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Dirty Laundry

Chapter Ten

By Roofles

“Hey, Mikhail!” Robbie waved towards the tiger next door. The human needed to stand on his tippy toes in order to reach the top of the fence to pull himself up enough to look over into their neighbor’s yard.

On the outskirts of the city, there were numerous suburban neighborhoods that were a winding, confusing mess that left even those living their needing to use a GPS just to get home. The matching yards, cookie cutter houses and white picket fences didn’t help matters. A winding maze that was, in its own way, a perfect image for the nearby city where most those living here worked.

Mice in a maze, trying to get the cheese at the end…

Everyone pretended to get along. Talking about their neighbors behind their back, reporting them to the home owner association and local meetings while smiling and waving in front of them; all because they had carelessly left their garbage out a day too long or dared to try to decorate their home in a colorful, unique way.

It was where Logan grew up with his family. Another human family mixed into the lot and lost in the crowd. Their home disappearing like a tree in a forest, lost amongst all the others. Just another white wooden building with asphalt shingles roof, green yard, and a fence just big enough to give one the semblance of privacy in such a neighborhood as this.

A place where everyone talked. Just not usually to your face.

“Oh, hey there Robbie…” Mikhail gave a half hearted wave, forcing a smile on his weary face from the back yard. He was busy doing the families chores. The feline tossing the bag of trash into one of the two tin trashcans out back barely looking over at the human child. They had a special lock on the trash cans to keep feral animals out.

The idea was amusing to the predator.

The idea a feral animal would pick through their scraps like that, like an animal… Mikhail kept such thoughts to himself. His parents didn’t like it when he showed that side, especially around the neighbors. He had quickly picked up what he could do and what he should do. A simple but important distinction between what was allowed and what wasn’t in their society.

It all just served as a lesson Mikhail would use later on in life; how to fit in when he didn’t belong. A tiger amongst sheep.

The tiger’s diet consisted mostly of meat and his parents, and grandparents, refused to eat anything but. It left their trash stinking of old decaying meat and the stench of rotting flesh… Something the tiger was getting very used too these days. The bones all but picked clean. His grandparents were from the old world, or so his parents like to say; their traditional culture bleeding into his life with them moving in. They were in their final years and it was up to them to take care of them until they passed on.

It was common back home for the elderly to stay with the oldest child before their passing.

Mikhail hated it. Hated them. But found their ideas to be interesting nonetheless. The ideas of old, of how “things were” or “should be” kept him up late at night. Thinking. Thinking of what could be… dark thoughts while bones threatened to burst out of the trash bag as Mikhail stuffed it into the tin can, lost in the murky gray waters. He hated cleaning up the mess when the bags did rip and wished his cheapskate of a father would afford to stronger kind of trash bags.

They could easily afford it. His father worked as an IT director at some big company in town while his mother was a doctor. They could afford to buy nice trash bags, what with the amount of bones they left after their meals…

Trash bags that could be used for oh so many things…

“Where’s Logan?” Mikhail was always sure to ask, sooner rather than later. The older tiger didn’t enjoy hanging out with Logan’s younger brother and wished Robbie hadn’t taken such an interest in him. Still, the trusting kid always did allow him to know where Logan was at.

He was useful and that, at least, was enough of a reason to put up with just how annoying he could be otherwise. Taking such a fancy interest in their strange neighbor next door, seemingly unaware that people like Mikhail and his family ate lost little boys like him for breakfast…

That would be like a human playing with a wolf pup. It was only asking for problems to arise.

Or at least, that’s how his grandparents stories went.

So many stories from back home in India. About how things used to be. How the tigers used to rule over the other species. Their strength and regal standing showcased in most of Asia and Russia until the turn of the century happened; where technology made such advances that even a prey species like a rabbit or hare could fight back with a gun.

And how, ever since, predators like them began to suffer for the crimes of their ancestors. Though, Mikhail, like his grandparents, didn’t see them as crimes. Just the “natural order of things.” The strong to rule over and prey on the weak.

And just another reason why Mikhail hated Logan’s younger brother. Whereas Logan was capable, for a human, his younger brother was not. Stupid, slow, unable to pick up things without being directly told and explained… Mikhail was sure he was suffering from some sort of learning disorder.

Weak.

He’d have been taken out of the gene pool a hundred years ago. Now? Now his parents coddled and protected him; while he bled them dry. Like a parasite…and his brother, Logan, was the one to suffer most. Always been seen as the second child, despite being the first born. The more capable one forced to take care of and protect his weak, helpless brother.

“How things have changed…” Mikhail grumbled wiping off his paws before turning back towards the fence with a forced, fake smile that was lost on the younger human still watching him. Robbie had always been fascinated with the large cats that had moved in next door.

Just like his brother was, though in a very different way…

“He’s inside!” Robbie just smiled back, trying to rest his chin on the fence before pulling back and rubbing the spot. Mikhail chuckled at that. Delighting in watching this smaller, weaker human hurt himself through his own stupidity and through no one else’s fault.

To set up a situation that would bring such misery while keeping ones hands clean was an interesting, tantalizing thought for the predator.

The tiger took a moment, toying with the idea before looking over at Robbie once more. Mikhail was using two fingers to pick at a third, the nails poking just out of their protective sheaths. Just enough to feel the sharp point of them against his flesh… it always sent shivers up the tigers tail, feeling them. His claws.

Born with these killers. A blade installed into every one of his finger. Born with the gift of murder…

“Are your parent’s home?” Mikhail asked nicely enough, the young Robbie missing the underlining meaning of it. The tiger looking at him with large, catlike eyes. Eyes of a predator.

Robbie just shook his head in answer making the tiger smile grow into something far more natural; far more dangerous... Mikhail tail slowly swayed back and forth as the predator looked at him with piercing amber eyes that seemed to glow with excitement.

