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Hole in the Wall: The Little Things

Chapter Four

By Roofles

"You broke up with him, right?" Anthony asked a week later since Theo had accidentally fallen asleep over at the tiger's place.

That night had both been one of the most comfortable and most awkward moments of the young albino rats life. He woke up, curled in on himself, in a warm furry place that smelled of a very familiar tiger. It stunk. It was hot, humid even and the beads of sweat roused the rat from his slumber as one dripped onto his snout that summer morning.

Theo woke with a yawn, wiping his whiskers off before freezing on the spot as he realized the rumbling sound next to him wasn't the busy street traffic of Rathole seeping in through his window, but the snoring of a very large, very big tiger.

Pedro rumbling growl filled the room as the air stunk of the tiger's body. It was warm. Uncomfortably so, Theo realizing just how close he was to the feline as Pedro adjusted himself on the bed in his slumber. Every move the feline made shifted and tossed Theo around and the rat clung onto the damp, moist fur around him. The tiger snorted, lifting up his arm as he yawned loudly before flopping back against the pillow, turning his head to the other way.

Pedro sniffled again, scratching his chest before falling back into a deep sleep.

Light seeped in and the albino rat was able to finally see where he had ended up.

Theo was in said tiger's armpit.

Sometime, throughout the night, the rat had instinctively gone for the warmest place to curl up on the tiger who had placed him on his chest before dozing off the previous night. Pedro had held onto him at first but his grip had loosened as the night went on leaving the rat able to slip through his fingers and seek somewhere safe to curl up at to ward off the cool chill of the night air. A furry, fuzzy, musky armpit had filled that need perfectly. Theo, ever following his nose, ended up in the warmest, muskiest of places with enough body fur to keep him warm throughout an entire winter if need be.

And he had felt safe there.

The albino rat had curled up on himself, snuggling into the fur and letting Pedro's natural musky warmth lull him back into a peaceful slumber. Theo didn't dream. He didn't need to dream being there with Pedro.

Everything had gone smoothly. All of Theo's concerns and worries about talking to the tiger about what it meant for a Small and Big to be friends was gone. It had been mentally exhausting, and he had finally gotten a chance to sleep, missing out the previous night on sleep due to worries.

If only Theo wasn't such a little gremlin, this morning could've turned out perfect as his visit with Pedro had gone. If only.

Theo blamed his arousal for the morning wood he was sporting on the fact he was usually worked up, like any male, in the morning, pretending not to notice the damp sweat or musk around him as the rat carefully crawled out from the furry pit of the tiger. This was not what he thought they meant be tossed into a tiger pit.

He reeked of Pedro and Theo blushed even more, trying to wipe off the smell and only seemed to rub it in further as he carefully crawled through the jungle of tangled fur. It was so thick and a bit coarse unlike the rest of Pedro's fur. Theo would die before admitting he liked it.

"Why didn't you put me on the nightstand? Or wear a shirt!" Theo wanted to hiss at the tiger as he blushed so red his entire white furred body seemed to glow with his embarrassment.

A snort behind him startled the rat who quickly jumped off the tiger and left the bed, jumping over to the nightstand before turning around to watch the tiger roll over towards the wall. Pedro's arm flexed and Theo realized that, a couple seconds later, he would've been trapped in that furry, sweaty, hot, and humid, musky armpit...

"Stop it!" Theo practically yelled at his crotch. His boner pushing painfully tight against his pants. "Just be normal!" He wanted to strangle the damned thing but knew that was exactly what it would want. "Curse you libido. You win this round..."

This wasn't supposed to be how things went!

Pedro had gone out of his way to make Theo a living room set, a small wooden house and even a little rat cave on the desk and here Theo was sleeping in the tiger's bed. With the tiger! There was, literally, anywhere else for the rat to sleep and here he was sleeping with his friend. On his friend. In his friend's armpit...

"AH, what is wrong with me?" Theo face was so hot he was sure steam was coming off it as he turned his back on the slumbering tiger. "I just lost track of time... yeah. I just fell asleep. It would've been normal and fine if it had been with Anthony. Or Oliver. Or anyone other than Pedro!" He covered his ears with both hands, crouching down as he hoped to just vanish on the spot.

The pounding in his ears was painfully loud and he couldn't hear anything else as he tried to breath. He smelled of the tiger. He felt the sweat still on his body, that warm morning musk. It was horrible and no matter how hard he tried to wipe it off, it wouldn't go away.

Or the reminder of how much he liked it.

"I should go jump in an ice bucket." Theo groaned as he took a good couple of minutes to cool off. "At least the idiot stayed asleep..." Theo frowned at the sleeping tiger in nothing more than a pair of boxer briefs.

