Shade Knight

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

This story is a sequel to my previous story, Shade. If you haven't read Shade, you can find it here.

------
Chapter 1: Secret Identity

The stadium was fairly small; it only held about a thousand people. It was built for a high school, after all. Still, it was packed full to bursting; people and animals lined the fence all the way around the football field the stage was set up in. Behind the stage was a tent where the performer could prepare in peace; inside the tent was a bus that would presumably be his exit vehicle. The crowd was cheering wildly as the last song of the set ended; there would be no encore, despite the crowd’s cryout. There never was.
This artist was a small one, but very well-known considering he had only released a single album. It had taken off unexpectedly, resonating with the Changed, animals, and humans alike. It had released in early spring, and by summer it had already been on the top ten list for six weeks: Most streamed, most requested, most played. The artist was likely fairly wealthy by now.
Which made it weird that nobody knew who he was. There was a stunt performer on the stage, of course, but the observant could see that he wasn’t actually playing the guitar. Indeed, it wasn’t even hooked up. It wasn’t even a well-kept secret that the stunt performer was not the artist himself; it had even been confirmed by the performer, after prompting during an interview, that he was not the artist, but was being fed answers through a headset by the actual artist.
Nobody really knew who the artist was. Well, almost nobody.
Just offstage, a golden retriever watched the stunt performer wave and step off stage, then went back into the tent and approached the microphone there. There was nobody there. He sighed, made sure the microphone was shut off, and walked back to the back of the bus, patting the back of the black corgi that was depositing his supper next to the tires. “Shade? You okay? Nerves again?”
The corgi nodded, pulling his hoodie hood up and over his ears and drawing the drawstring tight, the way he always did when he was overstimulated. The retriever sighed and patted his back again, taking his hand. “Come on, let’s go get you sitting down. Watch your step.” He led him across the tent and sat him down in a folding chair, sitting in another chair next to him and giving his hand a squeeze. The bus left with the stunt performer onboard, and shortly after the noise from the crowd subsided.
The golden retriever leaned in and kissed the corgi’s nose. “You can come out now; they’re mostly gone.”
After a moment, the corgi’s lapis blue eyes peeked out of the hood, and he shyly withdrew his head. “Thanks, Sunny. I’m sorry. I made you bring the costumes and then didn’t even use them again.”
Sunny squeezed his hand. “He’s still in your head, isn’t he? Destroying your confidence. He’s GONE, Shade. He’s in prison, and he’s staying there for a long time. You’re an AMAZING singer. All those people out there? Were here to see YOU.”
Shade shook his head. “I know, I know, they like my voice. But what if they don’t like my face? I’m-”
“A perfectly handsome corgi.” He leaned in and kissed his cheek, then put his hand up and stopped him when he went in for a proper kiss. “Uh-uh, you just threw up. I’m not kissing you until you brush your teeth.”
“Fine…” He pouted a little, then got up and started packing up his electric guitar, a custom job carefully designed to sound like a full-bodied guitar despite being a third of the size. “I’m sorry I didn’t use the costumes you made.”
Sunny sighed and reached over, scratching behind Shade’s ear. “You said that already. It’s fine. We knew going in that you might need more time before you can take the stage yourself again.”
Shade paused to lean into Sunny’s attention, closing his eyes. “Mmm… that’s nice…”
Sunny grinned. “Sometimes I forget you weren’t always a dog. Is this the first time you’ve gotten your head scratched?”
“Mm. I think so. It’s nice.” He leaned in and gave Sunny an affectionate nuzzle. One of the sound techs grinned at them, tilting his head in a way that said, “aw, that’s cute.”
Shade nodded at the exit to the tent. “Think it’s safe to sneak out?”
“Yeah, probably.” Sunny grinned. “Shall we?”
“We shall.” Shade grinned back and took his hand. It was a brief walk back to the Wildside house where Shade lived, and he sighed happily once he was back on his home turf. “Ahhh.. this is amazing… so much better.” He settled into his favorite chair in the corner of the living room and smiled at Sunny, patting the seat next to him. Sunny climbed up and snuggled into him.
“Mm… feeling better? No more nerves?” Sunny nibbled on Shade’s ear lovingly.
“So much better.” He flicked his ear. “Stop that, it tickles!”
A tiger peeked around the corner, then grinned and came into the room, putting up his fist for a bump. Shade bumped it happily. “Hey! How was the concert, buddy? You knock ‘em dead?” He paused. “You… go up on stage?”
Shade grimaced. “Afraid not… couldn’t do it. Had to use the stunt performer again.” He looked over the tiger hesitantly. “And I made Sunny drag all the costumes out for nothing again.”
Sunny nudged him. “Hey. I told you it was fine. Stop obsessing over it or I’m gonna go tell your therapist on you.”
The tiger smirked and ruffled Shade’s headfluff. “Listen to your boyfriend, pipsqueak. If he says it’s fine, then it’s fine. Besides, they’re not there to see how cute you are, they’re there because they wanna hear your beautiful voice.”
Shade huffed and fixed his fluff. “Don’t mess with my hair man. And.. thanks, Paul. Kinda makes me feel… a little better?”
Paul grinned and straightened his shirt collar. “How do I look? I’m off for a date with Alice. Gotta make a good impression, now that I’m dating a girl with her own apartment.”
Shade looked him up and down, then gave him a grin and a thumbs-up. “You look great, dude. How’s she settling in?”
Paul put his hand up and jiggled it side to side. “She misses your cooking. After you had us all eating properly, she doesn’t enjoy going back to… well.. HER cooking.”
Shade laughed. “I can send her some of my recipes if she wants. They’re not that hard to make.”
Paul snickered. “I’ll let her know. She’ll appreciate that, I’m sure.” He scratched Sunny behind the ear, gave Shade another fist bump, and left via the front door.
Shade grinned, glancing around. “Todd’s visiting his parents, Paul’s out at Alice’s place, I bet Sasha’s over playing with King’s pups…” He gave a wry grin, looking over at Sunny. “Wanna join me for a shower? We can get naughty…”
Sunny laughed. “Brush your teeth first and you’re on.”

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Chapter 2: Sunshine Playroom

Shade let himself into the front door of the house and started making his way through the entryway, dining room, and kitchen. He paused to give a little wave at the woman who always seemed to be in the kitchen. “Hi, Mrs. Days!”
She grinned and reached down to shake his hand. “Good morning, Shade. You’re a little late, they’re waiting for you.”
He gave a goofy little grin. “I know, I overslept.” He opened a door leading to the basement and headed down.
At the bottom of the stairs and around a corner was a brightly-colored room full of all manner of dog toys imaginable, from balls and ropes to bones and puzzles. There was also a television and movie player, with a sheet of plexiglass covering the television. A group of dogs were gathered in a semicircle, lounging on beanbags and watching their newest member, a border collie named Scout, retell a story of a particularly exciting-sounding job he’d been on as a rookie police dog. His thick southern drawl could be hard to understand when he got excited.
“-an th’ varmint went a-lopin’ through th’ mall with eight police dogs hot on his tail. Ah pulled out mah bolas an’ wound ‘er up-”
Shade kept low and snuck in to settle on the beanbag Sunny was on, snuggling into him and whispering. “The bed got cold when you left, last night…”
Sunny nuzzled into him and whispered back. “I know, I know, but Mom says I’m not allowed to spend the night…”
Shade pouted a little bit and cuddled into him, his tail wiggling gently as he felt Sunny’s warm body next to him. He closed his eyes and nuzzled in happily.
At some point, Scout finished telling his story to varied applause from the other dogs, and he crawled into a brown beanbag with his girlfriend, a chocolate lab named Coco. The two had only been together for about a month, since just about a week after Scout had graduated from the police dog academy, and so far Scout had proven to be just about as clueless as a boyfriend as he had been as the subject of Coco’s flirting.
A papillon stood up and darted to the center of the circle, holding her hand up and pointing at Sunny and Shade. “All right you two, spill. You were gone again yesterday! Where do you go?”
Shade stuck his tongue out playfully. “You REALLY wanna know, Butterfly? You REALLY wanna know?”
The papillon glared at them. “YES. That’s why I asked. Where do you two go when you disappear all day?!”
Shade grinned. “Well, you see, when two dogs love each other very much-”
“GAHHH! Nope nope nope, don’t wanna hear that, NOPE!” The papillon covered her ears and started shouting “La” over and over again until she was sure Shade had stopped.
Sunny picked up right where Shade had left off, snickering. “Sometimes, they find themselves a nice private place together, and-”
The Australian shepherd sitting next to Sunny reached over and covered his mouth. “No, I don’t wanna hear it either. If you guys don’t wanna tell us where you guys go, that’s fine. I know you’re not doing… THAT… for an entire DAY though. You’d be exhausted and your fur would be all matted.”
Shade grinned. “Nah. We can go for HOURS and hours and hours.”
Butterfly grunted and hid behind August. “Nasty, you boys are just NASTY.”
Sunny laughed. “Then maybe don’t be nosy.”
Coco grinned and tossed a ball at Butterfly. “And get your mitts out of August’s collar, you klepto.”
August yelped and checked his collar. “Hey! That’s my biscuit! Give it back! Mom made those special for me!”
Butterfly grinned and held up the peanut-shaped cookie. “But your mom makes such good cookies!”
August pouted and grabbed for it. “Come on, you know I can’t have the store-bought stuff anymore! Give it here!”
Shade grinned and watched the two chase each other around the playroom and fight over the biscuit, nuzzling lovingly into Sunny.
Sunny grinned and stealthily gave Shade’s backside a squeeze before reaching up and snatching the biscuit from Butterfly. “Come on, Butterfly, you said you’d stop stealing stuff from people.” He passed it back to August, who tucked it into his collar huffily.
Butterfly pouted, then held up a small triangular piece of plastic. “What’s this thing, anyway?”
Shade’s eyes widened, and he put a hand into his pocket. His ears went back, but he didn’t say anything. Sunny reached up and snatched the guitar pick, handing it back to Shade. “It’s a guitar pick for Shade’s guitar.”
Shade put his ears back and scowled at Sunny, but it was too late. Everybody suddenly started making a commotion.
“Shade plays guitar?!” Coco blurted out.
“GUITAR?!” August echoed.
“Yer kiddin’. He ain’t hardly talk none, he don’t like loud noises, but he plays guitar?” Scout stared at Shade. “Yer kiddin’. Ye GOTTA be kiddin.”
Butterfly put her hands on her hips and scoffed. “And you’ve never played anything for us, Shade? Really? I thought we were friends.”
Shade pulled his hood up and started pulling the drawstrings tighter, feeling his cheeks and ears heat up. “I told you I got a guitar for Christmas, though…” He mumbled weakly.
Sunny sighed. “Guys, back off. He’s really sensitive about it. He doesn’t have to if he doesn’t want to.” He turned to Shade and hugged him. “Come on, hun, don’t go hiding away from us now. We were about to… do something. Right, guys?”
August nodded. “Yeah, we can.. Watch a movie? Play ball?”
“Get the squirt guns out?” Butterfly suggested hopefully.
“Target practice in th’ backyard?” Scout’s ears perked tentatively as he suggested it.
Sunny sighed. “A movie is probably the best bet, if we want him to come out. You know how he gets when he’s had enough noise.”
Of course, the decision to watch a movie kicked off an argument as to WHICH movie they should watch. Sunny found himself thinking that Shade would be able to solve the fight in an instant if he wasn’t hiding in his hoodie. Scout wanted to watch a western, Coco wanted a romance movie, Butterfly wanted an action movie, as usual, and August was always wanting science fiction. Sunny preferred cartoons, himself, but he was good with whatever as long as it got Shade out of his hood.
He wondered what movie Shade would pick. He usually was able to find a middle ground that gave everybody a little of what they wanted, but he couldn’t think of any movie that was part western, part sci-fi, part action, and part romance. He leaned in and nuzzled Shade. “Mm… if you weren’t hiding, hun, you’d know what to watch.”
Shade leaned against him, pulling his hood tighter.

[Amazee Dayzee]

I really like that we have learned a little bit more about Shade here in this chapter. I can't wait to see what else is gonna come out about him!

