Tales from the BellHunterVerse - Chapter 3 - Wastedtimeee (2024)

Chapter Text

Tales From The BellHunterverse

Something Old – Something New

The grounds of the Hunter Ranch were dark now, save for a few stray indoor lamps that had been left on in order to light the way back home for the pawfull of wayward souls that still lingered in the reception area. The warm, inviting glow emanating from the A-frame portion of the house that encompassed the main hall shone through the stark blackness like a lighthouse beacon. The assembled Hunter pack, along with some of their closest family friends, had managed to do a fairly decent job at stretching out the revelry and merriment well into the wee hours of the night. Long after the pale amber glow of the harvest moon had been enveloped by the rising tide of building storm-clouds that had crept in from the northwest, its light slowly withering away through the tail end of the night’s events like a candle at the end of its wick. And long after what had once been a crisp, invigorating nip in the air that told the assembled crowd that Fall had truly begun and given way to a biting and frigid chill. One that carried on it a scent most of the native North Meadowlander’s knew all too well, especially those well trained canine noses the Hunter brood were famous for: the distinct (albeit faint) wisps of oncoming snowfall, what would be the first snow of the season once the cloud cover overtook the sky completely. Still, it was a valiant effort on the part of the party-goers to keep the joyful festivities going, with the newly tithed couple of whom the evening’s ceremony was the focus of leading the charge. They were eager to make the night last forever. To stand resolute in the face of the increasingly icy temperatures. To defy the laws of physics and force time itself to hold its breath & still its heart in reverence of their special night.

But nothing can last forever, no matter how badly you want it to. There was not a romance in the entire history of Animalia that time had stood still for, and it eventually became clear to the Hunter party that it wasn’t about to start on tonight of all nights. There were early morning flights to be caught, and lives to return to, scattered across the ends of North Mammalia. Although the first mammals to actually be driven to call it a night early were forced to leave more due to the growing chill than anything else, a mixture of not having thick enough pelts to endure the cold along with being ‘under-dressed’ for the rapidly changing temperature.

Ruddy was the first to depart, claiming needing to get up quite early if he wanted to fast track the partnership license the newlyweds had signed, although his chattering teeth betrayed the primary drive for his early exit. Shortly after the diminutive ram drove off, Vanna and Giselle would succumb to the rising chill, reluctantly making their way inside the Hunter home with their respective mates in tow. Next, Clover would leave the increasingly frigid tented space, and with her would go Audrey and Dorian, more to keep the older chilver company rather than giving into the rising cold. After all, wolves were built for freezing temperatures, but caprids, especially sheep folk, were less so, especially post shearing. And soon enough, the biting cold would unwillingly force even the blushing bride herself indoors. Not that Dawn didn’t put up a fight of course; denying that she was cold despite the growing red tinge on her snout along with the errant sniffling that was entirely removed from her periodic bouts of happy weeping throughout the night. And with each increasingly bitter gust of wind that blew through the pop-up dance hall, the ewe was burying herself deeper and deeper into her mate’s pelt. Her trembling getting harder and harder to suppress, and thus hide from her new husband each time.

Vernon would have to be the one to force her hoof, and insist they ‘move the party inside’, despite the ewe’s protests. Of course neither of them wanted the festivities to truly end, but Vernon was more concerned with his newlywed bride catching a cold. It would only serve to put a damper on what was already a magical night. And Vernon was able to finally win his stubborn sheep over with an appeal to the nature of such a wonderful moment. That while the night itself couldn’t last forever, the memories would, and there were many more blissful memories for them to make in the future now that they were officially sharing one.

Bit by bit, various members of the pack continued to break away from the festivities, growing too tired, cold, or both to continue. The grounds all the while growing quieter and quieter until finally the music fell away, and the lights in the tent would die out like the final embers of a waning campfire, leaving only the sound of the increasingly blustery gale to fill the void left in the vacuum.

By now, many of the Hunter couples were already asleep, trying to force as much shut-eye in as possible before being forced up by an early flight or commute. Even the bride and groom weren’t immune to such a necessity, since they would need to get up with most of the other Hunters to catch their train back into the city, and back to their everyday lives. At the very least, they had been allowed to share the guest bedroom as newlyweds thanks to the special occasion. So long as paws and hooves stayed well above the waistline, and over the clothing.

The interior of the house was largely quiet now, with no room more so than the half-furnished basem*nt nestled underneath the spacious family Ranch. The somewhat musty smelling space was dark and still, save for the rhythmic flickering of the light scheme from the old ‘Jurassic Bark;Mass Extinction” pinball cabinet that sat next to the mini bar. Dorian had pulled the old machine from the unclaimed evidence locker as a gift for his boys (and himself) probably over a decade and a half ago. Such a perk accounted for most of the more ‘eccentric’ objects that found their way into the Hunter Ranch over the years, and the pinball machine was no exception.

But slowly, ever so gingerly, the deathly quiet pervading the basem*nt began to peter out. Not all the Hunters were asleep, and the last of the flittering embers from the previous party, the ones that had outlasted the rest thanks to the illusion of warmth far too much alcohol had provided them, were finally clocking out for the night. It had started with the soft groan of the floorboards above growing increasingly louder. Each creak and squeal crying out with a chaotic inconsistency to them as they passed over Dorian’s basem*nt bar. Over the pool table there was a hard ‘THUD’, the weight of the presumed impact above causing a thin stream of dust to trickle down from the ceiling and onto the table’s dust cover. The clatter was followed by what seemed like muffled giggling, before shifting into what sounded like music. Faint, poorly recited lyrics from just above. More groaning, more tromping footfalls from above, and soon the hanging lights closest to the stairs were swaying.

“WHAM!”

The door at the top of the stairs practically exploded off the hinges, clattering sharply against the wall with light from above pouring into the darkened basem*nt.

“YOOOUSE CAAAN DANCEEE…..YOUUUUSE CAN JIVE!”

The loud, slurred stanza spilled down from the opening, reverberating off the cold stone walls of the basem*nt below.

“Don’t kick the door-Damnit Ada!” A familiar gruff voice hissed. “Where’s that damnable light switch...” He added with a grumble.

“HHAAAAVING THE TIMES OF OUR LIIIVES…” Another voice, sans the thick Barx accent, but with just as heavy an impediment continued.

“I got it! I got it!” Another southern accent laden voice called out, one with a more pronounced twang.

In a flash, the basem*nt was suddenly illuminated. The filaments of the bulbs hanging above the room began to glow like cinders. The shadows that entered from above began to stretch sloppily down the spiral staircase.

The first couple down was Yuri and Ada, the dusky black furred wolf struggling to keep his lumbering mate up on her feet. He had his arm wrapped up and under her armpit, doing his best to keep her hoisted up. While his clearly heavily inebriated mate had an arm of her own slung over his shoulder, the bulk of her weight leaning into him as she continued bellowing some of ABBAH’s greatest hits just a few inches from his freshly deafened ear.

“OOOH-OOHH-OOOH! SEE DAT GOIIIIL!” Ada continued, causing Yuri to wince sharply while he tried to shift the pair out of the way of the rest of the hurried procession now making their way down the spiral stairs.

“WAAAATCH THAT SCENE!” Came a reply from one of a pair of goats who stepped down after Yuri and Ada cleared the way. Gus was holding Melanie up in much the same way Yuri had taken to Ada, although clearly struggling much less to support the very drunken nanny leaning into his side thanks to their similarity in size. Gus merely shook his head dismissively and he shifted the both of them off to the side of the couple that came before them.

Lifting her head wobbly from Gus’s neck, Melanie's glassy green eyes turned back to the towering hyeness now standing beside her, offering her a lopsided smirk. Despite her currently dulled senses and what should have been a significantly slower reaction time, Ada seemed to pick up exactly what Melanie’s wordless gesture meant instantly. Without warning both Gus and Yuri felt their mates suddenly, sharply tear away from their grasp as Ada and Melanie pulled each other into an arm over arm stance grapple of their own. Well, to the best of their abilities both due to their heavily impaired state combined with the vast size difference between them.

“DIGGGGIN’ DA DAAAANCIN’ QUEEEN!” The two howled at the tops of their lungs as if they were trying to make sure the gods themselves could hear their performance all the way from Valhowlla. With that, the two slid back to back, necks craned up as they both began to slowly drop to the floor.

“AAAHhhhhahhhh….ahhh-ahhh-aahhhh-ahhh-ahhh-aahhhh!” The two trailed off before finally coming to a seat on the thinly carpeted flooring. The pair exploded into a flurry of girlish giggling as they concluded their performance.

“YER GONNA WAKE THE WHOLE DAMN HOUSE UP!” Yuri hissed down at his mate with a sneer, taking a moment to try to pat the wrinkles out of his freshly tailored suit before placing his paws on his hips authoritatively.

Ada furrowed her brow, her bleary and unfocused gaze taking a moment to properly settle on the irritated, inky furred wolf. Her expression was a mixture of confusion, amusem*nt, and exhaustion all rolled into one. Unsurprisingly, she barely managed to point a shaky, stabbing a claw in his general direction.

“Y-Youse are so cutes when yas is angry.” Ada giggled, giving her mate a sly attempt at a wink that was more like a full blink. “I love da way dat vein in ya foreheads throbs.”

Yuri rolled his eyes, letting out a loud groan as he ran a paw through his magnificently maintained mohawk of head fur. The wolf looked to the broken horned billy across from him. From what Gus could gather, it seemed like the dark furred wolf had a million things to say to him, but wasn’t even close to settling on what to start with. Of course, that wasn’t Gus’ priority at present. His attention remained fixed on his mate whom he bent down and started to scoop back up into his arms.

“C’mon Mellowmar, up we go…”

Melanie’s moments were sluggish, and her bouts of girlish giggling only served to make Gus’s efforts to hoist her back up that much harder.

“Wheeeee!” The sloshed she-goat cheered before slipping into another bout of laughter followed by a very sharp, audible snort.

“I am SO-SO Sorry! Really I ah’m!” That voice had come from the other two wolves following down the stairs, Xavier and Malcolm. “I told her I weren’t as confident playin’ bartender as I am playin’ chef!”

The pudgy, russet red-wolf was flustered. Sweat bristled his facial fur as he roughly wiped at his slick brow with a paw. For once, Malcolm looked more nervous than Xavier. The generally jovial, easygoing diner cook looked uncharacteristically pallid before he continued to throw himself on Gus and Melly’s tender mercy.

“I mean, I know my way around a drink ‘er two...but I only really got the mixin’ down fer wolves, not fer smaller caprid folk and I-I-!”

Xavier placed a reassuring paw on the stammering sous-chef’s shoulder.

“It’s okay Gingersnap. Calm down.” Xavier cooed.

Malcolm looked back to his mate, worry and fear still clearly etched into his features.

“I-I just, I wasn’t aim’in to let anyone get this drunk and I-!”

Ada’s sudden, uproariously loud hyena cackle cut off the gentle ginger’s stammered string of apologies. Still slumped on the floor, her head tilted back giving the pair of wolves a faltering, side-eyed glance.

“Dat was daaaa whole aim of da exacise dere Buddahbuns…” Ada chuckled weakly. “We waaas tryin’ ta gets drunk...and youse wouldn’t have been ables to stop us ifs ya wanted to!” The hyeness’ head swiveled down slightly and she turned to mumbling. “If yaas tried to cut us off wes woulda’ taken yuuur arm clean off yankin’ da bottle out of it ta’s pour ourseeelfs.”

She cackled sharply again, but it was broken midway by a sudden hiccup. Still, her mate went on to sharply hush the plastered predator.

“B-But that poor gal is three sheets to the wind, Hel, maybe beyond that!” Malcolm continued to fret, nibbling at his claws. “I-I mean-is she-?” The pudgy food prepper placed his other paw to his head anxiously. “I-Is she gonna be okay? Do we need ta go-?”