Theo grabbed his chest, frowning as he looked away. It hurt and not for the reasons he thought it would. Two guys fooling around? Waking up half naked in the same bed? None of that bothered Theo. If this was a normal situation.

If he were normal.

"Dammit." Theo fought back the tears as he crouched back down, covering his ears and closing his eyes. "Why can't I just be normal... If I was normal size... would we have...?" Theo couldn't answer that question. How could he? What ifs weren't real. They were wish fulfillment. The two of them were from two very different worlds. No matter how friendly they were with each other there was just some undeniable things and Theo, wiping his tears away, decided to just pretend it, this, them... that this never happened.

That these budding feelings were just horny thoughts and nothing more. That's all it was. He wasn't a freak. He didn't have feelings for the tiger outside friendship. Pedro was just... He was like a stone that the rat had come to rely on.

"I'll just... Forget about him, once this is all over... Maybe Oliver? Maybe I could win that badger over and just... just... Someone. I'm sure... would notice me like Pedro has..." It wasn't the same to be noticed because of his white fur, no. Pedro saw him outside of just being a Small. The tiger seemed to know who Theo was, what he wanted and dreamed of and... and Pedro respected that.

Even going so far out of the way as to buy a freaking living room set for the rat to use. Theo walked over to the living room set on the nightstand, dragging his fingers over the back of the sofa as he went.

It was of faux leather but far nicer than anything Theo had seen in his life. They were reprints of the actual furniture, scaled down to one one-hundredth of their size. Remarkably well done. The threads had been hand stitched, and the cushions all had been evenly stuffed. It must've taken great care, and love, to make these things.

"This wasn't something that was massed produced. Someone had hand done these." Theo could tell. In his life in Rathole he had seen numerous handmade things to recognize one. "Pedro... you dumbass. You could have easily bought something a bit less... less."

Theo grabbed at his chest. It didn't hurt, not like before. His heart was pounding, and his face was turning red.

"Damn tiger." The rat sighed, shaking his head.

There was so much care and love made into this single piece of furniture that Pedro had bought for him. If it was anyone else, Theo might've thought the tiger was trying to court them with gifts. Then again, Theo doubted these things, these gifts, would mean so much to him if it weren't from the tiger...

"It must've cost him a small fortune." Theo laughed at the irony of that as he took a seat on the sofa and laid back, pulling out his notebook from the dark green satchel. "I don't know why he bothers... because he has money?" The rat mused as he glanced over at the sleeping tiger.

Pedro's back was towards him. Theo could practically trace the muscular sculpture of the tiger's body, the muscles stood out so much through that pale orange, white marked fur. Pedro's stripes weren't black or dark in color, instead a lighter nutty brown that matched the almost reddish pale orange fur covering the tiger's otherwise creamy white furred body. His fur was unique, just like Pedro was. Just like Theo's white fur stood out in Rathole, the rat was sure Pedro stood out up here.

The two were so alike, in their own quirky ways.

Theo could almost imagine leaning over the sleeping tiger, roughly of equal height. To kiss Pedro's cheek, to nuzzle his face before slipping into the covers behind him and snuggle in close. Even if Theo was shorter, he could still snuggle the tiger as the big spoon.

"What a nice dream that is," Theo sighed shaking the fantasy away.

Placing the piece of charcoal to the parchment, Theo began to draw.

It wasn't anything at first. Just shapes. Mounds and curves aligning themselves with each other before being connected by lines. Everything in life could be broken down to these fundamentals shapes and forms.

"Disassemble. Recycle. Rebuild..." Theo muttered as he began to draw the tiger's body.

The curve of those thighs, Pedro's round plump ass tightly formed in those boxer briefs... All the way down to the tiger's paws. They were so large and heavy; every step Pedro took Theo could feel the vibration shooting through him. Pedro was so impressive, even when he just walked around the room. Theo glanced at the tiger then back down at the parchment... then back up. Underneath, following the curve to Pedro's legs to the lift of his back and over those large shoulders... around his thick neck and over his head.

The piece of charcoal seemed to have a mind of it's own as Theo drew a portrait of the sleeping tiger.

"It'll be something to remember him by," Theo thought as he held the sketch up a good hour later, just looking at it. The charcoal had been rubbed and softened around the edges giving the sleeping tiger a peaceful look as if he was about to drift away. "What am I even doing here...?"

Theo cursed as he shut the notebook and hugged it closer, turning around from the bed and just clinging onto these thoughts. Not wanting to simp over a tiger. Not wanting to let them go. They made him feel special in a way Theo never thought he could.

