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Another week, another chapter! Here's Part 9 - Hopefully the way this has been formatted proves to make this chapter a little easier to read. Do let me know if this is better!

Enjoy! Thoughts/comments are appreciated as always. :)

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Part 9 - Delays

The wafting aroma of fried eggs greeted Nathan the morning after his first evening with Alexei. He looked around his quarters half-lidded, stretching contently while the light of a new day bled through gaps in the large drapes. "Damn," he muttered, reading the time as '10:26' from his phone on the bedside table. "Ten hours sleep. I really was tired."

Nathan yawned, poking at his ears to check that his Normaliser hadn't fallen out during the night. Satisfied, he slid out of bed and made the short walk to the dresser housing his clothes. The husky threw on a blue t-shirt and some loose-fitting trousers, all the while thinking about how difficult resting up back home had become with the demands of his job weighing him down. 'Home,' he thought, the word sparking his memory.

Nathan grabbed up his phone and depressed the call button, verbally commanding it to dial his parents' number. So swept up in the excitement and novelty of being here in Velika with Alexei, the need to call them upon arriving had completely slipped his mind. If there was one thing he wanted to avoid, it was the inevitable conversation with a panicked mother and irate father regarding his failure to do that one small thing.

He sat down upon the soft mattress of his bed, listening to the ringing tone. Only when it stopped with a click did Nathan remember about the four-hour time difference.

"H-hello?"

"Hi, Mum." He cringed at the grogginess in his mother's voice. "It's Nathan."

"Oh! Hello, dear. I was hoping you'd call."

"Sorry for not calling before now, and for calling so early. I got caught up in everything after arriving in Ve-- Estordor." A short delay followed, the sound of his mother shifting up in bed rustling through the headset.

"That's okay," she yawned. "Why are you up so early? It's six-thirty on a Sunday."

'She just had to ask,' Nathan thought, searching for yet another lie. "My friend is... taking me down to the beachfront. He says the sunrise over the bay is a sight I've just gotta see."

"Oh, that sounds lovely."

"Yeah, should be." He sighed inwardly, relieved that she didn't appear willing to press further.

"I'd put your father on, but he's fast asleep. He was on the lateshift at the factory last night, so I won't wake him. I'll let him know you called."

"That's fine. Thanks, Mum." Another wave of relief flowed through him, buoyed by the fact he'd not have have to explain himself to his father directly. "Sorry again. I'll let you go back to sleep."

"Thank you for calling, Nathan. You have fun with your friend. Take care."

"I will, and you. Bye."

No sooner had Nathan hung up than the bedroom door squeaked open, leaving him little chance to mull over the niggling feeling that these lies to his parents and boss would eventually come back to haunt him. The sound of Alexei's footsteps thumped from outside as he approached the closed curtains of the husky's quarters.

"Nate?" his host spoke softly. "Are you awake yet?"

"I'm up. G'morning."

A louder thud followed, shortly before Alexei's muzzle slowly parted the drapes. "I was wondering when you would wake."

"Sorry." Nathan stood to walk over to the prone wolf. "I hope you weren't waiting on me."

"No, it is okay. I am happy, because it means the bed is good."

"It's fantastic, Alex. I can't remember the last time I slept so well, or for so long." He stopped at Alexei's nose. "Did you have anything planned for us today?"

"I am sorry, but there is slight problem."

"Why? What's up?"

"Weather is very bad. Much rain and with cold winds." The wolf moved his paw past the curtain and into the side-table compartment, gesturing for Nathan to climb aboard. "I did hope we could go into the city today, but now I think this would not be so good."

"I see," the husky replied, sitting himself down in his host's palm. In all honesty, he didn't feel the same level of disappointment as Alexei apparently did; the joy of simply being here with him overriding everything else. "Never mind. We've still got three whole weeks ahead of us to fill."

"You are right. We shall talk about it over breakfast." Alexei picked himself up from the floor with Nathan in paw. "We can still have a fun day."

The pair sat down to a meal of fried eggs and toast, torrential rain rattling against the window as they plotted their itinerary for the day. Between them, they decided that some daytime gaming, evening movies and getting something ordered in for dinner would be their plan of attack for the day. While these activities would all be possible back home, the prospect of being able to enjoy the experience with Alexei made Nathan look forward to them with a great deal more excitement.