“She’s okay.” Gus replied, carefully maneuvering his tipsy mate over to the dumpy old gray sofa. He had only set Melanie down for the briefest of moments before the liquored up lass fell backwards onto the couch, letting out a gleeful hoot as her legs splayed up into the air. She began frantically kicking out, clearly trying to do her best ‘Riverfurdance’ performance in the air above her.

Gus rolled his eyes, doing his best to suppress a bemused chortle whilst he turned to face the group of mammals who had accompanied them down. By now, one additional member of the previous party had joined, Dawn’s mother Clover. She stood on the bottom most step peering through the banister railing back at the rest of the group with mild concern.

“You warned Melly up front you weren’t the best at mixing drinks for non-wolves, and she made her decision.” The burned-out billy sighed. “She’s a big goat after all.”

“AAAReee you callling me faaat?” Melanie crooned back from the couch. Gus opted to ignore her, knowing full well giving any oxygen to a comment like that with Melanie in her current state was asking for a lot of trouble that she wouldn’t even remember over tomorrow’s horrible hangover headache.

“Besides, there was no way in Hel anyone was going to talk her down from a competition, even if it was a ‘drink off’.” The billy flicked his judgmental golden eyed gaze at the hyeness still struggling to remain sat up on the basem*nt floor. “Against a hyeness no less.” Gus shook his head. “You couldn’t have given her a more tempting challenge unless she had been facing off against Wade’s giraffe girlfriend, what’s her na-?”

“HEY!” Melanie barked, the loudness of his mate’s objection drawing his gaze back over his shoulder at the nearly knocked out nanny still splayed backward on the sofa.

“USS SPINTAs...SP-SPINSTAS gotta ddrrown our sorrossssiss somehow!” Melanie continued, her kicking now sluggish and tired while she remained sprawled backward, pumping vaguely in time with her statements as if to emphasize each word.

“Dat’s RITE!”

In response to Melanie’s outburst, Ada would join in with one of her own. The sluggish spotty forced herself off the floor with a considerable effort before wrapping an arm around her significantly shorter mate’s neck. The drunken dame pulled Yuri into a headlock, leaning into him so hard that it nearly sent the both of them tumbling back to the floor. It took a moment for the pair to steady themselves, but once Ada seemed confident that she wasn’t going to fall, her glassy green eyes trailed up to meet Yuri’s increasingly pointed, and angry gaze as she flashed him a lopsided smirk.

“Unlessss yas ready to channnge dat Mookie…” She snickered, her head lolling slightly and her expression shifting back & forth between amusem*nt and a look of dizziness. “Reaaady tas step up?”

Yuri let out a derisive snort. His piercing yellow eyes met Gus’ from across the room, letting out a low growl of annoyance.

“Y’all can thank that mate o’ yers fer getting’ her goin’ again.” The cantankerous canine huffed. “As iffin’ she didn’t have enough reminders considerin’ the ‘theme’ of the evenin’...”

Despite it having been near to a decade since Gus had the misfortune of laying eyes on Vernon’s odorous older brother, ten years of maturing and personal growth for Gus as well as presumably the wolf in question (at least from what Vernon had said), getting locked in that spiteful stare made the mono-horned male feel like he was right back in North Meadowland’s High School. He could feel the muscles in his legs go into near-full rigor under Yuri’s glowering golden gaze, the first signs of an oncoming faint. It forced the somewhat rattled ruminid to grit his teeth slightly, doing his best to keep his heart rate slow and even after the sudden spike Yuri’s glare alone had garnered.

“You’re welcome!”

The absentminded, innocent reply had come from Melanie. The she-goat sitting up briefly to say her piece before offering the black pelted pup a broad grin and again flopping back onto the sofa with a titter.

“Annnnd TANK youse…” Ada replied with a snicker, her grip around Yuri’s neck tightening until Gus was sure he caught those hateful yellow orbs bulging slightly from the pressure. Although whether that was due to Ada cutting off his circulation, or his growing rage, Gus couldn’t tell. “Seriousssly….youse-youse…”

In a snap, the huge hyeness relinquished her clutch around her mate's neck, causing him to drop to a knee as he quietly gasped for breath. Taking a wobbly step forward, the she-yeen reached a paw out and placed it on Gus’ shoulder to steady herself. The sudden shift in weight was nearly enough to bring Gus crashing to the floor, but he managed to stay upright, despite Ada’s weighty and (surprisingly) almost painfully tight grip. In that moment, Gus found himself thankful Yuri had spooked him enough to get the goat’s legs locked up in the first place, or he surely would have dropped like a sack of bricks with Ada in tow. The towering tomboy looked at Gus for a brief moment before taking a glance over both shoulders, a conspiratorial twinkle flickering behind her eyes. She placed a paw to the side of her muzzle as her gaze passed through the goat, now acting as her leverage, doing her best to speak in hushed tones despite her compromising condition.

“Ssseriously, don’t tells Snowy...Snowballs…” The billy winced. Ada wasn’t being nearly as quiet as she thought she was, and the faint hint of chocolate on her breath had been easily overpowered by the acrid alcoholic base it had been paired with. It was strong enough that Gus was sure it could peel the paint off a car, let alone fuel it. And it forced tears to the poor billy’s eyes for the first time that night since his heart to heart with his mate, although for entirely different reasons.

“But youse….youse gotsta be my maids of honas…” She continued, stabbing her claw directly in Gus’ face. The confused caprine’s muzzle scrunched up before realizing Ada was now actively confusing him for Mel. At least, that was how it appeared.

“Youse!'' The drunken dame blinked dumbly for a few seconds while eyeing Gus. Her expression looked confused for the briefest of moments before the hyeness adjusted the direction of her pointer finger over Gus’ shoulder and toward the mammal she was actually addressing on the sofa behind him.

“There it is…” Gus muttered with a quiet chuckle. “Lightbulb.”

“YOUSE!” Ada barked louder, her pointing growing more aggressive in line with the rising excitement in her voice.

“ADA!” Yuri snapped, clearly still concerned about the sound level. However, the blasted bridesmaid was either too focused on trying to piece her words together to hear him, or had simply opted to ignore him. Gus assumed the latter, since Ada frequently ignored Yuri even while stone cold sober if the early part of the reception was anything to go by.

“Y-Youse are like da sista I always wanted!” Ada snickered. “Like...Like twins ya know…” Ada scratched her chin thoughtfully for a moment…” I means...I gottsh and olda sista...like a real one….” She continued to prattle one, her words getting quieter and quieter until they shifted into a slurred mumble. “And my sistas-in-laws...butchuss dough-!”

Looking back over his shoulder at Melanie, the nanny remained splayed backward onto the couch, but let out a squeal of delight that cut off whatever incoherent muttering was set to spill from Ada’s muzzle.

“YOU Tooo!” Melanie replied. “You’re my aweshhum badasss big sisshter I never had…!” Melanie was momentarily interrupted by an involuntary, nigh inaudible hiccup. “You gotta be the made of hornner…” The sloshy she-goat continued. “F-Fro...For us I mean…”

Ada placed a finger to her muzzle in response.

“SSSS-Shhhhh-Shhh…” She hushed, her gait wobbling and nearly pushing Gus over his limit before she suddenly let him free, though not without spraying him with a fine mist of saliva during her shushing session. Gus visibly cringed, taking a moment to run his hooves over his facial fur to try and wipe away the flammable flecks of spittle.

“Se-Secret dough….I dwannaaa break Snowballsss hearts..” Ada’s continued, her finger still pressed to her lips. “ShhhHHHHhhhh…”

“I gots ta break it to hers slow...uddawise it-itta crusher her…” The spotted gal grew visibly glum as the words left her muzzle, and she rubbed the back of her neck in visible discomfort while swaying on her feet.

“Acctualies...can weise...can she be my maid too?” Ada continued. “I do-don’t think I can do dat to da poor little ting…” The suddenly saddened she-yeen’s lip quivered slightly.

“OF COURSE!” Melanie’s suddenly loud statement drew Gus’ attention back to the couch. His mate was now kneeling on the couch cushions, and leaning the rest of her body on the arm rest, a sympathetic expression now levied in Ada’s direction.

“WE-WE can have a BUNCH of Maids of Horrors…” The nerdy nanny let out a startlingly loud belch before continuing. “ALL OF THEM! EVERYONE CAN BE O-OuuuUUrr MADES!”

Ada rolled her eyes. “Tell dat to Plush and Vanna...pfffffftttt…” The overly hydrated hyena blew a defiant raspberry. “I cou-I could goes on for howas abo-.”

“No, ya really can’t Babe.” Yuri interjected, slipping an arm around Ada’s own. His lumbering lady managed a rather confused side eye at the smaller wolf stood next to her, her glassy green eyes struggling to meet his.

“Wha?” She replied.

“You and me are both back on shift tomorrow night. Ten P.M. ta Ten A.M. remember?” Yuri replied. His expression looked almost as though it were pleading. It was a shock to Gus, who was certain Vernon’s brother only had one expression in his repertoire. Her dark-furred mate nodded slowly, and soon enough Ada was following along with a slow nod of her own.

“S-Shenzi…” Ada mumbled dumbly. “We’s gotta be outta here at six right? F-for da plane…”

Yuri nodded.

“What time izzaaat?” The sloshed spotty swayed as she spoke.

“Almost one A.M.” Yuri replied…” And iffin’ we don’t get to bed I’m gonna need help draggin’ yer sorry butt to the airport cause y’all will be as dead as them shelfwarmer’s ya’ll got at yer job.”

Ada let out half of a cackle before cutting herself off with a paw, momentarily clasping it to her muzzle before turning her attention back to her shorter half. She offered Yuri a broad, apologetic smile.

“Rites...riiites…” The dizzied dame nodded weakly.

Turning her attention back to the caprine couple, offering the pair a sheepish smile.

“W-Weese should goes…” Ada murmured sadly. “You-youse two get some sleeps...and...youse gotta text me! Like once yas get home...” A quiet hiccup escaped the drowsy looking dame’s lips before she seemed to jolt awake. Her green eyes widened as she raised a finger to the air declaratively. “OH! YOUSE GOTTA ADDS MEEE ON FUOIRBOOK!”

Melly gave what started as a brisk nod which slowed down with each bob of her head until it was ultimately slumped down into her arms.

“I will…” She mumbled into her fur in a drowsy tone. “You too.”

Shaking his head, Yuri began the process of leading his mate back to the foot of the stairs, Clover slipping off the final step to allow the teetering tomboy in the supportive embrace of her mate one less obstacle to contend with navigating around on her way back upstairs.

Glancing over her shoulder one last time, Ada flashed the two goats a sly smile.

“An-and don’t forgets da house rules…” The lumbering lady uttered with a hiccup. “I knows youse ain’t officially one of da Huntas boys ‘Horny’, by birt...but I don’t tiiinks old Auddey would have any less ofs a fit if yas two started bucking' hips.”

Gus could feel his cheeks redden slightly as Ada let out another loud cackle.

“TEETH TO TAIL ADA!” Yuri snapped, giving Ada’s arm a reasonably firm tug. “VOLUME!” The brooding bad-boy of the Hunter pack cried with absolutely zero sense of self-awareness. To be fair, both he and Gus had partaken in a bit of drinking themselves. For Gus, it was just enough to stay warm in the increasingly bristling North Meadowlands winds. For Yuri, it was quite a bit more than that. But considering he was a bigger mammal, with what Gus presumed was way more experience than himself when it came to libations, the black-furred brute was better at holding his booze. Or at least was better at hiding his buzz. The yelling to keep things ‘quiet’ however seemed to be that mask slipping for just a moment.

“Rite, rite…” The slurry spotty hung her head slightly. “Quiet...rites…sorry”

Yuri simply rolled his eyes, sending up a two finger mock salute as he led his mate up the stairs with a gentler pull of the arm.

“Night folks…” And with that, the pair made their exit up the spiral staircase and out of sight.