Not because of his intellect or the way he looked, but special for who Theo was as a rat.

"Stupid, kind, handsome, dumb, idiot..." Theo grumbled as he forced himself to get up with a long stretch. He needed to get back home, not having planned on staying the night. Everyone was going to freak out, he knew.

Theo wasn't sure of what lie to use as he adjusted his outfit and smoothed it out. He smelled of Pedro and needed to take a shower the first thing when he got back.

It was common for a rat to just... disappear, in the Bigs world. There were so many of them. When something happened, out in the big world? No one would know. If Theo didn't check back in they might even write him off as MIA.

A search team might be sent out, but he doubted it. His parents must be worried sick. His friends... family... the neighbors and those within the colony. Even Oliver must be worried if he didn't show up for the morning rush.

Things had just been so perfect the other day that Theo hadn't even cared about the time or the idea of going home. He just wanted to hang out here and chill. It was so... peaceful. Quiet. There was no hustle and bustle, rats weren't scurrying outside the window. There wasn't constant construction work waking him up after another building collapsed under it's own weight.

He had never slept so well. Theo had gotten a good night sleep for once in his life, tucked away in a tiger's armpit...

"Gah! Why am I think of that!" Theo stamped his foot on the ground, trying to squash the thought away. Grinding his tiny foot on the nightstand. All Theo could think of was Pedro using his big giant paw to just... "Okay. Nope. Nope, nope, nope! I am done here. I'm gonna go home and take five cold showers and drop ice into my pants before joining the church and choosing a life of celibacy."

The rat flipped the notebook open and was already writing out a goodbye for the tiger, telling him he'd visit as soon as he could. If his mother didn't kill him first.

"Heading home. Not sure when I'll be back. I really enjoyed our night together. I hope to see you soon. Theo." He wrote it all down, read it over twice before nodding.

Ripping the paper out, the rat tucked it against the sofa before heading towards the other side of the nightstand, away from the sleeping tiger.

Pedro had done a lot of work around the room for Theo and one of the things the rat hated to admit that he liked was the overly complex slide leading from the nightstand to the floor near the console. The slide wasn't just a descending slope but a spiral of pipes that had been smoothed out inside giving Theo an extra burst of speed as he looped through them.

It was a blast and Theo held onto his bag, keeping his arms and legs inside the ride as he jumped into the plastic slide.

"Corkscrew descent," Pedro had called it and it was one hell of a ride. All safety features had been considered, making sure the slide was sealed all the way down until the exit. With the speed Theo was going, he was glad he'd worn pants or the fur on his ass would've rubbed off as he came shooting out the other end.

Pedro had lifted the slide upwards, and Theo was launched into the air much to the rat's surprise.

"Ah, shit!" The rat squeaked as he tumbled over himself and landed in several old garments that the tiger had left out. "That jerk!" Theo cursed, pulling away from the musky fabrics and jumping out of the laundry bin.

Of course, that sneaky tiger had done that to Theo without a word of warning. Tossing old shirts and socks into the basket that was to be his landing pad.

And it had been fun.

Theo hated that. He hated that it was fun to be around the sly tiger that teased him constantly as he marched his way over to the desk. Hated how the tiger's words had a Spanish accent to them. Warm, like fresh honey, dripping from the tiger's lips as he purred them out, teasing the rat until he blushed or giggled.

Pedro always knew the right thing to say. Just how much force to safely use to poke or touch the rodent with. Picking him up when Theo least suspected it but never hurting him in the slightest. There was so much care the tiger took around him that it left Theo breathless at times.

"Dammit Theo, get a freaking grip!" The rat sighed, shoulder's slouching. "I've been seeing him too much. I'll just take a break for a while... Be better for my poor heart."

Traversing the floor always left Theo on edge. Something about being where Pedro's paws would step just made him nervous. The ground had crumbs, there was dust underneath the desk and there was a lingering smell in the air from the old laundry and the tiger's shoes that made the rat quickly cross the open space between the nightstand and desk.

A bar had been attached to the side of the worktable like desk Pedro had gotten for his classes. The bar lead all the way down to the floor from up above. A far less exciting means to the floor than the slide. Every surface seemed to have some safe means for Theo to get down with and most had means of getting up. The ladder adjacent to the bar was stable and had been drilled into the floor to make sure it wasn't going anywhere whenever the rodent needed to use it.

Pedro was going to get one hell of a talking to when the staff found out all these modifications the tiger had made to the room for the rodent. Not a conversation Theo wanted to be there for, but he wouldn't mind being a fly on the wall that day.