Once he'd finished breakfast, the husky took a moment to send a brief text message to Tasha, feeling the need to let her know he'd arrived safely and was having a great time so far with Alexei. Nathan also fired a similar message off to Chris; the otter from the ferry, finishing it by stating his hope that Velika was treating him and his family equally well.

"I just remembered," the wolf stated, finishing the last piece of toast on his plate. "Erik will be here to work soon."

"On a Sunday?" Nathan replied from his small seat atop the large table. "Is the shop open?

"No, it is his choice. He comes in sometimes to do extra work."

"Wouldn't catch me working on Sunday by choice," he scoffed. "I throw enough hours my boss's way as it is."

"I think he likes to. I am not sure why." Alexei shook his head with a snicker, as much at a loss to explain his apprentice's work-ethic as Nathan was to understand it. "He lives very close, and I pay him extra. I am thinking this helps."

"Paid for overtime? Got any jobs open?"

The large wolf laughed. "Sorry. No jobs for a little husky."

Nathan forced a chuckle, a part of him finding his host's 'little husky' quip a touch condescending, as if suggesting his small stature made him incapable. He swiftly pushed that thought from his head. 'He didn't mean it like that, I'm sure.'

"Would you still like to meet him?" Alexei stood from the table with both his and his guest's empty plates. "Be warned though."

Nathan's ears half-dipped as his host moved over to the sink. "Warned?"

"I think he will want to take picture as souvenir of the Polcian he has met."

"As long as he doesn't want to keep me as the souvenir," the husky huffed with a smirk. "That's fine."

"He would not. Erik is my worker, yes, but he is also a good friend. You can trust him."

"I'm just kidding," Nathan replied, watching the wolf turn and pad back to the table. "I'm sure if he's anything to do with you, he'll be a nice guy."

"Here is the workshop," Alexei stated, opening the side-door at the bottom of the staircase leading up to his apartment. They entered into a crowded work area, moving towards a pair of workbenches at its centre. Around the edges of the room sat a variety of machinery; saws, sanders and a whole host of others that Nathan couldn't identify.

"Cool," Nathan gasped, the overwhelming scent of sawdust in the air tickling his nose. A violent sneeze followed, almost knocking him off-balance within the wolf's cupped paws.

"Bless you," Alexei cooed, rubbing his little guest's nose with a finger pad while approaching an open archway in the left-hand wall. "Come, I will show you some of what we make."

A small shop area at the front of the building awaited them beyond the opening. Here, tables, chairs and a whole host of other wooden goods sat on display.

"This stuff looks amazing," Nathan said, casting his eyes upon a leaf-patterned picture frame positioned upon the windowsill at the front of the store. "How long have you been doing this exactly?"

"At thirteen, I began to help in the store," Alexei answered, moving the husky closer to the display. "At sixteen, ten years ago, I finished school and became apprentice of my grandfather."

"Wow, that long? It certainly shows. I love the patterning on this."

"Thank you," the wolf replied in little more than a whisper, appearing embarrassed by Nathan's flattery. "I have more pieces locked up in office, if you would like to see? They are even better than this."

"Sure!"

Alexei carried his guest back through the archway, padding over towards a sturdy-looking door at the back of the workshop. Nathan's eyes widened as he caught sight of a pile of uncut lumber beneath a window looking out onto the backyard. It resembled a felled forest of trees, rather that the modest stack of timber the wolf likely viewed it as.

"Sorry, Nate," Alexei stated, nudging him into his left paw and retrieving a key from his pocket with his right.

Nathan watched his host unlock and open the door with a twist of its handle. He resisted a giggle, struggling to get over this old-fashioned style of door; a far cry from the automated, biometrically-secured versions back home in Polcia.

The office itself proved to be a small extension attached to the main building's rear. Inside, an aged desk scattered with paperwork rested beneath a window in the back wall. A selection of furnishings even more impressive than those displayed outside sat arranged throughout the remaining space.

"I see what you mean," Nathan stated, looking down from Alexei's paw at a highly-polished pair of armchairs. The tops of their circular backrests were decorated with intricately-crafted rosebuds, fashioned so that they gave the illusion of growing out from the chair itself. "These chairs are beautiful."

