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Hey everyone! Bit of a delay, but here's the newest chapter. It's been a year in the making (the entire story that is), and so we're at an aniversary of sorts! If I was a planner I'd have tried to make this an amazingly eventful chapter...but as it is you just get a hopeful amazing chapter....I hope. Either way, thank you all so much for continuing to stay with the story, I hope you'll enjoy everything that is to come!

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"You won't get away again!" Nolan yelled, giving chase to the otter who was on the other side of the screen. He whipped out his pistol as he moved, taking aim and then...

Chris wasn't quite sure if he missed anything, all he knew is that for a brief instant the screen was blocked as his father scurried across the room, as he'd been doing for the past hour now in various parts of the house. "Dad...are you OK?"

"Yeah, Yeah...I'm fine of course," Marion replied hastily, taking a look around the room. And there it was. Something he couldn't ignore, that no one would be able to ignore. He quickly moved over to the coffee table and adjusted the stack of magazines he'd been browsing through earlier into a nice looking pile. OK, well, maybe it wasn't a big deal, but to him it was.

"I can't see through mud..." Chris alerted his dad, very much in the same way his dad would often do to him if he was in front of the TV screen.

Marion quickly stepped back and plopped down onto the couch, "Sorry...its....well, this place is just so dirty,"

"No it's not," Chris replied, taking a brief glance around their living room. It looked better than ever. "Are you nervous about Ben coming over?"

"Uhh," Marion let out, wondering what he was supposed to do. Chris was his son, so he didn't want to ever lie to him. Also, he didn't want to appear unsure or insecure about the fact. After a moment he shrugged his shoulders, "A bit...I...well, I'm worried about a lot of things,"

Chris's expression changed to a curious look and his fingers noticeably slowed in their pushing of the controller. He looked over for a moment before redirecting his attention to the game, "Why?"

"I...don't want to push this on you Chris,"

The younger wolf's face twitched lightly: so he was the problem? No, that wasn't what his dad was saying. After a slow second he managed to shake his head, "It's....well, it's not pushing me I don't think,"

"Well...it's just...it's been me and you for so long, you know?" Marion asked with a slight chuckle, "Having someone come over seems strange,"

"I have friends come over sometimes...and you and Ben act like friends...though I guess it's different,"

"A bit," Marion replied with a smile, "I mean, Ben is my friend...but more. You'll understand later I'm sure, but...I guess it's weird for someone to come over mainly to see me,"

Chris bit his tongue about the times Mary came over--this was different even still. For a moment Chris couldn't help but wonder if Ben could cook as well as Mary. If that was the case then this wouldn't be at all unwelcome; between the bunny and his dad, there wasn't a better kitchen to be near. Mary had taught his dad after all; though he thought his dad had surpassed her in skill, though she disagreed. It was something his father and co-worker joked often about.

"You're sure you're OK with him coming over?"

"If he doesn't are we still going to see the movie tonight?"

"Of course," Marion replied quickly, though he wondered if he would enjoy it half as much if Ben wasn't there, but only because that was the original plan. If his son would be honest with him and the bear would pose a distraction then he wouldn't mind asking Ben to take a backseat: Ben would be more than upset if he didn't do that. "Do you want it to just be me and you?"

"No...I...was just curious," Chris replied, having wished he could give a better reason than that. He didn't want his dad to be alone. He didn't think his dad was alone because he was here, but if Ben made him happy then the bear was not a bad addition to life. Still, this was a big addition--the bear coming over that is.

It was only the weekend though.

Marion nodded. Chris was OK with it, so it seemed. And he had to trust his son, right? If Chris said he was OK, then he was OK. It wasn't like Chris didn't like Ben. He had to believe his son would come to him if things were right. After all, he'd given Chris plenty of opportunities, right? They had spoken about this before.

Just the other night he'd sat Chris down and talked about it. He'd had so much in his mind he could say, but in the end Chris had made it a short talk. The pup had said it was fine. Marion still remembered the 'as long as you're happy then I'm happy' line well enough. And he'd pushed it just a little--all of which ended with the pup giving the same response. The pup really was fine with it.

"Well...that's good...because he offered to," the older wolf managed after a few moments of thought; letting out a small sigh of relief. He just needed to calm down--once he calmed down everything would be fine! "Thank you Chris,"

"Huh?" Chris hummed, looking over at his dad, "What do you mean?"