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Specifically that he's filthy and unclean? That's what Butterfly thinks, anyway. And yeah he IS a little bit naughty.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Chapter 3: Doctor Pavlov

“I froze up again, Doc.” Shade sighed, leaning back in the love seat at Doctor Pavlov’s home office, where he had therapy appointments every Thursday, as well as when he felt like he needed an extra, if Doc had an opening. Today was an extra. “This time, I was with friends, even. It wasn’t even anything that unusual that set me off. Butterfly found a guitar pick in my pocket, and everybody got excited that I can play guitar, and the next thing I know, I’m in my hoodie, hiding from the world.”
He gave a frustrated groan and put a fist to his head. “What’s wrong with me?! Just a couple months ago, I stood up to my ex, and now every little thing seems to set me off.”
Doctor Pavlov, a mixed breed dog with hints of german shepherd, looked up from his notebook. “We talked about this, Shade. You stood up to him because of adrenaline. And yeah, you stood up to him, but it was still a very real trauma you experienced. He came after you in your safe place and tried to drag you away from the life you’d built here. Yeah, he didn’t succeed, but it was still a trauma. And you’re not going to walk away from something like that unscathed.”
Shade put his ears back and nodded. “I know, but… with my FRIENDS?! What did I think was going to happen THERE?!”
Doc took his glasses off and sighed. “We have episodes when they feel like happening, not necessarily when we think they should happen. Sometimes, things that don’t normally set us off, set us off.” He paused. “You’re chewing again.”
Shade blinked at him, then looked down at his hand. Without thinking, he had taken his nylon bone- one of the few dog toys he owned- out of his pocket, and started gnawing on the nub of one end, right on top of one of the few chew marks already present. He took it out of his mouth. “... sorry.”
Doc sighed. “I know it’s your comfort item, but I do wish you would leave that at home when you come here. You get upset, and start chewing on it, and then I can’t understand what you’re saying, which makes it harder for me to help you.”
Shade put his ears back again. “Yeah, sorry, I… wasn’t planning on coming here when I left home. I just kinda… ended up here.” He gave a frustrated grunt. “Why can’t I just BE BETTER? It’s been like six months since he showed up here, why can’t I just… get over it already?!”
The older dog leaned over and patted his arm. “Sometimes our mental health doesn’t recover as fast as we would want it to. And that’s okay. The brain is a complex organ that we don’t fully understand. It can take time to unlearn behaviors we didn’t realize we were learning in the first place. Such as expecting danger in our safe spaces.”
Shade was quiet for a few moments, staring at the ceiling and listening to the clock tick. “I never freeze up when I’m just with Sunny, though. I feel like… he makes things better. I don’t know. Throw anybody else in, and I can freeze up with no warning, but when it’s just Sunny and I… Everything’s fine.”
Doc chuckled. “That’s because you’re completely head over paws for him. He makes you feel safe. It’s when others are there that the effect isn’t enough to keep your brain from shutting you down.”
Shade blushed a little. “Yeah… He’s pretty great… Do you have any suggestions to help me not freeze up?”
He thought about it for a few moments. “Hmm… You could try the breathing exercises we discussed for your panic attacks. I can’t guarantee it, but it might- you’re chewing again- it might help.”
Shade took his bone out of his mouth again and pocketed it, firmly placing his hands by his sides. “That might work, I guess. The grounding exercise, too? What was it, five things I can hear…”
“Five things you can see, four things you can hear, three things you can feel, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste. If you think you feel an episode coming on, you can try that, but from what you’ve said they come on pretty quick.” He scribbled something on his notepad.
Shade nodded and practiced it silently. He looked around and looked at Doc’s psychiatry license, the notepad, Doc’s chair, a tree outside the window, and a minifridge Doc kept stocked with water bottles for his patients. He closed his eyes and listened. He could hear the humming of the fridge, the scratching of Doc’s pencil, his own heartbeat, and a car driving past. He reached around. He could feel the love seat he was sitting on, his sweatshirt, his keys in his pocket. He took a deep breath. He could smell Doc’s cologne, a gentle musky scent; he could smell the dusty scent of the loveseat’s upholstery. He put his bone in his mouth for a moment. He could taste the faint taste of bacon from the bacon grease chemically bound to the silicon bone.
“... Okay… I think I’ve got it now.” He pocketed the bone again, and Doc nodded approvingly, having watched him.
“That was excellent.” He glanced at his watch, then smiled. “Actually, today is somewhat special.”
Shade’s ears perked, and he sat up. “... How so?”
“Well, you see, one year ago today, right around this time, a certain black corgi first entered my office and absolutely REFUSED to speak more than one word at a time, mumbling at the floor and not looking directly at me.” He grinned. “And look at you now. Coming in of your own volition, speaking whole sentences, practicing the exercises I suggest. You’ve made a lot of progress this year, Shade.”
Shade thought about that. “It’s… been a year already, huh?” He thought back. At the time, he had been depressed, willfully repressing his memories of his ex, doing anything he could to avoid thinking about him. He’d been a lot quieter then, easily overwhelmed and completely closed off from the world. Paul had had to practically carry him here.
Doc smiled. “Listen, Shade, you’re not going to clear up all your issues in just one year. Honestly, it’s amazing you’ve come as far as you have in that time.” He reached over and patted his arm. “And now, I hate to rush you when you’re upset, but I do have another patient in about five minutes.”
Shade nodded and stood up. “I understand. I… um… thanks, for squeezing me in.”
Doc patted his back. “Anytime, Shade. If you think you need me, don’t hesitate to stop by, and I’ll squeeze you in if I can.” He started walking with him out of the room and into his living room and entryway. “Just remember, if you feel an episode coming on, do your breathing exercises, do your grounding exercises, and remember it’s not going to happen overnight.”
Shade nodded and walked out past a leopard that was coming in. Sunny was waiting for him outside. “Oh… Hi… how did you know I was here?”
Sunny gave him a hug. “I had a hunch. You locked up on us yesterday, and that always bothers you. Thought you’d come see your therapist after that.”
“You know me too well, hun.” He kissed his nose and nuzzled him. “Wanna go snuggle?”
“Always.”

[Amazee Dayzee]

Who in their right mind would ever turn down the offer to snuggle since it is so fun and intimate? It really shouldn't have been a question that needed to be asked.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Who doesn't love a good snuggle with a loved one?

[Amazee Dayzee]

People who don't have any sort of feelings at all and could care less about others. So basically the answer to your question would be a sociopath. LOL

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Chapter 4: First Fight

Sunny reached and grabbed Shade’s hand, walking down the street with him. “So… how did your visit with the Doc go?”
Shade shrugged. “I told him about how I froze up yesterday, asked him if he had any ideas on how I could stop that.” He gave Sunny’s hand a squeeze, then paused and nuzzled into him. “I’m sorry I froze up on you yesterday. I left you alone with our rowdy friends and you had to get them off of me.”
Sunny sighed and hugged him. “And I told you to stop apologizing for stuff like that.” He squeezed a little harder than he usually did, and Shade sensed he was a little annoyed. “I don’t take it personally when your issues pop up, you know that. It’s not a problem, so stop saying you’re sorry.”
“... Sorry.”
“Stop it.” He poked him in the nose and grabbed his hand again. “There’s nothing for you to be sorry for.”
“Butterfly with a hose.” Shade warned.
Sunny blinked, confused for a moment before the statement filtered through his brain. He turned around and saw the papillon standing just a few yards away, holding the hose and sprayer from her house and grinning menacingly.
“No, no, don’t mind me, come just a little closer.” She waved the hose around, keeping her finger on the trigger mechanism. It dripped a little from where the sprayer head was connected to the hose. The sidewalk was wet a few feet from their paws, showing the exact range of Butterfly’s watery attack.
Sunny snickered and tiptoed right up to the edge of the wet spot. “Oh, you mean like THIS?”
Butterfly sprayed at him, pouting when the water hit the ground before it could reach him. “Nah, just a BIT closer. Come over here, I got a secret to tell you. I’m not gonna spray you, honest.”
Sunny grinned and stuck his paw forward, jerking it back just in time to avoid getting wet.
“No faiiirrrr!” Butterfly whined. “Get over here and let me soak you!”
Shade sighed and stepped forward. “Stop teasing her. She’s just gonna pout until you let her spray you.”
Sunny grinned. “But it’s FUN!”
Shade put a hand on Sunny’s back and shoved him into Butterfly’s range. He yelped and sputtered as she sprayed him, quickly soaking him head to toe. Shade smirked a little, stuffing his hands in his hoodie pocket and stepping sideways, around Butterfly’s range to meet Sunny on the other side.
Sunny grunted, dripping on the sidewalk for a moment before he shook himself, spraying water everywhere. Shade put a hand up to shield his face, snickering.
“That wasn’t FUNNY, Shade! I’m SOAKED! It’s gonna take HOURS for my fur to dry!” He scowled at Shade.
Shade grinned and leaned in for a kiss. “But you’re so cute when you’re wet.”
Sunny shoved him back and glared at him.
Shade’s face fell. “You’re… mad. You’re ACTUALLY mad.”
“Of COURSE I’m mad, Shade! You got me soaking wet! It’s COLD! I won’t be able to go inside until I’m dry!” He scowled, putting his ears back and stomping his paw.
Shade put his ears back. His hands started moving up toward his hood. “I’m… sorry…”
“Don’t you DARE!” Sunny grabbed his hands and pulled them away from his hood. “Don’t you DARE just put your hood up and lock up on me after getting me soaked!”
Shade felt his heart rate spike. His hands twitched. He wanted his hood. With some effort, he put his hands down. “I’m…”
“And don’t you DARE say you’re sorry! I don’t wanna hear you EVER say you’re sorry!” Sunny practically shouted. “Just stop! STOP IT! Don’t be SORRY, just DON’T DO IT!”
Shade put his ears back as far as they could go and kept his muzzle shut. He wanted to apologize again, but he knew it would just make Sunny angrier. Instead, he just tilted his head submissively and flinched as Sunny ranted.
“What made you do that? Why would you-” He trailed off, looking at Shade, then put his ears back, took a deep breath, and sighed. “I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to yell, I just…” He pulled Shade close and hugged him, licking his cheek.
Shade closed his eyes and hugged him back. Sunny could feel him quivering a little. He’d scared him.
“I’m sorry…” He whispered to Shade again. “I… I sounded like him, didn’t I? Shh.. shh… your heart’s beating so fast… you’re shaking… I just got mad, it’s not that big of a deal… I shouldn’t have yelled at you…”
Shade’s ears went back again. “I shouldn’t have pushed you… I’m sorry…”
Sunny pulled him even closer and to one side, sitting him down in the grass and holding him quietly, his eyes squeezed tight. “It’s okay, it’s okay, I’m here…” He whispered soothingly to him.
Shade turned and buried his face into Sunny’s damp chest, his own fur absorbing some of the moisture. “Sorry… sorry…” He kept mumbling. Sunny sighed and held him close, sitting with him until he started to settle down.

Shade opened the door to the Wildside House and slinked straight ahead toward the stairs up to his room. Paul scooped him up. “Oh, no you don’t. I know that face.” He plopped him down in his chair in the living room and sat across from him on the couch, leaning forward and looking at him, his tail twitching behind him. “Something happened. Tell me about it.”
Shade shook his head and stared at his paws. Paul leaned in and poked around his belly. “Tell me. Tell me. Tell me.”
Shade squirmed, then snickered, then giggled, then all-out laughed at Paul’s tickling pokes. “Okay, okay, just stop, STOP!”
As soon as Paul stopped, his smile faded, and he sat up. “Sunny got mad at me… Butterfly had a hose, and I pushed him into her reach, and he just started yelling and shouting at me.” He put his ears back. “He said some… things. I don’t think he meant them, but…” He flinched and looked back down at his toes again. He gave them a wiggle. “It wasn’t fun.”
Paul reached over and patted his leg. “You okay? You seem more upset than just a little fight should make you.”
He nodded. “Yeah… it’s just… it was our first fight.”
“What else?” Paul’s voice was stern. He always knew when Shade was hiding something.
“For a second, while he was yelling, he sounded like… my ex. Just for a second. And then I found myself bracing for him to smack me, like my ex used to do.” He looked up suddenly. “He didn’t, though! He didn’t. I just… expected him to.”
Paul’s fist clenched tightly in his lap for a few moments, then relaxed. “Your ex… is not here. And Sunny’s not going to turn into him. He just got mad, right? People say all kinds of things when they’re angry that they don’t mean.”
Shade nodded quietly. “I know, but… I wish he wouldn’t.” He stared at his toes some more. “It kind of hurt.”