"Nate, these nice words will make my head big."

"It's already pretty big." He giggled shortly before adding, "I mean, you're already pretty big."

"How dare you," Alexei huffed in mock indignation, taking a seat in his office chair while placing the husky upon the desktop.

"Haven't you heard of filing?" Nathan asked playfully from within the sea of disorganised paperwork. "Some of these stacks are almost as tall as I am!"

The wolf snorted. "Maybe you are just little?"

"Maybe, but there's nothing little about this lot," he retorted, poking at a pile of papers that came level with his waist.

"Finance working... I am not good at. In the old days, my grandfather did this."

"Oh, hey," Nathan said softly as Alexei's muzzle dipped despondently. "I'm just playing. Sorry."

That won a happier expression from the big wolf. "It is okay."

"You know." He scratched at his chin thoughtfully. "If you wanted... maybe I could help you with this stuff?"

"Really?"

"Why not?" Nathan gestured with a beckoning paw for his host to lift him back up. "I might not be able to craft all this wonderful furniture, but I work with numbers and accounts for a living. I'm sure I can help out with your bookkeeping."

Alexei's ears flicked, his wagging tail thumping audibly against the back of his chair. "I would like this, but I think you would not want to work on vacation?"

"I wouldn't mind," the husky stated as he ascended, scanning the giant heaps of paperwork that constituted the shop's accounts. "I'd just need you to translate it first. You'd probably still have to write, too. Those pens look pretty heavy."

Alexei's body shook with laughter, causing his guest to sway in his palm. "Okay. I will ask you for this. Thank you."

The pair chatted away for the next ten minutes, until the clunk of the shop's front door interrupted.

"Come, Nate. That will be Erik."

They exited back into the workshop, finding a male snow leopard hanging his rain-soaked jacket upon a peg next the archway opposite.

A sense of dread bubbled in the pit of Nathan's stomach, gazing up at the huge cat now approaching. Even though he knew him to be a colleague to Alexei, and a friend no less, he couldn't shake his discomfort.

The two Velikans stopped alongside the central workbenches, greeting each other in their native tongue. After a brief exchange, Erik turned his attention to the little husky in Alexei's paw.

"You must be Nathan," said the black-spotted, white leopard, switching to Polcian effortlessly.

"Y-yeah."

"I'm Erik." He smiled, extending an index finger. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Nathan almost took a step back from the huge digit heading his way, stopping himself once he understood the meaning of the gesture. "Likewise." He held out a paw in return, wrapping it fully around the cat's finger as if to mimic a handshake.

"Alexei has told me all about you."

"Has he now?" Nathan replied with a grin, his nervousness fading.

"Oh, yeah. He--"

"Okay, Erik," Alexei snapped with an awkward chuckle, stepping forward and bumping into his colleague. "You wished to catch up on some work?"

"In a minute," the leopard replied in his near-perfect Polcian. "I'm greeting Nathan first."

"Fine," the wolf grumbled, setting his guest down on the workbench closest while muffling a short utterance to Erik in Velikan, which in turn drew a casual smirk in response. "Nate, I must arrange some things in office quickly. Stay and chat, okay?"

"Sure."

Alexei beamed down at Nathan, shortly before firing a warning glare at his apprentice as he padded off to his office.

"What was that about?" Nathan asked, craning his neck up to meet the snow leopard's green eyes.

"It was..." Erik tapped his lips thoughtfully. "Nothing." He crossed his arms and rested them on the sawdusty workstation, steadily lowering himself to the husky's level. "Let's just say... Alexei has been looking forward to you coming here for real long time."

"Glad to hear." Nathan replied jovially, his tail wagging lazily. "I wouldn't want to impose on him."

"That, I wouldn't worry about."

The pair spent the next few minutes deep in conversation. Nathan regaled the leopard with the story of how he first met Alexei online while Erik, at the husky's request, spoke more about himself. He described how he'd also left school at sixteen, working various odd jobs for almost two years before becoming the wolf's apprentice here a little under a year ago. He didn't speak of the job as being a calling, or something that bettered him as a person like Alexei might have, but he acknowledged it preferable to his previous roles stacking shelves and mopping floors.

"You must enjoy this job a lot though," Nathan suggested. "To come in on a Sunday."