"Just for being so great a son,"

Chris felt heat rise to his cheeks.

"You've dealt with this really well, and...I just want you to know that I'm proud of you. I couldn't ask for a better son,"

Chris's cheeks heated up more and more, and he tried to brush off the comment, "It's fine," he said bashfully, not sure he deserved the praise on its own. He told his dad what he knew he wanted to hear, and it wasn't that he ever lied. No, that certainly wasn't the case. He was OK with Ben, right? There wasn't anything about the bear that upset him, but it still felt odd to have the bear come so close.

Jake had said something about what would happen if the bear and his dad broke up, but that was just theoretical. There wasn't anything to worry about. Ben showed no sign of leaving. The bear wouldn't upset his dad. And if he didn't make his dad sad then there really was nothing stopping him from accepting the bear. But was this too soon? What about years down the road? What would happen if Ben left? It would upset his dad. It hurts when people leave.

It hurt when his mom left. It hurt that she was gone. Would his dad feel that?

"Well...it'll be this will be the longest Ben has been around...consecutively," Marion said, interrupting his son's thoughts--much to Chris's pleasure.

"Hahah...yeah...I guess," Chris laughed a bit. "You might see him as much as I do,"

"What do you mean? I'm the one dating him, I see him more than you do," Marion replied, and then was thankful for the black fur hiding his blush--he certainly did see more of Ben...in many ways.

"I see Ben more than you do," Chris jabbed, smirking at his dad.

"What, no you don't!" Marion said with a laugh, not understanding what the pup could mean.

"Yeah...I see him for an hour on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays...then sometimes he comes over. Sometimes he has lunch duty, so he's there. I talk with him after class sometimes too: I probably see him a good seven hours a week. And that's not counting when he's over here...with you, but if I'm here then that's still time counted towards me,"

"Well..." Marion said and looked at the corner of the room, doing some quick math, "I......I...well, that's not fair," he said, realizing it was a very true accusation. Well, it wasn't if they were to take the fact when he and the bear slept together, but did sleeping count? He scowled at his son, "You just have to be right, don't you?"

Chris couldn't help a small laugh. About mid-way through there was a loud knock, and he noticed how his dad's tail stopped wagging and the older wolf's ears perked straight up. He looked towards the door with his dad.

"Well....here we go," Marion said, giving a slow sigh to calm his nerves.

***The Week Before***

Chris leaned over on the couch, looking past his father and throwing Jake off the stage--making the jaguar fall to his death: at least in the game. They'd been playing for the past two hours already, not counting the fact that stayed late up in the night previously killing one another and laughing and talking like they often would. It was almost like when his father and Ben would talk back and forth and back and forth for hours on end.

"Sorry boys," Marion said, skipping over the mess of wires that was his son's gaming system and moving quickly over to the door. He smoothed over his furs once more before putting his paw on the handle and giving his best smile. Of course, the smile was forced, but it became so much more natural as the figure came into sight: it never failed to make him smile.

"Ben," Marion said with a grin, "Hi,"

"Hey," Ben said, leaning in for a kiss. As he did he noticed the young furs behind the wolf and stopped quickly, a look more of shock coming over his face, "J--Jake, hello," he stammered, using the paw he'd been about to hug Marion with to wave at the rosette-furred feline.

Jake looked over, and blinked once, erasing his imagined chalk-board behind the bear, "Uhh....Hi Mr. Vaughn...uhh..."

"Are you enjoying break?" Ben asked as he smiled a bit bashfully at the jaguar. He hadn't known Chris had his friend over, even though he knew Chris was best-friends with the jaguar. He'd helped him out even--sort of. Marion had said he had--told him he'd stopped some bullies apparently. All he'd done was take some furs off to the side and threaten them--with academically reprimanded action of course. Well, maybe he'd using a more intimidating voice than usual--perhaps a slight growl because it was Chris's friend. But he'd have done it for anyone; he didn't like bullies.

"Yes Sir...it's nice...y--you?"

"Very much. Though I'm looking forward to getting back to school on Monday," Ben replied, getting a groan from the younger furs at such a vile, evil reference. "I...see the notion isn't reciprocated,"

Marion just laughed and shook his head.

After a moment Ben looked over at Chris and smiled, "Hello Chris,"

"Hey Ben," Chris said, nodding at the bear. He looked past the bear at his dad, "You two aren't going out tonight are you?"