“Hey, Robbie…” Mikhail asked sweetly as a viper would to a field mouse. “You mind unlocking the gate for me?” Robbie just nodded dumbly, the human doing as he was asked without a second’s thought as the large predator stalked their way towards the entrance.

Mikhail could’ve easily climbed over the fence. He had done so on several occasions to secretly meet up with Logan. Still, he had learned not to leave evidence behind of his wrongdoings. After all, a mouse should only be shocked once from the treat in the maze. If they didn’t learn through their mistakes, they might as well be… weeded out.

Robbie jumped down to go over to unlock the fence without a seconds worth of doubt. It wouldn’t have been the first, or last time, Robbie would just listen to what Mikhail asked of him. Always wanting to impress the tiger, always wanting to be his friend, always being so open… vulnerable, around him.

If the tiger could purr, he would’ve then and there as someone listened and obeyed him so…willingly, despite the threat it brought to their life.

The tiger came around the corner, resting against the wooden gate as he leaned over the small human. Mikhail had always been tall, even for only being a couple years older than Logan and several years older than Robbie. Being a tiger, it just came natural. His height, his size, his strength… The orange fur and black stripes, the white markings on his face and chest? It all was just… natural.

It was natural. And Mikhail had been told that ever since he was a kitten.

Only in recent years did Mikhail begin to show the characteristics of that of a jungle predator. He had been a very cute, fluffy kitten that did a one eighty once he reached his thirteenth birthday. The tiger had begun to fill out, muscle coming underneath the thick coat of orange, black striped fur he’d begun growing into. The black of his stripes darkened, according to his mother, and he’d begun to get extra fur in places he hadn’t before. The white fur on his chest had orange poking through it, giving him a very adult appearance around those unfamiliar with tiger anatomy.

And over the past three years, it only became more apparent that Mikhail wasn’t a simple house cat but something far more as he officially reached his eighteenth birthday and was a proper adult.

And with it, new thoughts and feelings came in stronger than ever. Knowing, now, he would be tried as an adult rather than a juvenile. How, he needed to be even sneakier than he already was. To make sure no one knew where the bodies were buried or where the skeletons were in his closet.

The growth spurt had gone to his head and his popularity had skyrocketed; only stroking the tiger’s ego further. It was natural, that’s how he saw it. How his grandparents had drilled it into him. He was valedictorian in their high school, most likely to succeed, was on the football team as not only top player but also as its captain and was going to be prom king for sure.

It was only natural.

Most hadn’t liked the tiger, at first. His charming personality and award winning, fake, smile had won over even the coldest of hearts though. He had done volunteer work and even assisted most of the teachers out behind the scenes. He was large, imposing for his age and none of the student body questioned his actions. Winning the last game for the school also had gone leaps and bounds in his favor.

Whatever he could to pool the wool of their eyes. Let them see him as a tame house cat that had been declawed. Harmless. Let them lower their guard down around him, just like this boy did. It was how a true predator operates…

It was only natural.

Natural for the jungle cat to reign as king over all those around him. They loved it, they loved him. Showering him with affection and praise, despite being a tiger… or maybe because he was one. It was hard to say. That he was somehow the exception to the rule. They were both impressed and intimidated by his very presence and Mikhail would have it no other way.

He’d gone up and beyond expectations for a predator, for a tiger, for someone like him. Mikhail had played the system and won. Everyone would blindly support him; give him an alibi as he wiped the blood off his hands… He’d done whatever he could do to win their approval. And they had all willingly fallen into the palm of his clawed hand…

Everyone, except for Logan’s parents that is.

Something that irked the tiger’s pride more than he was willing to admit as he slipped in through the back door after getting Robbie to cover his tracks. Robbie was a good kid and Mikhail almost felt bad using him like this. Almost… Still, it was the best way to get at his older brother as the tiger crept up the stairs on heavy, silent paw steps before opening the door to the two brother’s room.

Mikhail could smell him even before he opened the door and it took everything the tiger had not to bare his fangs in delight. His tail curled at the end as he took a moment. Taking a breath to calm down; it only made his fur stand on end. Smelling Logan’s room. A room with signs on the door with police tape over it forbidding access. Access that only he, this tiger, could trespass within... Mikhail’s nails had extended and the feline wanted to claw the wall in delight at seeing his human…

Logan was sitting at his desk, working on something as the tiger snuck over before roughly pulling the wheeled office chair back, spinning it around and growled a loud “boo!” in front of the human’s face.

Logan nearly fell backwards as Mikhail laughed. The tiger grabbed Logan’s arm, pulling him up roughly into a hug as the chair fell backwards making a loud racket in the otherwise quiet home. It startled the human. Logan needing a moment before managing to say anything.

And Mikhail loved it.

That smell of fright, of fear. It made his fur stand up as he smiled down into the face of the smaller male. Mikhail didn’t let him go. The tiger held him securely, just smiling down at him with a low chuff of breath that washed over Logan’s face making him close his eyes.

“Hey there.” The tiger said with a low growl.

“Milo! Fuck, what are you doing here?” Logan hissed a whisper as the tiger finally eased up his grip. Mikhail held Logan shoulder with a hand, looking down into his face. His clawed fingers gripping the human lightly, not letting him go. Not fully…

“What? Can’t I come over to see my best friend…?” The tiger smile almost faded, for that split second, his tail curling as Logan rolled his eyes at that.

“You know what I mean.” Logan just said with a shrug of his shoulder, trying to get the tiger to let go. Mikhail didn’t.

“Your parents aren’t home.” The tiger said in a low voice that the human seemed to miss the underlining meaning behind it.

“They aren’t? Fuck, how long was I studying…” Logan just muttered, thinking to himself. Mikhail waited and sure enough, those warm eyes turned back to look at the tigers face.

Logan was coming into his years as if finally catching up to the tiger he’d grown up to next door. Always chasing after the tiger. Somehow, that felt right. The human behind him, following in his wake as Mikhail, as the tiger known as Milo, led Logan ever further… into the dark, where he belonged.