"I do, but..." Erik clasped his paws, appearing to tune out briefly. "It's just nice to get out of the house sometimes." He smiled, reaching around to pull a phone from his jeans' back pocket. "Excuse me, Nathan?"

"Please, call me Nate."

"Nate?" His smile stretched wider. "May I take a photo? Except for one of my Polcian-language teachers back at school, and the customer we used to have here, I've never really met a Polcian face to face."

"Of course." The husky stifled a laugh, amused at the idea of being some kind of attraction. "Alex said you might want to."

"Great!" Erik readied his device, snapping off a couple of shots before motioning towards a hammer resting a little further along the workstation. "Would you mind posing with that? For the size difference."

"Okay," Nathan did finally chuckle, pacing over to the discarded tool.

He took one final photo, showing the canine sitting atop the hammer's plastic handle as if it were a low bench. "That's great. Thanks so much, Nate."

Alexei walked back in a short time later, any trace of annoyance towards his apprentice long gone. "Shall we go back upstairs, Nate?"

"Sounds good," Nathan answered, turning to Erik. "It was great to meet you."

"Same." The leopard nodded, beginning to ready the workspace as the wolf scooped his guest up from it. "I'm glad my Polcian was good enough to speak to you."

"Good enough!?" Nathan blurted from Alexei's paw. "Trust me, it's probably better than a good number of people back home."

"Thank you! It helps we learn a lot in school, now that so many Polcians are coming to live here. I don't think it was taught so much in the olden days, was it Alex?"

"Olden days?" the wolf huffed. "What is your age, nineteen? I am only seven years older."

"Seven years? That's a lifetime!"

He sneered back jokingly. "No, teaching of Polcian in school was not so good when I was cub. I learn more from television and through computer."

"Well hey," Nathan interjected, "your Polcian's better than my Velikan."

"You know some Velikan?" Erik's eyes widened. "Come on, I want to hear!"

"Hey, now I didn't say--"

"Yes, Nate," Alexei chimed. "I wish to hear this also."

"Okay." The husky looked back and forth between the smirking muzzles of the two Velikans towering above, the wolf's paw feeling more like a stage at this point. "-Priv...Privyet.-"

"-Privyet?-" Erik replied. "Hello to you, too. You have more?"

Nathan murmured and shook his head. "-Niet.-"

"No? That's too bad."

"I think it was good try," Alexei stated, ruffling the little husky's head fur. "Before three weeks are finished, we will all speak Velikan to each other."

The trio shared a chuckle, joking and chatting a short while longer until the wolf carried himself and his guest upstairs, leaving Erik to his work.

For Nathan and Alexei, the afternoon followed the plans made over breakfast. They headed to the bedroom for a session of 'Against All Odds' together. The wolf played on his computer, while his guest settled down with his laptop atop a cushion he'd placed alongside his keyboard. They played together for a good couple of hours, relishing in the opportunity to be in the same room while doing so. However, despite the marked improvement in their performance, brought about by their proximity, vanquishing the final boss and winning freedom for themselves and their faction remained impossible.

Erik eventually joined them upstairs to hang out. He also used the opportunity to resume his friendly taunting of Alexei. "For someone who plays a lot of games, you're pretty bad at this."

"Quiet, Erik."

"Maybe you should set it to easy mode?"

"Silence, Erik, or you shall work all weekends for rest of your life!"

"You're dead again."

Before he left to head home, the leopard made sure to drive home to Nathan how much of a pleasure it had been to have met him. The husky felt the privilege mutual, and told Erik he was content to be able to consider him the second Velikan he'd met whom he could put his trust in.

In the evening, the pair sat themselves down in front of the television to take in a movie, enjoying a pizza they'd ordered in to share together.

"So, this is nine slices to one." Alexei stated, exaggeratedly counting his fingers as if performing a challenging piece of arithmetic. "I think this makes me the winner."

"More like nine-and-a-half," Nathan muttered, glaring at the vast, empty pizza box sitting to the left of them upon the sofa. "You talk as if it was ever a contest. The slices of that thing were almost as big as me!" He hiccupped, flopping against his host's thigh with a groan. "I think even a half-slice was too much. Feel so very sick."

Alexei grumbled sympathetically, wrapping a paw around the little husky. "Will you be okay?"