"Uhh...well, we haven't quite decided...but...probably not," Marion said, looking over Ben's shoulder, "We may order a pizza and bring it in?"

"OK, that's cool," Chris replied, realizing his dad just didn't want to leave him and Jake to themselves. Not that his dad thought they'd run up to his medicine cabinet like so many years ago. No, it was much more that ordering the pizza would just be easier on them all. And after all, over the past two weeks Ben had come over for supper a few times; it was almost normal.

"What kind would you two like? Any preferences?" Marion asked, cocking his head and looking at the jaguar.

"Well, you know about my allergies and that I don't handle peppers well," Jake said, ruling out a supreme pizza, which was fine since he didn't enjoy them anyway--and it wasn't like pizza had nuts on it anyway.

"So...how about a pepperoni? A cheese? And a pineapple and anchovy?" Marion inquired, looking back over his shoulder at Ben, who had a strange love for such, even if the bear knew it meant not getting to kiss him till he rinsed his muzzle. There were no objections after a moment, so Marion nodded, "How about we leave you boys to your games...we'll go into the kitchen,"

"OK..." Chris replied, and paused the game, letting the two pass without interfering with his and Jake's game. They soon restarted, exchanging blows--both physical and verbal as the advantage switched between them.

"Well, what do you think they're doing?" Jake asked, cocking his head towards the kitchen after a few matches.

"Probably just talking," Chris replied easily.

"Oh, is that all you think?" Jake asked, surprised the wolf jumped to such a simple conclusion. His own was anything but that. After all, his parents had told him that a lot of gays weren't normal, and he couldn't deny it either: Mr. Judith was just an exception, and so was Ben most likely. But sometimes he wasn't sure that what he'd been told all his life was true--or even what he'd seen. He didn't share the opinion at school; he was even beginning to doubt it. The general opinion was that most gays were very physical; there had even been rumors for a few weeks that Ben was a swinger--along with another teacher who was very straight. Of course, those rumors died quickly enough. Chris never heard of them, and truthfully the only reason Jake had known was because Michelle--his ex--had been a very talkative bear; always involved in the lastest rumors and gossip.

"Yeah...why?" Chris asked after a moment, taking the time to kill his friend in the game. Of course, he'd heard his dad tell the bear he'd missed him and what was probably an embrace and kiss, but that wasn't odd--especially considering how his ears were much better than Jake's. It was strange; how the game was more like a medium to keep themselves busy as they spoke, but that was almost always the case. Sometimes the game was a medium of conversation, and other times it was an all-consuming force--one which dictated their moods, their language, and even breaths.

"Well...."

"Oh come-on, you don't buy into that do you?" Chris asked with a scowl, knowing the direction the conversation was headed. He wasn't ignorant. He knew what a lot of the people at school thought about gays. At one point he hadn't blamed them, not with people like Griffin, a leopard, who was about as promiscuous as a fox--something all the foxes at the school found very offensive: apparently they didn't want him either. The leopard was about as stereotypical gay as it got; high pitch voice, feminine curves, flashy way of talking, flashy way of dressing, and pretty flaming. So, of course, everyone assumed that's how all gays act, even if Ben was out of the closet--though he didn't exactly scream it out for everyone like Griffin.

"Well...I mean...are they not like that?"

"No! I mean, I know you know better," Chris replied with a scoff. It was honestly more insulting just because his dad wasn't like that, obviously, and Ben was even more obviously not like that. Ben had told him there wasn't anything wrong with falling into a stereotype: none of those were bad things, but he also told him that he didn't necessarily think you were going to convince anyone you were normal like that. That was true. Apparently being seen like that had been Ben's biggest fear in school--made him wait till he was in college to come out. Of course, Ben didn't agree with the promiscuous part either; though they had very strategically stayed away from such a taboo topic. Taboo for plenty of reasons: not even counting the fact the bear was dating his dad.

"So...do they kiss?"

"I...I guess so," Chris replied, looking over at his friend, "Why would I think about that?" Chris asked, looking a bit repulsed by the notion. He shook his head and scowled at the jaguar, "And besides...you got caught making out with Michelle...people kiss...it's not a big deal, is it?"

"Says the guy who's never had a girlfriend,"

"Says the guy who has no money because he had a girlfriend and got dumped...last time I checked, she didn't pay you back, did she?" Chris asked with a smirk, giving his friend a cocky stare. The jaguar had a flustered face and quickly shook the face away.

