the moment he silently asked for permission was the moment Grim’s entire body tensed up like a taut bowstring. 

Ian immediately withdrew his hand from that warm spot and settled it against Grim’s backside, then withdrew his tongue back to his mouth and looked up to meet his wide eyes. 

It had just been a thought, so he was definitely not interested in causing any kind of stress with the silent question. He wanted to retract it, in fact, when Grim simply continued to stare down at him, but one thing kept him from speaking. 

He doesn’t look upset. 

It just looked like he’d startled his love a bit, but he didn’t look angry or uncomfortable, even. So, Ian pursed his lips and held his gaze calmly, curious to hear what his husband would decide to say. 

It took nearly another full minute before Grim finally spoke in a quiet, gentle whisper. 

“You… want to touch me there?” 

Ian nodded while maintaining eye contact. He absolutely did want to touch him there. He wanted to touch everywhere on his love, and if it would make him feel good, he definitely wanted to explore that area, too. 

“A-all right…” 

He said… 

Ian blinked. Then blinked again. 

He had to immediately calm himself down to keep from doing something stupid and pushing too fast, but he couldn’t hide his goofy smile in response to those adorable words. He could even see a faint blush on his man’s face in the faint light coming from his room. 

I really am going to die from happiness tonight. 

Doing his best to keep things slow and steady, even as his heart beat nearly out of his chest, Ian cautiously returned his hand to its previous position within Grim’s boxers, then slid his fingers to his eagerly-anticipated target. 

He’d intended to take his time and get Grim used to the attention, but his cat wasn’t nearly as patient as he wanted to be. Thus, without any kind of protest from his love, Ian carefully slid one finger inside. 

Hot! 

While he’d topped before, it had been years , and he’d never really liked it in general, but now…

Grim grunted at the odd sensation and pressed himself closer, making Ian practically drool as abs were smooshed against his face. 

I really am a pervert for him! An absolute pervert!

He would gladly own it now, though. Especially since, after two fingers, Grim was all but squeezing them to death! Soon, he was moving against them, too, deciding on a rhythm that Ian hadn’t even been dreaming about yet!

Fumbling a little and blushing bright red, Ian quickly but carefully got their positions switched, then finished removing Grim’s boxers with his free hand. 

When he looked back up at him after finishing that task, he couldn’t help but swallow. His love’s legs were already spreading for him and his eyes… 

Fuck!

Ian squeezed his eyes shut to try and calm himself down at least a tiny fraction, but before he could even think any kind of pure thought he felt muscles clench around his fingers right before soft, warm lips pressed against his own. 

In that instant he was lost, and while he still desperately tried to take things slowly, if only for his love’s benefit, Grim absolutely wasn’t having it. The moment he removed his fingers and pressed himself inside, with the help of Grim’s impatient hands, they were both lost to the world. 

They honestly made quite a bit of a mess on the floor. Though thankfully it wasn’t on the carpet. But then he was dragged to Grim’s bedroom and they did again! 

An hour later in the shower when they were supposed  to be cleaning up for bed? Yep. 

In his own room after a snack because Grim was hungry after all the physical working out  they were doing? Sure. 

By the time Ian finally fell into Grim’s bed after they’d stripped the top blanket off, he was absolutely exhausted! His legs throbbed and had nearly refused to hold his weight any longer, making him feel like a bunny that had been used for breeding one too many times in a night! 

My legs are going to be dead tomorrow, but… 

As he felt his love settle against him, Ian immediately wrapped him in his arms and nuzzled his nose into his neck, inhaling his familiar, now-clean scent. All thoughts of worrying about things he couldn’t change leaped right out of his mind as he happily sank into a deep, content sleep. 

The next morning, however, he was awoken by a scream so impressive that even Stevey fled over to his body, much to Ren’s displeasure! 

What could have prompted such a sound from his husband? 

He already knew. 

Lots of aftercare today. 

They’d jumped right into hot and heavy sex without him prepping a whole lot, let alone not using any kind of lube. He’d tried to stop him several times, or at least get him to slow down, but once Grim had discovered the joys of bottoming, things had just gotten a bit crazy. 