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Chapter 5: Making up

Shade let himself into Sunny’s house, and instead of going down to the play room, he went up and knocked on the door to Sunny’s room. He opened the door and looked down at Shade, then grinned and pulled him in for a hug. “Hi, hon!”
Shade hugged him back, putting his ears back, then gave a startled yelp when Sunny pulled him in and closed the door behind him. He grabbed him and rolled him into his basket with him, grinning as he pinned him down. “You’re in my room and my parents aren’t home. Wanna get naughty?”
Shade forced a smile. “Maybe later?”
Sunny frowned and flopped down into the basket padding next to him. “You always wanna get naughty. What’s the matter, hun?”
Shade sat up and looked around. He’d only been in Sunny’s room once before, and only for a moment, so he hadn’t had the chance to look around before. The room was fairly small, as bedrooms went, but large considering Sunny had it to himself. The light switch had been lowered to Sunny’s level, and the room was littered with books and toys of all sorts. Since Sunny’s owners, or “parents,” didn’t have any human children, they pampered Sunny with as much praise and attention as a dog could want, and more. He was spoiled beyond reason, but still somehow wasn’t a brat.
After a moment, Shade spoke. “I’m sorry. About earlier, I mean. I shouldn’t have pushed you into Butterfly’s reach. I knew you didn’t like being wet and for some reason I did it anyway.”
Sunny stared at him for a few moments. “Oh, are you still upset about THAT?! That was hours ago, I’m over it.”
After a few moments, Sunny hugged into him and gave him a squeeze. “I’m sorry about the things I said though. I was mad. I didn’t actually mean any of it.” He gave a sad little smile. “I… understand if you don’t wanna be my boyfriend anymore after that. It wasn’t very nice of me to go after your insecurities and nervous tics like that.” He pressed his nose into Shade’s cheek lovingly.
Shade leaned into him. “I know you didn’t mean it… it stung a little bit, but you’re right. I DO apologize too much. It’s… because of how HE used to treat me. I’m trying not to, but it’s… kind of like a reflex.”
Sunny put an arm around Shade and closed his eyes, nuzzling into him. “Mm. You’re warm. Get over here.” He pulled him into his lap and hugged into him from behind, pressing his torso to Shade’s back. With the extra boost from Sunny’s legs, Shade’s head was almost even with Sunny’s, and they could be cheek-to-cheek.
Shade felt his tail wriggle against Sunny’s belly a little, and Sunny grinned. “Mmm… this is nice.” He nipped Shade’s ear playfully. “Do you forgive me for saying those mean things to you? And for yelling at you?”
Shade pretended to think about it. “Hmm… I don’t know… they were kinda MEAN…” He teased playfully, stroking his chin thoughtfully. “I’m not sure I can forgive them just like that.”
Sunny laughed and tickled him. “Oh you little-!”
Shade laughed with him and tilted, making them both fall over, then spun around and pressed noses with Sunny. “Mmm.. Sunny Days and Shade Knight. Together forever.”
Sunny grinned and cuddled into him. “Mmm… forever.”
After a few moments, Shade reached over the side of the bed and pulled a plastic ball from the floor into the basket with them. “What’s this thing?” He turned it in his hand. It had all kinds of interesting clasps on it, with little doors attached to them that opened in interesting ways. He twisted a dial until it unscrewed and popped open on a hinge that lined up right when it unscrewed enough to open. There was a little compartment behind it that seemed to open up into the ball’s core and inner workings.
Sunny grinned and took it from him, closing the compartment. “It’s a puzzle. You take a treat- oh, just a second…” He reached inside his collar and fumbled around for a biscuit in the inner pockets, then grinned and broke off the tip of the biscuit. He turned the ball until a hole appeared on top, and dropped the piece of biscuit in. Then he spun the piece that the hole was in, making the whole ball whirr and click until the treat dropped into one of the compartments. “Like that, and it puts the treat into a random compartment based on some kind of randomizer inside, a complex series of chutes and tunnels or something. And the goal is to find the treat as fast as possible.”
He passed it back to Shade with a grin. “What, do humans not have stuff like that?”
Shade sniffed at the ball curiously. Sunny had been teaching him how to use his nose to get information about the world around him that he couldn’t get with just his eyes and ears. He was pleased to see him practicing without being prompted.
Shade shrugged. “Not really. We have something SIMILAR we give our children, just little dials and buttons and knobs that pop up little cartoon characters when you use them. The fancy ones even play music or sound effects. But we don’t really… you know… hide food inside our toys. Well… We don’t have toys designed for that. Leave a toddler alone long enough and you’ll find food inside their toys.”
“So you don’t have puzzles for treats? Sounds boring.” He watched Shade turn and sniff at the ball curiously, snuffling around each compartment until he seemed to decide where the treat was and start fidgeting with it. “You seem to be into it.”
Shade shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s a dog instinct. Maybe I just want the treat.” He smirked and opened the compartment, snagging the snack and popping it into his maw.
Sunny laughed. “I just picture a human doing that. Eating dog treats, playing with a puzzle toy and sniffing at it like that. That would be so weird.”
Shade grinned. “Oh? And what do you think this human looks like?” He shut the compartment and passed the ball back to Sunny. Sunny grinned and snapped off another biscuit piece, loading it into the toy and spinning it into a compartment before passing it back. He watched Shade sniffing at the ball’s compartments again.
“Hmm… He’s got black hair. Long fingers. The bluest blue eyes you’ve ever seen. He likes to wear black leather jackets, and spikes. Maybe a shirt with a skull on it. And blue jeans. He’s… SUPER tall, and skinny.” Sunny grinned.
Shade shrugged. “Well… some right, some wrong. I wasn’t ever all that tall. I mean, I was taller than I am NOW, but I never cracked six feet. I had brown hair, and my eyes were hazel.” He paused to sniff at a compartment again, then started fidgeting with it to try and open it. “I wasn’t skinny, but I wasn’t fat either. I was just kind of… average weight, I guess? I didn’t wear leather or spikes. I wore denim. A denim jacket, blue jeans, and black shirts. If I wasn’t wearing a jacket, I usually wore a button-down shirt with a pattern on it, but not buttoned up. I liked vertical stripes. They make you look taller and skinnier.”
Sunny grinned and stole the treat before Shade could eat it, then kissed his cheek. “You sound super handsome.”
He snickered and closed the compartment again, passing the ball back to Sunny to reload. “I guess I was pretty good-looking. When I didn’t have a black eye that I was trying to cover with make-up.” He paused and looked down, then shook his head and looked up again, shaking off the pang of misery that came with the memory. “I’m not sure why my eyes got so blue. Most of the Changed that I’ve met kept their eye color when they changed. They ARE pretty, though, aren’t they?”
Sunny grinned and pulled his chin around to look in his eyes. Shade stared back into Sunny’s dark brown eyes in return. “Mm. Yeah, gorgeous. I love the color, and I love the little gold flecks that are there if you look close enough.”

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Chapter 6: Citizen

Shade startled as his phone went off, and he squealed, tossing it aside and ducking behind the couch before realizing what the noise was. Paul looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. “Overreact much?”
Shade picked up the flip phone and examined it for damage. “It startled me. Nobody has my number except you, Alice, Todd, Sunny, and the Miltons. And you and Todd are HERE, and Alice and Sunny know not to message me unless it’s an emergency.” He opened the phone and navigated to his texts.
Paul poked him in the side. “You ever going to upgrade to a proper phone? We got you that so we could get ahold of you back when you were still jumpy and shy.” He paused, then smirked. “Or… back when you were shy. Apparently you’re still jumpy.”
Shade shook his head. “Nah. I don’t need a smartphone. This one does what I need it to do. Phone calls, text messages, and music. All I need.” He opened the text and read it, then his tail wagged and his ears perked. He read it out loud. “Shade- just got the confirmation letter. Congratulations, you’re a citizen again. Come by after therapy on Thursday to discuss next steps and transfer ownership of the Shade Knight proceeds account into your name. K.”
Paul’s eyes lit up, and he clapped his hands. “Congratulations, shorty!” He put Shade in a headlock and noogied him, purring and twitching his tail.
Shade squealed and pulled away. “No no no, let go of me!” He laughed and punched his arm playfully. “I swear, you forget that I’m older than you.”

Thursday came along, and Shade left Doc’s house, turning to head up the hill toward the big mansion on top. There were acres of grassy field and lightly wooded space between the gates and the actual mansion; in fact, the mansion was technically in the next county due to its distance. Shade walked along the path, bobbing his head lightly to some music he had playing through his big headphones. It was quite a walk; he could remember not too long ago when he’d made this walk to ask to use the recording studio one of the ferret owners of the land maintained.
That had led to him releasing an album of his own songs, which had in turn led to him secretly going out and giving concerts and interviews when his album had unexpectedly taken off. He didn’t know the exact stats, but he knew his most popular song had had nearly a billion streams by its third week online. The ferrets had had to open a bank account for him to hold his earnings because, as an animal who hadn’t yet gotten his citizenship, he couldn’t actually open an account on his own accord.
Finally, he found himself walking up the steps. He took off the headphones and folded them, pocketing them in his hoodie. The door opened before he even arrived, and the ferrets’ butler stood aside to let him in. “You are expected, suh.”
He smiled up at the very tall man. “Er… Thanks, Jeeves. I know the way, you can go back to… uh… butling?”
“Very good, suh.” The man gave a little bow and walked away. Shade watched him go around a corner and vanish.
After a few moments, Shade turned and started wandering down the hall. He paused at an open office door and smiled at the badger working inside. “Good afternoon, Mr. Steward. How are you today?”
The badger startled, then looked at him. The usual guilty expression crossed his face before he stammered that he was just fine, adjusting his glasses. One of these days, Shade would figure out why the badger always seemed to get nervous and guilty-looking around him. He shrugged and continued down, raising a fist to knock on the office door of his generous benefactor, who had acted as his temporary “owner” until he could once again qualify as a citizen. Instead of knocking, however, his hand passed through the spot where the door had been as it opened. He blinked and looked down at the ferret standing in the doorway.
“I told you, you don’t have to knock if I’m expecting you. Just come in.” He left the door open and waved him in.
Shade put his ears back and followed him in. He could still remember the day he’d arrived on the train to this particular ferret waiting for him to bring him to the Wildside House. “Er… How are you today, Keene?”
The ferret climbed up in his chair and sat looking at him for a while before speaking. “Good. Got a lot of paperwork involved in shuttering the ECP again. We only reopened it for you, you know.”
“And I’m thankful for that. I’d have been on the street otherwise.” Shade climbed up in the chair opposite Keene and looked back at him. Brown and tan, with a little brown mask-like marking over his face. It had grown very familiar over the last few months.
“Well… I don’t think you’ll need to worry about that ever again.” He pressed the button on his intercom. “Steward, bring in the paperwork for the Shade Knight account. History of deposits and withdrawals, and the transfer paperwork.”
Shade frowned. “What do you mean?”
The badger came in and set a folder on the desk. Keene pushed it toward Shade. “Well... have a look.”
Shade looked up, then down at the folder and opened it. There was a list of deposits. Monthly deposits from just about every streaming service in use, music stores, download sites, and licensing companies. Shade flipped through page after page of that. There, there was a withdrawal of a few thousand to have his guitar custom-made, then some more deposits, and the total- Shade’s eyes boggled as he counted the zeroes. “That’s… a lot of money…” He stammered, his voice cracking in surprise.
“For me? No. For you? Probably.” Keene sat forward and folded his hands on his desk. He pushed a pen over to Shade. “You just gotta sign to take possession of the account, and then it’s all yours. I recommend not spending too much until you’ve paid your taxes on it. Or just buy a yacht or a plane and not HAVE to pay taxes, but that’s probably a bit much for you, considering how modestly you like to live.”
Shade blinked up at him. “How do you know I like to live modestly?”
The ferret sat back. “You’ve never asked for more allowance. And I’ve seen your room. You don’t have much of anything in there even after a year. I don’t pay you all that much, Shade. I’ve been waiting for you to ask for more all year, and you just never did.”
Shade nodded and turned to the transfer form, starting to fill it out. “I don’t really need much. A roof over my head, food in my belly, a guitar to play and a computer to help me write. I have all that already down at the Wildside house.”
Keene sucked air through his teeth. “... Yeah, about THAT…”

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Chapter 7: House and Home

Shade sighed and walked back into Wildside house, looking around and setting down his bag of paperwork. His conversation with Keene weighed heavily on his mind. Basically, he was set up here at the Wildside House as a guest of the ECP, the program that had adopted him from the animal shelter; with the program shutting back down again, though, he couldn’t technically stay here, since this house was meant for feral species, and he was a domestic. There was no rush, since the Miltons invested heavily in both programs and could push off his getting kicked out, but he was going to need to find someplace else to live.
His ears went back nervously. Was he going to be able to find somewhere close by? Was he going to be able to find somewhere at ALL? He wandered the house; everybody appeared to be out, which happened more and more often ever since Alice had moved out. He sighed and went to his room and flopped on his bed. The news that he had to move had overshadowed the news that he was now decently wealthy. He felt awful.
After a few moments, he rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling, fumbling in his pocket for his phone. He dialed Sunny’s house. “Hi, Mrs. Days. It’s Shade. Is Sunny in? Yes, I can hold.” He waited for a few moments. He could hear Mrs. Days calling Sunny in the background, and then scolding him for dripping on the floor. He must have been playing in the sprinkler or something. A few moments later, Sunny answered the phone. “Hi, Shade. What’s the matter? You HATE using the phone.”
Shade sighed. “I… just got back from the Milton estate. They gave me my bank account and citizenship paperwork, and some bad news. I… have to move. I can’t stay at Wildside House. I’m not going to get kicked out IMMINENTLY, but soon-ish, I guess?”
“Oh, no! Do you have anyplace in mind?”
Shade shook his head. “No, not really. I guess I could look for a house for sale here in the neighborhood. I don’t really NEED a whole house to myself, though.”
“Ooh! OOh! You could move in with ME!” Shade could actually HEAR Sunny’s tail wagging in his voice.
He hesitated. “I don’t know… it’d be totally weird living with your parents. Like, I KNOW them, but…”
“Aww, they won’t mind! You’re two and half feet tall and weigh fifty pounds, they’ll hardly even notice you!”
“That’s not really-” He began, only to get interrupted again.
“Come on over! We can ask them! You can move into my room! It’ll be like we’re brothers! Except not brothers, because that would make naughty time weird.”
He sighed. “Will you listen to me, Sunny? I don’t think I can move in with you. At least, I don’t want it to be my first choice. Give me a couple weeks to look at options, okay? If I can’t find anything in the area, I’ll consider it, I promise.”
Sunny was quiet for a few moments. “You… don’t wanna move in with me?” He sounded a little hurt.
Shade sighed. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it. Your house is noisy, Sunny. The gang comes and goes all the time, your parents are loud people… I think I would be miserable if I was there all the time. I mean, it would be nice having you just a few seconds away all the time, but… the noise.”
Sunny was quiet for a few more moments. “... Okay… I’ll tell the gang to be on the lookout for houses for sale in the neighborhood. Maybe… maybe I could move in with you. That would work, wouldn’t it?”
Shade sighed. Part of him understood Sunny wanting to live with him, but he wasn’t sure he was ready for their relationship to go that far. He decided it wasn’t worth upsetting Sunny with; he would discuss it with him if the time came. “... yeah.” He was quiet for a moment. “So… how’s your day going? I heard your mom yell at you for dripping on the floor…”
Sunny’s voice suddenly perked up. “Butterfly got a super soaker and she brought it over. It’s battery operated, it shoots SO MUCH, and it attaches to the garden hose so it can keep going and going and going! We’re SO wet!” He giggled.
“Sounds like a lot of fun. Maybe I’ll come over tomorrow and we can play. I’ll make sure to not have any electronics on me so I don’t have to worry about getting wet.” He hung upside-down from his bed and held the phone to his ear.
“Ooh! Yeah! I’ll tell her! And I think Scout’s off his shift then, too, so he can come over and play!”
“I don’t think Scout’s ever SEEN a super soaker. He’s been kind of a working dog his whole life. Kinda sounds like he didn’t really have much time for playing around.”
“Eh, he’ll figure it out. I’ve got a few extra mini squirt guns we can fill up for defense, and I think August has some of those quick-fill water balloons left. This’ll be GREAT!”
Shade smiled at the ceiling. “Yeah. I… gotta go. It’s my turn to make dinner, and I gotta get started or it’s gonna be late.”
“Ooh, gotcha! Yeah, you go right on ahead! I gotta get back to the water fight, anyway!”
“Bye, hun.”
“Bye!” He hung up.
Shade sighed and rubbed his forehead. He loved that golden retriever, he really did, but his childlike energy was too much sometimes.
He walked over to his desk and opened up his laptop, opening a browser window and placing the cursor in the search engine. He hovered his fingers for a moment and typed clumsily. “Houses for sale in Babylon Gardens.”