"That's entirely different,"

"Yeah...my dad and Ben don't fight in the halls,"

"She was crazy and you know it,"

"Oh come-on Jake...you put two tarantulas in her locker..." Chris said with a laugh.

"I remember you helping me..."

Chris couldn't help a small smirk over his features. It had been pretty hilarious to watch Michelle run down the hall screaming like--well--an absolutely terrified cub. Of course, they weren't able to get the tarantulas back, but considering Mr. Green, the biology teacher took them in it wasn't so bad--at least they hadn't been stomped on. Well worth the money.

"You're ser--"

"Got you!" Chris barked, his fingers moving rapidly over the controller as the character on the screen did a very fancy looking combo--throwing his opponent up in the air and blasting him away with some energy blasts followed by some fancier martial arts.

"That is such bull-crap!" Jake complained, seeing half his health bar gone from that attack alone.

"Oh yeah...because you letting me spin around you, feign a move, duck, sweep and then uppercut you before you can do anything is such an easy requirement," Chris replied with a roll of his eyes.

"What if they break up? Think he'd mark you down?"

"I'm pretty sure that'd be illegal," Chris said, finding the notion strange. Not the getting marked down, or the fact that the bear would target him, but that the bear and his dad would break up. What would happen to his dad? He knew his dad loved Ben, so his dad would be sad, right? The bear could hurt him. Losing someone hurt. A lot. And if he got attached and Ben left, or if his dad and Ben had a fight, what would that mean? The bear wasn't tied down--he could just get up and leave at any point.

"Got you!" Jake yelped, his character doing some victory pose on the screen while the feline laughed.

"Oh yeah...because you choose the anti-character," Chris replied, pushing the previous thought away quickly. The laugh told him it had just been a joke--so that was all it was, he should just forget about it.

"So...me choosing a character who is strong against your guy is cheating?"

"No,"

"So, it's really not weird?"

Chris shrugged his shoulders a bit more unsurely, "I guess not. I mean...I guess I'd prefer he be with Ben than anyone else I can think of," he admitted, though it wasn't quite a competition. The bear was the only person on the list--no one else got a chance. "And...sure, it's weird that my dad is with a dude, but...they don't act gay,"

"Except for the dating part,"

Chris snuffled a little, "I mean...they act like best-friends; kind of like us,"

"No-homo?"

The pup chortled a bit before shaking his head and glancing over at the jaguar, "No-homo of course..."

"So...it's not like one of them is the girl?"

"No...they're both guys. I mean...do you honestly think my dad or Ben are going to come out of the kitchen wearing make-up and talking about shoes? Especially Ben?" Chris asked with a small smirk. His dad was manly, that was true, but Ben was a bit more so. And it wasn't anything wrong with his dad. As it was, Ben just had that look and the species for it. If you're a bear; you just get thrown into not being effeminate, even get a few points towards manliness.

"I guess not...Huh....weird..." Jake said, still a bit confused about it but not thinking it was as odd as before. If Chris was fine with it then he was too after all; it wasn't his life. Still, he didn't know how the pup made the break between Mr. Vaughn and Ben--he'd never be able to like a teacher outside of class. A crash on the screen made him scowl, "You cheater!" he growled.

Chris yelped as the jaguar punched him in the shoulder--not hard, but still surprising. He just laughed it off though, "Boo-hoo, you looked away from the screen,"

"And you're just upset that's the only way you'll kill me,"

"Said the nobody kitty cat,"

"Loser,"

"You're playing as Zeus--you're the loser,"

"He's the king of the gods!"

"He's a sucky character!"

Jake scoffed, not knowing how the king of the gods could be weak. Of course, he was just a character thrown in for some fan-service, but that didn't make him weak! They played a match, him managing to get Chris down to his last life before dying once more.

"You're not going to win...Zeus is too slow,"

"Fine...I'll switch...but that is so stupid! I mean...he's a god, and he wields the freaking lightning bolt but he's slow?"

"If games were realistic they'd be more boring I bet," Chris said with a chuckle. After all, you'd get killed in one shot in games like Call of Duty.

"Well...probably," Jake said with a laugh, choosing a character who was about as powerful, but was much faster--the wolf would have trouble arrow-spamming him this time. "So...what is he like?"

"Ben?"

"Yeah. I mean...you know, outside of class,"

Chris didn't answer right away. Instead he was trying to think of what exactly the answer was. He didn't know. He really had no clue. Why?

