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Chapter 36: Lighthouse Hike

It was Thanksgiving and the ride from Rexville City lasted two hours, but they made it to Little Lake right on time. Hunter hitched a ride with Kendal and Keanu. When Keanu asked about his parents' permission, Hunter assured him he was allowed to go and better off than spending their thanksgiving with Rylan. The Montanas were going to spend their holiday weekend at home anyways, but his sister Sally went with her childhood friend's Thanksgiving dinner so that only left River and Rylan with their parents and grandparents today.

The small town of Little Lake came around and saw the plaza decorated for the said holiday. It will soon be decked with Christmas colors sooner. While driving, they passed by Keanu's high school where he graduated. Then the neighborhood was full of houses in the holiday spirit. It hadn't been a year yet since Keanu moved, and he was feeling a bit nostalgic. They even passed by the old house they used to live in, the "For Sale" sign was still standing where Kendall left it in the front yard.

Several houses later, they stopped at the cemetery. Hunter almost forgot why Keanu brought another homemade bouquet of white roses. Her birthdate was last May but last time before moving they didn't bring flowers with them, so it was a small compensation.

It was quiet and breezy at the cemetery today as Hunter followed the arctic wolves to Juliette Winters' grave. She was buried in a burial wall vault, and some were empty and yet to be filled. There was an empty wall flower vase next to the plaque with Juliette's name engraved on it and Keanu placed the bouquet there and paid a silence of respect.

Keanu quietly held Hunter's hand and his father's, holding to the people he loved the most in these tough times. It would be nice how it would be like when Keanu introduced Hunter to her if she were still alive today, happy to see him seeing his new chapter in life with a boyfriend and new friends in Rexville City and university and so much more since he had moved on with his life for the better.

They farewelled Juliette and made it back to the car and drove to Keanu's grandparents' house. There were cars parked on every side of the road near the house. The family reunion was on the patio behind the house.

Good thing Hunter was wearing something decent and presentable for this occasion like his mother told him, a dark green polo shirt that did not tight fit his torso or he would get the unwanted attention, black slacks, and brown shoes. Keanu even did the same, a purple button-up shirt with the sleeves tuckered to his elbows that showed the cyan underside, khaki pants, and the same tennis shoes.

The patio was filled with arctic wolves, and they welcomed the new arrivals. Hunter was the most vulnerable as he stood out the most in the crowd like a regular wolf with brown fur. But he wasn't the only one, there were a few invited guests of different species present. Keanu kept him company as they were greeted by his curious paternal grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins. Even baby Jennifer who had turned one this year. They were all very accepting of the two.

Mr. and Mrs. Winters smiled and hugged their grandson. The elder wolfman, while graying, still had a healthy amount of white fur while his wife had intact youthful eyes as she was born.

"Hello, little champ, how are you?" Smiled Mr. Winters.

"Oh, it's wonderful to see you, love," said Mrs. Winters and kissed his cheek.

"Hi, Grandpa. Hi Grandma," Keanu greeted.

"I see you brought a friend over this year, who is he?" said the elder wolf.

"Grandpa, Grandma, this is Hunter, we met in college, and... he's now my significant other."

Mr. Winters looked a little perplexed as he cocked his head at the pair and said, "Eh, another one?"

Mrs. Winters nudged his rib. "Don't be silly, Edwin, it's no secret about Keanu liking boys." She stepped forward to Hunter and said, "It's nice to meet you, Hunter, welcome to our family Thanksgiving." She giggled. "Aren't you a very handsome wolf?" She pinched his furry cheek.

Hunter rubbed the back of his nape and smiled bashfully. Even the compliment made his tail wag. "Hehe, thank you, Mrs. Winters. It's nice to meet you, and you, too, Mr. Winters." Hunter extended his hand to the elder wolf.

"Er, sure, young man," Mr. Winters returned the handshake a little awkwardly. "Pleasure to meet you."

Keanu leaned close to his ear. "It's okay, he's awkward about it."

"What did he mean by another one?" Hunter whispered back.

"One of my uncles is bi."

"Really?"

"I think it's a long story."

Later they met up with Keanu's cousins, Jack, and Crystal, who were eager to see him and were surprised to see Hunter coming with him this Thanksgiving.