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Chapter 8: Water War

Butterfly grinned as she checked the batteries for her squirt gun for the tenth time. “So Shade’s gonna come over here and NOT wear his hoodie? I don’t think I’ve ever seen him without it!”
Sunny shrugged. “Well, he’s got a marking that he’s embarrassed of, so he likes to keep it covered. Not sure why, it’s kinda cute.”
August’s hand shot up in the air. “Now taking bets on shape and location! I got two biscuits on it being a bone in the middle of his back!”
Coco laughed. “No, no no, clearly it’s on his side, and it looks like… a bird.”
Scout looked up from playing with his slingshot, a leather strap with a pouch in the middle, and grinned. “Naw, it’s a heart, smack-dab in th’ middle of his chest. Prolly, like, pink, too.”
Sunny snickered. “Pink’s not even a natural fur color. Are you suggesting he goes to the trouble of dying his fur, just to cover it up?”
Scout wiggled his eyebrows. “A li’l somethin’ special fer his special boy.”
Sunny blushed, then cleared his throat. “Yeah, well… Scout’s the closest so far, but it’s not a heart. It’s-” he trailed off when he saw Shade coming down the street. He was wearing his hoodie, but that wasn’t unexpected. He could take it off before coming out back, after all.
August grinned. “Oh, so it’s on his chest! Is it a spider? Like VENOM!”
Butterfly grinned. “I bet it looks like a big old di-”
“Hey guys!” Shade called out the door. “Just a second, I gotta take off my hoodie and I’ll be right out.”
Sunny nudged Butterfly. “Inappropriate.”
A few moments later, Shade let himself out through the screen door, wearing a plain black tee shirt instead of his hoodie. There was a lot of jeering.
“That’s cheating!” August pouted.
“Not cool, dude. I wanted to see,” Butterfly howled at him.
Scout gave a disappointed snap of his fingers. Coco laughed. “Ha, none of you expected THAT.”
Shade gave them strange looks and walked over to Sunny to give him a nose rub and a kiss on the cheek. “What’s up with them?”
Sunny grinned. “I told them about your marking, but I didn’t give any details. They were placing bets as to what and where.”
Shade blushed a little. “Oh, so they’re mad I’m not in just my skin.”
“Yeah, basically.” He snickered, and passed him a squirt gun from a plastic box at the bottom of the porch stairs. “I preloaded these up, and the box is full of water so we can reload quickly.” He waved everybody in, and everybody except Butterfly moved in to collect a squirt gun. “It’s everybody versus Butterfly, since she’s got the fancy one.”
Butterfly grinned and waved her soaker in the air. “I will WINNN!”
Scout gave his squirt gun a test squirt across the yard and nodded. “Ah got this.”
Sunny grinned. “Ready? GO!”
The chaos that followed involved a lot of yelling, running around, and spraying of squirt guns, and Shade ended up going aside after a couple of minutes, covering his ears with his hands. Every shriek of laughter or shout at getting soaked sent pain through his ears. He squeezed his eyes shut and held his hands over his ears firmly, rocking back and forth. He didn’t notice that the fight had stopped until Sunny put a hand on his shoulder. He looked up.
“You okay? I don’t think we really thought this through. With your ears…”
Shade nodded quietly. “It’s fine… it’s… you guys keep playing, I’ll be all right.”
Butterfly sprayed him directly in the chest, then squinted at him before grumbling. “Rats. I was hoping your marking would show through if I soaked your shirt.”
Shade’s ears perked, and he snatched up his squirt gun, reaching up to grab his ear and pointing the water pistol directly into it.
“What are you doing?!” Sunny gasped in alarm, reaching to grab the squirt gun away from him.
He grabbed it back. “You know how if you go swimming, the water gets in your ears and then you can’t hear anything until it comes out hours later?”
Sunny hesitated. “... yeah?”
“I’m gonna do that on purpose. It should muffle the sounds of you guys yelling so I can still play with you, without my ears hurting.” He grinned, tilting his head a little and adjusting his aim with the pistol. He didn’t want to squirt directly into his ear canal, just close and let the water roll in.
“Is that… safe?” Sunny looked concerned.
“Sure. It’s just water.” He squirted just a little, aiming it on the outer limits of his ear and letting it roll into his ear canal, shuddering a little as it tickled going in. “As long as I don’t squirt it directly in, I should be fine for a little while.”
August watched Shade tilt his head the other way and carefully aim his squirt gun. “Sunny, your boyfriend is SERIOUSLY weird.”
Butterfly impatiently waved her squirt gun. “Come ON, I wanna soak somebody!” She huffed. “Let’s go, let’s go-GAH!” She sputtered as Scout hit her in the face from across the porch. He snickered.
Shade finished waterlogging his ears and grinned. “All right, let’s do this!” He jumped up excitedly, his tail wagging.
“FINALLY.” Butterfly grinned and aimed her power pistol at Shade’s chest.
Shade squealed and darted aside, and the chaos began again. It only took about fifteen minutes for everybody, including Butterfly, to be thoroughly soaked.
Butterfly pouted as Scout consistently hit the target from a good range. “No fair! Scout’s too good at this!” She fired rapid-fire at Scout, missing him for the most part, then squealed when Shade got her point-blank in the back of the head. “COLD! Cold cold cold!” She spun to try and hit him, receiving a water balloon to the face for her trouble.
Shade laughed. He felt like a little kid again. It was great being able to forget everything and just act his size for once.
Sunny grinned as he snuck up behind Shade and popped a water balloon directly onto his head. Shade squealed and spun around. “Friendly fire! Friendly fire!”
Once everybody was tired from running around, they all sat out on the back porch in the sun, waiting to dry. Shade snickered and lay back, tipping his head and patting himself on the side of the head to try to shake loose the water from his ears. “That was a lot of fun, but next time I’m gonna find some proper ear plugs. It’s a pain to get water out of my ears.”
August smirked and sat up to look at him. “Let us see your marking, Shade. You’ll dry faster without your shirt on anyway.”
Butterfly grinned. “Take it off! Take it off!”
Scout snickered, but kept his opinion to himself.
Coco’s tail wagged. “I’m curious, too. What’s it look like that you’re so embarrassed for us to see it?”
Shade tugged the bottom of his shirt down and squirmed. “I’d really rather not. It’s… private.”
There was some more gentle teasing and jeering from the gang, but nobody really pressed him all that hard to show them.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Chapter 9: Snuggle

Sunny grinned and snuggled into Shade’s side, tracing the marking on his chest. It was, vaguely, a crescent moon, balanced points-up atop an egglike shape, though not super cleanly cut. It was milky white in stark contrast with the black fur that covered the rest of his body.
“Mm.. why don’t you want the others to see your markings? It’s not THAT bad. It’s kind of cute, actually.” He nuzzled into Shade’s cheek, wagging his tail gently.
Shade kissed his forehead. “I don’t know. Shyness? I’ve never really liked it all that much.”
Sunny grinned at him. “You liked it enough to put a cleaned-up version on your album cover. Though the blue circle going through it, I don’t get.”
Shade winked at him. “It’s my eye. I love my new eyes. They’re beautiful.”
He looked at him, then wagged his tail. “Oh, yeah! I see it now.” he traced an arc between the points of the moon shape. “Right there.”
Shade nuzzled into Sunny lovingly, closing his eyes and pressing their foreheads together. “Mm. Thanks for being patient with me. I know it’s not always easy putting up with my issues.”
Sunny rubbed noses with him happily. “Oh, you know you’re fine. Everybody has something not great about them. You just gotta be able to ignore the bad and pay extra attention to the good.”
Shade smiled and lay back, feeling the breeze through the open window ruffling his fur. It felt nice; summer, as a black dog, had been brutal. Now, the wind was growing chilly, and the tips of the leaves were starting to turn. He glanced out the window at the tree there, watching the vivid reds and yellows at the tips of the branches melt into deep greens closer to the center.
He sat up and climbed out of bed, walking to his desk and opening the drawer. He took out a worn-out notebook and walked back to the bed, climbing up the rolling stairs to get in with Sunny and opened the book. “When I had my first session with Doc, he told me to start keeping a journal. I wanna read you something from it.”
“Ooh, story time? And my favorite kind, stories about Shade!” Sunny wagged his tail and settled in while Shade flipped through, looking for the page.
He grinned. “Here we are. One year ago, today.” He cleared his throat and started to read, doing an excellent impersonation of himself. “I met another dog today. A golden retriever. He’s really smiley, excitable, has too much energy, and talks too loud. I sniffed his butt. YUCK! Why did I do THAT?! It’s not like I’m a real dog! He wanted to play with me. I said no. He calmed down after that, and we sat in the grass and watched clouds for a few minutes instead before I made an excuse and left. He doesn’t seem too bad, just too energetic for me. I don’t think I’m going to be hanging out with him again.”
Sunny snickered. “Hey, that’s ME! I remember that, I dragged you halfway around the neighborhood. Everybody was busy that day and it had been raining for days, so I was full of pent-up energy and had nowhere to put it.” He kissed Shade’s cheek. “Are you saying I was your first butt sniff? Aww… Kind of flattered, honestly.”
“Only butt sniff to date, actually.” Shade blushed a little. “Managed to escape having anybody else offer, somehow. But I’m also saying… it was one year ago today. It’s the anniversary of the day we met.”
Sunny thought about that for a minute, then grinned. “Oh! That’s exciting! We’ve been friends for a year now! And more than friends for a few months less.” He wiggled his eyebrows.
Shade sniggered. “Ha. Remember the first time we got naughty together? Paul and Alice got home and were just standing there watching us come down the stairs when we were finished? I was SO embarrassed.”
Sunny laughed. “Oh, that was FUNNY! The way you suddenly got all shy, TOTALLY gave away what we’d been doing. And they were so polite, acting like they didn’t know.”
Shade blushed a little. “Heh… it was kinda fun getting caught, but let’s not do that again. It was embarrassing.”
Sunny nuzzled into him quietly for a few moments. “... Have you had any luck looking for a house in the area?”
Shade flinched. He’d been trying to avoid the subject. “... No. Nothing. I had an interview for an apartment, but as soon as I showed up, they slammed the door on me. Well, not LITERALLY, but they might as well have. Kind of knew it would happen.”
He put his ears back. “If you can’t find something nearby…”
“I know, it’s going to be difficult to keep dating you.” He let his chin rest on the top of Sunny’s head, putting his ears back and closing his eyes for a few moments. “I could see if your parents would let me adopt you.”
There was a few moment’s pause, and then Sunny started snickering. “Heh… And here I thought YOU called ME daddy.”
Shade blushed and playfully pushed on his shoulder. “You goofy little- that’s not an appropriate joke for a serious talk.”
He stuck his tongue out and snickered. “But it’s funny anyway.”
Shade was quiet for a few moments, then kissed his head. “You should probably start getting ready to go home… it’s starting to get dark out.”
Sunny pouted and hugged him, laying his head on his chest momentarily. “Mmm. I wish I could spend the night with you. I bet I’d have my best night’s sleep ever with some late night Shade cuddles.”
Shade thought about it for a little bit. There was still another option, he guessed. It wasn’t his favorite option, but it was an option.
“Maybe… we should talk to your parents. Ask if I can stay over for a few nights.”
“What, like a sleepover?” Sunny licked his chin and started getting out of bed, tossing Shade his hoodie.
“Like a trial. For moving in.” He started pulling on his hoodie. When he got his head through, he found Sunny grinning at him hugely. “... What?”
“You wanna move in with me?” His tail was wagging wildly.
He hesitated. “Well… It’s an option. I’m trying not to make it my ONLY option, and it’s not my favorite. I like to have some of my own space.”
Sunny nodded. “Yeah. We have a room we’re not using. That can be your space.”
He frowned. “I know, but… your family’s pretty loud. I like the quiet around here.” He climbed down and took his hand to lead him out of the house. He liked to walk him home.
Sunny nodded. “I understand. It’s not a perfect solution.”
“It would be temporary at best. Just until I can find something else. But I’d have one other condition before I would even consider it.”
Sunny put his ears back. “Which would be…?”
“We’d have to tell your parents everything. Who I actually am, how I got here… the whole story.”