“Is Robbie still here?” Logan just asked looking past the tiger as if hoping to see his kid brother.

Mikhail’s face faltered and his grip tightened, if only for a second, on Logan’s shoulder.

Mikhail ear flicked and it took all his strength not to bare a fang at such a question. The tiger didn’t like when Logan was asking about or looking for others, talking about others!... When he was right here. When it was just the two of them, alone, together. It wasn’t often they got chances like this. Both needing to keep up appearances around their parents.

Something Mikhail had been teaching Logan. How to fake it. To wear the mask around others. To play dumb or play the “good son” in the eyes of their parents, the teachers, other adults and especially in front of the police.

Because Mikhail was the only one who knew what Logan had inside. What all humans had, that they just chose to hide away from and deny. Something they suppressed over the years and throughout their evolution… except for a few, like Logan.

Logan was a predator. Just like the tiger was. Mikhail could see it. See it in the human’s eyes. He knew it to be true. It was the only explanation of how humans had taken control of this world.

They were predators. The best at hiding their dark sides and, in a way, Mikhail hoped to achieve such success. And surpass it at the same time. If he could master such an art, then maybe he, with Logan, could be true to themselves without ever letting anyone else see their sins…

“Milo.” Logan said snapping the tiger out of his funk. Mikhail chuckled at that. Only this human, this smaller creature… could get under his fur. It was remarkable and, in a way, frightening.

Logan was the most dangerous predator Mikhail had ever met.

“He’s in the back yard, playing.” Mikhail said sweetly enough, letting the words roll off his tongue in a makeshift purr. That always got a chuckle from Logan and the tiger could feel himself easing up as he finally let go of the human, taking a seat on his bed instead.

When it was just the two of them… Mikhail felt as if he could be himself. That he didn’t need to put on an act around Logan. Wear that mask that he’d taught Logan to wear. How to fit in. To hide ones true desires and thoughts.

“Ok, good. Just, you know.” Logan chuckled lightly before fully seeming to address the tiger since he showed up. “It’s good to see you again, Milo.” The human picked up his chair, spinning it around before sitting in it facing Mikhail. “What’s up?” He asked so casually the tiger was taken slightly aback.

Logan had such a poker face that it was hard for the tiger to see what he was truly thinking these days.

Mikhail’s eyes soften looking at Logan though. The human always did make the world around them feel lighter. Someone that could actually understand him, or so the tiger wanted to believe. It wasn’t just because the two were dating, in secret. It was because Logan had been the only one to still look at him with those eyes after what they had done together.

The tiger had a streak of lovers even in his younger years. It came natural to the big cat. Woman or men alike, it hadn’t mattered when the desires built up enough to burst. All of those old lovers, however, never looked at Mikhail the same after. Maybe he was a rough lover or maybe, they hadn’t appreciated his gift… as Logan had.

The tiger showing his true colors when they were in the bedroom. The claws marks he’d leave as his “mark” that would forever last on those he had claimed as his, forever…

“How are your scars today?” Mikhail asked. The simple question always took the human off guard who blushed, chuckling lightly as he looked away.

“They’re fine, Milo! I told you this! They healed up fine. No one’s aware…” Logan was still blushing and that made the tiger flex his toes on the carpeted floor.

He loved it.

He loved that look on someone’s face he mated and took. And marked, as his own… the claw marks hadn’t been recent and still, even now, Logan gave him the reaction he was always going for. That knowing mark on his back, where Mikhail had clawed him the first night they had been together. A secret mark that only the two were aware of…

Just like their love. Though that word always did confuse the tiger. He knew Logan as to be his, marked by the tiger, and thus his property. It was hard to say if that was love or not… and yet, even now as the two began to talk about nothing in particular, the tiger could feel something… more, there.

He just couldn’t ever possibly understand what those feelings meant.

Mikhail could feel the weight and pressure of the world slipping away as the human, marked by him, touched his leg with a hand and smiled as if there wasn’t a care in the world. That everyone wasn’t denying who they truly were. Something the two talked about often enough; the mask society wore in order to try and keep this false sense of security and peace…

The tiger wished for these days to never fade away. These rare, fleeting moments where he didn’t need to pretend to be anyone other than the jungle cat he was. Instinct driving him further than anything else.

He just wished, such moments, could last. Unfortunately the real world would always butt its ugly head in and Mikhail, over the years, was getting sick of it… and soon enough the perfect life, the perfect “home” Mikhail dreamt of shattered like broken shards of glass… cutting both of them as Logan’s parents came home.

“Logan, sweetie, are you home?” A voice called down from the first floor, up the stairs towards Logan’s room.

The two stopped kissing at that, Logan pulling back. He was good though, Mikhail had to admit. The way Logan voice sounded as he replied “I’m in my room studying!” Was so natural that no one could be the wiser as to what the two of them had been up too for the past fifteen minutes.

Mikhail wiped the drool from his chin as Logan got up, off his lap, to go over towards the door. He shut it behind him as the large cat laid out on his bed, watching the human go.

Being interrupted like this… Mikhail’s nails sprung out and he had to stop himself from clawing the wall in pure undiluted rage as he stared, blankly, at the wall behind the human now.

The single thought continued to linger. “Why?” Why didn’t they like Mikhail? Why hadn’t they fallen for his lies as all the others had? Was it simply the soul fact he was a tiger? Or was it something else… could they see him? Could they… know? What he truly was?

That dark thought lingered as Mikhail decided he needed to figure out. And what… actions he needed to take, in order to keep from others learning his dark secret.

Logan was his! He wanted to shout. To roar at Logan’s parents, the only two people in the world who couldn’t see Mikhail exactly how he wanted everyone to see him.

The tiger wanted to pull the back of Logan’s shirt up, to show case his mark. His mark he had left on the human; to proudly show it off before taking Logan and caring him away.