His own legs, as he’d expected, hurt like hell, but he immediately pushed the pain to the back of his mind and got up with a cautious smile on his face. 

He’d be spending the next day… or three, tending to his man.

Guess I should go call off work for tomorrow after I get him taken care of. 

Stevey, still a little scared and nervous, shook like a little leaf in his mind, but Ren simply bopped him on the head to quiet his whimpers, then lied down for a cat nap. Eventually, the little opossum decided to join him, leaving Ian to his quiet thoughts as he happily tended to his now-grumpy, aching husband. 

His main thought, even though he felt a tiny bit bad for thinking it? 

What an absolutely amazing night of sexual bliss!

…he wouldn’t dare ask for a honeymoon now, though. That would probably earn him his own smack to the head after what happened last night and it’s resulting consequences today… even though it hadn’t really been his fault. 

  …maybe I’ll ask later. 

In a month or two. 

Ian grinned, only to frown when he heard his husband grumble as he tried to move. It didn’t work and only made him wince as he blinked back tears. He was well and truly fucked. 

Okay, maybe three.

Epilogue

Grim’s new favorite spot while gaming was on Ian’s lap.

Ian didn’t mind. In the least.

Their height difference made it a nearly perfect set up, but during some of their more eventful games, Ian definitely felt a bit winded by the time they logged off. Especially if Grim got engrossed and aggressively animated…

Tonight would be one such night, as it were.

Ian pressed his forehead against Grim’s left shoulder-blade as their match finally winded down, giving him a much needed reprieve from his husbands constant shifting on top of him.

He didn’t even dare lift his head to read any of the comments on either of the screens they now had set up next to each other on Grim’s wide desk. They would probably just be like the ones from two days ago. A few even stood out in his memory as his face warmed further…

DiviIsAPerv: You know Grim is milking that boy for all he’s worth now that he’s discovered his true self!

MimiIsA

lsoA

Perv: I wanna play on Ren’s lap too! I’ll even share!

RefriedSpinach: If Ian were a girl, there would already be a baby in there…

TheoryKierei: You really think Grim is topping, huh?

Ian shook his head slowly against Grim’s soft shirt, silently dispelling the words. They weren’t technically wrong, though. Just a little backwards, considering that Grim would be the one pregnant, not him.

It probably would have happened on their first night together, too, since the guy had gone a little crazy.

My legs still ache at the thought.

Considering how often they still did it , he’d at least built up some better stamina so that his legs didn’t hurt so much the next morning. Grim had also gotten his body more used to it, making him scream quite a bit less come morning.

Granted, he still had Stevey with him at least half of the time, though. Perhaps the little guy just wasn’t interested in feeling any of the aftereffects of their love-making.

Either way, he didn’t mind, and as much as his cat complained, it always allowed the little opossum to snuggle up with it in his mind… after a few light bops to its head, of course.

Feeling a familiar hand settle atop his head, then muss his hair a bit, Ian took the hint and slowly lifted his gaze until it landed on the streaming camera.

They were being paid extra to both be in this stream together, so hiding too much might get them in trouble. Judging from the way their fans were reacting in the comments, however, he doubted there’d be a problem.

ImAGrape: As much as I didn’t think it would work out, our Ren has somehow gotten even cuter since he’d gotten together with Grim.

ExpiredSalmon: I have to agree. The guy truly is smitten for Grim, and thankfully, I hope, Grim isn’t being mean to him off camera.

There were a lot of shifty-eyed emojis, making Ian smile and finally lift his head the rest of the way, then settle his chin atop Grim’s left shoulder as he hugged him a little tighter, his own controller long having been dropped to the floor since the match was over.

“Be nice to my love, guys,” he said gently, his on-camera persona easily returning after his little bout of nervousness.

The amount of Yes sir! ’s he got afterward made him smile even more.

Which set both his and Grim’s profile chat’s alight with comments about how handsome and cute he was.