At some point had Ben and Mr. Vaughn become the same person? "He's...just Ben," Chris said after a minute, shrugging his shoulders. "I mean...you know...he's a bit more open when he's outside of class. I can call him Ben and what not..." he said a bit hesitantly, wondering himself about the differences now. In class Ben could punish him, or was a bit stricter, but that was because he was a teacher: he had to be strict with some people. After all, he'd been strict with the bullies that had made fun of Jake--but he realized the jaguar didn't know that.

"I mean, does he still say the same stuff?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know," Jake said with a look of curiosity--wondering if the wolf really didn't know, "Like when we're in class and he makes the lame chemistry jokes,"

"I like the lame chemistry jokes,"

"That's because you're a nerd...so that's a yes. Does he still say things like 'it's tubular' or 'this is a gnarly reaction!'?" Jake said, imitating the bear--both in nature and loudness.

"Uhh...not really," Chris said, realizing that the bear spoke slightly differently, but it wasn't like the bear was different either. "And be quiet,"

"Tubular, Gnarly?" Marion asked, cocking his head and looking to the door where his son and son's friend were playing. After a moment he looked back at Ben, who had a perplexed look on his muzzle. "What's wrong,"

"I think they're making fun of me...." Ben said with a puzzled scowl.

"With 80's slang?" Marion asked with a smirk.

"I kind of thought that wasn't a weird way to speak...cool maybe?"

"Ben...you need to seriously rethink what 'cool' means today...I mean, I know better and I'm not a teacher: you're right in the war-zone of 'hip, cool' lingo,"

Ben frowned a bit, "Well...I think tubular is a gnarly word,"

***Back in the Present***

Chris looked between the two figures and then returned to his meal. It was very awkward right now. Ben was over for the weekend and they weren't talking. He knew they couldn't be a 'serious' couple and be like this all the time. Actually, he knew how they acted usually unlike now. Usually they would talk, as if they were best friends it seemed. It wasn't usually very, well... gay he thought. They talked about the kinds of things friends spoke about, but he knew that they were more than that.

But at the moment it wouldn't appear so. Right now Ben was looking straight down at his plate, not looking at either of the wolves. Chris looked at his father who was about as bad; separating the colors of the pasta and then making sure they were all in a line.

They hadn't fought. No one had messed up. Chris knew he hadn't done anything wrong. When the bear had come over he'd welcomed him, perhaps not extremely warmly, but then again, all he ever said was 'hey Ben' so it wasn't like he'd done something. His dad had embraced the bear which Ben returned, and they had smiled at one another--even kissing each other on the cheek when they'd thought he wasn't looking. So why was dinner so terribly awkward?

Hell, it wasn't like this was the first time Ben had even come over to eat! The bear had probably eaten with them about ten times maybe--and the conversations had flowed rather smoothly at those points. Of course, the bear wasn't leaving late at night this time. Was that it?

Ben had brought over a pie for desert. The bear had even dressed up pretty well. Chris had trouble not laughing when he first saw the bear--the look was so different from his usual one. The bear didn't have any plaid clothes on, which was strange, but more than that was that he had on a tie. The bear had on khaki pants, a light blue button-up, and what looked like a dress coat. Maybe his having to stifle his laughter was the problem, had he done something to upset the way things usually were?

It was unlike the bear to ever dress up. In fact Chris couldn't recount a time he'd seen Ben without a plaid shirt on--if he'd been young and gullible it wouldn't be too farfetched to suggest that one was sown onto the bear.

During chemistry today the bear had seemed normal enough. Ben had even talked with him during a bit of it; though he tried not to do it a lot. Well, not the talking part, they talked often enough now, but usually after class, and when it wasn't very crowded. Some of the staff and students knew, but it wasn't a big thing--not yet. It wouldn't' be a big thing though, would it? The bear didn't like acknowledging him in class because of his relationship with his father. The wolf knew that it wasn't cause the bear was embarrassed, but he just knew how easy social drama was to stir up. They would often talk after classes.

Chris wasn't sure why they were being so strange right now. There was no doubt that the two could easily talk about a plethora of things. Usually when the two would come back from a date they wouldn't seem to ever shut-up about one thing or another.

Chris coughed on a bit of corn and stood up.

"Do you need something? I could get it for you," Ben said, a bit quick and nervously; even getting up a bit.