[Amazee Dayzee]

Even though I have not been posting in this topic frequently after each update like I have in the past I just wanted to say that I have been following along with the story regardless and I like where it is heading! I can't wait to see what else you got up your sleeve and always look forward to the next updates! ^_^

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Chapter 10: Confessions

Shade took a deep breath, looking around. “I can see Sunny, a ball, a rope, the tree through the window, the lights on the ceiling; I can touch the basket, the carpet, the pillow, and Sunny; I can hear the clock, the wind in the tree, and Sunny’s heart; I can smell Mrs. Days making cookies and the fresh air outside; I can taste my bone.”
Sunny nudged him. “Feel better?”
He nodded, still feeling a little queasy. “Mostly… What if they say I can’t be your friend anymore? What if they won’t let me SEE you anymore?”
“They won’t. You’re panicking over nothing. I’ve been living with them my whole life and I’ve never seen or heard any indication that they wouldn’t be okay with this.” Sunny smoothed out his headfluff and kissed his cheek. “Now stop upsetting yourself again after you just did your grounding exercise.”
Shade nodded quietly and took another deep breath. “You’re right. Your parents are nice… they’ll probably be fine with… everything.” He wasn’t sure he really believed the words he was saying.
Sunny took Shade’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “Ready to go?”
He nodded. “Let’s just get it over with before I lose my lunch.” He turned and followed him down the stairs, waiting in the living room until Sunny gathered his owners and brought them in to sit on the couch.
“Mom, dad, Shade would like to say something to you.” He walked over and patted Shade on the back, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.
Shade stepped forward nervously. “Er… Mr. and Mrs. Days… I have a favor to ask, but first… we haven’t been properly introduced.”
Mrs. Days snickered. “This is so cute. Of COURSE we’ve been introduced, Shade. Sunny introduced you to me the first time he brought you home.”
Shade flinched. “He… told you my name. He didn’t introduce me. Allow me to… where to begin?” He looked nervously at Sunny, who held up a note card for him. It read, ‘start with your name.’
He took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment, then turned back to Mr. and Mrs. Days. “My full name is Shade Knight. I recently produced an album of songs I wrote myself; I am a citizen, not a pet; and…” he hesitated, then finished. “And I used to be a human.”
He flinched, bracing himself for the reaction he was sure was coming. It didn’t come. After a moment, Mrs. Days spoke up. “Oh… like the Ward boy down the street. You poor dear…”
Mr. Days looked down at Shade with a calculating stare. “Interesting. Is this the album that Sunny’s been obsessed with, then?”
“W-well, yes, but-” Shade stammered, surprised.
“It’s very good.” He nodded. “I would never have guessed that was you.”
“A-are you- I just told-”
“I bet you made a lot of money off of that album.” He nodded again thoughtfully. “I heard it was top of the charts.”
Shade’s eye started twitching. Sunny sniggered and stepped forward. “Da-ad, you’re gonna make him have an episode unless you acknowledge the bigger news.”
Mrs. Days leaned forward in her seat. “We already figured out that you used to be human, dear. You don’t really… ACT… much like a dog.”
“And you went to that festival.” Mr. Days put in. “The one for Event victims.”
“And of course, there’s that you live at the Wildside house with those darlings.” Mrs. Days added.
“But we’re glad you trust us enough to tell us. That must have been very difficult for you.” Mr. Days spoke.
Shade put his ears back and nodded nervously. “A-and there was something I wanted to ask you, n-now that you know the truth… er… well… I guess you kinda already knew the truth, but now I’ve told you, and so now you know it twice, or maybe know it for SURE…” he rambled nervously. Sunny nudged him with his arm, and he cleared his throat. “W-well, anyway, since I got my citizenship paperwork, I can’t stay at the Wildside House anymore, and I’m having a hard time finding a place to stay. Sunny asked me to stay here, and… well…”
“He wants to stay for a few days as a trial run before he commits to moving in.” Sunny finished, rescuing Shade from his floundering momentum. “He can stay in the spare room. O-or in my room!”
“You are NOT having your boyfriend move into your room.” Mrs. Days said firmly. “But we can clean out the guest room. We never have guests anyway. A trial basis. How long were you thinking? A week or two?”
Shade nodded and stammered. “J-just a week or two, and then if it goes well, discuss extending it. I-I wouldn’t be moving in permanently, just until I could find something in the area. A-and I can help around the house, I do most of the cleaning at Wildside house already-!”
Mrs. Days waved her hand. “No, no, you’ll be our GUEST! We don’t make guests do the housework!”
Mr. Days grinned. “Besides, you’re always so much of a gentleman when Sunny’s friends are over, it’s a lovely change from those rowdy pups. I bet you’d be an absolute DARLING to have over long term.”
Sunny’s ears perked. “So… he can stay over?”
“I guess. BUT!” Mrs. Days raised a hand. “There’ll be no tomfoolery. You two keep your business private, understand? No staying up until all hours, no getting nasty on the couch-”
“Mooo-ooommm!” Sunny protested, turning a little pink.
“Don’t you mom me, I know what you two get up to when you go up to your room alone. I have ears.”
Shade reddened. “... oh… I didn’t realize we were that loud… I’m so sorry.”
“Oh, pish-posh. You’re both grown adults, even if we DO tend to think of our pets like children. Just maybe keep it down a little bit more?” She smirked at him. “Maybe don’t be howling anymore, huh, Shade?”
Shade buried his face in his hands. “Ugh… kill me now, never mind coming to live here, I can’t show my face here ever again.”
Sunny laughed. “You’re so SHY. There’s nothing wrong with being a little noisy.”
“Well… maybe you two could be a LITTLE bit less noisy.” Mrs. Day laughed. “We’ll have Sunny clean out the guest room for you. Do you need a basket, Shade, or are you okay with the normal bed?”
Shade put his ears back. “W-well, I have a normal bed at the Wildside house, but I can sleep in a basket if that’s what you’ve got. I’m not picky.”
Sunny grinned and pulled Shade in for a hug. “This is gonna be the BEST! Will a week be quick enough? We kinda started using that room as storage, so there’s a lot of stuff in there.”
Shade smiled and hugged him back. “A week will be good.”

[Amazee Dayzee]

I liked how you used Shade's expectation that Sunny's parents were gonna freak out over him being a musician and then subverted them by having them not be all that bothered by it and willing to let him move in for a trial basis! This chapter has come out really nice!

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Chapter 11: Moving Day

Shade glanced around his room. There were a few faded spots where the previous tenant had hung some posters, but it was mostly bare. His guitars stood in the corner; his custom electric he used for concerts, and the kiddy acoustic his housemates had gotten him for Christmas each had their own stand.
Sunny walked in with a duffel bag. “This was the only thing my dad had that was easily accessible. I hope it’s big enough for all your stuff.”
Shade glanced around and frowned. “I thought I was going to need a bag, but if I’m only staying two weeks…” He glanced around, then opened his desk drawer, pulled out his journal, and popped it into the bag. “I guess… I didn’t really need a bag.”
Sunny frowned. “Surely you need more than that? You can bring…” He opened the bottom dresser drawer, looked inside, frowned, and opened the next one up. Then the next. Then the top. “Um…” He opened the closet. “Your… tee shirt?” He picked up the single black tee shirt, folded neatly in the top dresser drawer, and popped it into the bag. “In case Butterfly wants to bring her soaker again?” He looked around at the bare walls, the desk with a pen cup containing two pens and a pencil and his laptop, giving a spin and frowning.
“Shade… where’s all your stuff? I KNOW you have stuff.” He thought back. “Don’t you have stuff?”
Shade shrugged. “Not really, no.” He reached under his pillow and got out a picture of himself and Sunny. “That’s… all there is. I have a couple notebooks full of song lyrics and doodles, my toothbrush, my guitars…”
Sunny put his ears back. “Really? You don’t have ANY stuff?” He looked at the sad display in the duffel bag. A notebook, a photograph, and a single shirt.
He shrugged again. “I mean, I have my headphones, my bone, my phone… the stuff I carry with me all the time anyway. Other than that, my guitars… and that’s pretty much it. And I’m not carting my guitars all the way over just for a two week trial stay.”
Sunny sat on the bed and looked around. “If you’ve been here over a year, why didn’t you ever decorate the room? There’s just NOTHING in here. You don’t even have a poster or anything.”
Shade shrugged. “I’m never in here. Unless I’m having an episode, I guess, but that doesn’t really count.”
“Well… you can decorate your room at my place. I’ll help you. We’ll get you some posters, some lovely little statuettes or something.” He nuzzled into him lovingly.
Shade shrugged. “We’ll see how this trial run goes.” He took a look around the room, then picked up the duffel bag. “Let me just grab my toothbrush and toothpaste, and then we can start heading over.”
Sunny hopped down off the bed and followed him to the bathroom. “You gonna miss this place?”
Shade shrugged. “The house? Probably not. Paul? Yeah, almost definitely.” He hesitated. “I better not come back after and find the fridge all disgusting again. It took me like four hours to clean it out the first time.”
Sunny grinned. “Ooh, I don’t think I’ve heard that story.” He watched Shade pack his toothbrush and toothpaste into a baggie, then stuff it in the duffel bag. He started down the stairs, then paused and grabbed his bag of kibbles from the kitchen cabinet. He wasn’t sure if Sunny had any, or if it was the kind he liked.
“Oh, it’s not really that much of a story. I was really shy when I first got here, so I didn’t eat with everybody else. I came down to get a snack in the middle of the night, and the fridge was so nasty that I had to wrap a washcloth over my muzzle to keep from gagging.” He paused at the door to have one last look at the room, then started out the front door.
Sunny laughed. “You really DO do most of the cleaning around here, don’t you?”
Shade gave a halfhearted laugh. “Yeah.. that was something that… uh… that HE beat into me. To keep a tidy house.” He trailed off a little.
“... Oh. I’m sorry, I-”
“No, no, it’s fine. I guess SOMETHING good had to come from that mess. It’s nice to have a clean house all the time.” Shade leaned over and nosed Sunny’s cheek. “Besides, if it wasn’t for him, I would never have met you. Maybe. Probably. Most likely?”
“Oh, well that would be very sad.” He nosed him back. “But then maybe you wouldn’t have so many issues. Maybe it would be worth it.”
“Absolutely not. I’d deal with him for another year if it meant for sure that we’d be together.” He grinned and swatted his backside.
He squealed playfully and laughed. “Hey now, not in public, hun!” He grinned. “I can’t take you down and have fun in the grass in public.”
Shade snickered. “Says who? The danger of getting caught is more fun.”
“Says the guy that hid his face when he found out someone heard us.” Sunny laughed.
Shade opened the door and held it for Sunny, then grinned. “Aww, that’s just because we thought we were being quiet. When we know we might get caught, it’s different.”
He started up the stairs. “I haven’t actually seen the spare room in this house, is it nice? Gaudy paint, clown dolls with glow in the dark eyes? Maybe a little bit of motorized action on the heads so they spin around three hundred and sixty degrees?” He teased playfully.
Sunny snickered. “Just the one, but it also laughs and sings children’s songs really slow and in a minor key.”
“Oh, PERFECT!” Shade snickered and opened the door. There was a relieving lack of motorized singing clown dolls. In fact, the walls were quite tastefully painted in a dull purple color with a stamp of flowers printed in various shades of yellows and oranges in a rough pattern, every foot or so.The dresser was painted white, there was a nice matching desk, and the bed smelled like the sheets had just been changed that morning. He set his bag down on the bed and turned to smile at Sunny. “Well.. I’m all moved in.”
Sunny snickered. “It’s a little smaller than your room at the Wildside house. Maybe we should have brought those stairs…”
“Nah. I’ve gotten pretty good at not needing them. See?” He squatted, then jumped up with a quiet “hup” sound, scrambling up onto the bed.
Sunny laughed and followed him up. “Mm.. start your stay with some snuggles, then?”
Shade gave a happy noise and leaned in to cuddle into him. “Ooh, sounds spectacular.”

[Amazee Dayzee]

Snuggles are always a great way to end a stressful moving day. I have only moved once in my life and I know for a fact that afterwards I would have LOVED to have an anthropomorphized pet snuggle with me.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Snuggles are amazing.

[Amazee Dayzee]

They truly are but I can't really do it for hours since I need to move around. I would not be the best snuggle partner.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Chapter 12: Proximity Might Suffer