"Hey, how's it going, Hunter!" Jack said, fist-bumping his fist.

"Hi, Hunter," Crystal said with a cup of lemon juice in her hand. "It's nice to see you again."

"Guys, guess what?" Keanu said excitingly.

"Don't tell me, you're dating him," Crystal giggled.

"Yes!" he grinned.

"Awesome, I always wanted a cool cousin-in-law," Jack said.

"Cousin-in-law? Is that a thing?" Hunter said.

"I don't know, kinda?" He shrugged.

"So, who's the boyfriend here?" said another young wolf striding to them. He was fit like Hunter and much older in age.

"Hi, Norbert, this is Hunter, my boyfriend," Keanu said.

"Nice to meet you," they shook hands, "are you from Rexville?"

"Yeah, from all my life so far."

"I graduated from Rexville, so I could smell the salty dirt from you and Keanu." Norbert laughed.

Crystal and Keanu winced.

"Norbert, ew," cried Crystal disgustedly.

Jack smelled his armpit for any signs of salty ocean air odor. "Nope, I still smell like a gamer," he said satisfyingly. "Burning hard drive at full graphical capacity."

"Ugh, not you, too."

"Hey, I'm only kidding," said Norbert defensively.

"You're not wrong though," Jack assured him mischievously.

Hunter had enjoyed the company of Keanu's cousins as he said it would be worth it to hang out with the young crowd than the adults and they had their own table to chat merrily. Later it was time for the Thanksgiving feast while the weather today was crisply pleasant to eat.

The food was delicious, especially the turkey and the filling. Keanu was considerate to serve Hunter the food on the table and handed him a full plate for him, delicious.

Hunter enjoyed every moment of it, seeing Keanu happy as his tail wagged gently and seeing he had a lovely family who loved him very much in the most difficult times he went through. He held his hand under the table with a gentle squeeze before grabbing a fork and knife to wolf down the delicious food.

Later, dessert came with Aunt Sophia's apple pie with cinnamon and whipped cream on top. No doubt it was the best homemade pie in the family. It was Keanu's favorite and so was Hunter's recently.

After the feast, the Winterses gathered on the back porch of the house for family a picture. Uncle Derrick set the camera on a tripod stand and set the timer on and ran back to his position in less than five seconds. Everyone smiled and waited for a flash. Keanu and Hunter stood together behind the rail of the porch, holding hands on the rail, and smiling.

A lot had been wrapped up, Keanu and Hunter hung out with the cousins inside the living room playing video games with Crystal's Switch. They only had two controllers, so they shared a turn with whoever lost a round. They were playing a fighting game where they could kick each other's butts. They had fun until it was time to go back home to Rexville.

"Hey, we should do this sometimes," said Jack. "Before we go to that cruise this December, of course."

"Oh, that reminds me," Keanu said, "I think my friend Broderick wants a rematch with you."

"Antler Shock? Oh, please, I don't wanna hear his obnoxious attitude online. The guy's a crybaby."

"Don't you always rage-quit when every time someone is going to beat you?" Crystal said.

"I stopped doing that since I got placed with other rage-quitters and cheaters online and it was like living in a purgatory of horror."

"Serves you right," Crystal smug satisfyingly.

"Whatever," Jack snorted and turned to Keanu, "and tell Antler Shock that I'm not interested and deal with his lost, already."

"Sure, noted."

"Jack," Hunter said, "uh, about your name, do you prefer to be called just Jack over Jackson? Because my little brother called you by your first name and he told me you were kind of offended."

"Oh, that... yeah, I don't like my full name, it's more of a last name than a name if you ask me."

"Better than Jackie for sure," giggled Crystal.

"Shut up! That's a girl's name!" he barked.

"You didn't mind it at first when you were little."

"Yeah, until they were making fun of it in school."

Crystal cupped one hand towards Hunter and Keanu. "Only Dad sometimes still calls him that, and possibly his future girlfriend~."

"I heard that!"

"Jackie?" said Norbert. "I used to call you that, what happened?"

"Jack just got a bit macho-macho about it," explained Crystal, "so there's that, and we kind of just go with it."

Jack grumbled while tapping the controller to beat Norbert's opponent out of spite.

"Keanu, Hunter," Kendall called in the living room, "it's getting late, time to go, and say goodbye to your grandparents, Keanu."