He snickered, thinking of Pedro getting all shy about it as he tried to explain it. Theo was sure the tiger would break off into Spanish hallway through the conversation and laughed some more, shaking his head.

"Silly tigre..."

Theo climbed the ladder easily, ascending towards the desk and took a much-needed breather as he looked around the room. He felt so much better being up above, out of paw stepping range.

Nearly every piece of furniture had a means up and down from it for the rat to use. Several clumps of clothes had been set out around them in case Theo somehow fell. Everything had been considered from the added ladders to the ziplines, that Theo loved to take even if Pedro had a nasty habit of grabbing the rat in mid-zip blaming it on his cat like reflexes.

Pedro would snatch him out of the air without warning. Theo would zip right into the pink paw pad of the tiger's hand and the fingers would close around him like a Venus fly trap, enclosing him in the palm of Pedro's hand. Sometimes, the tiger wouldn't open his fingers back up and would just go about his day holding the trapped rat in his grasp until Theo tapped out and Pedro would let him go.

The tiger always had that smirk on his face, trying to hold back a smile whenever he teased the rat too far and Theo had to give up on their little game of cat and mouse.

"It's fine. He's just a good friend. A good friend with no benefits." Theo practically yelled at his groin. "Be good or I swear to mother Russian cheese! Ice bath." Pulling his bag out, Theo looked through his notes one last time before packing up to go.

It was always hard to climb through the door the two of them had made in the wall. To leave the tiger behind. Just another reminder of how much time the two had been spending together. Bouncing ideas off one another, working on homework, going over the projects that Pedro would have to do for the final and reviews for his test.

Or ideas to help the Smalls have a better, bigger life...

Though, at times, Pedro could go too far. Theo hadn't liked the idea of Pedro trying to smuggle him into the finals to help him with them. Theo had still laughed about it with the tricky tiger. He was sure Pedro would pounce on the opportunity if Theo gave him even an inch with such talks.

"Just, like, stuff you in my pocket! Or under my hat!" The tiger hadn't let the subject drop and went on and on about it. "No, wait. They don't allow caps during the final... maybe we could just say you're a cotton swap and stuff you in my ear?"

Theo snorted at that.

"Not even if you power hosed those ears am I crawling into one!" The rat just laughed at the absurdity of it. Absurdity of this conversation. The very absurdity of this tiger! Theo squeaked, blushing as he tried not to think of all the places the tiger had asked to put him.

"What about my pocket?" Pedro was already searching through all his pockets as if trying to find the perfect size one for Theo to be placed in. "Then, when no one is looking, pull you out and you can just do all the work for me. Smuggle you back in and then the two of us can just coast on out of there, little rata."

"Pass. Your pockets are tiny, your phone barely fits! I can see the outline of it in your pants and I'm not a fan of being squashed." Theo waved the idea away.

"Understandable." Pedro had nodded, crossing his arms. "What if I stuff you in my shoe?" Theo jut gave him a look. "I could buy bigger ones! Give you plenty of room with my toes," the tiger grinned as the feline teased the rat. "Okay, okay. Joking aside, what about if I sew a new pocket in my coat. Make it nice and big! That way you have plenty of space and room and you can slip me the answers."

"Leaving a paper trail is idiotic, Pedro." Theo shook his head. "First rule of rat kind."

"Don't leave trail, aye, I get it mi amigo. It's not that easy for a big tigre to be sneaky!" Pedro said, getting worked up and his words breaking more into Spanish as he went. "What if I-," Pedro opened his mouth and the rat shouted for him to put that away. "You didn't even let me finish..." The tiger couldn't help the sly smirk on his muzzled face as his eyes gleaned cruelly. A look only a devious feline could make.

"I knew what you were going to say!" Theo shuddered. "I am not hiding underneath your tongue."

"Underneath the tongue..." Theo could see the gears turning in the tiger's head. "That's brilliant! I knew you were. Eres muy listo!" The tiger grinned toothily. "You'd easily fit. No one would be foolish enough to look in a tiger's maw."

"Pedro, you are not." Theo glared. "Putting me in your mouth!" The rat jumped, shaking his tiny fists angrily as he got worked up over this silly topic. "How many times must I tell you this?"

The tiger took a breath, placing his fingers together before pointing them at the rat. "What if. Just a taste?"

"What? No!" Theo said.

"Okay, just throwing this out there. No pressure... one minute." Pedro eyes sparkled with wicked delight as he continued to tease and poke at the rat that squirmed before him.