The first couple days living with Sunny were nice. Shade found that he could easily sneak across the hall to snuggle with Sunny after Mr. and Mrs. Days went to bed. He suspected they knew it was happening, but they didn’t say anything about it.
Shade would get up and have his usual breakfast of kibbles with milk, which Sunny declared was “disgusting” and that he would “never ever do that.” Shade smirked at him and ate another bite, and Sunny laughed, looking away and going back to his toast.
After breakfast, Shade would brush his teeth and, every other day, have a shower. He didn’t shower more than that, because he didn’t want to damage his fur by using product in it too often, but he felt gross if he went longer than that without a shower. Sunny found it amusing how he showered so often; Sunny himself only showered once a week or so.
After the shower, their activities varied from day to day. If it was raining, they would often snuggle on the couch, drink tea, and watch movies all day. On sunny days, they would have their friends over for a playdate, except for Scout, who had started another round of shifts at the precinct.
On Thursday, Shade headed out just after lunchtime to go to therapy. So far, it had been going well; he and Sunny had had a petty squabble that morning over something he couldn’t even remember. He hummed along the road, his hood up to stop the light drizzle from dampening him, his hands in his pockets. He’d left his bone at Sunny’s house, as per Doc’s request; his tendency to start chewing on it without realizing when he got nervous or upset was disruptive to both of them.
He let himself into Doc’s house and called out to let him know he was there. Doc called back. “One moment, Shade, I’m wrapping up with another patient.”
Shade took a seat on the couch in Doc’s entryway, glancing around. The entire front of Doc’s house had been converted into his office; photos of him as a human, from before the Event, were placed here and there, with photos taken since mixed in. Shade grinned when he spotted Paul in one of them; Doc loved having photos of his patients.
The doorway to Doc’s office opened, and an aardvark appeared in it, shaking Doc’s hand and thanking him for his time. He left rather quickly, bustling past Shade, and Doc grinned, inviting Shade in.
The first few minutes of the session went well. Shade told Doc what he’d been up to over the past week. When he told him that he’d moved into Sunny’s house temporarily, Doc seemed a little concerned, but didn’t say anything right away. Once Shade was caught up, Doc leaned forward and put his hands together.
“Okay. I’m a little bit concerned about you moving in with your boyfriend. I know, you’re very attached to him, and it may even end well. However, there is the little issue of what happened the last time you moved in with your boyfriend.”
Shade flinched at the memory. Five years of beatings, gaslighting, and mental abuse was the majority of the reason he was in therapy now. “How does that have anything to do with me moving in with Sunny? We’re not even in the same room.”
Doc nodded. “I know, you said. However, the last time you lived with someone, it was a rough time for you. Physically, mentally, and emotionally. I’m just worried that you moving in with someone new without properly preparing yourself might dredge up some of those old emotions, may even inspire less than desirable behaviors from one or both of you.” He set down his notepad and grabbed a sketchbook that he kept in case he needed visuals during a session. “Okay. This is your relationship with Sunny.” He drew a circle. “It’s nice, mostly healthy. You get along well, you like each other. Maybe you squabble once in a while, but you always make up. You have boundaries, and you take care of each others’ needs as best you can.”
He paused, then drew another circle, not touching the first. “And this is your relationship with your ex. It was very unhealthy and unbalanced. He was physically and emotionally violent, took everything he could and gave very little back. He left you drained, scarred, and traumatized, in more ways than one.”
He indicated the space between the two circles. “Normally, you’re very good at keeping these two relationships apart. You’ve left your old relationship in the past, and you keep your relationship with Sunny in the present. Sunny’s your safe space, if you will, and makes you feel better than you normally do alone.”
He frowned and tapped the pen on the second circle again. “But your only experience living with another man, particularly one that you’re dating, is with your ex. That can change things. Now there’s parallels between Sunny and your ex. You live together. And the brain has a tendency to pull from previous experience when deciding our behaviors. Unfortunately, YOUR experience is not good. You were in an unhealthy relationship, and that experience can transfer over without you wanting it to.”
He drew a line from the second circle to the first. “Dealing with disagreements.” He drew another line. “Sharing a bathroom.” Another line. “Sharing possessions.” He paused. “Are you understanding this? It’s been good so far, may even continue to be good. But you’re still in what we call the honeymoon phase. You’re still getting used to the new situation, learning about each other and how to cope with a shared space. So you’re being more careful.”
Shade put his ears back. “... What are you implying?”
Doc looked him over for a moment before answering. “I’m not saying you’ll do it on purpose, Shade. But I am saying some of the behaviors your ex displayed may start coming out of you. Particularly as you and Sunny grow more comfortable and accustomed to each others’ presence, in having the same shared space and no real separate space.”
Shade huffed. “You think I might turn into that… that MONSTER?”
“No, no, not exactly. You won’t full-on turn into him. At least, not all at once. Especially if you’re looking out for those behaviors and correcting them as they appear. But you might find yourself doing or saying things you don’t mean. Things he would have done in certain situations.” He sighed. “Do you understand? It’s all about your previous experience. We don’t constantly think about the decisions we make, we make some without thinking. Like right now, you’re looking in your pocket for your bone, because you’re upset and you want to chew on it. I bet you didn’t even realize you were doing it.”
Shade looked down at his hand, pulling it out of his hoodie pocket, then put his ears back. “Oh…”
“Just be careful, Shade. I’m going to give you some things you can do if you find yourself acting undesirably, and you can have Sunny do if he catches you doing it.” He tore a page out of his notebook and started scribbling down on it as he spoke, giving Shade instructions on how to self-train undesired behaviors from himself.
Shade left Doc’s house feeling a little miserable. He might start acting like his ex? All because he was living with Sunny? He shuddered at the thought. When he got to Sunny’s house, he paused. Hadn’t he already done something like that, though? When Butterfly had had a hose, hadn’t he pushed Sunny into it? He could remember his ex doing similar things, pushing him into uncomfortable situations in the name of “expanding his horizons.”
Shade’s ears went back, and he let himself in. Mrs. Days was out now, at work. He hadn’t realized she even had a job until he’d moved in, since she seemed to always be in the kitchen, but it turned out Sunny wasn’t allowed to have friends over when he was home alone. With Shade here, though, he was allowed. Shade wondered if it was because he had been human, and so they assumed he was mature enough to make wise decisions.
“Sunny! I’m home!” Shade called, walking up the stairs. Sunny wasn’t in his room, but that didn’t bother Shade; he could hear Sunny in the other room, Shade’s room. He went inside. “Sunny? You in here, babe?”
He blinked. Sunny was chewing on his bone. HIS. BONE. He stared at it. It was definitely his; the two perfect rings of chew marks, one around the base of the nub on one end, and one going through the nub on the other end, identified it as such. He had a very unique chewing style. But now there was a third set of teeth marks, going through the middle. Sunny spat it out and held it in his hand. “How was therapy?”
“My- my bone!” He reached out for it, and Sunny pulled his arm away.
“Relax, I’m just borrowing it. It’s just a bone.” He squeezed the nylon surface, bending it slightly and watching it snap back into shape.
Shade’s ears went back and he saw red. That bone was his one possession, besides his hoodie, that he cared for more than he cared to admit. He’d bought it on Doc’s suggestion back when he was new in town, before he’d even met Sunny. It was the only thing that had caught his attention at the pet store. “My. BONE!” He growled. He found himself baring his teeth as he grabbed for it, getting ahold of the end and trying to pull it out of Sunny’s hand.
Sunny held firm. “Whoa, what’s with the snarling? You can borrow one of my bones if you like.” He jerked it back.
Shade’s hand squeezed tighter onto it, and he pulled with all his might. “GIVE IT HERE!” He snarled and raised his hand. Sunny flinched away, and Shade froze, staring in horror at his fist, inches away from Sunny’s face. He stared at it, horrified, for a few seconds, then his eyes started filling with tears. He let go of his bone, then turned and walked out of the room, out of the house, and down the street, straight back to the Wildside house, and his room. He shut the door, locked it, climbed up on the bed, and buried his face in his hands.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Chapter 13: Self punishment

Shade lay on his bed at Wildside house, hugging his knees. His ears were held back, his eyes were squeezed shut, and his hood was drawn tight around his muzzle. He could hear Sunny knocking at his door. “Shade… Please come out. Or at least let me in. I know you didn’t mean it. And you didn’t even DO it, so it’s fine, right? Please?”
Shade curled up tighter. His chest felt tight, like he couldn’t breathe, and he recognized the beginnings of a panic attack. He tried to focus, whispering to himself. “I can see… I can see.. Nothing…” He flinched. It wasn’t working. He wasn’t calming down.
He reached up and loosened his hood so he could see out. “I can see… the bed… and the wall… and… the window…”
He flinched as Sunny knocked again, interrupting his thought. He drew the hood tight again and made himself as small as possible. He breathed shallowly. The only thing he could think about was the sight of his hand raised to strike Sunny. He flinched and tried to make himself smaller.
After a while, he realized that Sunny had stopped knocking. He sighed, starting to calm down. “I can see the bed, the wall, the desk…” he mumbled to himself, pulling his hood back and looking around himself.
Once he had completely calmed himself, he took a deep breath and sat up. He reflected on his actions; what had happened, how he handled it, and how he could have handled it differently.
He sighed and put his ears back. He had been ready to punch Sunny in the face over a five dollar nylon bone. He cursed his dog instincts under his breath, glaring angrily around the room. Then, after a moment, he started blaming himself instead- wasn’t he more than just his instincts? He could have stopped the whole thing by stopping to think first, but instead he got angry right away.
Every time he blinked he saw an image of his fist raised. He raised the same fist again and used it to hit himself in the face. He slammed the side of the fist into his forehead, over and over, harder and hard. “Bad Shade. Bad Shade, bad Shade, BAD SHADE! Bad dog!” He slapped himself. “You just can’t do ANYTHING right, you worthless piece of filth. You’re a fraud, you’re a bad person, and you don’t deserve ANY of the happiness you’ve been feeling. You’ve even convinced people you could sing. You convinced them to buy your music, and they pretend to think you’re good so they don’t hurt your feelings, but really you’re AWFUL.”
He growled at himself, then continued. “You’ve even convinced those nice people to let you into their home. They opened their home to you and how did you repay them? You nearly PUNCHED their DOG. You make me SICK.”
There was a knock at the door. Paul’s voice sounded. “Shade? Are you back? What happened? Are you okay?” The doorknob rattled. “That didn’t sound like things Doc would want you saying to yourself.” There was a pause. “Are you backsliding again? Do you need me to call somebody? Sunny, maybe?”
Shade flinched at the mention of his name. Finally, he spoke up. “I’m… I’m fine. Go away.”
There was a pause. “... No. No, you aren’t fine. I could hear what you were saying to yourself, Shade. You know these walls are paper thin.” The doorknob rattled again. “Let me in or I’m going to get Doc.”
“Go away!” Shade raised his voice a little, scowling at the door. Couldn’t he wallow in self-pity in peace? Couldn’t he hate himself uninterrupted? “Leave me alone.”
“Not until you tell me what happened.” Shade heard his weight gently rest against the door. “You don’t backslide this bad unless something happens.”
“I’m garbage and I should never have come here, I should have just gone and lived on the streets like the IDIOT I am, THAT’S what happened.” He buried his face in his pillow. He realized for the first time that he was crying.
“No, you’re not. You’re just upset because something happened. Now tell me what it was. I can’t help if you won’t talk to me, bud.”
Shade was quiet for the longest time, waiting for Paul to go away. He didn’t; Shade could hear him sitting outside the door, breathing and occasionally shifting his weight to get more comfortable.
“... I almost punched Sunny.” He finally said weakly. He heard Paul take in a sharp breath.
“... Ah. What happened?” There was no judgment in his voice. Shade wished there had been. It might have made it easier for him if there had been.
“... It was so STUPID. I got back from therapy and he had my bone. I tried to take it away- like an idiot- and of course he wouldn’t give it back because duh, that’s what happens when you try to take something from a dog, they want to hold onto it… and then MY instincts kicked in and I got mad because he had my toy… and then the next thing I knew, I was stopping my fist like three inches away from his face. And then I just left.”
Paul was quiet for a few moments. “... I see. A misunderstanding. And you reacted in a way that…”
“I reacted like HE would have. I’m no better than HE was. I’m an awful, TERRIBLE person and I don’t deserve to be here.” He shouted through the door angrily.
There was another pause. “I don’t think you are. Would he ever have felt so bad about nearly striking you? Would he ever have stopped himself?”
Shade’s ears perked a little, then went back again. “... No.”
“So you’re already way better than him.”
Shade thought about this for a few moments. “I… guess…”
“Will you open the door for me now?”
Shade considered for a moment, then climbed down off the bed and unlocked the door. Paul got up and turned to hug him, the tiger’s tail swishing behind him gently as he held him tight. “You’re okay. You’re okay, now. You didn’t mean to…”
Shade put his ears back. “I’m sorry for upsetting you. I…”
“Stop.” He hugged him tighter. “It’s OKAY. I’m just glad you’re okay. Do you wanna call Doc? Have him talk to you again? I know you just had a session today, but if you’re backsliding…”
Shade wiped his eyes with his arm and shook his head. “N-no, I’m… I’m okay now. I just… overreacted.”
“No. You reacted perfectly reasonably, considering the circumstances.” He let go of him and held him out at arm’s length to examine him. “I’m glad you’re okay. I’m glad you got yourself out of there before you did something you’d regret even more.”
Shade nodded quietly. “And… I have to go apologize to Sunny. For yelling at him, for almost hitting him, and for running away after.”
Paul nodded. “That would probably be best… but remember that I’m here for you if you need me. We’re still best buds.”
Shade nodded again, then blinked when Paul held out a hand with his bone in it. “My bone!” He snatched it and pocketed it. “Where did you find it?”
“It was here, outside your door. At first I thought maybe you dropped it.” He nodded and pointed at the floor outside Shade’s door.
Shade put his ears back. “Sunny must have left it when he was knocking. I have to apologize for that, too…”