...

Keanu farewelled his loved ones before he hopped in the car with Hunter and Kendall. The three wolves rode back home for another two hours.

Kendall asked them while driving, "Did you boys have fun?"

"Sure," said Hunter, "it was great, your family is wonderful. Honestly, I was a bit worried about what they would think of us."

"There's nothing to worry about, Hunter, ever since my brother Klaus came out as bi, my father had softened up about it after years recently, so it was good timing to accept you both."

"Oh, wow, how did he deal with it?"

"It was complicated, really, I don't know much of the details, but he did date a boy in college. I never met him, and later he was dating Rachel after graduating. I was worried he did that just to please Father, but Rachel already knows his orientation, so he was genuinely in love with her, and Father took a while to come to terms with it. All of that happened while I was in the police academy."

Hunter sighed. "Hah, if only Rylan were like that to accept me."

"Not everyone would come to accept it at the beginning, son, it can take some time to settle down until they could readjust the new comfort zone. So, how long has it been?"

"It's been a year now, and he hasn't got over it, it's incredible he hasn't left the house because of me."

"What about your parents?"

"They're trying to talk to him but he's just so stubborn, and I'm too afraid to talk to him. I'm only avoiding a major conflict here. I don't want them to fall apart because of Rylan and me."

"I see."

Hunter looked away, staring at the window. Keanu had quietly held his hand when he was talking. It helped to calm him down, he could feel the little desperation of distress Hunter was dealing with inside his head. He squeezed his hand gently to ease some tension.

They ended the conversation there and the ride turned quiet. Hunter and Keanu fell asleep on the back seat with the latter resting his head on Hunter's shoulder.

They arrived back home on Oasis Boulevard in front of the Starlight building, letting Hunter hop off, and kissing Keanu goodnight.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Keanu. Are you ready for the hike to the lighthouse?"

"Yeah, I'll look forward to it."

"Take care." Hunter winked and closed the door of the car.

Hunter saw the car going inside the underground parking lot. He turned around to the pedestrian bridge across to his home apartment. Despite his personal shortcomings, he still felt optimistic as ever after enjoying his time with the Winterses in Little Lake.

At home, meeting his parents, he talked about his time there with enthusiasm. Sally came back home shortly after Hunter and told her time there with her childhood friend Richard. This was Hunter's cue to go back to his room and rest.

...

Today was Black Friday and thousands of people gathered in front of any superstore to buy impossible-to-ignore prices and discounts offerings this year. But for Hunter and Keanu, they had plans for today. Hunter wore his workout outfit with a green and black sleeveless jacket over his green camouflaged t-shirt. Keanu wore what he could make up as hiking clothes, dark-gray shorts, and light-blue t-shirt, and a purple baseball hat. He should have considered buying some appropriate clothes for these occasions now that he found these activities very fun to do with a partner.

They were at the starting point at the west end of Mariposa Park with Kendall as he was having his week off and had settled to spend his time with Keanu as best he could and to get to know Hunter more. The walk was a breeze with trees around them and a slow but steady uphill that came ahead of them. Some were brave enough to jog uphill to reach the two-mile-long track to the lighthouse. There was also another track for cyclists on their left. Together they kept walking on the right side as other hikers passed them by on the opposite on their left.

"Have you done this before, Hunter?" Keanu asked.

"Yeah, with Sol, Broderick, Xerxes, and Sergio. They would sometimes come here, but sometimes it can be just too much." He chuckled.

"Doesn't seem so bad."

"Only when walking, but it'll be worth it."

The walk was worth it, the higher they walked, the higher they could see Rexville City and the vast ocean from the cliffs. The lighthouse was just ahead of them and there were still a couple of yards left. They took some break on the near benches and drank some water before resuming their walk to the tower. At the entrance gate, there were other people lying on the grass exhaustively and others took pictures of the scenery or group photos with the lighthouse in the background.

"This is it," said Kendall, "we made it."

Keanu found the nearest bench that faced the white big white tower and huffed, drinking some water. His feet were tired.

Hunter joined sitting next to him while Kendall was marveling at the achievement.

"Tired already?" Hunter smiled and patted his shoulder.

"Yeah..." Keanu huffed and drank some water. "I can't wait to see the top."