"No thanks Ben...I can get it," Chris replied. It felt nice to call the bear by his first name. It was beginning to feel nice on his tongue even. The bear was Mr. Vaughn, that much was very true, but the bear was also Ben--that much was very true also. Normally he had trouble addressing Ben as Mr. Vaughn during school.

Marion looked over at Ben who was frowning and really distraught. When the bear caught his eye he smiled at him. They didn't speak and eventually he did manage to get a smile back from Ben, though it hardly held any confidence.

Marion wished he wasn't as bad off as Ben. It was his own house and he felt like he was a stranger. The only person who seemed to be 'normal' was Chris, who he could tell was confused by their introverted selves. It wasn't that either of them had had a bad day, well, so he thought. On any normal day they would probably be talking about their weeks, the current news, what they wanted in life, or anything that they usually talked about.

The truth of it was that Marion knew he was just as nervous as Ben was. It was sad, and in some ways humiliatingly funny. He knew that if the two of them didn't see this as so strange that they'd be in the depths of conversation. It wasn't even because of Chris's presence. Once when Ben had taken the pup to see a movie they had no trouble continuing a constant flow of conversation.

The two stared at each other for a bit. Ben could hear the fizzle of the soda as Chris waited for it to go down so he could add more. He had no idea what was up. Was this just him being nervous? He looked at Marion again who gave him another smile.

Chris sighed and moved back to the table. He sat down and took a sip from the soda, listening to the sounds of his own throat. One thing was for sure, if this was what dinners were going to be then he didn't want Ben moving in. Sure he wasn't going to say that, but this was just terrible. It was odd enough having a new person at the table, but if it was going to be odd and worse then Ben could just stay away he thought. At least when it was him and his father they would speak throughout the meal; even with Ben he would talk quite a bit.

Marion opened his mouth to compliment Ben on the dish he'd brought and stopped. He had no reason to stop next to the fact that he didn't know if it was a good enough conversation starter. And well, it wasn't like he could ask Ben how he'd made it, or any culinary questions really. From the breakfast in bed he'd realized the bear wasn't a chef by anymeans--not to say he was bad. Marion just knew that if he'd thought about it--and it had been his own place and he knew how to get the materials--he would've cooked a grand meal for Ben in bed. Still, the romanticism of the gesture had far outweighed the lack of 'umph' to any of the dishes. Things were never this difficult before--not even on his first date.

"So..." Chris said and watched how to the two nearly jumped at his words. He waited a moment and then decided that even if he had to start it would be good enough, "You two really suck at dating,"

"Chris," Marion said in a scolding voice.

"What?" Chris asked. He knew his dad wasn't happy with how he said it, but he also didn't like the silence anymore, "It's just bad. I'm on the couch playing games and you two come home from a date and I can't even listen to the dialogue between characters because you two never shut-up, but now I could practically hear a pen drop down the street...I mean, it's not fair to me if you ask me,"

Ben felt a strange smile creep up his muzzle, a bit of his teacher side coming out at the moment. He couldn't help but wish that students would show that kind of language and emotion in school, even if it was anger. He knew it wasn't an actual anger on the pup's part, but he did know what it was like to have a good part of a story interrupted by unwelcome guest--such as his students coming in while he was reading a good book. It wasn't a bad anger; it was justifiable. "I...guess you're right..."

Marion felt his ears twitch and he looked over at Ben. He saw the smile on the bear's muzzle and almost immediately forgot about the fact he didn't like how his son had addressed the problem, "Well, I guess..."

Chris rolled his eyes and looked over at his dad, "May I please be excused?"

Marion stared at his son and then nodded, "Sure...wash your plate and put it in the dishwasher,"

"Ok," Chris replied, getting up. He wouldn't have minded hearing some conversation but at the sametime he'd finished his meal and wanted to play some games for a bit. He knew that at eleven they were all going to see some late-night movie, and this would give him a bit of time to play games.

Marion watched as his son left and gave a slight chuckle, "Well...I'll have to talk to him about the methodology, but...he's right...we're acting way too nervous,"

"Sorry,"

Marion shook his head, "It's me too...it won't surprise me if Chris never wants to eat supper with us again,"

Ben frowned but couldn't help but chuckle too. "Well...maybe lunch tomorrow will be better,"

"So...you want to stay the night?" Marion asked, smiling a bit.

"I didn't bring a bag of clothes because I thought it made me look cool,"

Marion looked at the bear and chuckled, "Well...I guess it's too late for really us to eat a diner and talk, but...would you like to help me clean up the kitchen?"