The tired sigh that escaped Xavier’s muzzle sounded as though the well-dressed wolf had been holding it in since they had made it down to the basem*nt. Removing his glasses from the bridge of his snout, and pulling a royal purple handkerchief from his breast pocket, Xavier began to swab at his lenses.

“I’m afraid we have to be up at six ourselves Gus.” Xavier muttered tiredly. “After all, a flight to San Francisgoat from here takes just about as long as one to Seaotter does.” Placing his freshly cleaned spectacles back on the tip of his snout, another sigh escaped from his muzzle, this time one of clear satisfaction. “Can we get you anything before we head to bed?”

Glancing back over to the sofa, Gus found that his mate had once again tipped backward, her legs now hanging lazily off the arm of the sofa. The billy quirked an eyebrow, chewing his lip at Melanie’s sudden stillness. However, the nanny began a soft string of quiet giggling to herself that quickly put him at ease.

With a sigh, the geeky goat turned his attention back to the remaining Hunters.

“A few blankets and some pillows, I guess.” Gus replied wearily, his tired eyes widening a bit as a more important need quickly came to mind. “And some Tailenol & a few bottles of water if it’s not too much trouble?” He added, glancing back over his shoulder at his mate. The water itself wouldn’t prevent a hangover, nor would the Tailenol be strong enough to spare her the worst of it, but at the very least it would take out some of the bite when they were forced to wake up to catch the train back to Zootopia with Dawn, Vernon and Clover just about as early as the other Hunter’s with flights in their itinerary.

The dowdy-dressed wolf shook his head. “No trouble at all Gus.” Xavier chuckled. “I’m just thankful I haven’t been gone so long that I’ve forgotten where my mother actually stores the extra blankets and pillows.”

With that, Xavier wrapped his arm around the still somewhat troubled looking red-wolf by his side, gesturing with his head in the direction of the stairs. With a reluctant nod, Malcolm followed his mate’s lead as the pair made tracks up the staircase.

Turning his attention to Dawn’s mother, the bleary-eyed billy tilted his head curiously. He wasn’t exactly sure when she joined the noisy procession down the stairs, or why for that matter.

“Misses B?” Gus asked, looking mildly concerned.“I thought you went to sleep hours ago? Did we wake you up?”

“Oh no, of course not…I just…” She trailed off, seemingly unable to find her words.

“B..B-Bah’d dreammms?” He heard Melanie slur from behind him, and rolled his eyes at the awful pun.

Clover offered a weak chuckle. “Something like that…” She muttered weakly, her shoulders making a shrug motion that Gus could barely make out. “I happened to be making some tea…” She winced, rubbing the back of her neck uneasily. “To the best of my abilities in a wolf-sized home that is, when I heard the commotion.”

“Ahh…” Gus nodded knowingly. “Sorry if we disturbed you Misses Bellwether.”

“Oh please, you didn’t disturb me at all Gus.” The older ovid rebutted. “I just wanted to make sure you were both alright…” The ewe raised one of her eyebrows slightly. “Is-Is she really...alright?”

Gus nodded, letting out a soft chuckle.

“It’s rare my Mellomar goes this overboard, but she’s lived through it before.” Gus shook his head softly. “She’ll hate herself in the morning, and probably won’t want to talk to anyone aside from me for the next few days out of sheer embarrassment, but she’ll live.”

Clover did her best to stifle what was obviously the urge to snicker, and it took a few moments for her to appear to have regained some composure; her rather bemused expression shifting back to one of concern.

“Perhaps you’d both prefer to stay in the other guest room?” The concerned caprid offered. “I’d happily sleep in the den if it means the both of you wouldn’t have to sleep in this terribly drafty basem*nt.”

Gus shook his head dismissively. “We appreciate the offer, we really do but...I mean, this is more than enough for us.” He replied with a warm smile. “Besides, I’m sure Mister and Misses Hunter wouldn’t stand for the mother of the bride and long-term family friend to sleep in anything less than one of the coziest rooms in the house.”

The golden aged gal winced slightly Despite his reassurances, it was clear the older ewe was still concerned about the pair.

“Well...it is an awfully big room.” Clover continued, averting her gaze and awkwardly twisting a foot. She seemed to be choosing her words carefully. “Perhaps we could split it? It has a love seat after all, one that’s large enough to act as a bed for those of us with shorter statures than the Hunters.” She added with a chuckle.

Gus snickered softly to himself. For some mammals, it seems like being a parent is something you just can’t shut off. Still, even if Audrey and Dorian were okay with the swap or room split, the considerate caprid had been raised to be respectful of his elders; and it wasn’t exactly the most respectful thing to take the better quality room for the night and leave the older ewe to sleep in the den. It wasn’t in his character to let something like that slide.

“Melly would be mortified if she woke up to find a witness other than me in the same room as her.” He chuckled. “She might actually have a meltdown.”

Clover stared back at the goat with mild surprise.

“Really?” She asked. “O-Oh my…”

“Besides…” The rather glib goat paused for a moment, looking around the familiar space with an appreciative, almost wistful expression as he let out a contented sigh.

“I spent a good chunk of my early teens in this basem*nt, and I’ve grown to find it pretty cozy.” He chuckled warmly. “It’s kinda nostalgic for me to be honest.”

Clover offered the pair a rather reluctant smile, closing her eyes and nodding.

“Alright, if you insist.” She replied, admitting defeat. “If you are all set down here, I think I’ll go back to making my tea before trying to get a bit more sleep myself.” The older ovid turned toward the spiral staircase, placing a hoof on the rail before stopping and glancing back at the couple.

“You two sleep well, and I hope you feel better Miss Gessenay.”

Clover’s remark elicited a loud, dismissive ‘Pffffft!’ from the sofa, earning another eye-roll from her mate.

“You too, Misses Bellwether.”

And with that, the golden-aged gal ascended the staircase, leaving Gus and his mate well & truly alone for the first time since their train ride up to the North Meadowland’s earlier that morning.

Letting out a tired sigh, Gus ran a hoof through his head fur before turning to face the crumpled caprid on the sofa behind him. His job was far from over, he knew that much. Getting Melly ‘to’ bed was the easy part, getting her to actually settle down and sleep in this state was an entirely different kind of challenge. After all, Gus saw himself as fairly easy going. Grumpy a lot of the time, sure. Neurotic, a chronic worrier, again, very true. But compared to the other members of his little Beasts and Battlefields posse, he was somewhere in the middle on the stubborn spectrum. Strangely enough, the title of “most stubborn of the Ruminerds'' would go to Joel of all mammals: the animalme obsessive alpaca who sometimes needed to be dragged out of his home and forced to socialize with the group when in the midst of one of his periodic severe bouts of agoraphobia. But Melly, especially drunk Melly, was a perfect reflection of the old ‘stubborn goat’ stereotype that pervaded their species. And coming off a ‘contest’ contact high of which the results of were still in dispute (although from Melly’s perspective she absolutely destroyed Ada), it had left her more hyped up & belligerent than usual.

Making his way over to the frumpy little dusky gray sofa, Gus took a moment to really assess the damage his little Melly Belly had taken. The scrap with the bouquet had left her dress practically in tatters. The yellow strapless little number had begun sag at the top shortly after the first few dances together, forcing Gus to give up his gaudy powder blue prom jacket lent to him by his father well ahead of the encroaching cold for the under-dressed nanny in order to prevent any possible moments of accidental indecency. The jacket that Melly was now hugging to her chest while humming cheerily to herself. Gus couldn’t help but chuckle, the gaudy jacket was even baggier on her than it was on him. Still, his little laugh was enough to force one of Melanie’s eyes open.

“GUSSSSSssssEEEY!” She was beaming.

“That is my name.” He replied. “Well, sorta...I think there were a few too many ‘S’s in there, and...what sounded like an ‘E’?” The bemused billy playfully sarcastically added.

“Pshhh…!” Melanie dismissed him, turning her muzzle to the side only to immediately snap back to meet his gaze, her green eyes suddenly wide with surprise and a twinge of concern. “o-OOOH! Dy-Dywa...Dywanna shiiit down?”

“I'd prefer to sit down, thank you Melly.” He replied. “I know this couch is pretty old, but I don’t think Mister and Misses Hunter would approve of me using it as a toilet.”

Melanie let out a burst of tittering before rapidly sitting up and scooting away from the corner of the couch to free up a space for the caprid comedian. Though even with Melly’s limbs free and out of range of accidentally being sat on, Gus still took his seat carefully, easing into the well worn-in sofa slowly. It had been years since he sat on this couch. Although it was old and sagging, it was most definitely beyond comfortable after such a long night.

Sinking into the cushion, Gus let out a satisfied sigh and closed his eyes. For the briefest of moments, flashes of memories flickered before them. Terrible old sci-fi movies playing on the Hunter’s oldest wide screen in the house. Plotting out various mini-figures and set pieces alongside Vernon’s sketches on the coffee table. Giving his most menacing and theatrical narrative deliveries from behind his trusty battle master board as Vernon, Broomie, and Claire gave their rapt attention. His nostrils tingled pleasantly with faint echoes of the scent of their traditional high school smorgasbord of junk food, half of which was home made by mother Hunter. His ears could swear they heard the clattering of multi-sided die dancing across the coffee table, with all other sounds vacuumed out of the room; the North Meadowlands High B&B club waited with baited breath to see the outcome of a game changing roll. But just as quickly as his senses were drowned in the sea of memories that clawed at him from the depths of the Hunter Basem*nt, they had vanished, leaving him back in the present day once again.

Opening his eyes, the broken horned billy turned to look over to his mate, only to find her kneeling again, hooves on her knees with her deep green eyes fixed keenly on him. It had caught him off guard, causing him to jump ever so slightly in surprise.

Melanie simply giggled in response.

“So...how are you feeling, Mellomar?” He asked tentatively.

“I FEEL GREAT!” The giddy girl goat barked in reply, end capping her statement with sharp hiccup.

“I’m sure you do…” He snickered. “You probably won’t tomorrow though…”

“PSSSH!” Melanie replied defiantly, giving Gus a tame jab in the shoulder. “NoooooOOO…”

“You went...pretty hard tonight.” The doubtful dork replied with skepticism.

His liquored-up lady flashed him an amused, mischievous smirk, and bit her lower lip. There was a hungry glimmer behind her eyes as they traced him up and down. One that Gus knew all too well. Even if Melly was technically a prey mammal, she was on the prowl.

Melanie suddenly grasped the concerned caprid by his oversized black bow-tie, pulling him nose to nose with her. Her nostrils flared with enough heat to fog the bottom of her glasses slightly as she stared daggers of determination into his eyes.

“I always go hard…”

Before the bewildered billy could blink, he could feel his mate’s tongue darting down his throat. Ada’s breath had been foul, acrid even, but getting a whiff of rancid alcohol on someone’s breath was considerably more tolerable than having it unexpectedly invade your own muzzle and force itself all over your taste buds. “Buttery Udders”, the shot drink of choice for Ada and Melly’s little pissing match, was considered a pretty easy to tolerate drink. The mixture of Butterscotch Schopps and Baahley’s Irelambish Cream Liquor was designed to sharply overpower the bitter taste of the alcohol as much as possible. But after a few hours in his mate’s stomach chambers, the sweeter notes of the drink had all but faded away, allowing the now bitter (almost alkaline) taste of booze to dominate his mate’s breath and soak into her tongue and muzzle walls. What little hints of butterscotch and chocolate remained had turned in her gut, adding a pungent spoiled milk chocolate aftertaste to the already vile flavor clinging to her lips.

Gus’ eyes were watering again in an instant. He could barely keep from gagging. He pushed Melly out of his mouth, a good arm’s length away from him too.

“No, no, noooo, Mellowmar,” The green-in-the-gills goat did his best to suppress his urge to vomit in addition to holding his mate safely out of make-out range. “That’s not happening.”

Much to Gus’s surprise, the needy nanny didn’t put up much of a struggle. Instead choosing to flop back onto the sofa before letting out an almost ear-splitting whine.