"You know there are more stairs to get up there."

Keanu forgot. "...Right..."

The tower did not have elevators, so the spiral staircase was the only way to get to the top. On every halfway, there was a window revealing a view of either the sea, the land, or the city before reaching the final floor.

Inside was where the light came from, a modern floodlight was installed while the original Fresnel Lens was placed beside it as a demonstration of the old fashion way lighthouses were used in the old times. The place was a small educational museum for the locals and tourists when they come here to explore after their tough excursion to the lighthouse. The wolves marched to the glass doors to the observation deck and there they were.

They were met with a gust of wind blowing on their faces, fur, and tail, but that didn't stop them to step closer on the rail to watch the panoramic view of Costa Blanca's coast. The day was beautiful, very sunny, and a few clouds in the dominant blue sky.

"See? It was worth it," said Hunter proudly.

"Wow," Keanu squinted his eyes by the wind. "It's very windy up here."

"You can see Catalina Island there." Kendall pointed further northwesterly. "It's only a silhouette on the horizon but that's definitely it."

Keanu and Hunter followed Kendall's direction; up further north was Los Angeles' seaboard. Looking southwards was Rexville's coastline and Keanu could make up where the university was. The campus had a distinct clock tower in Spanish Colonial style which stood out differently than the rest of the modern, seventies style buildings on the campus. They stayed there for a while and enjoyed it.

"How you're feeling so far, Keanu?" Hunter said.

"Just... uh, very well, Hunter, thanks. This is just what I needed."

Hunter ruffled his head playfully as he smiled. "I'm glad you feel that way, buddy."

Keanu returned the smile and held Hunter's hand on the railing. But his smile went back to worry. He said, "About your brother, Hunter... is there anything I can do?"

Hunter wasn't sure about letting Keanu help his case. "Honestly, I don't know what you can do."

Keanu realized how difficult was to find the right step to figure out how to deal with Rylan. Keanu sighed, "Me neither... sorry."

"It's okay, you have nothing to worry about me... I have survived this far."

"Yeah, me too." Keanu smiled. "Shouldn't be going now?" Keanu looked around for his father. "Where did Dad go?"

Hunter followed and looked around the observation deck. He found the wolfman helping to take a picture of two female arctic wolves, one younger and one older, standing together close on the railing with the view of the city's skyline in the background behind them and smiled at the camera.

Hunter pointed. "Over there, he's taking pictures."

Keanu followed Hunter's lead and stopped by behind Kendal who took one more picture.

"There you go, have a nice day," said Kendall and returned the owner's phone.

"Thank you, sir," said the smiling young teenage wolf-girl as she checked her pictures.

"Thank you very much," said the older wolfwoman, "Would you like me to take a picture with your boys?"

Kendall noticed the two next to him and he shrugged. "Sure. Here." He handed over his phone to the lady and turned to the boys. "Come, let's take a picture there."

Keanu knew there was something weird going on. His father was the kind of being camera shy but had softened up occasionally when it was necessary. Maybe because he wouldn't be standing alone looking silly at the camera, and not to mention his big tail was wagging.

Keanu and Hunter followed, standing their backs on the rail along with Kendall, looking at the wolf lady holding phone, and smiling.

Few pictures were taken for good measure, and she handed over the phone to Kendall.

"Thank you... uh..." said Kendall, somewhat shy.

"Hannah."

"P-pleasure, I'm Kendall."

Keanu then was dragged quietly by Hunter away from the two gazing wolves. The other young wolf-girl with big circular glasses was busy with her phone, posting, and texting and somehow not aware of what was going on. Or she knew what was happening and ignored the encounter.

"H-hey, what gives?" Keanu said.

"Let's give them some space, shall we?" Hunter said and winked.

Keanu looked back at the wolves, he never bothered to wonder when his father would meet other people. He had been busy with work, taking care of him, and raising him to where he was. Now it seemed his father had found it and honestly, it didn't bother him more than he had fearfully anticipated replacing his mother. Of course, no one would replace his mother, but for Kendall was a new chance to see other people.

Not too long they went back to the trail with the woman named Hannah and her daughter Lizzy. Keanu and Hunter went ahead of them, but Lizzy decided to catch up with them.