Such idyllic fantasies weren’t for the tiger though, he knew. The stories his grandparents had told him ever since he was a kitten, hadn’t been ones filled with happy endings. More like warnings for what a predator’s life would eventually become, one way or another.

Was it society, then, to blame for this? All his suffering and pain and misery… unable to even be with his best friend. Unable to eat meat in public. Unable to show his fangs or claws, to be PROUD of who and what he was! It was tearing the tiger apart from the inside out and the tiger wanted nothing more… than to tear others for what they made him feel.

It was no wonder why so many like Mikhail ended up lashing out, going into crime or trying to form their own families and slice of life for themselves… away from it all. Gangs, packs, prides whatever you might call them…

All he wanted was a place where he could belong as “Milo” and not the tiger wearing the broken, cracked mask that could only hold up for so much longer…

“Steal him away from it all…” Mikhail mused the thoughts aloud crossing his legs and laying back on the bed looking up at the ceiling.

Just the two of them, escaping to the big city maybe? The tiger and Logan could get jobs, live together. Mikhail was sure Logan would be fine with them having an open relationship. They both, in their own way, were predators after all. Craving flesh… The tiger could have his fun on the side while always having a place to come home too… a safe den to retreat too with warm arms that would hold him without fear.

And Logan would be there. Someone who could understand him, appreciate who the tiger truly was.

The idea made his tail flick to the side as he picked at his nails again, just staring down at his sharp claws. His cute kitten mittens turning into something far more murderous over the years as the nails extended once more, enough to show the soft pink flesh at the end.

“Would be so easy…” Mikhail mused. Logan’s parents would never see them coming. These murder mittens. They’d been dyed red more than once. The warm, slick feel of blood between his fingers…

“Milo?” A voice asked from the door startling the tiger who sat up quickly.

Mikhail’s face fell though as he saw Robbie at the door… he looked around quickly, unsure where Logan had went. Most likely to placate his parents. To play the good son. To be someone the tiger knew him not to be…

The lie he carried. Trying to fit in. To belong. To be part of this… society…

“Hey! I got a new game… if you want to come see!” Robbie asked taking a timid step forward into the room as the large tiger sat up on the bed.

Mikhail hated anyone else calling him Milo. It wasn’t his name. It was something Logan was allowed to do because of their bond. Their connection. The human accidentally calling the tiger the wrong name and Mikhail playing along with it. It was something between the two of them, something special… not for this small, weak, useless, broken child to call him…

But Logan loved his brother.

He daunted on him, protected him and helped him out above everything else in life. He was the good older brother. And Mikhail was envious of that. Envious of that kind of love and affection this other person, this small ugly human boy… was getting over him.

He wanted to be Logan’s brother. To be whatever it was that Robbie had that he didn’t. Craving, coveting it. Greed and lust spiraling together into a wrathful mixture of pure hatred and bile the tiger wanted to vomit out…

Logan was his but so long as this other person, this human, his brother was around… Mikhail knew Logan would never run away with him, if such a thing ever did came up. How could Mikhail protect him when Logan… didn’t need someone else.

Logan didn’t need Mikhail, no. Not like the tiger did. Like the tiger needed this human, this anchor, weighing him down from being swept away into the murky depths of gray around him.

“You like to play games, huh?” Mikhail just smiled sweetly towards the younger human as he slowly stood up to his full height.

Robbie nodded along, not seeing that glint in the tiger’s eyes who stalked over towards him on heavy paws that thumped against the floor…

“You know my favorite game?” Mikhail asked, leaning over the human and showing one too many fangs.

“What?” Robbie just asked, blissfully ignorant to his fate in life. And just how short it was going to be for the young human…

“Hide and seek…” And the tiger led Robbie from the room, nails extending… gripping, the smaller male’s back as the predator guided his prey towards his home…

…

…

“Five…” Logan grunted.

“You come here every week?” Clem asked looking around the gym. His nose wrinkled from the smell and was just glad they added a ventilation system into this place. The AC was cranked up and even with his fur, Clem could feel the cold draft going by.

“Eight…” Logan just kept pushing the weights up, flexing his arms as beads of sweat formed on his forehead. “I used to do it more often,” Logan grunted before finishing the rep and sitting up. “Back in high school. It’s easier… to do it with someone else…” The human added with a huff, placing the bar back.

He grabbed the nearby white towel and wiped his face off. He didn’t ask why it smelled like the boxer standing with him. Logan was surprised enough Clem had agreed to come out to be his workout buddy this afternoon. He supposed, after finding out Clem’s secret family life, the two of them had unwittingly become rather close. It allowed them a chance to talk, just the two of them though Clem was too awkward seemingly to jump head first into that topic. Yet.

It hadn’t been why Logan had asked Clem out though, today. He was a good dog and despite Hugo’s effort back at the station, Logan trusted Clem watching his back more than anyone else on the force.

The two chose not to go to the police station. It didn’t feel right after the secret they chose to keep hidden form their work. Instead opting out for a local big gym chain in the area. The police station had their own area, in the basement, to work out at. Neither of the two felt like dealing with anyone there for the time being and chose to come here instead. Logan had a pass already, preferring to keep his personal and business life separate from one another when he could.

Funny as that seemed these days. With each and every passing day those two things seemed to blend together. The life Logan tried to hide, to keep from others meeting together like this. And, looking over at the boxer, Logan… didn’t mind as much as he should.

Even though that voice warned him, from the back of his mind, not to trust this canine. Or anyone, again…

Clem was forced to deal with the sales pitch at the gym and ended up trying out the free trial; Logan neglected to tell him that was still opting to pay for a membership after the trail ended. It would be nice to have someone to work out with, again.

“It’s just a nice way to clear my head,” Logan stretched an arm out before the other. He rolled his shoulders and took several breaths before letting it out, eying the boxer watching him.