Nathan nosed at the big grey wall hugging against his torso. "I'll live. Just make sure I don't eat anything else tonight."

"This is a shame, since there is ice-cream," the wolf announced, leading his guest to puff out his cheeks and lurch forward, as if about to throw up. This in turn drew a bout of laughter from his host.

The husky gazed up at his host. "You really have ice-cream?"

"No." The grin on Alexei's white-tinted, grey muzzle faded and the paw holding Nathan moved away. "Did you want some?"

"No, I didn't... I just wanted to make sure you weren't hoping to offer--"

"Because I have other things."

"Alex, don't panic. I really am full." Nathan gave a quick hug to the giant wolf's leg. "You don't have to play the perfect host, okay?"

"Okay, sorry."

"No need to apologise. I'm just letting you know, as much as I appreciate your wanting to take good care of me, you don't have to overdo it." He squeezed again. "I'm happy just to be here with you." Nathan felt himself flush, those last words slipping out far too readily."

"This is good to hear," Alexei answered with a look of joy, clasping the canine tightly against his thigh.

Once the wolf had let up his affectionate hold, Nathan turned his attention back to the movie playing out on screen; a fast-paced, poorly-acted shoot-em-up whose plot contained more holes than the countless bad guys its protagonist had unceremoniously blown away. Unable to focus, he craned his head back up to see Alexei also struggling to keep his eyes forward.

"It is very cold this evening," the big wolf announced. "Do you not think?"

"A little, I guess."

"Wait here, Nate," he replied, standing up and heading off into the bedroom before returning with a huge, white and blue plaid-patterned blanket. "This will keep us warm."

In one swift motion, Alexei sat back down and draped the cover over himself, the jerk of the cushion bouncing Nathan to his feet. Once situated, his big paw emerged from beneath the blanket and plucked the husky up, moving him to rest level with his stomach upon a huge, fabric hillside.

"This is comfortable?" Alexei used the paw still covered to fold and wrap the blanket around his little guest, leaving his head exposed.

"It's great, Alex," Nathan stated, shuffling beneath the fabric. He gave a quiet, contented grunt as the soothing heat of the lupine's torso radiated into his back.

"Good," came the reply, along with a firmer squeeze.

They sat this way for another half hour, leaving Nathan struggling even more to concentrate on the sub-par movie drawing towards its conclusion. It didn't take him long to admit defeat on this front, choosing instead to snuggle up against Alexei within the crease of the blanket. While his body relaxed, his mind rolled thoughts over at ever-quickening speed.

'This is it. Come on, tell him you like him!'

'I can't, what if he's just being friendly?'

'Friendly!? You're curled up together beneath a duvet and if he hugs you any harder, you'll be struggling to breathe. This all started from your long hug before bed last night, it's gone beyond friendly!'

Nathan twisted to look up at Alexei, hoping to gauge his reaction as he upped the enthusiasm with which he cuddled against him. He didn't get much, barely a move of the head as the wolf kept his gaze upon the television.

'What if the idea of a mixed-relationship offends him?'

'What if it doesn't?'

'I've only been here a day. It's too soon!'

'You've known him for two whole years and have felt this way for more than half that. No, it's not.'

'I can't listen to you. You're just telling me what I want to hear.'

'...I am you!'

"Nate?"

The husky shook his head, cutting off his thoughts. "Huh?"

Alexei's orange eyes had begun to peer back down at him from above. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just... I..." He scratched at an ear, sighing. 'I can't tell him, not yet.'

The wolf cocked his head, filling the silence once Nathan trailed off. "This movie is very bad."

"It's not great," he scoffed, happy for a change of topic. "I've seen worse though."

"I can put on another--" Suddenly, the shrill ring of Alexei's house phone cut him short. "Sorry, Nate." He delicately moved both the blanket and his guest from off himself, placing them down upon the couch before pacing over to the table by the front door to answer the call.

Nathan used the break to take a quick look around from atop the sofa, all the while listening to his host converse in Velikan. He couldn't help but notice the anger that crept into Alexei's tone the longer the call went on, and decided he'd ask if everything was okay once the call had concluded.