He waited quietly as Grim answered a few questions from MC about their match, but then they started taking some from the stream comments. Thankfully, they didn’t pick any of the ones that were asking about what they were going to name the baby, since it was obvious that Grim was a horndog and they evidently had quite a few mpreg fans…

“Okay, how about this question. I’m actually curious about it, too! From MyLifeAsATurtle: Have you guys heard from Ammo? I remember you used to play with him a lot, Grim.”

Ian smiled at the question.

Ammo had some sweet fans.

He would be happy to know that they asked after him.

They had actually just talked with Ammo the other day when he’d finally come to get his car. The guy had looked much more relaxed than before and he was even smiling as he met them at the door.

Ian watched a calm smile take over Grim’s face, too.

“He’s doing very well, and he actually told us to tell you guys something if you asked. He said thank you for asking about him and that he was having some mental health issues, but he’s sorting things out and is doing very well right now. He’ll be back soon, so please wait for him.”

The comments quickly began to spam about Ammo and how they were cheering for him. Of course, a couple were toxic masculinity garbage, but those were deleted and banned quickly enough.

“We spoke with him the other day and he is very happy. We’ll pass on your words to him, too,” Ian added as he played with the hem of Grim’s shirt where the camera didn’t quite reach.

The MC accepted the answer happily and went on to another question.

“IBuriedMyEx would like to know what Grim’s wedding band looks like, since we’ve all already seen Renegade’s gorgeous one.”

Ian blushed a little as he slid his hand along Grim’s left arm until he was gently holding his hand. Then he and Grim lifted it up together to show off the gorgeous dark purple and red amethyst and ruby ring he now wore.

The comment section, as well as the MC, went nuts rather quickly.

Most people who bought such gems wanted the brightest ones possible, but he’d felt that Grim would love the darker ones, and had commissioned a piece that looked like the gem on his favorite piece of armor. It had actually just come in yesterday, and to say that Grim had been excited would have been an overstatement.

He’d put it on immediately, then they’d fucked like bunnies for half the day…

Granted, they’d been doing that anyways ever since Grim discovered bottoming, but there was quite a bit of extra energy from him yesterday. Ian would be dreaming about it for a while…

He’d also discovered Grim’s closet of ropes and… other things. While he’d been open to try a few, and he didn’t mind wearing some of the leather cuffs and outfits at home, he definitely wasn’t interested in wearing anything but the collar he already had on, outside. Not even to a club specifically for such things. 

He had made sure to voice that opinion to Grim after their first time using some of those things, and thankfully his love was perfectly okay with his decision. 

Grim even ended up getting rid of quite a few things that were in that closet, too. Whatever Ian didn’t particularly like was gone the next day he’d come home. It didn’t matter if Grim liked the items or not, and in fact, he’d stopped telling him which things were his favorites and let Ian pick out what items he was okay using and which he wasn’t interested in trying. 

To say that Grim’s collection shrunk by a large margin was pretty accurate. It now fit in a simple bin in the corner of that big closet, leaving Ian to use the vacated space for all the clothing Grim kept buying him. 

Evidently, that was another kink Grim was learning he had. Thanks to his new husband, Ian had more clothes than he’d ever had in his entire life!

“Alright, one last question from the audience before I let you two boys go,” the MC said, then continued as he read the final question. 

“From CummingTogether, If you could change one thing about your partner, what would it be?” 

Diving deep into our relationship using a video game chat channel, huh? 

Ian glanced at Grim as his love tilted his head and smirked at him. 

“I-I don’t really have anything I want to change,” Ian said honestly with a cute smile for his love. 

He expected all the comments to be saying something along the lines, of course, he’s Grim’s simp. He loves it all no matter what. But of course, there were some things he didn’t like that pertained to Grim, but those weren’t things he wished to change about him. He honestly enjoyed not liking every single thing about his husband, and he enjoyed even more that they didn’t always  see eye to eye on things, but could discuss everything and anything without either getting upset. 