Ben stood up and nodded, "Sure,"

Marion took the dishes over to the sink and began to wash off the left over bits and pieces of food from them. He saw out of his peripheral vision as the bear set down the rest of the plates and cup at his side.

"Where do you put the salt?"

"Salt and pepper go in second from bottom on the right hand of the cabinet. The tea goes on the uppermost level of the fridge. Hot sauce goes in the left side and third from the bottom of the fridge. If you wouldn't mind you can put a top on the rest of the rice and just put it wherever there is space. There is saran wrap opposite side of the kitchen from the salt and pepper. Oh, and don't worry about the cheese grater--I'll put that away,"

Ben chuckled and nodded. The wolf had effectively answered every question he would need to know for his chores. He got to work and watched the wolf work as he went. As he put things away he made sure to make mental notes. If he was going to be living here then he wanted to know where things went.

Marion could hear the sound of his son's game loading and smiled. He knew that his son had been not only trying to help, but, to also to get away from them. His son was still a pup; he wanted to play games and do other teenage things--things Marion wasn't sure he remembered anymore. It only took a minute before he gave an 'umph' as Ben's weight pressed against him and the bear's arms encircled him. "Did you finish everything?"

Ben chuckled and kissed the wolf on top of the head, "Of course dearie,"

Marion scoffed, "Really?" he asked, meaning more about the nick-name than if the bear had really completed everything.

Ben shook his head and laughed a little, "Don't worry I'm kidding. You're still just honey...dearie would be pushing it I think,"

"Good...I'd hate to stop calling you Bearbutt as punishment,"

Ben scoffed in return and pulled on the wolf, "You wouldn't,"

"Don't test me...Ben,"

"Marion,"

"Chemistry teacher,"

"Drug dealer,

"Drug maker," Marion shot back.

"Hey, it was just aspirin--ask Chris...he got a nice grade for the lab-report,"

Marion laughed and dried his paws off on a towel. He felt Ben jerk on him a bit and grunted, feeling the air escape him a bit. "This is an unfair position,"

Ben chuckled deeply, "I think you'd like this position with a few changes,"

Marion felt his heart jump a few paces. Still, he pushed back into the bear, "Well...I guess we can find out later,"

Ben smiled and let go, "Yeah...later..."

Marion turned around and kissed the bear on the cheek, "You can wait, right?"

"Of course....if I couldn't do you think you'd still be dressed?"

Marion rolled his eyes a bit. He kissed the bear quickly before walking by him, "Good Bearbutt, now would you like some coffee?"

"Sure,"

Marion nodded and moved over to the coffee pot. He heard the clatter of dishes and looked back to see Ben grabbing two small ceramic cups for them. "Now I don't remember telling you where we keep the china,"

"I just have to think about how you would think and after that it's pretty simple," Ben replied.

"Oh...and where would I keep the pots and pans?"

"Umm...under the stove?"

"Nope," Marion replied as he took a cup from the bear.

Ben looked back towards the stove and cocked his head, "Hmm, where then?"

"You'll have to stick around and find out,"

Ben chuckled and let the wolf fill up his cup, "I think that's a good idea," he said and followed Marion back to the table, "Fancy cups..."

"You've had coffee here befo--That's how you knew where the cups were!" Marion growled at the bear, seeing the playful smirk that was etched over Ben's lips. He wasn't sure why it didn't seem like that. After all, Ben had come over so often that the even when Chris had a friend over at one point the bear had stopped by. Still, now that the bear was over to stay--even if only for two days--it was very different feeling.

"Don't blame me for having a better memory than you," Ben said, taking a sip of his drink and sitting down. The cups were really fancy though--he didn't have actual china at his place. Despite what Marion might say, the wolf certainly had some nice stuff in his house; and he was about as protective of his kitchen and silverware as a stereotyped wife of the 1920's. They took a few sips from their respective drinks, both letting the silence build up to an appropriate level. "You think he's really OK with us?"

Marion looked over at the bear then to the living room, "I don't know yet...he's acting like this is fine,"

"Well...that's good,"

"Yeah...good enough for now," Marion replied with a small frown. He had told the bear that Chris still didn't consider him family, but he also knew Ben was fine with that. The bear understood that it wasn't easy to step into the pup's life. They still had a bit to go--but they could cross that distance; he knew they could.