Logan had been working out since high school and kept it up during his work, when he found the time too. The effort put into it showed on his upper arms and chest, in the right light. If he wasn’t flexing, he could get away with being rather average looking which worked in his favor. Flexing now, in front of the mirrors set up along the walls, he got a whistle from the boxer beside him. Or what accounted for a whistle from a canine.

“And here I thought,” Clem took a step forward before offering his arm up in a very impressive flex. The boxer was lined with muscle and, when flexing, it was as clear as day through his thin darker orange fur his breed sported. “I was the only one in the house that liked to show off.”

The boxer’s stubby tail was wagging, seeing the human check out his hard work. There was a reason why Clem wasn’t around too often at the home. He treated the gym like a religious. Working off the sexual frustration he was currently suffering from, among other things.

“I use it for more practical purposes,” Logan just laughed though as the boxer flexed his other arm. Then both. Turning around, Clem clenched his ass and it was outlined in the tight black shorts he was wearing. Along with the muscles on his back and it was Logan’s turn to whistle softly, impressed.

Clem had let Logan borrow a couple of his clothes for the occasion, the human not wanting to go back to the station for the time being. Logan had on a matching sleeveless muscle shirt as the boxer was wearing. The two had on shorts, though Clem’s was far shorter than Logan’s. Logan was wearing a pair of shoes while Clem had opted out for some sandals strapped instead for sanitary purposes; even wiping the machines down before and after, Clem didn’t want to risk catching anything.

“That’s why I usually don’t shower after working out.” Clem was explaining as he took his turn on the machine. A simple bench press to wrap up their work out they’d been doing since noon. The boxer motioned and Logan added some more weight; the two knew Clem was just showing off. Not that Logan minded.

Clem was a good looking dog.

Grunting, Clem adjusted his grip on the bar before pushing it up with a low “woof” at the end. Logan didn’t say anything about it and Clem made a similar sound the entire time, seemingly unaware as he let out his breath before sucking it in as he lowered the bar back down to his thick chest.

The sweat helped outlined the boxer’s muscles and Logan didn’t mind the show.

“I think you just don’t like having wet fur.” Logan chuckled, standing over Clem’s muzzle and offering his hands in case the boxer needed the added support. Logan tried not to jump when Clem tilted his nose up just enough that his hot breath washed over Logan’s bulge with every “woof” the boxer made.

The two didn’t say anything about it as Clem finished the rep. The boxer had done the very same for the human and the two fully knew that the other didn’t mind.

Clem was far more… open, about this, than Logan had thought. He really was the best kind of work out buddy.

“Not all of us have fuck boys to help dry off after a shower, okay?” Clem rolled his eyes as he got up, letting Logan take a turn. Neither of the two bothered wiping the sweat off the machine while they shared it.

“Less weight.” Logan just said as he got into position. “I try to go for endurance over strength.”

“Oh?” Clem asked, perking an ear. “I figured it’d be better the other way around.” The boxer took off the twenty five pounders from each side before tapping the bar lightly signaling Logan to begin.

Clem stood above the human’s face and Logan just rolled his eyes, clearly Clem was trying to show off again in another way as he felt the warm fur of the boxer’s leg rub against his ear. The canine had a muzzle. That was natural; it was part of his anatomy. Logan hadn’t been trying to sit on his face; he was sure Clem was though as he began his reps.

“Most larger breeds,” Logan grunted noting that Clem had left some extra weight on to push the human. “Don’t have the stamina we smaller species do.” Logan let out a breath and the canine noticeably reacted to it. “And that’s not… a bad… thing…”

Logan had to admit, it was fun to tease a guy like Clem. The boxer always had this strong man air about him, top dog might be a better way to put it. While in reality, Clem was just a bent up dude like most the people Logan dealt with and it was far too easy to push the right buttons. It didn’t make it any less fun to do so as Logan blew out a cool breath making the canine noticeably shift from one foot to the other.

“I don’t have to win a race. I just have to make it to the finish line.” Logan finished up with as he strained a bit at the end. Clem was there and gave him a helpful hand before offering the shared bottle of water to the human. “Thanks.”

Logan had no offense drinking from the same bottle and was keenly aware Clem was watching him as he did so.

The boxer took a seat next to him, not looking at Logan now as the two cooled off.

“I swear you humans…” Clem started up with, grumbling under his breath. The gym was rather busy today, enough background noise to drown out their conversation to anyone else listening in. “Are all of you stupid or looking to pick a fight?” The boxer asked looking over at him with large sullen eyes as if the canine was worried for Logan’s well being.

Logan knew Clem was thinking of Alan over him but that was fine.

“I don’t look to pick fights.” Logan took another drink before passing it over. “I just know how to finish them.” And with that got up. The two took a moment to clean up their spot and return the weights before moving on to the next machine.

Instead of using paired equipment next to each other, they decided to take turns using the same one in order to keep the conversation going. Letting one rest while the other worked out.

“Reese is a good guy.” Clem continued. “I know he comes off… like he does. He isn’t like that though. Well, I mean, not fully.” The boxer tried to reason. He must truly be the wolf’s friend to constantly come to his defense like this. Maybe the canine was struggling with who Reese really was himself, even to this day, knowing him as long as he had.

“I know what you mean.” Logan just laughed though not seemingly bothered by the idea of a seven foot tall black fur wolf. “He truly does, genuinely, care for Alan.” Logan frowned at that as he began working his delts. “I can see that much…”

It was upper body day and the two would finish up on the treadmill before they left. Leaving the dreaded leg day for another outing together. Logan was enjoying this. It was far too long since he had a chance to just have guy talk with someone, able to go to the gym with them. Logan had very little ties left and no family to speak of. And he wouldn’t count his hookups as any meaningful connection. He was sure Clem would be up for getting a beer together sometime.

The idea was a pleasant thought, for a change.

Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to be connected to the pack… if it even lasts; Logan frowned at that. That was another whole issue. Logan doubted such a makeshift truce would last when or after The Pride was dealt with. There would be a whole lot of aftermath and Logan figured at least roughly half, maybe more, would up and leave Reese’s place once things were dealt with. Coming together only for their common enemy and little more…

“I’m more worried about Alan than I am Reese.” Logan just said finishing up and letting Clem take his turn.

“Why’s that?” Clem was the one seemingly confused.

“Alan reminds me of my brother, a lot…” Logan hesitated before just saying it. “The way he acts around the wolf. The way he talks to him and the others! He’s… He doesn’t seem to… get, the position he’s in.”

“Frankly speaking? He’s an idiot.” Clem was the one to say with a bark of a laugh at the end. The boxer had no trouble doing the weight set Logan was working on. It had been a little while since Logan had come to a gym. “But also frankly speaking… that’s why it does.”

“Oh?” Logan just said, light and simple. It kept the conversation going. People liked to open up to Logan. He had that kind of face you could just trust. He’d been told more times than once his smile put others at ease…

“Reese is an idiot, too. The two make a perfect pair!” Clem just barked another laugh thinking about it. “But they do talk about things, when need be. Even if they’re both shit at it.” The boxer shook his large head side to side. “It’s lasted a year now…” He mumbled aloud as if uncertain it would be able to hold up for another day.

“Right.” Logan took a moment, resting against the side of the machine just staring off a bit. “He’s lucky, in a way…”

“Which one?” Clem gave him a look.

“Both? Neither? I don’t know…” Logan took a moment. “Their… relationship, shouldn’t exist. Be possible too!” Clem frowned at that. “What I mean is, statistically speaking… it should’ve ended by now. One of the two should’ve been hurt and the other sued for it. Or jailed…”

Clem frowned only grew at that but didn’t deny Logan’s words. They both knew what Logan was talking about. Working in the field they did, they had seen their own fair share of hell on earth. Domestic disputes were extremely commonplace. And that was what they called “good” calls they got called in on. There were always far worst things out there…

Clem didn’t need to be religious to know hell existed; he’d seen it enough in his line of work as it was.

Homes with beaten, neglected, malnourished children sitting in their own feces… Neighbors attacking or breaking into the apartment next door just because they knew the elderly, blind shrew wouldn’t be able to defend herself. Coworkers planting evidence to get people fired. Drugs, rape, hit and runs…

It was just another day with the city.

“I’m jealous of him, you know.” Clem was the one to start up after the two mulled over the darker underbelly of the very city they lived in. “That kind of… ignorance. Being able to see Reese in such a friendly, positive light all the time? Hell, to be that stupid!”

The boxer looked off to the side, his eyes unfocused as the dark thoughts lingered behind them. Ignorance was truly bliss for when you knew what the world was truly like, it was hard to get up in the morning. A reason to keep going on. Seeing hell on earth only meant that maybe… the afterlife was better than the shitty hand they were all dealt.

Logan didn’t say anything. He didn’t need too. He agreed with Clem fully on the matter. Knowing the truth of the world… doesn’t make you happy. It makes you want to drown yourself in a bottle or put a gun in your mouth; and in their line of work, Logan had seen more than his fair share of officers do one or the other. Or both…

“They have this whole history and everything!” Clem was growling now, continuing the set even though he’d gone far past the fifteen they had agreed on. “Able to come home and have someone there, everyday. Like that. Practically growing up next door to each other!” Clem huffed, panted and spat at the end before letting the machine “clang” loudly back to its starting position.

“It’s not always a good thing. It’s still hard for me to believe… or accept Reese and Alan together like that.” Logan took a moment on that with a frown looking around the room.

There were a couple of hyenas in the corner. They were loud, rambunctious and were rough housing each other as they talked about something or other. Logan had never been too good at reading muzzled lips. The three of them had raggy, moth eaten sleeveless shirts on. Most likely from a poor family, Logan instantly noted their clothing and scruffy manes of fur; unable to buy the more expensive kind of fur cuts every couple weeks as most did.

Then there was the alligator… no, he was a crocodile Logan corrected looking at the faded gray almost white reptile helping out someone through the side door. They worked here. Ted or Teed or something their nametag read; the crocodile was helping an elderly couple towards the side pool. The two others were giving him hell making even the human frown.

They should’ve just been glad this gym came with a pool. Most aquatic species needed water at least once a week or they’d, literally, go insane. Deprived of it like that messed up their bodies far more than Logan had been aware of until he joined the force; one of the first cases he’d been on was that of a beaver that had snapped at work. They’d ripped off all their clothes and were dumping the water cooler over themselves before trying to build a dam to keep the water in...

It had been a mess and he was sure they were still up at the mental hospital out of the city to this day.

“Sometimes instincts are too strong…” Logan said in a quiet voice. “They can overrule all reason and… logic. We’re just beasts caged in our own bodies,” Logan looked down at his hand with a frown. “Trying to get out…”

“Huh?” Clem asked getting up to join him. “You say something?”

“Nah, was just noting we’ve been here for the past hour.” Logan said motioning towards the clock. “Want to finish up on the treadmill?”

“Sure.” Clem just grinned toothily; walking alongside the human talking about grabbing some food after all this was over. The boxer had a wag to his step. He was friendly, open and was nudging Logan side every now and then before looking over.

Making sure Logan was there. Looking at his face before going back to what he was saying. Anyone else might say he was just an overly friendly guy; Logan knew better… Clem was a dog. Their need for contact and acknowledgement were legendary. There was a reason why someone like Clem could fit in so well compared to someone like Reese.

Clem, like all the other dogs, were bred for it. That companionship and neediness. Learning not to bite the hand that fed them. To love and be loved, to want to touch and be touched, to need that kind of affection. It allowed them to fit in and yet hurt them at the same time. A double edged sword that had always been used against them.

Then there were wolves.

Even of the same overall arching species of canine, the two might as well be apples and oranges. Or Clementine’s in Clem’s case Logan almost chuckled at the idea.