BuuuuuUUUTttt GUUUUSSSiiiiEEEEE…” Melanie wailed like a toddler, immature displeasure dripping from her obnoxiously loud exclamation.

The resolute ruminant crossed his arms, shaking his head dismissively.

“Did you not hear what Ada said?” Gus asked. “About the whole house rule thing?”

Melanie did her best to mimic her mate’s arm crossed posture in a petulant mockery. The buzzed bridesmaid furrowed her brow, letting out a derisive snort as she stared down her mam’.

“Rruules were made ta beee broken…” She flashed Gus a snarky smirk. “And I wanna be brooken right no-.”

“No Melly.” The obstinate ovid shook his head briskly. “I’m so close to this family that Misses Hunter practically sees me as her eighth pup.” He continued. “And I see her as my second Mom, so there’s no way I’m betraying that trust.”

Gus raised a single hoof digit. “Also-”

BuuuuUUUuuut GuSSSIIIIEEEE….” The forlorn female let out another squeal of displeasure, this one more pleading than before.

“Let me finish.” Her emboldened buck was quick to follow up, but his increasingly miffed mate had started to thrash in response. Her vocal tantrum shifted into the start of something more physical as her hooves began to twist and gnarl at the beat up old couch cushions beneath her.

Gus let out a terse sigh. “Look, even if that wasn’t the case, you know how I feel about rutting when you’re drunk!” The suddenly bashful billy let out a soft huff, averting his gaze from his mate. “I’m not the biggest egotist in the world, but I would at least like my performances to be remembered the next day.”

Melanie let out a dismissive scoff. “I wo-wouuld never-.” The knackered nanny did her best to reassure her mate, only to have her efforts undercut mid-statement by a hiccup. “I-I always re-remember how good my haaandsome Shattering Raaam can give it...”

Gus shook his head again. “NO. Mel.” He reiterated.

“Buuut it will make me FeeeEEEeeel better…” She replied, her green eyes wide and pleading.

Gus placed his hooves on his hips, giving his mate a dubious glare.

“You just said you felt Great!” He rebutted, a soft snicker escaping his muzzle at the audacity of his Melly Belly’s attempted manipulation.

“I know…” Melanie replied coyly, a wry, impish smirk crawling across her muzzle. “Buuut I could feel ReeeEEEEAAAaaallly Great.” She added, bobbing her eyebrows suggestively.

Gus rolled his eyes, letting out an irritated huff.

“Melanie.” His tone was firm. Well, as firm as a mammal like him was capable of. It was rare he used Melanie’s full first name. Pet names had long become the norm for the couple, though they were not as sickeningly saccharin as Dawn & Vern’s cutesy ones, but they were both more comfortable with that. So using her full name should have underlined just how serious he was about this, even if it made him feel like he was acting like his Mom by using such tactics. But his resistance only served to earn another mournful, and pleading wail from his nanny.

“CoOME ON GUSSiiiEEE!” She whined loudly, her tone enveloped entirely by her overt neediness. With little warning, the frisky female tried to sway forward, causing Gus to extend a protective hoof out of fear his mate was ready to pounce once more. But instead, her initial lurch forward quickly shifted into a sort of slow rocking as the smashed she-goat seemed to be struggling to wrap her hooves around her own knees.

“Gheee...EeehhhHH…” She groaned through her sluggish, clumsy attempts to grip her legs.

“Melly, what are you-?”

“AhaaAAA!” She cried triumphantly, appearing to literally get a hold of herself. Her grip now firmly wrapped around her calves, Melanie began to roll backward. Gus raised a brow quizzically, but only for a moment as it soon became very clear what his mate was trying to do.

“Oh-no-.”

“HuuuGH!” With a surprisingly swift movement, the rather flexible female had managed to maneuver her ankles behind her head, pinning her legs up & backward along her torso, and exposing her pale yellow and orange ‘Lord of The Rings’ themed panties. The design featuring a map of Middle-Animalia, with Mount Doom placed not so subtlety directly over the crotch of the underwear, inscribed with Elkish text denoting all the visible locations. Text that both he and Melly had wasted time learning instead of picking up a practical real world foreign language, and so he could easily read that ‘Mount Doom’ had been renamed “Mound Doom”, making it clear the designers knew what the were doing. Gus’ gaze was transfixed on the spot, realizing it was darker than the rest of the map. And the heat building under his muzzle only worsened when he realized that dark spot had a moistened slick sheen to it.

The lewd lass shot her mate the most wicked smirk she could from between her calves, which amplified an otherwise innocently mischievous visage into something more daring.

“C’moon….you knoOoow you wannna ‘Shaatetter this Naaann’…” She cooed with a salacious lilt to her voice.

Gus finally managed to break the trance, quickly averting his gaze, but that did little to stem his intense blush filling his muzzle. Melanie had always been a fairly flexible mammal; as a kid, she had been forced into ballet by her parents for several years, along with a myriad of other extra-curricular activities she despised. And while as an adult she had long since tossed the tutu in the trash, she had maintained a rather lithe, flexible form by taking up Yoga. Aside from the mental and physical health benefits it provided her, it also had proven to have quite a few creative applications in the bedroom. Especially when paired up with excerpts out of the ‘Camel Sutra’. The memories of which were now rolling through the poor embattled buck’s mind like a zoetrope spinning by at light speed.

Gus held out a shaking hoof much in the same way a vampire hunter would hold out a caprid cross, trying in vain to look away from the landing strip his lustful lady was trying to lure him down, mopping at his now increasingly sweaty tuft of head fur as he struggled to utter some form of protest.

“M-Mello-Mell-” The hot and bothered billy stammered, his throat feeling increasingly dry while finding himself peeking around his trembling hoof at the alluring sight laid out before him. He could feel his resolve starting to falter, which his mischievous mate must have also felt because her grin only grew more chesherin. “Melly, please…”

“Weeelll…” She cooed playfully. “Since youuuu asked sooOOOooo nicely…”

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see one of Melly’s hooves grip the edge of the thin strip of fabric covering up her “precious”. If he didn’t stop her,, in a few short moments, he would be in a staring contest with the ‘Eye of Sauron’s’ much more attractive & inviting sister. At that point, the increasingly horny horned one knew it would be all over.

“Volkien help me.” Gus murmured a silent prayer to himself with his slow motion vision watching Melanie’s surprisingly nimble digits begin to slide the fabric aside.

“Ah-hem…”

Gus only felt himself jolt to alert for a split second before his vision became overwhelmed with blotches of color and random flashes of light. He could feel his muscles all over his body stiffen, resulting in him slinking back into the couch. Despite the tension wracking his frame, and the aggressively sharp pounding of his heart, the now totally paralyzed buck couldn’t feel much of anything. He was totally numb, with only the occasional twitch rippling through his rigor wracked appendages every few seconds while his mind let off a rambling string of curses to himself. Most of which were levied at Yuri, as Gus was certain that little unexpected scare had been courtesy of him.

While it felt like an eternity from the rigid ruminid’s perspective, in reality, it was only about ten or fifteen seconds tops before his nervous system began to come back online. His muscles slowly but surely started to relax as the blotches of random colors that had blocked out his vision began to fade into the background.

“G...u...s...Gus-GUS!” Sound began to filter back into his ears, low at first, but steadily rising to something closer to normal. His gaze fell back to the Nanny who had been spread eagle to his side just moments ago. Melanie was now sitting up, her knees tightly balled into her chest whilst she eyed her mate with a mixture of concern and guilt. But the voice wasn’t hers, nor was it Yuri’s, it was...

“I-I’m so sorry GUS! I didn’t mean-AW shoot!”

Turning his attention to the source of the ‘Ah-hem!’, the formerly fainted friend of the family found Malcolm and Xavier. The wolves carried an assortment of bedding, meds, and a few ice cold bottles of Alpine Glade mineral water. Both were blushing to some degree, but the particularly pudgier wolf of the pair was back to nibbling on his claws.

“AH-I just keep hacklin’ everythang up tonight!” The chubby chef whined, the beginning of tears forming at the corners of his eyes as he spoke.

“Are you alright Gus? Was that a-?”

“It was…” The drained dungeon master sighed, gripping the arm of the sofa with a curled hoof while trying to ride out the lingering shockwaves of his little panic attack. “But-But I’m fine...I’ll be fine…” Gus let out a dull chuckle. “I’ve had worse, believe me.”

Glancing back over to his mate, it was clear that despite her drunken state, she was mortified. What little he could spot of her muzzle (which was now largely hidden behind the defensive wall of her closed knees) was crimson. As embarrassing for her as this little incident proved to be, it seemed to have sobered her up just a little bit; at least seemingly making her aware of just how hard she was pushing that Hunter House rule boundary up until they were disturbed by the actual residents.

Gus made a lame reach for some of the items in Malcolm’s paws, his attempt falling short due to the slight lingering numbness in his arms.

The beleaguered billy shook his head, letting out a laugh at his own enfeebled efforts.

“I’d say we’d take those off your paws, but it seems I’m still all thumbs for the moment…” He snickered.

“A-Aw S-Sweet Sawgrass, I’m so-!”

Xavier stopped his mate mid-sentence, placing a reassuring paw on his shoulder.

“Gingersnap, please don’t fret.” Xavier cooed, gently patting his shorter, stockier mate’s shoulder. “Gus said he was alright, and well...while I don’t want to...” The well-dressed wolf lulled his head as he seemed to be searching for his words. “While I don’t want to speak for Gus, I will say he spent quite a lot of time at this Ranch when we were teens.” Xavier lowered his glasses slightly, leveling his blueish gray eyes at his mate. “He’s had more than his fair share of faints here, and aside from the one instance where he broke his arm because he fainted while up in the loft and fell out of it, he’s always managed to make walking them off seem like a trifle.”

“There’s a reason I don’t do ladders anymore…” Gus replied with a snicker, finally managing to generate enough feeling back in his arms to allow him to scoop a bottle of water and the vial of tailenol off the top of Malcolm’s stack. “If I need any ‘tall-mammal’ stuff done these days, I just call ol’ Sheepdog to take care of it for me.”

Xavier offered the comical caprid an amused smirk.

“So just like your high school days then?” He replied, maneuvering around his mate and placing the stack of blankets in his arms on the coffee table.

Gus shrugged. “Ehh, more than high school but less than when we were roommates.”

That earned a laugh from the law lupine as he made his way back to his mate’s side, gesturing for the still worried wolf to follow his example. With a withering sigh, Malcolm added his pillows and extra bottles of water to the neat little pile on the coffee table.

“Now I know why Vernon moved out.” Xavier replied with a chortle.

As the gentle ginger returned to his side, Xavier wrapped a reassuring arm around him, pulling him into a short, but strong side-hug.

“Well, I suppose we’ll leave you both to...well, do anything, but what it looked like you were trying to do when we returned…” The well-dressed wolf half murmured, a slight blush tingeing his muzzle. “...as I said, we do have to be up early tomorrow.”

Gus shrunk into his shoulders shyly, a hot blush returning to his muzzle; his rectangular pupils darted away from the pair of wolves.

“Th-Thanks guys….really…” The now reserved ruminid uttered. He was grateful, both for the bed supplies and the unexpected interruption, even if it came at the cost of a faint. Dealing with one of his fainting episodes was never exactly a walk in the park, but had the pair shown up a minute or two later, Gus was sure they would have discovered both goats in an exceedingly more compromising position: one which Vernon would have never let him live down until the day he died, and where a sober Melanie would be having near daily meltdowns over every time it crossed her mind for at least a year afterward. A little scare to ruin the mood and put a damper on the rising horn in his pants was the more welcomed outcome considering what could have been. He just hoped for his mate’s sake, the curtain hadn’t been fully parted by the time the wolves made their presence known.

“Are y’all sure y’all two will be alright down here?” Malcolm chirped with concern.

The surprisingly upbeat ungulate laughed, shaking his head dismissively.

“Clover get to you guys too? Is everyone going to be playing the part of my Mom today?” He asked, finishing the double barrel with a chortle.