He’d known as soon as he’d met him in person that Grim was truly the one he wanted. He was sweet and adorable, yet wasn’t afraid to speak his mind and make enemies. He did what he wanted… and looked pretty hot doing it, too. 

“Alright, it seems we’ve lost Ian to Simpland after he answered. So, Grim, what do you say?” the MC asked, though Ian really didn’t hear his words all that well. He was, as he’d said, lost in Simpland as he stared at his gorgeous husband. 

Grim smirked again and tilted his head just enough to press a kiss to Ian’s hair. 

“I think the only thing I would change about him… perhaps his cat when it decides to make biscuits on my face at three in the morning?” 

Ian blinked, his face immediately turning bright red.

He had no idea that his cat did that while he was asleep!!!

A kiss to his nose snapped him out of his internal panic. 

“I’m just kidding, babe. Your cat is the only pussy I like now.” 

The MC quickly coughed, “A-and that’s all we’ve got time for today. Thank you Grim and Renegade, and congratulations on your team win!” 

Grim winked at the camera, then reached forward and flipped it off, then turned off both their discords, which in-turn removed them from the voice chats. 

The second they were free Grim tossed his headset aside, then grabbed Ian’s jaw and kissed him until he was completely breathless. 

Ian could clearly see where this was going, and while he would normally be more than happy to sate his love, they hadn’t even had dinner yet… and it was getting close to midnight. 

“Dinner, babe?” 

Grim looked like he wanted eat him , but after a few more tempting kisses, his love relented and finally got off him. They both took that time to go relieve themselves, and Grim might have taken it a bit further with a blowjob, but they managed to wash their hands and get out of the bathroom in a reasonable amount of time. 

When they got to the kitchen, however, they looked at each other, then to their mostly-empty fridge. They hadn’t planned ahead. They’d need to defrost something and cook for a bit…

“Pizza?” Ian suggested. 

Grim immediately nodded. 

“Pepperoni?” he replied. 

“With pineapple?” Ian added with a dorky grin. 

Grim gave him an exasperated look, but they both knew the truth. He secretly liked the combination, even if he gave him hell for it every time he degraded his  pepperoni with the fruit. But at the same time, Grim refused to order them separately, and when Ian tried once, Grim simply ordered two  pepperoni and pineapple pizzas instead of the extra-large they tended to share. 

“You and your pineapple,” he teased even as he called the pizza place and put in the order without hesitation. 

The pizza got there right as they finished deciding what they wanted to watch, even though they’d likely just make out through the majority of the film. 

After grabbing a few napkins and two cans of soda as a treat, which they rarely  drank due to Grim’s job and hobby, they settled down on the couch, this time with Ian settled contently in Grim’s lap and the pizza box, lid removed, balanced on his lap. 

They did indeed make out for a good portion of the movie, as well as nibble on the pizza in between each others’ lips. Even being so simple, it was heaven to him. 

“Ah, your mom called, sweetheart,” Grim said as they finished sharing a piece of pizza, making Ian blink, surprised. 

“Remember I gave her my number the last time she tried to bug you the other day and told her that we would need to have a talk if she wanted to reach you again?” Grim said, making Ian slowly nod. He’d forgotten, honestly. He’d been so engrossed in his work and just loving his new husband that he hadn’t noticed that his mother hadn’t called to nag him again. 

“Well, we talked for a few hours while you were at work the other day. She apologized a lot for her behavior and all that shit, but I told her that you’re the one who will need to hear it, but not this week. She’ll probably call you first thing on Monday, but it’s up to you how you want to handle that situation from there. I still think she’s a bitch, but she is your mom.”

Ian smiled and nodded before leaning forward to press a kiss to his love’s nose. 

“I’ll think about what to say to her then,” he said happily. 

He’d never wanted to not have his parents in his life, but his mother had made it impossible to feel comfortable. 

“You don’t owe her anything though, alright? What you do and the amount of your time you allow her to have is completely up to you, okay? I would happily tell her to go fuck a grizzly bear if you wanted me to, alright?” Grim said, complete honesty in his voice. 