Theo was so lively and animated when he got teased. The rat squirming around and puffing out his cheeks, slapping his tail on the ground and stomping his tiny, cute feet as if he could actually do something to the tiger. It had all been in good fun that the feline just couldn't resist tormenting his tiny friend with and about.

It had been one thing after another and Theo needed a break from Pedro, for his own good, as he stayed away for over a week before his brother confronted him the very morning he had planned to go back. Anthony, as if sensing Theo missed the tiger, had cut him off in the road forcing Theo to stop and talk with him.

"W-we're not going out." Theo stammered to his brother a week later.

"So, you didn't break up with him..." Anthony sighed, shaking his head. "Dammit Theo, I tried to warn you about this. This isn't right. It's just... wrong. And weird." The fat rat shook a hand in Theo's face.

"Pedro isn't like the others." Theo wanted to convince his brother, if no one else. Maybe Anthony could understand where he feared others wouldn't.

"Theo. This. Is. Weird!" Anthony just shouted back at him, getting worked up now. It took a lot to get Anthony acting like this and Theo's ears splayed out, unable to meet his brother's stern gaze. He looked like their mother. "I care about you, bro. I love you! But look at yourself."

Theo glanced down. He had gotten his things together, spending an extra half hour in the bathroom to groom his fur, hair and whiskers.

"What...?"

"You are dolling yourself up for a tiger. A Big!" Anthony hissed the words through clenched teeth as he tried to keep his voice down. "I don't want to see you hurt. Or get you in trouble."

"Good. Then don't." Theo just turned away from him, being stubborn as ever.

"Theo.... If you aren't going to see reason, to see how insane this all is? Then... then don't hate me for this. I'm doing it for your own good." And, without explaining further, Anthony marched off without another word to his brother.

"Andy..." Theo sighed. He knew his brother didn't like Pedro, or any Big, but Pedro... Pedro was different. The tiger was friendly and charming and just so considerate of Theo's wants and needs. They talked just the previous week about this!

Everything was supposed to be going good now. There weren't supposed to be any further issues as Theo headed towards the construction site near the seed deposit.

Theo hadn't told anyone but, he had committed a taboo. Something even he was guilty of. Something that every rat, or Small Folk, should never do under penalty of banishment. He told Pedro where they lived. The approximate location of Rathole and where Pedro could find where it was located on the surface above.

Theo had a reason, though! He constantly had to tell himself, trying not to regret his decision behind blabbing such important, vital information to a Big.

Pedro was going to help him fix the seed chute. The tiger needed to know where and what he was working with and would be the one taking charge up above while Theo worked down below, underground in the tunnels, to try and locate the blockage that was threatening their way of life. That was a valid enough reason to break one of their most sacred of rules... right?

"A shifting of soil due to weather and the weight from up above." Theo had made numerous notes as he worked out multiple theories behind it. "Combine with the sudden rains we had last week on top of the..." He turned the page. "Flooding in tunnel three and half of four... there must be an issue with the flow, something redirecting it towards Rathole instead of away..."

Three rats had already been lost trying to investigate inside the pipe.

The blockage seemed to be in the dead center and going up the pipe was far too risky to send anyone else in. They had several moles working along the sides trying to create a new spot to make the seed chute, ignoring the problem once more as they thought to seal the current chute. With the thick cement surrounding Rathole, it was making it increasingly difficult to find alternative routes for them to use.

It had just been one issue after another. Even with their skilled coordination, it was making everything difficult. If only they had the tools to just excavate the area...

"If we had a Big." Theo had wanted to say to the foreman but knew better than to. If someone like Pedro worked above, then, together, they could solve their problem and save Rathole! At the current rate, there was risk of the pressure bursting and flooding half of the city.

The issue was, no one would ever be willing to work with or trust a Big. Let alone a tiger. Even someone as mindful and caring as Pedro.

Pedro made sure to keep Theo off the floor in the dorm room, instead carrying him around from one surface to the next. Even when the two sat in front of the TV, playing one of his consoles, Pedro had set up a TV tray table for Theo to sit on with his controller. Never letting Theo sit on the floor due to the risk of it.

It was terrifying, being on the floor, when Pedro was walking around. Theo hadn't thought about it since the very first day he had gone into Pedro's room...

The tiger was tall. He was gigantic and, when you were face to face, it was manageable. Able to talk to each other, see eye to eye? It was groundbreaking, able to connect and understand one another. Being on the desk as Pedro sat down in the chair or together, lying on the bed wasn't an issue. Looking up at a tiger walking around you on the other hand was just asking for trouble. His feet paws alone could step on and crush half their houses one at a time like a giant kaiju monster.