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Chapter 14: Sorrow

Shade put his ears back and knocked on Sunny’s door. “Hey, Sunny?”
There was no answer. He could hear Sunny in there. “Hey, I’m… I’m sorry, okay? I definitely overreacted. I didn’t mean to… almost punch you. I feel awful, I just…” He trailed off quietly, then sighed. “I know… there’s no excuse for it. I’ll… start looking for someplace else to stay. I don’t think this is going to work.”
He had hoped the door would open when he turned to leave, but it stayed closed. He returned to his room and sighed. He would stay the night, and pack up to leave in the morning.
Sunny didn’t even look at him during dinner, and he kept his own eyes down at his plate. Mr. and Mrs. Days didn’t seem to notice, or if they did, they minded their own business and didn’t ask about it.
Shade’s night was plagued with nightmares, of himself as his ex, and Sunny as him. He rolled fitfully in his sleep, mumbling to himself and whimpering. He watched himself in horror as he beat Sunny, played mind games with him, and got pleasure out of doing so.
At some point, something warm joined him in bed. Or, he thought it did. After that, the nightmares calmed down to a blissful lack of dreams. When he awoke, he was alone in the bed, but Sunny’s scent lingered. He put his ears back and breathed deeply. He was going to miss that scent.
He climbed out of bed and started gathering his belongings. He didn’t have a bag for everything, but it didn’t really matter; he put on his shirt under his hoodie, and everything else fit in his pocket.
He left quietly, without telling anybody. He didn’t want to raise a fuss; it was just him, little old Shade, the guy that had almost hurt his boyfriend, after all. He pulled his hood up and walked over the damp roads. Apparently, it had been raining.
Paul opened the door to the Wildside house before he even got there. “Shade? Are you okay?” He crouched to get level with him. “Hey… I thought you were feeling better.”
“Sunny won’t talk to me. Won’t even look at me.” He put his ears back. “I think I’m just gonna… move back here for now…” He shuffled past the tiger and sighed. “I messed up, Paul. I messed up bad.”
He started up to his room quietly. He heard Paul call after him. “Well.. if you need me, I’m home today… and if you need Doc, you know where he is.”
Shade nodded quietly and closed the door to his room. He didn’t lock it. After a few moments, he sat down at his desk and pulled out his notebook with song lyrics in it, flipping through it for a blank page. He sighed quietly. Writing lyrics always helped him feel better. It didn’t always turn into a song.
He put his pencil to the paper. “I’m lying here thinking of what, I nearly did to you and, I can’t help but feel like, I don’t deserve your hand…” He started.
Hours passed while he wrote, line after line, scratching some out, rewriting others, pouring his heart out onto the paper. After a while, he stared at it. He had half of a song, anyway. He retreated to his bed with his guitar and strummed on it, trying out a few tunes and channeling how upset he felt.
After a while of that, he sighed and lay back, letting the tears he’d been holding back fall. He’d hurt Sunny and now he wouldn’t talk to him. He hadn’t actually thrown the punch, but he still felt as though he had.
He was barely aware that someone had entered the room with him. He was quiet while they stood at his desk and looked at his lyric sheets, then walked over and sat on the bed with him.
“... Go away, Paul. I don’t wanna talk.” Shade mumbled, not looking.
“It’s me.”
He sat up and turned his head. Sunny smiled at him weakly. He put his ears back. “S-sunny…”
“So… were just going to leave without saying goodbye?” Sunny reached and carefully set Shade’s guitar aside so he could scoot closer.
Shade looked down. “I… didn’t think you wanted to see me. You wouldn’t talk to me last night, or even look at me.”
He cuddled into him. “But I did come snuggle when you were having nightmares.”
Shade nodded. “I know. I could… I could tell you had come.” He nuzzled him and put his ears back again. “I’m sorry about… I never meant to…”
“I’m not mad because you almost hit me.” He grabbed his hand. “I’m mad because you ran off and locked up on me instead of TALKING about it. And yeah, I did start it, but that doesn’t mean you were right for that.”
Shade nodded. “The worst thing? Doc had JUST gotten done telling me that some of… of HIS behaviors might start peeking through with us living together and spending all of our time together. That’s what got me so upset when I caught myself raising my hand at you.”
Sunny kissed his cheek. “We’ll call it both of us at fault this time, okay? We both still have a lot to learn.”
Shade lay his head on Sunny and closed his eyes. “Mm. Mostly me, let’s be fair. All you did was try to play with my toys. I play with yours all the time.”
Sunny put an arm around Shade and was quiet for a while. “Not… my special ones, though. I’ve never shared those with anybody. I should have known better than to mess with YOUR special toys.”
Shade snickered. “That… that sounds naughty. But I know what you mean. You mean the ones that you’re really attached to, right?”
Sunny nodded. “You’re very… minimalist. If you don’t LOVE it, you don’t keep it around. I should have known better than to mess with your stuff. It’s ALL very special to you.”
“Not as special as you are. Honestly, I’d throw it all away just to spend more time with you.” He nuzzled into him. “Just… don’t tell my subconscious. It believes differently, and we disagree. That’s what caused the problems here.”
Sunny laughed. “Heh… you sappy little… c’mere.” He kissed him and rubbed noses with him. “Mmm. I saw you started writing a song about it. Gonna finish it?”
Shade grinned. “Maybe. Now that I have a nice ending.”
“Ooh, how’s the ending go?” he passed him the guitar and scooted back to give him room.
Shade grinned and tried out a few riffs before he quickly settled on one. A nice 80’s rock ballad seemed appropriate. He grinned and strummed it out for a few moments, finding the right moment and the right words. “I’m standing here looking, at how you look at me, and I can’t believe, that you can still love me. I run from my past, and how he treated me. I run from my heart, and how it wants to, treat you just the same.”
He hummed along with the tune for a moment, out of words he’d thought through, then stopped and looked up at Sunny.
Sunny grinned and kissed him. “I love it when you sing for me.”
Shade smiled, his tail thumping. “I’d sing for you, any time.”

[Amazee Dayzee]

Glad that they were able to clear up what happened in the previous chapter! This is why communication is so important when it comes to intimate relationships!

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Especially when one person is coming off an unhealthy relationship. Gotta make sure your loved ones know you love them.

[Amazee Dayzee]

I hope now Sunny has more of an insight into Shade and realizes why he lashes out. Its not because he is mean or a bully but because he felt like he needed to protect himself even though Sunny is nothing like his ex.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Oh, Sunny understands that Shade has issues, he just wishes Shade would talk through them instead of locking up. I imagine it's pretty frustrating when the person you're with sometimes just shuts down.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Chapter 15: For Sale

Shade nearly didn’t notice the sign as he walked, overlooking it mostly out of habit before pausing and backing up.
“For sale,” it declared, giving the name and number of the realtor. He opened the box and took out one of the fliers, looking over the floor plan. His mind started racing. Three bedrooms, two bathrooms; He could turn one room into a studio, maybe rent out the other. He’d have to have the kitchen modified for someone of his height, but with the size of his bank account…
He grinned, looking down the street. He could SEE Sunny’s house from here. He could live close to him, without living in the same house as him. He pulled out his phone and dialed the realtor’s number.
Half an hour later, the realtor arrived and looked around, seeming confused, then looked down at Shade. “Are you… Shade?”
Shade nodded and put out his hand to shake. “That’s me, I’m the one who called you. I know, not what you expected, am I?” He gestured at himself. “I know, I don’t sound like I look.”
She hesitantly shook his hand and stared at him strangely. “You… can you…” She didn’t seem to know how to ask the question she had in mind professionally.
“Don’t worry, I can afford to pay if I like it. I’ve recently come into some wealth.” He gestured toward the house. “Shall we?”
She continued to stare at him for a moment, then shook herself out of it and plastered her big fake smile back on again. “Right, the house viewing. Now, this house is currently vacant, as the existing owner already moved out.” She approached the door and input a code on the large digital padlock-shaped device on the door handle to unlock it and retrieve the key. “It’s partially furnished, so that’ll save you a little bit of money on furniture.”
The door unlocked and Shade followed her in. The paint was a bit faded where there had been photos; there was a couch that looked like someone’s grandma had left it here, and lines of plastic on the carpet for viewers to walk on.
“This is the kitchen. It has a lovely walk-in pantry here.” She opened a door and demonstrated, then closed the door again. “Laundry room.” She showed him the laundry room just off the kitchen. The machines there were old, but not so old that they didn’t look like they’d work; it doubled as a boiler room, with the furnace and water heater inside. “There’s no basement to this house, but there is a half story upstairs and a one car garage.”
She walked through the house, showing him this and that. The master bedroom was rather spacious, almost twice the size of Shade’s current room, with a bathtub in the bathroom big enough for Shade to swim in, and a walk-in shower on top of that, nicely done up in tiles. It was very lovely.
The two extra bedrooms were nice, too, bigger than the rooms at Wildside House, but not as big as the master bedroom. The carpets throughout the house were brand-new, and the flooring in the uncarpeted areas were hardwood- real hardwood, not that thin fake wood or linoleum that looked like wood. Shade liked it very much.
The extra bathroom was just off the living room and had a tiled walk-in shower with no tub. Shade didn’t like the sink, but he had enough money to have it replaced, and was planning on having some renovations done anyway if he bought it, so that was no big deal.
The backyard was spacious enough to have the Sunshine Gang run around there. There were some dead flower beds, and Shade wondered if he could grow his own vegetables there if he wanted. He pictured it full of strawberry plants, tomatoes, green peppers, and carrots, and smiled broadly. It almost felt like this house was MADE for him.
At the end of the tour, Shade grinned and reached up to shake the realtor’s hand. “I’d like to have an inspector in to be sure everything’s up to code and there’s no urgent repairs, but I think barring anything too serious I’ll be making an offer on the house after that. I LOVE it. It’s exactly what I always pictured myself having!”
She hesitantly shook his hand. “You don’t want to know about… school districts or… nearby amenities?”
He shook his head. “I already live nearby, but I live with other people, and it’s not MY house. It’s time for me to go out on my own. And this is within sight of my boyfriend’s house, so it’s the PERFECT location.”
She seemed a little shaken, but smiled. “Y-yes, of course. I can give you a list of home inspectors, or you can find your own and get them in touch with me. We can start the paperwork immediately. I have some in my briefcase, you can make a tentative offer pending the inspection, if you like. Do you… need to call your bank to see if your loan will cover it?”
He shook his head. “No loan. Cash.”
She goggled at him.

An hour later, Shade grinned as he walked down the stairs to Sunny’s playroom, settling into Sunny’s beanbag next to him and nuzzling into him, trying to pick up the nuances of a story Scout was telling.
Sunny nuzzled back and whispered to him. “You’re late, you’re very late. What happened?”
Shade grinned. “I stopped to see a house for sale.” He whispered back.
Sunny’s face lit up. “Where?” He spoke almost too loudly. Scout scowled at him, then resumed his story.
“Just down the street. I can see your house from there.” He beamed at him, pressing noses with him, then turning to watch Scout relate taking down an apparently large opponent during takedown drills at work.
Sunny nibbled Shade’s ear to get his attention back, then pressed his muzzle close and whispered gently. “And? Did you buy it?”
“Mm. Gonna get an inspector in there, make sure everything’s up to snuff, but I made a tentative offer.” He glanced around, then leaned in close and pressed his head under Sunny’s chin, closing his eyes happily.
Sunny rubbed his chin over Shade’s head, then pulled him in and lay back on their bean bag. Scout’s story started wrapping up, and Shade grinned happily. He wondered how long remodels would take.
Sunny’s hands rested on his chest, and he closed his eyes. This was nice.

[Amazee Dayzee]

Really nice to see these cute scenes between the two of them! I always hope that there is more in a chapter than there actually is!

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

They're a pretty cute couple for sure.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Chapter 16: Remodel

Shade sipped his tea, then jumped and spilled all over himself when his phone rang. He grabbed a towel and tenderly dabbed at the hot spots where the tea was starting to burn as he snatched up the phone. It was the realtor’s number. He answered it, had a short conversation, thanked her, and hung up.
Paul looked at him, waiting.
“The owners accepted the offer. I’m a homeowner. Well.. I will be, once I go sign the paperwork this afternoon.” He grinned eagerly.
Paul grinned and scooped him up in an enthusiastic hug. “Congrats, bud! It won’t be the same around here without ya, though.”
Shade grinned.

Two days later, Shade stood in his new house with the contractor. “I need the cabinets removed and everything lowered down to about this high.” He gestured to his lower chest, just above his belly. “If there’s room and you can find it, small cabinets for storage underneath will be fine. Just… just this side of the kitchen. That side is fine.” He gestured to one side. “I don’t know what kind of tennant I’ll have, so I want to leave it usable for tall people, too.” He pointed to a section of the counter. “I need that section of the counter removed and a cooktop added- just the cooktop, I can use the oven just fine as is.”
He walked with the contractor. “I need every room repainted, I haven’t selected colors yet, but there’s that. This sink.” He opened the door to the main bathroom. “I hate this sink. I want it replaced with something more… I don’t know, good-looking. The flat bottom sink is just… it’s a no from me.”
He waved the contractor to follow, watching him take notes, and headed upstairs. “This is going to be the studio, I’d just like a little riser right about… here.” He stepped in the spot. “To display my guitars. And soundproofing, this room absolutely needs some soundproofing installed.” He paused, thinking. “And… I think that’s it. Just the counters need lowered, the sink replaced, repaint the rooms, and install a riser for my guitars.”
The contractor nodded and did some calculations on his notepad before listing a very reasonable price. Shade frowned. “That sounds a bit low.”
He listened patiently as the contractor explained that they could save money since he was only moving the countertop and not replacing it by carefully removing the counter and then reinstalling it at the new height once his new cabinets had been installed. He nodded thoughtfully. “Yes, that… makes sense. All right. You wanted half up front and half when the job’s done?”
He negotiated with the contractor, then excitedly watched as he left with the promise to return on a certain day the following week. A few minutes later, Sunny walked up the walk, and Shade excitedly met him at the door. “Hun! Check out my new digs! All mine!” He hugged him and took his hand.
Sunny grinned and looked around. “It’s nice. Sorry living with me didn’t work out.”
“Nah, that was always going to be temporary, anyway. Besides, this way we’re close, but not so close we can’t get any time separately.” He grinned. “Plus, we don’t have to be quiet during naughty time here.”
Sunny laughed out loud, his tail wagging. “Yeah, you can howl out loud if you want.”
Shade blushed and nudged him. “Hey now, you’re not exactly quiet either.”
He snickered and looked around. “Wow… I know a dog that owns his own house. It’s so surreal. And you just paid cash for it.”
He grinned. “And to think, I had resigned myself to never being able to own property.” He kissed him and gave him a tour. “This is the spare room.. This is going to be my studio. And the kitchen. Nothing in the fridge yet, but at least it’s clean.”
Sunny grinned and climbed in the bathtub in the master bedroom. “This thing is HUGE. I bet we could fit the entire Sunshine Gang in here. Even with Scout.”
Shade laughed. “Let’s not test that. The house came with that couch, the bed in here, and a few endtables that I already threw out because they were falling apart. I think it’s basically just what the previous owner couldn’t get out. They took the mattress, so I’m sleeping on an air mattress for now. I’ll probably not worry about it until after the remodel.”
“Did the contractor take you seriously?” Sunny opened the closet to peek inside.
“He seemed to… although I think he gave me a discount. He said it was because everything I wanted was easy, but I doubt it.”
“The sink in the bathroom, right? You said something about that like six times.” He sniggered.
“Heh… It’s a flat-bottom. All the crud just built up on it… it’s gross.”
“I bet.”
Shade’s phone rang. He flinched, then dug it out of his pocket. “It’s Rock.” He answered it and put it to his ear. “Hello, this is Shade.”
He flinched and held the phone away from his ear as the ferret’s loud voice blasted through the phone’s tiny speaker. “Shade! Shade Knight! My boy, my dog, my rock star! You made me your agent and as your agent, I have DELIVERED!”
“First of all, YOU made you my agent. Second of all, it’s co-agent, remember? Pit’s also my agent? Third of all… go on.”
“Well, I- I mean, WE- got you a GIG! Next month, on the fifteenth, River Ridge football stadium! It’s gonna be all about YOU, baby! The whole stadium, just for your show! Picture this, YOU, up on the jumbotron, playing to as many people as we can stuff into the stadium as per the fire marshal's orders! Think you can make it? Think you can actually go up on stage this time?”
Shade hesitated. Going up on stage scared him. In front of all those people, if he messed up, everyone would see. He could still hear his ex’s voice telling him he was awful, that he sucked, and that he should stop performing for the bar he had enjoyed performing at back when he had been human.
His eyes drifted to Sunny. Sunny smiled at him encouragingly, and Shade felt courage flood him. “Mister Milton, I think I can. But I got a new song I wanna open with. I’ll get you the sheet music as soon as I finish composing it, so you can get the band on it.”
“Sounds SPLENDID, I’m looking forward to hearing your new creation. Your stuff always SLAPS.”
“And I need front row tickets for my friends. That’s… uh…” He counted. Butterfly, Coco, August… would Scout be on shift? It was far enough in advance that he could probably request the evening off. “Four… better make it six tickets. I want Sunny’s parents there, too.”
“Can do, can do, absolutely. You want me to call in the stunt performer just in case?”
“No. If he’s there, I might just chicken out and use him. I need to do it myself this time.” He nodded firmly. “I’m going up on that stage this time.”
“Good, good. I’ll see you in, say, a week or so for rehearsals?”