The wolves exchanged a mildly puzzled look, clearly unaware of the Clover conversation.

“Look, we're fine down here…” Gus reassured the pair with a dismissive hoof. “Xavier knows I’ve spent a ton of sleepover’s down here. As far as I’m concerned, this is my natural habitat, my element.” This time finishing with a snicker.

Xavier snickered in response. “Okay, okay, just wanted to be sure.” The dapper-dandy replied. “I trust that means you remember the sofa folds out?”

Gus nodded briskly. “And how to get it all the way out if that one tricky hinge gets stuck. Again...this is my element.” The goat replied, leaning forward and eyeing the wolves with an almost gleeful glint in his eye. “My home away from home.” He paused, stroking his beard thoughtfully for a moment. “Well...I guess home away from home away from home now? I nearly forgot about my actual apartment…”

With another laugh, Xavier gave his still nervous looking mate a reassuring nod before gesturing his head in the direction of the stairs. A slow, reluctant nod of agreement from Malcolm returned, the pair turned and began to make their exit.

“Have a good night's sleep Mister Hornsly and Miss Gessenay.” The well-dressed wolf uttered from the bottom step. “And do remember what my Mother told tonight’s newly-tithes: ‘Paws above the waist, and over the clothes at all times’.” He added with a knowing chuckle.

Gus let out a sarcastic snort, rolling his eyes.

“Yeah, and douse rules applies to yas toos ‘Buddahbuns’?” Gus retorted in his best approximation of Ada’s thicc Barx accent. “Be sure to steer clear of the kitchen on your way up.”

Xavier froze mid-step, his ears shooting up straight and perky as his muzzle flushed a deep beet red. He glanced back at the goat over his shoulder, his pale blue eyes wide with a mixture of fear and horror before turning his attention to the wolf draped under his arm. All the while Malcolm had gone quiet, shrinking into his shoulders somewhat. His formerly nervous aura shifted into one that exuded pure shame and guilt.

“D-Did she...she tell them too!?” Xavier squeaked.

“Well-Well...I couldn’t exactly stop a drunk Ada from...sayin’ what she wanted ta say and all…” Malcolm whined. “And Melanie asked her about the nickname when I...er...wouldn’t go inta detail…”

Xavier sighed, running a paw through his coif of head fur and shaking his head. “I’m letting it go...I’m letting it go…” He muttered, seemingly focusing on his breathing for a few moments. His breath was slow, deliberate, but loud enough to make out quite clearly in the awkwardly quiet basem*nt. With a final, terse exhale, Xavier turned his attention back to the stairs, seemingly having just barely managed to hedge off having a meltdown of his own.

“Goodnight.” And with that sharp huff, the last of the Hunters left the basem*nt behind. Once again, Gus and Melly were alone. Presumably, for better or worse, for the rest of the night.

With an amused sigh, Gus turned his attention back to the curled up caprine balled up at the opposite end of the couch. While Melanie was no longer hiding her face, she had taken to laying the side of her muzzle against her knees. The frown etched in her muzzle was deep, and her sad, despondent gaze was tracing the floor in what appeared to be quiet contemplation. She remained quiet for a few moments, letting out a soft sigh of her own before finally managing to utter a very quiet, mumbled “Sorry…”

The bemused buck chuckled. “It’s alright, Melly-Belly…” He offered his ashamed looking she-goat a meek, hopeful smile. “I’m not upset or anything...I could never be mad at you…”

Her eyes widened behind her lenses slightly, the suddenly nervous nanny’s breath hitching slightly as she stared at her mate from over her kneecaps.

“D-Dyoo ya ththiink they-…” She murmured worriedly. “They didn’t sheee my-?”

Gus shook his head dismissively. In truth, he didn’t really know. He was too busy being caught up in the throes of an involuntary attempt at planking to see if the gates of Saurdor were fully open or not. But for the sake of preventing Melly from spending the rest of her night in a state of sad (possibly hysterical) drunkenness over her formerly jovial inebriated self, it was best to tell her what she wanted to hear.

“I’m sure they didn’t. Now c’mere.” Gus reassured his mate, unscrewing the cap of a water bottle before gesturing her closer with a hoof. “We need to get you hydrated.”

Melanie reluctantly scooted closer to her beckoning beau, moving about an inch at a time until, after what seemed like an eternity, his Mellowmar was once again nestled up near his side, her gaze still downcast as Gus made a more directed gesture to the bottle of water in his hooves.

As he tried to bring it toward her muzzle, Melanie simply pushed it away, slumping into Gus’ side.

“Melly…come on now…”

“No…” The dour dame huffed.

“Mellowmar, you need to drink some water...at the very least enough to take the Tailenol…” Gus pleaded softly.

He heard a derisive snort from his dress shirt with a sharp blast of heat from her exhale bleeding into the fabric.

“Waaass the poiiiint…?” She muttered tersely.

The mirthful male chuckled. “If you don’t drink some water, you’re gonna be so sick tomorrow…”

Drawing back from her billy’s side suddenly, Melanie glared back at him, pointing a wavering, shaky hoof nail at him accusingly.

“Youu-Youuu lishen to mee, you’re siick…” Was her best attempt at a rebuttal. “I-I’M weeEEll…”

“So you say…” The concerned caprine replied.

“Pffft…” The sauced she-goat huffed, dismissing her mate with a hoof.

“Ada would want you to drink it…” Gus added pleadingly.

Gus had to stifle the urge to snicker when a wavering, tearful smile crawled across his mate’s muzzle, her emotions shifting on a dime thanks to the overdose of social lubricant.

“SHEEE WOUuuuLD Caause she’s Niiise…” She bellowed, sounding as though she were about to burst into tears.

Gus' facade cracked, a chortle escaping his muzzle. He held up the pills and began to zero them in on his mate’s mouth. “Yes, and she’d want you to take these too, okay?”

His melodramatic mate nodded dumbly before opening her mouth comically wide and lamely gesturing for Gus to drop the pills on her tongue. Gus was of course quick to oblige her rather than take a chance of missing the opportunity before she took a turn back toward defiant non-compliance.

With the pills in her mouth, her dutiful dungeon master helped her sip just enough water to knock the extra-strength pain reliever back with little trouble before she pushed the bottled water away with a hoof.

“Isssh sooo cold…” She murmured dumbly.

“That’s kinda the point Mellomar…” Snickered Gus. “You should still drink some mo-.”

“EEEHhhhyYYYHHH” As expected, Melly’s rebellious streak had taken control again, the obstinate ovid pressing the open bottle of water back to Gus’s chest with enough force that some of the water sloshed onto his frilly dress shirt. His mate turned her gaze up to their surroundings with an inquisitive, analytical gaze. At least, what appeared to be one through her currently handicapped condition. Her lazily drifting line of sight made a slow and somewhat shaky journey across several different items strewn about the unfinished basem*nt. From the pool table, to the pinball machine, to the nineties era flat screen, and eventually back to the billy sat next to her. The gears were visibly turning, which was often something that was not so easy to read when it came to his mate’s sober self. But in her current state, the struggle to arrange her thoughts and absorb everything she was trying to take in was etched all over her face. After what felt like an agonizingly long time of Melanie’s deep green eyes staring through the billy beside her, she finally managed to speak.

“I-I’ve never seeeen Vernon’s basem*nt before…Or the Huuunter Ranch eiteeer…” The she-goat slurred.

Gus rolled his eyes, doing his best to stifle the urge to smirk while reattempting to get her to drink. Again, she rebuffed his attempts to hydrate her.

“Gooosh….” The far gone gal’s head swiveled sluggishly on her neck as she struggled to keep it upright. “My liitle silly-billy mush have spun so maanny Beashs and Bammelfeilds sesshes down ear…”

Rolling his eyes, the dorky BM set the open water bottle on the coffee table and placed his hooves on his knees. His own gaze soon mimicked his mates as he too began to scan the room, albeit at a much more steady and level pace. The memories began to flitter back to him in wisps. He could easily picture his even more awkward teenage self standing on a stool in front of the pinball machine, fighting his hardest to beat Ulric’s absurdly high score, sweat dripping down his brow,Vernon and Broomie cheering him on. The countless arguments with Vernon over using the pool table as the staging area for the maps for their larger campaigns rang softly in his ears. A complex issue, as Vernon agreed, but only if they kept the dust cover on. In the billy’s mind, however, this defeated the whole purpose of using the green felt top of the table for grass by playing atop a Grey plastic liner. But Dorian’s ‘No eating near the table’ rule made it far too much of a risk in Vernon’s eyes, especially with how sloppy an eater Broomie was back then (not that he had gotten better with age). His attention drifting to the sofa reminded the sentimental sir that he never had a real leg to stand on in that argument once he eyed the various stains in the fabric. Most of which were created by him and the other Ruminerds during their more traditional sessions, or during their terribly bad movie nights. Some by accident, others the result of calculated food skirmishes that almost always ended with someone needing to take an emergency shower to get pizza stains out of their fur or wool. And then...there was the coffee table itself…

Gus let out a meditative sigh, a warm smile crawling across his muzzle before speaking.

“Yeah, we played a lot of games down here.” He chuckled warmly. “A whole Hel of a lot.” The contemplative caprid stroked his beard thoughtfully; his rectangular pupils now fixing on the coffee table that had seen so many tours of duty back in the old days. The good old days that seemed so distant now.

While the Ruminerds as a whole worked very hard to make time for regular Beasts and Battlefields sessions as adults, life had an increasingly bad habit of getting in the way of these sorts of things. It wasn’t something Gus would begrudge Vernon, Broomie, or Joel for. It couldn’t be helped. And of course, he had his own responsibilities to deal with, including those gladly shared with his precious Mellowmar when they didn’t pertain to his own medical issues. But as time continued to march onward, it felt like everything around him was changing more and more rapidly, almost aggressively. And with those changes came a worrying pang of feeling distant from his closest friends, one that was growing deeper and deeper with each canceled session or general get together that fell through.

His ol’ Sheepdog was tithed now, to a very high profile public figure, and a quite controversial one at that. Dawn was probably the most contentious mammal to be woven into the fabric of Zootopian history in the last fifty years, thanks to her little attempted coup d’etat, followed by the public whiplash that came by her saving the city and being dubbed a hero just a few months ago. Needless to say, there probably wasn’t a mammal in the entire city who didn’t have some sort of opinion on Dawn Bellwether, therefore (by extension) Vernon as well. And soon she’d be releasing a book: one he was sure would sell relatively well considering her mixture of fame and infamy regardless of the quality of its contents.

Vernon was also moving on to bigger & better things with his new architecture internship for the city government, meaning even if Gus decided to go for the option of getting the Bug Burga fixed back up as his Grandfather seemed to be favoring, the wolf wouldn’t be coming back to helm the night shift. It was, admittedly, another reason Vernon getting tithed so quickly was surprising to the debilitated dork of a goat. The willful wolf had already suffered so many shake-ups and drastic changes in his life in the past six months alone, and here he was taking another massive step as casually as one of their customers at the Bug Burga picked an item off the dollar menu. Such a prospect was terrifying to Gus, but at the same time, there was a part of him that envied that about the ol’ Sheepdog. Even if thinking with his heart over his head got him in trouble sometimes, that way of thinking allowed him to cut through all the bullsh*t when it came to taking a risk. All the fear, self doubt, worrying and second guessing, it never seemed to bog the wolf down the way it did for the always uncertain ungulate. Or if it did, Vernon was very good at hiding it.

And now even Broomie was seeing someone, a rather imposing looking she-wolf that looked like she could snap everyone in the group (Vernon included) in half with a glare if they happened to look at her the wrong way. Despite her domineering presence and being cut so sharply that Gus was sure Broomie could easily grate cheese on her abs (despite the fur barely hiding them thanks to her working as a yoga instructor), Talia seemed very friendly & sweet. While not interested in B&B herself, unlike Dawn who shared Vernon’s love of the game, Talia was very encouraging when it came to Broomie’s ‘passions’. But they were still in the dating phase of things, and not living together meant they had to make time to set up days to hang out whenever they could. Naturally, this meant that sometimes the need to see one another would outweigh making a game on time, if at all. Again, not that Gus could begrudge Broomie that much, even if his relationship was new and experimental. He merely feared it might be a portent of things to come if things between the pair grew more serious.