"A dumb, clumsy kaiju monster." Theo had to laugh at but the tingle needle feeling of fear was still there.

If Theo was on the floor, trying to call up to Pedro? He was sure the tiger wouldn't be able to hear him. And Theo trusted Pedro with his life at this point. He couldn't ask those of the city to have that kind of faith in someone they hadn't even met before.

Theo shook the disturbing thoughts away, slapping his cheek. He's been out of it a lot lately. Maybe it was the stress he was under as he began pulling out various papers to give to the foreman. The badger was larger than Oliver was and had a gruff beard on his face with thick furry eyebrows making it hard to read his expression.

"We'll try over by C-5, near that, what cha' my call it..." The badger waved his hand towards one of the side walls.

"The candy bar?" Theo drooled at the thought. Pedro had given him a whatchamacallit just the other day and the two had sat around eating it. There was something about crisp candy that made the rat squeal with joy.

"Boy." The badger tried to smack him upside the head and missed, misjudging their heights. He looked down at the rat that had been sent to help out. "They said you're the smart one and here you are talking about candy." The badger grumbled, adjusting his tool belt, and letting it drop.

Theo could clearly hear his stomach rumble and chuckled already knowing what to say and do to get some free time to explore the site without interference.

"Foreman Bernie," Theo cleared his throat getting the badger's attention. "I think it would be time for a lunch break." He added, glancing towards the market square. "Can't you smell it?" The rat sniff. "Fresh scones and blueberry pies! It's a treat for the eyes and nose! Mary might be there," Theo added, nudging the badger's side with his elbow. "She does make the finest honey beer this side of Rathole..."

"That might be the smartest thing you've said yet," the badger laughed holding his gut. "You really are the smart one!"

"Oliver, the badger at the market, sells the very best jams. Pairs up perfectly." Theo pinched his fingers together. "Just the best." Theo was already drooling thinking of them. Something about freshly made sweets couldn't be ignored. "We'll get a couple of scones or biscuits, whichever you prefer, and go have ourselves a little bite to eat." Theo smiled devilishly. The rat having other plans as the badger just nodded.

Pedro might be rubbing off on him, pulling a sneaky trick like this to a hungry foreman.

"I can't argue with that." The foreman said, stomping off with several of his crew after shouting out for everyone to take a break, leaving Theo behind to do his own work.

"Perfect." Theo looked around before snagging the badger's measuring tape he'd left behind. It was huge and heavy, Theo had to strap it onto his back before climbing up the side wall towards the top of the seed spout.

Even if people noticed him, his white fur standing out, he was working on the project with the team. No one would think twice as he took the measuring tape off and began pushing it up and into the dark tunnel of the seed chute. Theo took his time, carefully maneuvering it in before, a good couple minutes later, coming to a stop.

It was further in than he had hoped or even feared, and Theo knew that a team of rats couldn't be sent in to fix this without suffering heavy loss. The water leaking around his feet was even more worrisome. It was a slow trickle, but his nose told him there was a lot more, further inside the seed chute.

Marking down the number he let the measuring tape snap shut. The yellow reel came back faster than he expected and with a squeak, Theo dropped it and watched it roll down the seed chute and into the wicker basket below.

"Damn it all," Theo shook his hand off. This was why he wished he could get Pedro's help. As smart as he was, Theo was limited by being a rat and unless he used their numbers, there was little he could do alone. If he could use the tiger's massive size to their benefit, though, he could solve this issue and maybe even...

Theo shook his head, laughing over it as he got ahead of himself. "Solve the problem first. Save the city. Then ask if it's okay if Pedro can visit." Theo nodded, getting excited over it as he scurried down the chute. He jumped into the basket to grab the measuring tape before slipping out one of the side holes with the device to put it back where he had gotten it.

Glancing back, Theo's worries only grew.

The basket was almost empty, only a few scattered seeds were left on the bottom floating in the small pool of water trickle from above. It wouldn't be long until the mayor and his subordinates began talk of moving, not wanting to solve a problem and just relocating to ignore it. They were always so ready to pack up and move. The slightest of changes would cause them to freak out and abandon ship.

"Maybe it's a rat thing?" Theo pondered as he made his way towards the tunnels. By this time, the two guards were used to seeing him as he headed towards Pedro's dorm room.

"Another expedition, eh, Theo?" One of them asked. The rat was fit and healthy, muscular and had gone to school with Theo when they were just small rat pups. Dallas was a smart and handsome rodent and Theo used to have a huge crush on the other rat had.

Dallas had mutual feelings even after Theo lost interest. It made things easier to slip in and out of Rathole without to many questions asked when one of the guards had a hard on for you.