“My neighbor killed my brother.” Logan said as the treadmills started.

Clem nearly slipped off his machine at hearing that. The boxer desperately finding his feet, stopping himself from face planting the treadmill.

“What?” Clem said a little too loud, getting a few looks. Only when everyone looked away, did he ask again. “What?”

Logan just chuckled at the reaction he’d gotten from the boxer.

“My neighbor was a tiger. My brother, Robbie, had autism or something like that… he was special and our neighbor took advantage of him… Robbie trusted him and I… I suppose I did too back then too…” Logan was jogging next to the boxer. Just staring forward at the wall. “To this day, I still don’t fully… understand, what happened. Why it happened? Was it because of instinct? Because he was a predator? Was Robbie just in the wrong place at the wrong time or… is life just that sick?”

“He was a sick fuck? Your neighbor that is.” Clem offered helpfully. Logan did smile at that.

“Maybe, yeah.” Logan nodded. “A predator whose also a psychopath… dangerous combination. It’s why I joined the force. So I could help others?” Logan frowned at the idea. “Maybe I should’ve become a therapist, to try an understand people instead…” Logan just shrugged. “I always been trying to figure others out because of it… To stop them before they hurt someone else.”

Logan didn’t add in the dark satisfaction he got after taking in a perp. Some would call it justice; he’d have called it something else. There was a… twisted delight in it. In hunting down, stalking, trapping and taking someone in. Taking them out.

Like a predator on a hunt…

“Most detectives are like that.” Clem nodded though, easing Logan’s worries on the matter. “I’m just a simple street cop. I get a car. A buddy to come along with me and mostly just hand out parking tickets.” He barked a laugh. “Though every now and then I get pulled in. One time had this feline, right? Ugly tabby. Was going around pissing everywhere, wanting to mark the city as his! Can you imagine? A cat marking something?”

Logan just smiled along. “Funny… A cat wanting to mark someone…”

“Yeah it was! Seriously, I never knew cats were so obsessed with that. Marking things. It’s crazy! I thought us dogs had that down!” Clem just barked another laugh at the idea. “When we finally caught up to the guy? He was going on and on about how he was just marking what was his and such.”

“Instincts are hard to deny.” Logan just continued to smile. Clem missing the look in the human eyes.

“Careful.” Clem was the one to point out. “You say that kind of thing around the wrong person…” The canine was frowning, agreeing with what Logan had said though. Instinct. It was a rather taboo thing to talk about and could be seen as a major insult.

After all, what separated civilized people from the feral animals in the woods was the ability to distinguish reason from instinct. The ability to possess cognitive abilities that could separate man from animal and thus, over the years, legally speaking someone like Clem was seen as a “man” and not an “animal.” At least, to most.

“Sure. I got the urge to find a good tree to pee on.” Clem just went on though, not upset at all about the subject. “I sometimes want a good belly rub and there’s the whole scent marking things. I dare you to try to stop a dog from scent marking!” Clem just barked another laugh as he jogged alongside Logan.

“Just warn me first.” Logan teased playfully enough and he was sure Clem was blushing lightly after the comment he’d made.

“Well…” Clem cleared his throat, regaining his cool. “It’s just a thing. Stereotypes, I mean. They exist for a reason right? Otters like water. Badgers like to sleep underneath the ground and like Clem’s like smells.” The boxer teased using himself in the third person.

“The idea of there being more than one of you is terrifying.” Logan just jested with the boxer who took a playful swing at him.

“Hey! I’ll have you know I’m freaking wonderful!” The boxer growled. His droopy jowls didn’t help in the intimidation factor and the human had to stop himself from opening laughing at him.

“I know you are.” Logan just gave him a playful wink instead. “You are truly one of a kind. The world wouldn’t be such a bright place without you in it.” Logan said with that soft touch of a smile at the end. “Thanks for brightening my day, Clem.”

Clem whole face felt hot and he grumbled out a few choice words, trying to keep his cool in front of the human as he the two finished up their workout.

“I suppose my issue then, is where does animal instinct and logical reasoning… meet?” Logan thought that over as he slowed his pace down until he was just standing there on the treadmill. He was dripping with sweat and new he smelled. Not that Clem seemed to mind.

“You aren’t exactly asking for an answer to that, are you?” Clem was frowning. He knew there were professors out there that specialized in this exact line of thinking. Spending their entire lives talking about the subject without ever being able to come to a definite answer on the matter.

“No, no. Just… thinking out loud, I guess?” Logan shrugged as he stepped off. Clem was already handing him what was left in the water bottle. Logan chose to ignore the drool slathered around the cap where Clem had drunk from.

“Besides. If you think of it like that? Could anyone be blamed for anything?” Clem said insightfully getting a look from Logan. “Just try not to think… too much about it.” Clem chuckled. “If we get into that kind of territory, we’d be out of a job!” The boxer just laughed. “Anarchy! No one working, riots in the street, dog eat dog world…” Clem frowned at the end. It was a look Logan hadn’t expected to see on the canine’s face.

A somber one full of disdain and worry as if the world were about to end.

Logan decided a bro hug was necessary and wrapped an arm over the boxer’s shoulders and gave him a strong hug. The two were nearly similar in height though Clem had a bit of a larger build, due to his breed.

“Let’s just keep the peace then! For us. For Reese and Alan. For everyone we can! Right, partner?” Logan just smiled and the boxer wrapped an arm over his shoulder with a gruff laugh.

“Hell yeah!” Clem grinned toothily as the two made their way out, side by side as Logan checked his phone. “What’s the plan?” The boxer asked only after the two got in the truck. “Anything interesting?” Clem asked looking over at Logan’s phone screen.

“Got a message from Domino,” Logan decided to ignore it for the time being. That was an issue he’d deal with after everything calmed down. It was nice knowing someone at least had his back. It was the other message he hadn’t checked yet that was bothering him. “Clem… can people change?” Logan frowned reading it.