At this point, the only one having so little going on in their life that could get in the way of a game reliably was Joel: the reclusive ruminid who worked from home, making 3-D models to sell to asset companies and did little else that was worth mentioning in polite company. Thankfully, there didn’t seem to be any major changes on the horizon when it came to that front. Still, none of that really mattered all that much at present, as with the Bug-Burga gone, their sessions were on permanent hiatus, as for one reason or another, no one could hold a session at their respective apartments for the foreseeable future.

They were starting to drift apart, at least that’s how Gus felt at that moment. As time went on, they only served to drift further and further away as kids & job opportunities pulled them increasingly in different directions. In truth, he supposed it was a wonder they had remained as tight knit a gang for as long as they had, but it still didn’t make the prospect of such a break up any easier to swallow. Things were changing, and Gus had only sort of touched on it early that evening when faced with how he had been stringing along his mate in terms of marriage; change was something he feared. Change came with risk, and risk almost always ended poorly for the billy.

Back in their high school days, it seemed like they had endless time to fritter away, spending nearly every weekend in Vernon’s basem*nt or his own, hosting sessions under the banner of the North Meadowland’s High Beasts and Battlefields club. Those campaigns were some of the few things in Gus’ life that he poured what little passion he had into. The ones that were able to endure his years of being so fragile medically speaking, that he was largely housebound, while everything else faded when faced with the grim reality of his physical limitations. His heart and soul ran deep into every campaign he carefully crafted, fueled by a frantic, highly energetic imagination that lay diametrically opposed to his weakened, and withering body that loved to fail him at every turn. An imagination that only grew to be that much more inspired and lively when he finally gained some friends to play out his stories with. Friends he would come to treasure more than the games themselves.

They had already lost Claire, the sole female of the group in the transition to college life. The lady lamb, who had been well known by everyone in the group to have a crush on Vernon (save for the hapless Hunter himself) had elected to stay in the North Meadowlands for her advanced schooling, rather than follow the rest of the herd out to Zootopia University. She still would travel out to make the occasional game at first, but as the years stretched on, she started making increasingly fewer and fewer sessions, even those taking place over Muzzletime. Whether that was entirely due to the increasingly busy nature of her life out in the country according to her, or that she still had lingering feelings for a wolf that showed no romantic interest in caprid folk at the time, the glum goat couldn’t say. However, it was worth mentioning she had blocked all of them on Furbook shortly after Vernon revealed his relationship with Dawn to the public. And while they had gained Joel in her absence, it still stung to lose such an old friend due to the baggage she couldn’t seem to let go of.

Gus’ gaze still fixed on the coffee table, his mind continued to drift back over some of his most powerful, and admittedly (in hindsight) rather over-dramatic performances behind the battle master board. The generally harmless looking, less-than-imposing ungulate glowering down at his compatriots with his piercing golden eyes as he spun his carefully concocted yarn. Sometimes holding his hooves over the field and wiggling his hoof nails with a menacing air as he described in detail whatever was happening to his rapt audience of friends. Sometimes they took it seriously, other times they couldn’t help but laugh. And while the fire in his performances had never died down, nor had the meticulous nature of his story crafting dulled, there was a different air about it then. One that the group's more contemporary sessions felt as though they lacked: a certain atmosphere, a certain magic that seemed to have been lost in the sands of time that the gaming wizard felt wistful for. Traditional B&B, Glitz & Chips, Lovecloptian nightmares, Barks & Droids, so many great settings and campaigns had been waged through down here. So many wonderful memories forged as a Ruminerd, and it had Gus wondering, for the briefest of moments, if those days were well and truly over…now that the Bug Burga was no more.

“We made a lot of great memories down here…” The nostalgic nerd half muttered, a buttery warmth to his tone. “Even the cringey stuff…” He winced slightly, letting out a soft simper, harking back to some of his hammier performances. “I wouldn’t trade those memories for the world.”

“AwwwWWwww….Gusssiie…” Melly slurred from the sidelines.

The buck briskly shook his head to shake off the lingering memories before scooping the bottled water back into his hooves. Turning back to his sloshed soulmate, he made another attempt to get her to take a swig of the mineral water.

“Anyway, c-.”

His Mellowmar slowly pushed the water in his hooves out and away from his body, once again drawing her odious alcoholically tinged muzzle close to his as her green-eyed-gaze stared him down. The hungry glint in her eyes had returned with renewed intensity, which was evident because she ran her tongue seductively along her lips.

“H-Hoowsa bout we make some new ones them…” She cooed as sweetly as she could through a small, but particularly vile burp that was clearly reflected in her momentarily cringing.

The repulsed ruminid drew back, his muzzle curling in mild disgust before his expression shifted into something more reflective of dull disinterest. Gus pulled the water back in between the pair's muzzles, pressing the open top against the edge of Melanie’s lower lip.

“Melly, just drink your water please.” He replied, with a weary sigh.

The cusp of the rim had barely touched muzzle before his mate suddenly broke away, the loaded lass tipping backward onto the sofa once more and splaying her arms and legs out as though she were doing her best impression of one of his own fainting fits. Gus drew back slightly as Melanie began to flail her legs and arms in the throes of her sudden outburst, letting out a mournful wail that nearly had the beleaguered billy covering his ears from the sheer octave of it.

“IIIiII’m SoooooOOO SORRISH GUSSsssSSSIE…” She loudly lamented, so much so that Gus held his hooves out in a vain attempt to signal to her to keep the volume down, despite his mild amusem*nt. He assumed shutting down her advances might have forced the embarrassing memory of nearly giving Xavier and Malcolm a peek under Middle-Animalia, and deep into the Hwarven mines back to the surface of her booze-soaked brain.

“Mellowmar, it’s okay...please ju-.”

“NoooOOOOooo!” She continued to whine, her hooves lamely whipping at the couch cushions as her tiny tantrum continued. “I-ISHH NooOOt Okaaay...”

His snicker at his Mellowmar’s little performance died mid-laugh. Her brilliant basil-green eyes begin to shimmer with tears.

“Melly?” He cooed, his tone laced with concern. Gus warily leaned over his mate, only for his Melly-Belly to suddenly pull him down on top of her, squeezing the bewildered bleater as tightly as she could muster in her current state.

“I-I-I’M ShhooOOoww Sorrry iff I ever made you feeel broken…”

Gus froze in his mate’s grasp, his canary-yellow eyes growing wide as a mixture of emotions rose in him.

“Y-You’re NoooOot broken too mee…” She continued to sob, burying her muzzle into his neck, her nuzzling not as pleasant as it usually would have been, thanks to the messy mixture of tears and mucus he could feel being smeared into his collar. “N-Nnnever…Neever Ever!”

Gus couldn’t take it anymore. His saccharine emotions which had built from all the reminiscence were pushing him over the edge, evident by the half sob escaping from his own muzzle. He gave into his mate’s hug, squeezing her back as he did his best to stem his own rising tears. He wasn’t exactly prepared for the conversation to shift so dramatically, and so it had been impossible to fully keep his emotions under control being caught so off guard. But he did his best to compose himself while trying to console the forlorn female in his embrace. Gus sniffled sharply, swallowing the powerful well of emotion that had so suddenly rose up in his throat before trying to speak.

“H-Hey Melly-Belly…” He cooed sweetly.

“I-I’m soo Soorry Gussie-Wussie...” She continued to wail into the satin fabric of his shirt. By now, she had soaked through the gaudy garment down to his neck and shoulder fur completely, the fabric failing to absorb even the slightest bit of moisture. Not that the billy would have been all that concerned what shape he’d be returning his father’s old senior prom outfit in, regardless of the circ*mstances.

“Listen Mel, you-” He felt his breath hitch again, forcing another hard swallow before he could continue. “You never, ever, made me feel broken.”

He could feel his morose mate shake her head into his shoulder in the negative, letting out another soft whimper.

Gus sighed, shaking his own head dismissively before loosening his grip around the bombed bridesmaid. Leaning back, the gentle goat did his best to pull the both of them back up to a sitting position, all the while Melanie remained buried in the crook of his neck. She didn’t fight against his efforts, but she wasn’t exactly helping either, causing it to take a few tries before the busted up buck managed to pull them both upright. Now in a seated position, Gus’ attention turned to wrenching his miserable mate out of his neck, gripping her by the shoulders. Unlike when they were lying prone however, this was the maneuver Melanie would fight him on, her wailing increasing with each attempt to pull her away until with an almost Purrculean effort on Gus’ part, he managed to yank her out of the hem of his gaudy garb.

“Mellowmar…” He cooed.

Before the glum gal could make for a renewed dive back into the nape of mate’s neck, Gus had managed to grip her chin, turning her gaze to properly meet his own.

“Look at me Mel.” The kind caprid fixed his rectangular pupils on hers, now glassy with a sheen of the start of tears himself. “Never…” He continued, offering a small, meek (yet somehow reassuring) smile. “I made myself feel broken, not you.” He shook his head. “Understand?”

Much like Yuri had lured Ada into following his lead into a nod, so did Gus attempt the same. He was probably nodding for a full minute before his misty-eyed maiden finally began to nod along with him. It was a slow, sluggish affair, with Melanie pawing at one of her eyes lamely before grasping at Gus’s hoof cupped under her chin. Pulling it away, she reached to grab his other hoof before bringing them both together clasped inside her own. Her teary green-eyed gaze remained fixed on him all the while.

“I-Iii”m-.” She shook her head slowly, dismissively, before briefly removing a hoof from her grip around Gus’ own to wipe her mouth. Seemingly as composed as she was going to get with her totally hammered handicap, she continued with just a bit less of a slur to her speech.

“I’m still sorrish anyways my Gussie-wussieh…” She replied sweetly. “To me...you’re just-” A soft hiccup forced its way out the drunken dame’s muzzle, cutting her off mid-sentence. She winced, swallowing hard to presumably force what Gus could only assume was a particularly rancid lump of rumen back down her throat before continuing. “To me, you are perfect the way you are…” Finishing her (amazingly coherent & pronounced) sentence, she bore the bewildered billy a small smile.

Gus’ muzzle flushed crimson, the bashful billy breaking eye contact and cursing himself under his breath. It seemed he wouldn’t be satisfied with merely reminiscing over his teenage years tonight. Instead, he’d have to go as far as practically channeling his easily flustered and awkward teenage self as well. It was something that at this point in his life, only his Mellowmar could draw out of him. Despite how much more unflappable he had grown to be since those days. Even in a state like this, Melanie could make his heart flutter and fill all four chambers of his stomach with butterflies.

“W-Well I-” The befuddled buck stammered. “I-Me-.”

But Melanie cut him off, placing a single hoof nail to his lips to silence him. Her bleary yet loving gaze remained fixed on his own.

“ShhHHHhhhhhhhhHHHHhhhhhh….” Her attempt to hush her mate lingered just a bit too long, and carried with it a few stray flecks of spittle that forced Gus to blink rapidly in an attempt to shield his eyes.

“An-And I don’t want tooo hear otherwise!” She tried to maintain eye contact, which was quite difficult with a slightly swaying head. “N-Noot from that version ooOf you…” Melanie added, giving her mate a playful ‘boop’ on his snout with her free hoof before beginning her own, sluggish nod. “Oookay?”

The sloshed she-goat’s hoof nail slowly dragged down and away from Gus’ lips, his muzzle curling into a mirthful grin, and he nodded along.

The moment she had her confirmation, Melanie sprawled backward onto the couch again. Gus shook with a slight jump, caused by her sudden movement.