"I want to check a few things out. Make sure we know what we're doing before drilling in to fix the problem." Theo nodded. "Don't want to pop a balloon without knowing where the water is going to end up."

"It can't be that complicated." Dallas chuckled, clearly just wanting to continue the conversation as he leaned closer to Theo and sniffed at him.

"Unfortunately, it is." Theo pointed towards the seed chute. "There are several pipes along the walls, some of which are still in use. Those pipes go into the wall, Dallas. Beyond what we can just see. If we go drilling randomly? We could flood the entirety of Rathole!" Theo shook his head. "You have to be very mindful and careful when doing construction or you can end up making a bigger mess than what you started with."

"Not going to cave us in, are you, Theo?" The other guard, a much older rat, leaned on the needle he held in hand. The needle was attached to a metal pipe, smelted together to form a very sharp pointed stick.

It wouldn't do much, but it was a great means to deter those trying to stick their hand or push their snouts into holes. If a Big was foolish enough to go snooping around, they got a sharp jab in return for their troubles. The rat guard would stay hidden from view and, naturally, the Big would think some sort of malicious insect was inside instead of an entire rat society.

Some of the needles even had bee poison on them, using the stingers to really trick a Big.

Once the Big retreated, the rat would report in and then the tunnel would be sealed off. Usually, a mixture of concrete and mud, to make it look as natural as possible instead of manmade. The Big would be none the wiser and the rat would have protected the colony.

"No, sir." Theo nodded towards the older rat. Theo was sure he was someone's parent that was connected to his own and was trying his best to appear as if he belonged here so he wouldn't get ratted out. The irony of that wasn't lost on the rodent. "I'm doing everything I can and using every means and tools available to me to make sure that doesn't happen."

Theo said, thinking about Pedro. He was a tool, and the tiger did say it was okay for the rat to use him as need be. It wasn't like he was lying, per say, just stretching the truth and omitted several important key details about the facts... not lying.

Theo was getting desperate over this past week. He had gone to the mayor's office, more than once, trying to stress the very real threat the seed chute had over the city. He had been turned away each time, waved off saying that "Everything was under control."

They didn't want Theo to bring them new problems, only to fix them for the good of Rathole. Theo, unable to do it alone, no one listening to his desperate pleas turned to the one guy who could. Pedro. He would see the tiger and, this week, take care of the problem!

With a laugh, a nod and a wave Theo left the two guards behind and headed for the dormitory tunnels sweating bullets as he tried to hide his fears. There was so much riding on this.

It was becoming second nature to him moving through these tunnels and Theo couldn't deny the building excitement in his chest. He had been wanting to see the tiger all week and now that he was going back, it was hard to hold it in as he practically skipped onto the elevator, spun around, and knocked the bucket off with his tail so the elevator would rise.

Theo had gotten all the measurements and data he could down in Rathole over the past week, stretching out his efforts to not appear suspicious while doing so. He did not want to get kicked out of rathole. He wasn't an imposter.

"Once Pedro sees everything we can go to the field and take the needed measurements before starting the dig." Theo was both thrilled and scared about all this. This would be a big undertaking and if something went wrong, they could accidentally flood the very place they were trying to save!

Pedro was an engineering student and said he'd done landscaping for his father growing up. He was familiar with the tools they would be using, and Theo would make sure everything went according to plan. No matter what.

"Just have to," Theo came to a stop carrying his bag in both hands. The satchel was a dark green and, over the past month, Theo had decided to sew a crude image of an orange and white face in the side of it joined together.

It was cheesy as all hell and Theo loved it all the more.

It was of Theo's and Pedro's face. It was crude and hard to tell one was a rat and the other a tiger. That had been the point. The two scrunched up next to each other, blended together in order to create a new symbol for their combined project. It had been a silly idea Pedro might like, representing the year of the rat and tiger on a Chinese calendar while being something unique for their joint project.

"I can't wait to get his opinion on it. I hope I'm not rushing things..." Theo stopped, coming to another issue before the major problem.

Telling him about it was going to be increasingly difficult as Theo just stared at the tunnels before him. There were four tunnels after the elevator, two led to the dorms and the other two were eventual dead ends. The small scratch marks above the tunnels explained to any rat the needed information for where they went, any issues inside and if they were dangerous or not.

His tunnel, or rather Pedro's tunnel, had several new scratches above it. That wouldn't be the main obstacle for the rat to cross over anymore.

"Sealed." The red and white tape red. Two strands of tape had marked the tunnel entrance off with an X.