“In what way?” The boxer asked, keeping both the windows cracked even during these winter months as they rolled out. Airing out the vehicle. Not the boxer minded the way Logan smelled. It was just rather… distracting.

“For good? For bad? Or are we just… who we are…?” Logan wished he didn’t have such a heart to think about such matters. It would be so much easier to see everyone for face value. As they drove down the road, all Logan could think of seeing the faces of the people he passed by…

Who were they? Did they have friends and family? Were they liberal or conservative? Were they religious? With wants and desires, needs and… everything other than what they were. Canines? Felines? Equidae? Marsupials or Ursidae? It didn’t matter really to him.

Or so he wanted to think…

“What’s up?” Clem just asked instead.

“I need to meet up with my old contact… to figure out what’s the next step… the issue is, I don’t know if I can… trust him?” Logan frowned at that. This hadn’t been an issue before. The fact it was now, however, was bothering him.

Sloan’s name was on the text message in his hand as he looked down at it.

Just thinking of the lion made the scars on his back burn and ache as if as a reminder to what such a large cat could do to him.

“Once bitten twice shy…” Logan muttered rereading the text for the fifth time.

“Right. The big lion dude, right?” Clem asked and Logan just gave a short nod. “That does explain a few things…” Clem chewed on the thought for a minute, waiting at a red light. “Reese used to be a real prick. Like, from what I hear? He was a complete self centered asshole.” Clem just chuckled though.

“You got a point to make out of insulting your alpha?” Logan frowned a bit.

“He’s not my alpha. Not in the sense you’re thinking of anyways.” Clem rolled his eyes. It was complicated to talk about such things with someone outside the pack let alone who wasn’t a canine. Clem had learned by now however not to point that out to humans in their mix. “Reese and I go way back, as friends.”

“First friend or something, right.” Logan recalled what Clem had told him.

“Right. So like, yeah. I’ve been with him most his life. Outside his marine years, mind you.” Clem said and got a look from Logan. Clem waved it off. “Long story, anyways though… Reese was the alpha to be in his old pack. Raised and, well, bred for it. Since birth he was planned to take over the pack after their father stepped down. Funny thing is? That never happened.”

Logan just frowned at the idea of someone like Reese in charge of such a pack. The wolf scared the human and very few managed to do that.

“Even though he was raised to be, bred to be… Reese, in the end, he chose not too. He chose to be someone else. Someone that could be with Alan… The sacrifices he made, putting on a front at times? Whatever it took! He did it not to be alone. Nature? Nurture? All that stuff was bullshit in the end. It was Reese’s choice to make and he made the right one, as far as I’m concerned. That’s what I think seperates us from animals… the ability to choose.” Clem just shrugged a shoulder stopping in front of Logan’s apartment downtown. “I’m a bit biased, though.” Clem winked at the human. “Hope that helped things.”

“You know? It actually kind of did thanks.” Logan just said bumping fists with Clem before getting out. He needed a long shower and a fresh set of clothes before he called Sloan up and tried to reconnect with his old boss.

Logan stopped though, near the entrance. Clem shortly joined him, stepping off to the side with the human outside the humans apartment complex.

“Look.” Logan began, unable to make eye contact. “Thanks…”

“For?” Clem just asked confused over the matter, thinking it over.

“You’re like the only guy I can actually… talk too. Talk with! Like talk talk, not having to walk on eggshells or just…” Logan struggled a bit. It wasn’t like him to open up and to say something genuine from the heart. “Just. Thanks, for that. For being you Clem. There really is no one else like you.”

The boxer cheeks burned brightly as Clem quickly tried to regain his composure in front of the other male. The boxer had pushed his shoulders back, sticking out his thick chest and was beaming from ear to ear in pride despite his efforts not too.

“It’s nothing,” Clem was grinning from ear to ear and his stubby tail was wagging a mile a minute. “It’s nothing! Don’t mention it.” He said and yet Logan was sure Clem was eating this up. “Your pretty cool too, for a human that is.” The boxer tried to joke but Logan had the last laugh.

Moving in, Logan bumped his cheek against the boxer’s muzzle nuzzling against him affectionately… much as a canine would’ve. It took Clem by surprise and the boxer nearly fell over as his stood up even taller than he was, fur sticking out a bit as a shiver ran down his spine.

“I’ll have to take you up on that bite to eat another time.” Logan added only after letting the steam cool from the boxer’s head. “Get a beer while we’re at it!” The human just smiled.

And for once in his life, it was natural instead of forced.

Sometimes all you need was a friend to be able to talk too, talk with to help ease the burden of life. Logan waved him off as he headed up towards his room. He texted Sloan back, agreeing to meet up for a sort of dinner date. His old boss seemingly wanting to check in on him, to make sure he was ok.

Logan suspected it was more than that. Still, it would be nice to see the lion again. It had been too long and it would also help Logan reaffirm his own suspicions and doubts about the lion’s dealing with The Pride. Something he needed after the attack on the club.

Not wanting Sloan involved in any of this…

The hallway to Logan’s room was long with dark blue, short carpet and stale bread yellow walls that didn’t match. The lights above were always dimmed and some of the bulbs were burnt out as the human made his way down to room 304.

Fishing out his keys, Logan stopped outside his door.

Distracted as he was, he didn’t notice it until he bumped his foot against the wrapping. Out front, resting against the base of the door was a bundle of blood orange roses. Tied and wrapped up with a nice silk bow with a simple card stuck next to it.

Looking around, Logan bent down to pick it up turning the card around to read the back. With a frown, Logan retreated inside his apartment quickly and made a quick sweep of the place to make sure no one was there.

Triple locking his front door; he pulled out his phone making a call as he tossed the card down on the table.

The rectangular white card skid to the middle of the brown table. With black letters it simply read:

“How are your scars?”

With bold black stripes between each letter…