“Aaand I don’t care whaat he things!” She declared, seemingly to the empty room around them rather than to Gus himself. “Or my pareents or anyone ellsh!” She added, pretending (at least he hoped) to spit on the floor off to her side.

“RUT ‘EM!” She barked, ending her declaration with a giggling snort.

Shaking his head softly, Gus ruminated on the little white lie he had flippantly spouted off to Vernon & Ada in the heat of the emotionally charged argument they had a few hours ago. He exclaimed, quite loudly in fact, that he got along with Melanie’s parents ‘fine’; but in truth, those relations were non-existent at best, and antagonistic at worst.

The first and last time Melanie had ever brought him around the Gessenay Manor, up in the Alpine Glade District to ‘meet the parents’, her father asked her point blank where her ‘real mate’ was while Melly’s mother criticized his ‘thrift store’ shopping sensibilities. That first exchange would go on to set the tone for the evening, the start of a familiar song & dance that hit all the notes one would expect from your classic hypercritical parents who saw no mate as being ‘good enough’ for their little girl. Although, as Melanie would re-contextualize it later for the nerve-wracked nerd, it had nothing to do with them being protective of her as though she were some precious jewel, and everything to do with how whoever she chose as a mate would affect the families social standing and appearance in their little ‘circle’ of wealthy families.

Regardless of intent, however, the script to scare him off was pulled right out of the parental playbook, beat for beat. First, the private ‘Hunting Trophy Room’ tour by Mr. Gessenay, complete with a mildly threatening exchange while Charles polished the largest gun in his arsenal. Then, he was treated to a ‘lovely’ little talk in the kitchen with Ida, while Melanie was in the bathroom, that amounted to begging him to ‘break things off now’ so as to prevent ‘dragging Melanie down’. By the time dinner had been served, Melly’s parents had done a thorough job, both privately and through snide comments in Melanie’s presence on tearing the embattled billy down until he was little more than a nigh unresponsive shell. He couldn’t even recall what was served that night, only that he didn’t have the stomach for any of it after what he had endured. All the while keeping his muzzle shut for the sake of trying to keep his mate’s relationship with her well-to-do parents intact.

However, Mel made it clear that his quiet suffering had not gone unnoticed, rising to his defense many times. She had tried to remain cordial throughout the night, but by dinner, she had well and truly had it: never before, nor since, in all her furious tirades, had Gus heard Melly rattle off such a long, impassioned string of curse words; let alone being used to hack & slash down her own parents with such a sharp tongue. In the beginning, they tried to argue back. To keep their heads above the onslaught of vicious verbal vivisection. But by the end of the affair, they had grown silent. Looking just as hollow and gutted as Gus had been in the lead up to dinner. It was a masterful performance in a morbid sense. Melanie had torn her parents a new one more handily in two minutes than the pair had been able to accomplish with Gus for over two hours. In hindsight he couldn’t help but lament that he now represented the largest wedge keeping his precious Mellowmar from being on speaking terms with her parents. Even if she reassured him otherwise, that he had been the final straw to a massive pile of baggage he hadn’t fully gotten to dig into at the time, it still nagged in the back of his mind every so often. Without him standing in the way, was it possible Melanie and her parents could make amends? He really couldn’t know. Although from the trunkload of trauma from her childhood his precious princess (a term she would hate if it was ever used in reference to her) had disclosed to him over the years, the relationship between her & her parents had been hanging on by a thread for years even before he had come along. Although it didn’t fully dispel those nagging doubts inside him, it made them a lot easier to brush off nine times out of ten.

At the end of the day, it really hadn’t been worth bringing up in the grander conversation in regards to Gus dragging his hooves when it came to proposing to Melly. Gus’ insecurities about his place in Mel’s life significantly outweighed such a trifle of an issue by comparison, and it would have been a waste of time having to detour the discussion to open yet another can of worms when there was a bait & tackle shop’s worth open already.

“Yeah...parents…” Came a numb response. At the very least, they had Gus’ own Mom and Dad, along with his brother to rely on when it came to being some semblance of a ‘family’. Still…to not even be given a chance by The Gessenay’s still stung a bit.

“Pssht! Paarents…” The moody maiden huffed. “B-bunch of Shnoooty, Uptight, Stinngy...Blooschucking old Keds!” She spat (both figuratively and quite literally) with venom (and booze) in her voice.

Shakily rising back into a sitting position, Melanie reached out to place a hoof on Gus’ shoulder for stability's sake. Her previous scowl shifted into a soft smile.

“N-noot your parents though…” She shook her head. “V-Viistoria so sweett, an-an-.” Another surprise hiccup cut the drunken damsel’s sentence short, and Melanie placed a balled hoof to her muzzle briefly until she seemed to have composed herself.

“An Asllan is just thee nicest…And Gil…” She snickered softly to herself. “Gil’s schuper schuper chill…”

Gus chuckled softly, placing his hoof on Melanie’s own and rubbing it affectionately.

“They know you love ‘em Mel.” He replied warmly, once again trying to bring the water bottle to her lips. Finally, for just a few moments, his mate began to sip at the frigid refreshment. But that moment of relief was fleeting, and his Melly-Belly was quickly pulling away from the water bottle again like a fussy newborn kid.

“A-And my aunt Molly Lovesh you!” She added, with a chipperness to her tone.

Ah yes, Gus nearly forgot about Ida’s sister: Molly. The hardheaded farm gal who had a personality that fell somewhere between Melly herself and Misses Hunter on the spectrum of stubborn tenacity. Despite being as well off as Ida, thanks to their parents having started a now very robust cargo container sales company, she lived a very modest life by comparison. She still lived in the original Hirculmer family farm house, working the land on her property for the sheer enjoyment of it. At the very least, she seemed to like Gus, despite the fact that he was absolutely useless helping around the farm whenever they managed to visit. Although it would quickly cause him to share Melanie’s own lamented wish that Molly had been her mother instead of Ida as well.

“B-Buut my Pareentsh!” She spat, stabbing a single, defiant hoof nail skyward to punctuate her continuing ramble. “They-They jush, they jush cannsee what a great guy you are!” Lowering her hoof, bringing it to Gus’ cheek, she caressed it affectionately. “Th-they have no-no idea wash a greap son-in-laws you-you’d be…”

Placing his hoof on hers once more, the bemused buck goat rolled his eyes.

“Mello-.”

He had barely uttered her pet name before she let out a sudden gasp, clasping both hooves to her muzzle. Her reaction earned a rather skeptical & confused glance from her mate.

“Melly?”

“I did it againn…” He heard her murmur softly, hiding her deep crimson muzzle behind her hooves.

“Did what again?” He inquired with a concerned lilt.

Melanie hunched forward, her downcast gaze staring through her lap. She sniffled softly, gently rocking in place.

“Be-Being too Pusshy!” She slowly dragged her head back up, her mint-green eyes welling with a renewed sheen of hot tears. “I-I’m Allwways So Damn Pusshy!” She hissed, crossing her arms.

Gus let out a soft sigh, taking a moment to place the barely sipped-on water on the coffee table. With his hooves free, the gentle goat reached out toward his mate, seeking to gently pet her cheek. But his Mellowmar drew away from his comforting reach, letting out a soft sniffle and averting her gaze in what looked like shame.

“I-I don’t want to be!” She whined. “I-I jush-!”

“That’s okay Melly.” The caring caprid cooed reassuringly. “It’s the way you are, and I think yo-.”

“ISH NOT OKAY!” The suddenly miffed maiden shot back, drawing another jolt from her mate. She was glaring at him now, her glinting green eyes awash with tears. Yet, despite the deluge, the glint of a fire burned behind her irises. “I Dun...Ishh not right to Preesssure the one you love! I jus-I…”

The determined look on her face faded, giving way to a look of guilt and sorrow. Melly toyed with the hooves folded neatly in her lap idly, a few errant sniffles escaping her muzzle as she found the courage to continue her diatribe.

“Y-Yoour the besh…” She coughed, shaking her head briskly in what seemed like another attempt to sober herself. “Y-You’re the best thing that’s evers happened ta’ me…” She managed to get out almost clearly, despite her sloshed status.

“Mellowmar…” Gus whimpered softly, reaching out another tentative hoof toward his emotionally compromised love.

“I jush...I jush…”

Before her benevolent beau could make contact with one of her hooves, she pounced, wrapping him up in the tightest hug she could muster. Her muzzle found purchase buried deep into the crook of his neck as she began to wail into his satin shirt.

“I love yoou SooOOOooo MUCH!” The bespectacled bookworm bawled heavily, sending a fresh wave of tears and snot into his worn out threads.

Gus was frozen, not by virtue of falling into another fainting fit, but simply that he had been struck by yet another whammy. Melly’s maudlin mood swings while intoxicated were something the beleaguered buck had a pretty decent handle on despite how rarely they occurred. But the long night of partying, as well as just how long it had been since his mate had been this messed up had dulled his senses. It seemed he was rolling Insight with Disadvantage at every turn, and the lowest rolls were just barely hovering above Nat Ones.

Shaking his head, Gus felt his body slowly begin to respond; his arms now wrapping around his mate in an equally intense hug and nuzzling against her neck.

“H-Hey, hey…” He cooed soothingly, but his Melly-Belly’s wailing maintained its intensity.

“Rrmumh…” She spoke into his collar, before turning her muzzle out of the fabric and taking in a deep draw of breath.

“R-Reemember wh-when you said y-you were afraid?” She managed to cough out through her choked sobs. A-Abowt-Abou-.”

Her dutiful dork of a mate turned to gently rubbing her back while maintaining his now one hoofed hug. “Easy, easy Melly-Belly…”

Melanie shook her head briskly. “Y-You were afrash-.” He could hear her audibly swallow hard, another gasp following her deepening ugly cry. “Afraid I’d leave..”

Melly’s half horned handler felt his gaze sharply shift downward, then darting around at nothing in particular as he felt his breath begin to hitch in his throat. For a moment, his thoughts were rapidly overwhelmed by a deluge of anxious and uncomfortable ideas. Ones that had the rumen from his gut creeping its way up the back of his throat. A mild panic began to set in. Surely this was going to be the moment where his mate admitted she’d considered it at some point, or perhaps was still thinking about it. Despite saying he was the best thing that had happened to her, things changed, and perhaps her view of him had changed as well.

“Y-Yeah…?” The ungulate uttered his ask uneasily, biting his lower lip.

“I jush-.” She whimpered, dragging her sopping wet snout across his shoulder again, the hot sticky liquid forcing a shudder out of the increasingly anxious animal in her grasp. “I-I’m worried If I keep beeing soo pushy about marriage th-tha-…”

The distressed damsel struggled to force the rest of her statement out owing to hitched breath. Another hard, loud sob clawed its way in between the increasingly stressful sounding sobbing.

“M-Mel…” Gus replied worriedly.

“I-I’m so scaaRRed I’ll...dr-dr-.” He felt her whole body tremble…she took in a deep gasp of air. “DRIVE YOU AWAY FROM ME!”

Silence.

“W-what?” Spat the buck.

The melancholic maiden let out another string of wracking sobs, all the while Gus did his best to keep up his comforting. His ad-hoc back rubbing oscillated between gentle patting and rubbing motions, trying to reign in his mate’s emotional breakdown.

“I-I don’t waAaana Loose You Gussie…” She whined, continuing to sob into his shoulder. “I-I caaan’t!”

“M-Melly?” He replied, his other hoof now moving up to stroke her head fur. “Y-You’re not go-…” Gus shook his head softly. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“T-thash why I keeEep pusshing you to marry me…” Her wailing continued, gripping a hoof to the side of her mate’s head and meeting his cheek to cheek, nuzzling it affectionately. “B-Beecause I c-can’t bare to looOOse you…”

“Mel-.”