Ian couldn’t help but chuckle as his husband’s words. 

“By the way, while we’re talking about parents… mine would like to officially meet my new husband, and I’m sure dad is all too eager to talk investing with you again,” Grim said quietly. 

Ian felt his heart thump in his chest as his face lit up!

“I’d love that!” he replied happily. 

Grim seemed a bit surprised, but then relaxed as Ian leaned in for a reassuring kiss. 

“Not this week though. We’ll plan something for a later date?” Ian said, wanting exactly what Grim did this week. 

Strictly some alone time with his husband. 

Grim smiled and nodded, then returned Ian’s kiss before leaning away and setting the empty pizza box aside so that they could cuddle more comfortably. 

By the time the movie ended and a new one began to auto-play, they had long forgotten the TV. Lost in each others arms, they kissed and snuggled beneath the throw blankets, their minds only on each other. 

He’d never thought that he could have a life so relaxing, and with someone so absolutely amazing, and yet… 

Ian leaned away just enough to look at Grim’s warm eyes in the darkness. 

“I love you,” he said without hesitation. 

He had always loved Grim, right from the moment he’d set eyes on him, and he always would. 

Grim gave him his classic smirk and leaned forward to lick the tip of his nose. 

“Love you too, babe.” 

As Grim spoke he rearranged their bodies a bit, making Ian’s face burn as he realized the position they ended up in as he stared down at his lover. 

“Now then, your husband’s a horny bastard…” Grim said as he tilted his head against the cushion beneath it, showing Ian a beautiful neck that made his mouth water. 

With his own calm smile, Ian leaned down and gently nibbled at his husband’s warm skin. 

“I’ll take good care of you, love. Wherever and whenever you’d like,” Ian replied honestly as he leaned back again and began to tug his sweatshirt off. 

Wherever? 

I wanna do it in the…

…sounds good, too. 

The car would also be…

His arms slowly lowered as the sweatshirt slid away from them, leaving his torso bare since he hadn’t put on an undershirt. But that wasn’t what had him staring at his husband with wide, shocked eyes and an open mouth!

Grim blinked up at him, his own shirt already long gone. It took him a moment, but he quickly seemed to put the pieces together. 

To say that his smirk turned devilish would have been the understatement of the year!

“Oh, you can hear my thoughts now, babe?” he asked as he leaned up, making Ian slide back just enough to settle in his lover’s lap. 

When he gave the slightest of nods to agree to his question, Grim’s eyes lit up like fireworks. 

“Then I won’t have to say it all out loud now! So the car and the hot tub, and oh! The kitchen count—” Ian couldn’t help himself. He had to put his hand over Grim’s mouth!

He was getting a bit overstimulated now! 

When Grim seemed to calm down after a few moments, Ian removed his hands, but the man’s smirk still remained. 

Oh boy, I might have unintentionally started another new kink of his. 

Even though he felt more than a bit awkward at the thought of having sex in odd places, he also was kind of excited to indulge his husband in whatever he wanted to try. 

Thus…

“U-um… just the hot tub for now?” 

Grim had him up and in his arms in an instant, then out the back door the next! Before Ian knew it he was stripped of his sweatpants and settled into the warm water with Grim seconds behind him!

He was suddenly having second thoughts, but those soon vanished when they started making love. Especially because Grim seemed to absolutely love the new location… and the amount of times he actually said “I love you” during it  made Ian’s heart melt into a puddle of mush. 

That was how, at least once a week, Ian agreed to do as his husband requested and make love to him in a place of his choosing… as long as it was comfortable for both of them. He knew that he’d get used to it eventually, along with Grim’s other interests, though the one thing that kept him blushing week after week, that he thought he might never quite get used to, was being able to hear the man’s thoughts so well! 

He’d always been obsessed with Grim, but as he got more accustomed to what thoughts his man had swirling around his head, he realized that there was only one way he could, secretly, describe his adorable husband’s way of thinking about him now…

Grim was the most gorgeous, handsome, generous, sexy, adorable simp, just for him!