[Amazee Dayzee]

Really pulling for Shade to get over his anxiety and put on a really great performance to make everybody proud of him! Not that he needs it but it would be great for him to get over his stage fright.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

I don't know, his ex really did a number on his confidence...

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Chapter 17: Practice

Shade rushed into the studio’s practice room, his guitar case strapped to his back and his ears perked. “Sorry, sorry, I know I’m late, I had to wait for the contractors, and they were fifteen minutes late, and then I realized I’d left my guitar at my old place because I don’t see the point moving in a bunch of stuff to be in the contractors’ way, and then I nearly forgot to grab the sheet music for the new song-”
“It’s okay, dude. We were just warming up.” Mike, the drummer the Miltons had hired for Shade’s band, interrupted. “You don’t need to worry. People are late, it happens.”
“What’s this new song?” The bassist, Doug, reached out for the sheet music that Shade was digging through. Shade passed him a few stray pages, and he glanced them over. “Ah, classic eighties riff. Nice.”
Mike looked over the music and set it on his stand. “You always write some interesting stuff.”
Shade nodded and set up his guitar, plugging in and starting to tune up. He didn’t attach the whammy bar.
“No whammies today? You love whammies.” Doug grinned.
Shade shrugged. “It’s not called for, for this song. I thought we’d work on the new one for a while. I haven’t quite nailed down the setlist for the show yet, anyway.”
Mike shrugged. “You could stand to chill a little, little dude. It’s not like they’ll care if you pick the songs in the moment. We know all your riffs, we can play on the fly.”
He hesitated. “No, I’m gonna actually be on the stage this time, so it’s probably better if I have a routine I can focus on.”
Mike spun his drumstick in his hand. “We’ve heard that one before, and then you always have John take your place at the last second. You’re a bit stage-shy, dude.”
Shade shook his head. “I told him not to call John. I have no choice but to actually go up this time. I think… Once I’m actually UP on the stage, I’ll feel better about it. It’s just nerves.”
“Suit yourself.” Doug grinned and strummed a few chords of the new song. “Sounds great. Composed yourself again?”
“Yup.” Shade played a quick warmup on his guitar, using each finger to cover two strings so he could compensate for missing a finger. “Ready?”
The next couple hours consisted of them running the song over and over again, with Shade making tweaks here and there until he was happy with the sound.
Rock clapped his hands together as he entered, bobbing his head a little with the music and waiting until they were finished. Shade nodded at him to let him know he saw him, then set his guitar on its stand when they finished. “Take five, guys.” He exited the room with Rock and grinned a little when he saw Pit outside. “Hey. Looking good as ever, Pit.”
The two ferrets greeted him professionally, shaking his hand, then glanced him over. Rock started. “We’ve been listening to your new song, it’s great, we love it… we want you to record it as a single to drop after the concert at the merch table.”
“I don’t have any merch.” Shade started to say, but Pit put his hand up to stop him.
“You do now. Tee-shirts, posters, copies of the first album. We’d like to also have an exclusive single of your new song. Maybe the song, and an acoustic version.”
He hesitated. “Do you even have time to manufacture that?”
“If you get us a recording within a week.” Pit grinned. “I’ve got a recording booth ready whenever you are.”
“A week?! I don’t even HAVE an acoustic version, I’d have to transcribe it, learn to play it, get music to the guys, have THEM learn to play it-” He felt himself starting to panic and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. ‘I can see Pit, Rock, my guitar, this door…’ he repeated back in his mind.
Rock patted him on the shoulder. “Calm down, if you can’t get it done, then you can’t get it done. We’re not expecting a miracle. If you can’t get it by the end of the week, still try to get it done by the concert. we can set it up as a digital drop and sell download codes instead. Those can be generated instantly on the spot, no manufacturing required.”
He nodded, silently finishing his grounding exercise. “I… I think I can do that…” He glanced up as the guys started practicing without him. “I gotta get back to rehearsal. I’ll… try to have those recordings made for you.”

After rehearsal, Shade walked around the neighborhood aimlessly. He was between homes right now; with his house being worked on, he couldn’t go there, and with the Wildside House preparing for his departure, it didn’t really feel like home. He ended up at Sunny’s house and sighed, going inside and setting his guitar case by the door.
He found Sunny alone in the playroom, watching a movie, and cuddled in next to him silently. Sunny smiled and nuzzled into him. “Mm.. hey babe… how was rehearsal?”
“It was fine… Pit and Rock stopped by, they want me to record the new song to sell at the concert as a single.”
“Mm… I bet that’s a problem.” He kissed his cheek. “You started to panic, didn’t you?”
“They want an acoustic version. I’d have to completely recompose the song, and they wanted it within a week. That’s… a lot of work.”
He chuckled and pulled him in close. “It is… but you didn’t answer my question.”
Shade put his ears back. “... I had to do my grounding exercise. Right there in the hallway. I did it in my head, but… it still helped.”
He gave a little sigh and snuggled closer. “What are we going to do with you, Shade? You cute little bundle of nerves.”
Shade snuggled into Sunny quietly and watched the movie for a little while. “Mm. I don’t want to tell our friends they’ll be seeing me onstage at the concert. I want that part to be a surprise.”
Sunny snickered. “Mischievous. Any particular reason?”
Shade shrugged. “I think… if they know it’s gonna be me… they might have expectations. I’m gonna tell ‘em I won the tickets in a raffle, and that you and I got backstage passes.”
“Nice. You wanna pick out the costumes for the show?”
He smiled. “Yeah… Maybe it’ll help me cement a setlist.” He sat up. “You still keeping them in the closet?”
Sunny grinned. “Oh, of course I am.”
Shade stood up and watched Sunny turn off the TV. “You know, we can get them to the Miltons and they’ll take care of getting them to the show, if you like. That way you’re not dragging them out again.”
Sunny poked his nose. “Just promise me you’re going to actually USE them this time. I’m getting tired of dragging your costumes to gigs and then having you not use them.”
Shade raised his right hand and crossed his heart with the left. “I’ll be going up on stage this time, if I have to have Pit drag me on.”
“You’d better, mister.” He kissed him and led him upstairs.

[Amazee Dayzee]

Is it wrong that I am kind of hoping that Pit DOES drag Shade on the stage to perform? I wanna see how that would be in anyway feasible.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Chapter 18: Construction completed

Shade paced as he spoke on the phone. “... Just waiting on the paint to dry? Yeah? … Okay. I can come take a look, I’m just down the street. … Uh-huh… yeah, I can be there in like five minutes. Yeah, no problem.” He hung up and reentered the playroom, leaning forward to whisper in Sunny’s ear. “Construction is done.”
Sunny grinned up at him.
Shade stuck his hands in his pocket and suddenly remembered something. “Oh! Before I forget…” He pulled out the concert tickets. “I won a raffle, some tickets to the Shade Knight show at the football stadium two weeks from now. Sunny and I already have backstage passes that the Miltons got us, so I thought you guys would like the tickets.” He passed one each to Butterfly and August, and two to Coco. “Coco, can you make sure Scout gets one of those?”
Coco grinned down at the tickets. “This is so cool, I was going to get my mom to buy tickets but they sold out, like, instantly.”
Shade felt his nerves tingle. “... Instantly? Sold out? Really?”
August grinned. “Yeah, didn’t you know? It’s the hottest show of the year, maybe the decade. They say Shade Knight is going to do a face reveal. Nobody knows what he really looks like because he always uses that stunt performer. But apparently someone interviewed the performer and he wasn’t called in for this show, so that means that the man HIMSELF is going to be on stage.”
Sunny wagged his tail. “Oooh, interesting…” He gave a knowing look at Shade, and then grinned. “Shade and I have to go check something out real quick, and we’ll be right back.”
Shade rushed up the stairs, putting his ears back. “That could have gone better.”
Sunny took his hand and walked with him out the door. “It could have gone worse. Let’s go see your house.”
Shade snickered and squeezed his hand. “Yeah. My house. Mine. I own it.”
“Still not over that, are you?” He grinned.
“It’s a human thing, okay?” He laughed and poked him. “Just like running around with a ball in a large group with no specific goal in mind is a dog thing.”
Sunny smirked. “I’ve seen humans do that, too. You’re just no fun.”
He stuck his tongue out at him and grinned, opening the door to his house. The lead contractor looked up from picking up his tools. “Oh, hey! You weren’t kidding, you DID get here quick!”
Shade grinned. “I told you I was just down the street. This is my boyfriend, Sunny.” He indicated Sunny behind him. “Show me what you’ve got going on.”
He followed the contractor around to see the modifications. The kitchen counter had been lowered with much shorter cabinets placed underneath, and it looked really nice; the contractor demonstrated the soundproofing in Shade’s new studio, showed him the new bathroom sink, and walked him through to see the paint. One of the workers was just vacuuming up their mess. Shade grinned. “I love it!”

Three days later, Shade sighed and wandered the house. It had only taken a couple hours to move everything in, including his new mattress, but now he had a new problem: He was lonely.
The house echoed every sound he made back at him as he went to the kitchen for some water, and he put his ears back. The silence was deafening. He would give almost ANYTHING for some unnecessary noise right now.
He wandered the house for hours, idly pacing from room to room and back again. The novelty of having his own place had worn off quickly as he’d had to stock the fridge, build some furniture from flat packs, and then stare at how empty the place still looked with no real decorations.
After a while, he dialed his phone. “Paul? It’s Shade. Can you come over? I’m… I’m lonely.”
He heard a sigh from the other end of the line. Then, “Why don’t you come over here? You don’t have a TV yet.”
“Y-yeah, I can do..” He trailed off. He could hear a voice talking in the background. A familiar voice. “Is that Alice? Oh no, I’ve interrupted a date! I’m sorry, I can call someone else, I can-”
“Shade, Shade. It’s fine. She was just saying, it’d be nice to see you. She misses you. Come on over, bud.”
He put his ears back. “A-are you sure? I don’t want to interrupt-”
“I said it’s fine. You need to start asserting yourself more, bud. Come over and say hi to Alice.”
Shade nodded quietly. “O-okay, y-yeah… I can be there in ten minutes.”
“And Shade? Stop with the ears. I can feel the breeze from here.” Paul chuckled. “Relax, we’re buds, right?”
“Er… right.” He set the phone down for a moment to pull on his hoodie, pocketing his usual leaving-the-house supplies. “I’ll… uh… I’ll be there in a few, I guess…” He said to the phone, then hung up.
During the walk, he thought to himself. He felt awful about interrupting Paul’s date, and he felt like Paul was only saying it was fine so he wouldn’t overthink it or feel bad. He looked up at the Wildside House as he walked up to it. He’d only been gone a few days and already it looked odd to him.
Just as he was walking up to the door, it swung open, and a brown and pink blur sprung out at him, squeezing him and scooping him up. “Shaaaaaddeee!” Alice’s voice squealed happily, squeezing him tightly.
Shade grunted and pulled away from the wolverine. “Alice… Alice I can’t breathe. Please put me down.” He wheezed.
Alice squeaked and dropped him. “Oh my gosh, I’m sorry, it’s been so long since I saw you that I forgot you don’t like being picked up.”
Shade picked himself off the sidewalk and dusted himself off, looking up at the wolverine. She’d had some pink streaks added to her fur and was wearing clothes that actually fit her, as opposed to the loose-fitting clothes she used to wear. “Well… You look nice. It’s nice to see you.”
She grinned and took his hand, leading him inside. “Come in, come IN! Tell me about what you’ve been up to! I saw you have a show coming up.”
He gasped. “Oh my- I forgot to get you guys tickets!”
Paul snickered. “Don’t worry, Pit noticed and got us some.”
He sighed in relief, then looked up at Alice. “Well.. What I’ve been up to…”

[Amazee Dayzee]

Such a very fun and nice chapter in my opinion! Impeccable!

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Thankee, Dayzee! This story is nearly at its conclusion now, with only four chapters left to go. You're going to love the next chapter, which I will be dropping tomorrow as a bonus chapter, because you know how much I love for my stories to end on a weekend.

[Amazee Dayzee]

I am sure that whatever you have planned will be totally spectacular! I can't wait to see what comes out of it!