"Hey, mind if I join? They are having a good time with each other, and I didn't want to be a party-pooper to them."

"Sure, come along," Hunter said.

"Cool, sorry if this wasn't in your plans for a nice hiking trip with your dad, but I was kind of expecting Mom to see other people."

"It's okay, Dad has been single for a long while, too," Keanu said.

"Did you see that long gaze?" Hunter said. "That was love at first sight."

"I don't believe in those fairy tales," Lizzy said, "but they're grown adults, they can do whatever they want."

"Me neither," Keanu said, "but that doesn't mean I can give a go in a relationship." He held Hunter's hand, squeezing it.

"Are you two a couple?"

"Yeah, we just started."

Lizzy let out a small laugh. "Oh my god, my inner fujoshi in me is coming back."

"Oh, you read those manga comics?"

"Used to, but not much as before, I now read other stuff online and some shows."

"Honestly, I never get those yaoi comics, I gave a go to some but they're just so..."

"Very feminine in portrayal, I get it, and some very questionable consensual content, but I know what you mean, they're intended for female audiences. But I'm sure you'll be interested in reading bara books."

"Oh, I read some, like, Super-Jock, uh, Interplanetary, and..."

"You read manga books, Keanu?" Hunter said teasingly. "Didn't know you're into that."

"Uh," Keanu's face turned red, "yeah, but their stories are so good to read."

"Yeah, sure~." Hunter made a devilish smile, bouncing his white eyebrows and shaking his fist in a familiar fashion.

"Stop it!" Keanu laughed and shoved Hunter with his hands but didn't affect him from losing his balance.

Lizzy laughed. "Now this is the kind of genuine romance I want to read."

They later made it back to the park and went their separate ways, waving them goodbye as Kendall got Hannah's phone number victoriously. Kendall looked very enthusiastic about it.

Hunter said, "You already got her number? You must be a smooth talker."

Kendall laughed. "Sure, she seemed very nice, and a lovely mother, too. I know this sounds corny, but I never felt a spark like that since I met your mother, Keanu," Kendall said.

"Are you going to be serious, Dad?"

"Well, let's see where this is going, and I'll look forward to it. So, are you boys hungry? It's already lunchtime."

Coming back safely to their homes, Hunter hung out a bit more with Keanu after companying them for lunch for a little video game combat session together in the living room.

After finishing a round, Hunter said while fiddling with his game controller, "So, what's this Super-dong about?"

"Careful, or you'll upset a fan if you say that," Keanu chuckled. "It's Super-Jock, it's a parody of a college jock who got superpowers and becomes a superhero to save the day. And... he's gay... so he finds himself in weird situations from his crushes to kinky villains who are trying to rule the world and all that stuff. I like its humor and storytelling... hehe."

"And was the other? Inter-something?"

"Interplanetary, it's a sci-fi manga series that will soon be adapted into an anime series. Cool, huh? To put it simply, it's about a military space ranger who discovers that his former leader was alive after an alien attack and vows revenge on those who left him behind and his men. And now the main character, Hershal, must put a stop to his plans while combating an artificial alien race, a crazy AI, and former rouge members of his unit. And no, this one does not have sexual content despite its lewd depictions in the art style."

"Heh, I bet you have a good time reading them," Hunter sneered. Keanu rolled his eyes, but he let it pass.

"Of course, they're good, I can let you borrow them if you want if you're interested."

"Some other time, okay? We will soon have the final exams next month."

"Yeah, you're right, so do you still have problems with history?"

"No, I'm fine for now. We can still tutor together though."

"Sure, maybe we can go back in that little make-out spot." Keanu burst into laughter.

Hunter playfully ruffled his head fur. "Somebody is feeling naughty. I think I'm a bad influence." Hunter consciously looked around if Kendall heard this. He was still in his room or bathroom.

Keanu took the initiative and quickly played another round to beat Hunter without warning. The TV screamed that Player One, Keanu, won, beating Hunter's fighter in the process. Hunter turned back to the screen and cried, "Hey, no fair!"

Keanu laughed victoriously, sticking his tongue out. "Pay attention next time!"

"Oh, you're on." Hunter sneered at the challenge.

The wolves played challenging video games together for the whole Friday afternoon until Kendall joined in and both started to beat him mercilessly. Good times.