Panic filled Theo as he quickly looked up at the scratch marks above the tunnel. He pulled out one of his books, nearly dropping it in his haste, and began looking up the proper code to translate the crude scratches.

"Off limits. Found tunnel. Sealed." The complicated scratches ended up translating into. It was simple enough. Someone had reported that this tunnel had been found by a Big and the tunnel crew had been sent in to seal it off.

The smell in the air was a mixture of sand, stone, and mud with a harsher stench to it warning rats not to enter the tunnel after it had been used. Any rat foolish enough to go in would find the lights off, retrieved and recycled by the team sent in, and might end up walking into the solidifying mixture. The slurry, when first used, was harmless enough and could be rinsed off but over time it would harden to the point that it would be walking into a death trap.

Concrete... The tunnel had been sealed with concrete.

"Holy shit. No, no, no!" Theo began to pace back and forth in front of the tunnel. "How did this happen? Did they figure me out? I mean, I wasn't exactly that secretive but..." Theo began wiping off his whiskers frantically.

It had already been a week since he'd seen the tiger. Would Pedro worry? Would he panic? Or would he just... forget about the rat that had stumbled into his life one day.

"Anthony..." Theo realized. It took him a second, before denying it and then working it over again. It was the only thing that made sense. He was the only one who directly knew about Theo's involvement with a Big. "Dammit, Andy..."

This was far more complicated than some Small hanging out with a Big. Every life in Rathole was on the line here!

"Okay, maybe not that dramatic but still. Fuck!" Theo bent down, messing with his hair with both hands as the papers and books fell out of his bag. "Why did this have to happen today? Why can't I see him..."

Theo was just reaching, wanting to blame something that, in any other normal situation, he himself would've done. Anthony was following rat code. His brother most likely just looking out for Theo despite how much he knew Pedro meant to Theo these days. Maybe Anthony was even concerned that Theo was hanging out with Pedro more than he was with his brother.

Sighing, Theo tapped his foot, crossing his arms as he thought about it.

"Okay. SO. Just like a concrete mixture. I won't be able to get past that. Anthony had become a solid block of dumbass. Just add some jealousy into the mix, some anger to really harden the issue. Maybe a little bit of envy just to make sure it would have a strong foundation and then a lot of self-righteousness before RATTING me out! Why couldn't Anthony buy me a dinner and some wine first because I like to be wined and dined... before getting FUCKED!"

The rat fumed wanting to toss everything up in the air as he stomped his feet angrily. He stepped on one of the parchments and froze. The paper crinkled under his foot, and he carefully lifted it, looking at all the work he'd spent his time and effort on.

This wasn't just his project anymore. It was his and Pedro's. The two of them working on it together to come up with a solution to the problem.

Just like the homework Theo had begun coaching Pedro on, the two of them working together to find that answer.

The rat crouched down, beginning to gather his fallen things. He stopped, seeing the picture of the tiger he'd drawn. It hadn't been the first one, either. Some, even Pedro posed for. It was why the rat wasn't to concern using Pedro has his model last week while the tiger was asleep. Pedro had always offered to be his "canvas," whatever that meant.

"Use me however you see fit." The tiger had just grinned inches away from Theo's face showing off every one of his fangs. "I'll help you out. You just come to ol' Pedro, mi lindo rata."

"Dammit Anthony," Theo sighed carefully putting the pictures away so they wouldn't get ruined. He didn't realize how many he had of the tiger until they were safely tucked away in the binder, a rubber band was used to keep them from accidentally opening again. "My own brother is cock blocking me."

Slapping his cheeks several time, Theo was ready for business.

If the tunnel to Pedro's room was out of service, then he would have to use the adjacent tunnel to enter the dorms, track down the tiger and then go over their plans together to fix this mess. Then he'd wring Anthony's neck and chop off his tail, feed it to Pedro in warning to anyone else foolish enough to try and separate them.

"This could be tricky..." Theo thought it over. Rushing in was just asking for trouble. Plenty of rats over the years had lost their lives being careless.

Theo was not going to be one such rat. He wasn't just any kind of rat. He was going to fix this and save everyone, even if they never knew about it. Maybe for the better, the more Theo thought about it.

"Fuck, if they ever find out I asked a Big for help, I can screw my internship at the mayor's office..." Theo sighed, shaking his head, and headed back to Rathole.

He'd need supplies if he planned to break into the dorms and track the tiger down.

"If Rat Rambo can do it, so can I!" Theo didn't feel it as he slid down the elevator's rope. "I'm so going to die." He squeaked covering his face. "I just wish someone could help me and stop FUCKING me over."