During his scan of the area, Nathan spied something of interest upon the top shelf of the huge bookcase stretching up towards the ceiling. A familiar picture sat framed among the other photos and keepsakes there. He stood up, fighting his way out from the enormous blanket and negotiating the sofa cushions to get a better view.

Standing by the right arm of the couch, the husky could now identify the image; a photo of Arlone's skyscraper-dominated skyline that he'd captured and sent to Alexei electronically as a birthday gift last year. Nathan was surprised to see it on display. In fact, he'd always felt a little guilty for having to send this picture in lieu of a proper present.

"I really liked this gift." He turned upon hearing Alexei, just in time to see him reach for the photo and pick it up. "I was very happy to get."

The wolf sat back down next to his guest, causing him to bounce from the impact once again. As he landed, Nathan had to admit to himself that the sensation of getting thrown around had become pretty fun. "I'm glad to hear you liked it, Alex. It wasn't much."

"It is very much to me." Alexei replied, wrapping himself and the husky back up in the blanket. "I am sad because I can never visit your city, but with picture, I can imagine."

Those words left a knot in Nathan's chest. "Maybe I can send you more pictures? Maybe of other places, too, like my hometown?" A wall of fabric pressed upon his entire body as the wolf hugged him tight to his stomach.

"That would be very kind of you."

'Yeah, this is just friendly.' Nathan's inner-voice piped up again. 'Just tell him how you feel!'

'Stop it, I can't. Not yet.'

"Who was on the phone?" he asked, trying to quell his internal conflict. "You sounded a little upset. Is everything okay?"

"All is fine. It was just grandfather. He asked if he could come here tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

"Yes. I told him he cannot, that we are going into the city. He demanded for tomorrow, but I said he will have to wait. This was the reason for upset."

"I see."

"Do not worry." Alexei hugged at the little husky again. "He accepted. He will come two days after this, Wednesday."

"It'll be nice though, I'm sure. For you to get a visit and for me to meet him." Nathan's words defied his true feelings of anxiety, developed following the way the wolf had spoken about his grandfather over dinner last night, as well as now.

"He is just coming to check up again."

"Maybe he just wants to pay you a visit?"

"I do not think this is main reason."

"...You think he's coming to make sure you're running things well?"

Alexei glanced down at the husky and paused for a moment. "This, with other reasons."

"It'll be fine." Nathan grinned. "Whatever happens, we'll get through it."

"Let us hope." The big wolf smiled in return, his tension appearing to leave him through a sigh as he looked back to the television. "End credits. Would you like to watch another movie?"

"Sounds great, Alex."

The pair spent the remainder of the evening watching a bizarre, yet enjoyable Velikan odd couple comedy, one in which a horse and fox embarked on a surreal cross-country road trip where everything that could go wrong, did. By the time the film had finished, its actors had overcome all obstacles to arrive at their destination, both Nathan and his host were ready to sleep.

"I hope you enjoyed your day," Alexei said, watching the little husky clamber up to his sleeping quarters and into bed.

"I did, Alex. I hope you did too."

"It was wonderful. If the rest of your trip is this good... I will be very happy." The wolf hesitated with his final words, seemingly caught up with other thoughts.

"You okay?"

"Yes, all is fine," he replied, still sounding unsure. "I wish to ask... Are you okay in your bed?" That question pushed Nathan's brain into overdrive.

'He's asking if you want to sleep with him in his bed!'

'Or, he's just asking if the bed's okay.'

'He already asked that this morning!'

'You know he worries too much about things like that.'

'Just say you want to sleep with him!'

He searched those amber, lupine eyes from his bed, hoping to find the right answer. "Yeah... yes, I'm... the bed's fine, Alex."

A slight pause followed, Alexei's neutral expression turning into the beginnings of a smile. "Okay... Good night, Nate... sleep well."

The curtain closed before Nathan could reply, "You too, Alex." He listened to the sound of the big lupine shuffling quickly into his bed up above. The bedroom turned to darkness soon after.

Nathan held his paws to his eyes and threw his head down to the pillow with a cursing groan. 'You're a damned idiot, you know that?'

The incessant chatter of his conscience replaying that moment over and over, searching for the true meaning behind the wolf's words would keep him tossing and turning that night. Exhaustion caught up to despairing husky eventually, guiding him into the merciful peace of the dreamworld.