Drawing back, the effects of the soul rending sob-fest was written all over his morose mate’s features. Her frames were smattered with tears, and skewed awkwardly up into her head fur line. The nose of her muzzle was beaming red through the fur, and twin streams of clear mucus had caked the fur directly below her still flaring nostrils. Her beautiful, gleaming green eyes were now offset by a taut pink swelling to the skin around them. The tears hadn’t stopped either, still running down her cheek fur like rivers as she began to paw lamely at them in a futile effort to stop the flow. All the while her caprid crush was captivated; whatever words of assurance he had felt the urge to say being stolen away before they could reach his lips.

“Y-You are the Loove of My Life Gus…” She sniffled sharply, trying desperately to compose herself between her plastered position and her emotional up-swell in what was clearly an effort to underline just how important her admission was. “My soulmate.”

Melanie leaned her forehead against Gus’ own, letting out another soft sniffle.

“I couldn’t l-live without you…” The shattered she-goat shuddered softly.

Despite the lack of audible sound, Gustav Tobias Hornsly was weeping right along with his dearest Melanie. A silent, steady stream of tears ran down his cheeks in an almost perfect mirror of his mate. She loved him that much? As much as he loved her? His heart ached, for her words took root deep within his chest, filling it with a burning, swelling thrum that warmed him to his very core. It was elation and agony all wrapped up into one almost indescribable feeling. A joy that burned so brightly inside him that the little pessimistic voice that always dug at him, told him point blank that Melanie was too good for him and would surely leave him, was completely immolated by the raw intensity of the blistering heat. A wrenching, twisting pain in his chest that came from an overwhelming sense of guilt and shame shot through at the same time. He felt ashamed that he considered, for even the tiniest of moments at any time, that his Mellowmar might not love him. That she might not stay. She loved him wholly and unconditionally, just as he did her; he cursed himself for ever being so foolish as to even consider the possibility of her words being little more than hollow platitudes of pity. That at this point she remained for the sake of convenience and little else. He had blinded himself for so long, and only now did he truly see their relationship as it really was.

“Oh Mellowmar…” He sniffled softly, planting a gentle kiss on the tip of her snout. His eyes met hers in a deeply loving gaze, one that made the whole basem*nt around them seem to simply melt away. He could still see fragments of the unfinished cellar in his peripheral vision: the coffee table, the pinball machine, the TV, it all sort of floated in the empty void that now surrounded the kindred caprids. Scattered shards, like stars in the night sky, that made up a million treasured memories of countless hours of his former life frittered away with dear friends. All wonderful moments in time, all treasures in their own right. But now they seemed to pale in comparison to something much bigger. Mere embers overshadowed by a towering flame. One that was warm, inviting, one fueled by pure love and adoration for his precious Mellowmar.

Drawing back slightly from his mate, the gentle goat showed her a warm smile. For a moment he took in the room again, noting the relics of his past before setting his sights back on the future.

“I made some great memories down here.” He repeated, maintaining his glowing grin as he let out a wistful sigh. “I got to debut ‘The God of Hyperdeath’ for the first time down here.” He prattled on. “Had the honor of overseeing some of the most hoof nail biting critical rolls you ever could have ever seen. Ones that you really had to be there to know they weren’t just tall tales.” He chuckled. “Led my friends through old western deserts, post apocalyptic helscapes, to the gates of Saurdor...sweet sawgrass, even onto the rutting Death Star.” He shook his head. “Memories I’ll always treasure. Ones that I wouldn’t trade for the world.”

Melanie tilted her head slightly, clearly curious as to where her geeky Gus was going with this despite the hammered haze currently clouding her overall perception.

Pressing his forehead against hers once more, the broken up billy let out a dreamy exhale.

“But all of those memories, every last bit of them, can’t hold a candle to the memories we’ve made together over the last six years.” He continued with a smirk. “I may not be willing to trade those old high school memories away for anything, but I would fight to the death to protect the ones I made with you.”

Melanie’s tears had nearly dried up, save for a few errant sniffles that lingered along with her glossy green eyes. Her muzzle was even redder now, though not from the sheer overwhelming amount of sobbing she had been doing prior. Her blush was practically radiant as she broke eye contact with her Gussie-Wussie, her hooves rising to her muzzle almost timidly.

“G-Gussie...”She stammered like a shy school girl.

“You’ve…You’ve brought so much joy and positivity to my life Mellomar…” Gus sniffled, shaking his head. “...made every day better just by being in it.” He smiled. “And I…I can’t even begin to thank you for that…for all you’ve-you’ve done for me. I just...there’s not enough words in the Animanglish dictionary…to do you justice. In every language: both living and dead included.”

Melanie remained quiet, save for a stray sniffle. All the while, her small, delightfully warm smile grew wider & wider while she watched her horned hubby with rapt attention. With them came a renewed, vigorous wave of hot tears. No longer sourced from the font of sorrow and doubt, but from pure delight. From the bottom of her heart, where despite her current state (or maybe even enhanced by it), was swelling with love and adoration.

“But that’s part of the reason why I felt like you deserved a way better ‘buck’o’ than me.” He continued, his smile sagging slightly during his dialogue. “I was so afraid that, with the way I am-” The formerly glad goat shook his head. “How grumpy I can get, and my health stuff...it would just drag you down.” He sighed sadly. “I couldn’t bear to do something like that to you. It would be like stifling a songbird. Or locking away a phoenix in a gilded cage so only I could ever see you.” The broken billy’s words began to trail off and his enthusiasm continued to wane, his words fading into more of a depressive mutter the longer he continued. “To hide that light away from Animalia for my own selfish reasons would be a sin.” He sniffled softly. “ I couldn’t bear to do that…To someone I love so much…”

Gus felt a gentle palm caress his cheek, and looked back at Melanie just in time to catch her placing a soft, loving kiss on his jawline.

“Yo-You won’t drag me Down Gussie…” She cooed dreamily, the barest hint of sleepiness in her tone as she continued to stroke his cheek with her thumb affectionately. “I-I promised I’d always b-be there for you...I’d pick you back up and keep you going…”

The sweet she-goat smiled softly at the geek in her grip, using one of the hoof nails on her free hoof to playfully twirl his wispy, trailing beard.

“You won’t keep meEE from siinging…” She continued. “I’m just g-gonna help you sing with me...Ookay?”

Gus chuckled, a sob breaking through somewhere in the middle of his dry laugh. In response, Melanie gave him a slow, deliberate nod.

“Twooogeffer, Okaaaaay?” She repeated, the slurring of her words starting to drag more and more at the tail end.

Despite his snickering, the grinning goat in her grasp eventually played along, nodding in agreement as he pawed at his teary eyes.

“Okay…” He sniffled sharply. “You got a deal, Mellowmar…”

With the pact apparently sealed, Melanie pulled Gus into another hug. This one being considerably tighter than the last. As he did his best to meet her affectionate gesture in equal fervor, his eyes restarted wandering around the room. Echoes of the memories forged within these basem*nt walls now striking a different cord deep inside him. They had once represented something he had begun to accept was slipping through his fingers. It was the path of least resistance, the one he was so used to taking. But now there was something else thrumming inside of him, a powerful groundswell of energy he only truly felt when he was planning elaborate stories and campaign arcs for his latest Beast and Battlefields session. A fire inside him was building, enveloping the fragments of an idea and drawing them together around it. Inspired by his Melly-Belly’s tenacity, her energy, her love. He was determined now.

“I-I know you said you’d pick me up when I fall…” Gus sniffled softly, gingerly rubbing his snout against the shoulder of the powder blue prom jacket currently draping his mistress. “B-but you-you make me want to be able to pick myself up too…”

“Mmmh?” Melanie’s mumble was (somehow) dreamy and soft.

“You make me want to be a better billy.” He continued, sniffling softly. “To be better for you…” He laughed weakly. “You’ve inspired me to want to be the best billy I can be, Mellowmar. A nanny like you deserves nothing less.”

“You already are…” He could hear her reply, forcing a fresh, hot wave of tears to his already glittering golden eyes.

Gus shook his head softly, doing his best to stifle a sob before he squeezed her tighter.

“If you’re so determined not to give up on me, then I’m going to do my damnedest not to give up on myself.” The emotionally overwhelmed ovid pawed lamely at his eyes. “Or the things I care about the most.” He sighed. “I’m going to make you proud of me.”

He could feel a soft kiss find purchase against his temple just below the healthy horn, before the same lips that planted it nestled in under the flap of his ear.

“I’m alreaaady proud.” She replied softly, barely a whisper, her voice cracking slightly as exhaustion became increasingly apparent in her tone.

Gus shook his head dismissively. His eyes fixed on the coffee table, a determined glint flickering behind them with the ideas formulating in his mind beginning to crystallize. When he had begun to reminisce about this place, to revisit the wonderful memories it held for him and contrast them against the way life seemed to be pulling at him & his fellow ruminates today, it had begun to feel as though he had been attending a wake. Paying his respects to a fallen friend, one that he felt he would never see again. After all, all the best memories felt as though they were still back there, stuck in the fog somewhere between junior high and a year or so after high school. But meeting Melanie was proof to the contrary. The sessions they had during college and at Bug Burga were proof to the contrary. Sure things had changed, things would change in the future, but that only meant there were more opportunities ahead to make even better memories. Grander campaigns, more engrossing stories, keeping the fire alive in his soul, and the torches burning in order to draw his closest friends back every so often to play one more round. What the group really needed was someone to rally them together, to bite the bullet and take the responsibility on themselves to make it as easy as possible for everyone else to be able to find time to play. Even if they really couldn’t make it, the door would always be open to them. What’s more, why not use such a place as an opportunity to inspire some new players in the process, maybe even his friends' future pups and lambs, maybe even his own kids?

“Our kids…” He muttered dumbly…

“Mhhhh…?” Melanie’s murmur trailed off blearily.

Gus nodded to himself decisively. It was time to do something bold. He would no longer be a stone sitting in the stream of life, stuck in place while the waters that ran across whittled him away over time. All the while watching those he loved & cared for swim past and leave him in the mud & the mire. He was going to join them.

“I’m going to go for it Mel.” He spoke more clearly, gritting his teeth slightly.The fire. The fire in his eyes seemed to glimmer even brighter. “I’m gonna open my own tabletop gaming store.”

He felt a broad smile begin to crawl across his muzzle. The vision in his head took shape. A nice little niche nerd shoppe that covered everything from comic books to mini-figures, to video games, to trading cards. And of course, the largest horde of B&B guides, modules, and accessories that Zootopia had ever seen. He could even put his little talents to work doing console repair & refurbishing as a side service among other things. But most importantly, the new store would be host to community BnB nights & events, with guest tables frequent patrons could rent out and get their campaigns on. Definitely, there would have to be a special VIP backroom area with one table and a set of special accommodations reserved purely for him & his herd: the ruminerds. His friends, his family. A dedicated space for them to play whenever they could manage, where they could even bring their kids. Always open, but never to the point where he’d heavily pressure anyone if they couldn’t make it. With this store, Gus would be facilitating his own passions, while at the same time, acting as a lynch pin that would keep him and his friends tied together (hooves crossed). And if not, well, it would be an investment in his future with Melly. The one thing he cared about more than anything else. The one that mattered more to him than life itself.

“I’ll try to find some way to convince my Grandpa to let me invest the insurance payout in the idea instead of rebuilding the Bug Burga.” He continued, nodding in approval of his own coalescing plan. “And if he won’t go for that, I’ll take out a personal loan and do it myself.” He shook his head briskly. “I’m not going to be resigned to anything anymore. I’m going to actively try to pursue something I’m passionate about, Mel.”

SNAAAAUUUGGGKKKKKKHHHHHH!

A loud, almost ear splitting snore made the formerly giddy goat nearly drop pellets.

“M-Melly!?” He sputtered anxiously, softening his hold around his mate in order to draw back and better inspect her. As he pulled her out of his shoulder, her head slowly tipped backward, hanging limp,tilting skyward. She let out another snarl of a snore.

Gus let out a sigh of relief before chuckling to himself. It was clear the long & exhausting events of the day had finally managed to cut through the thick alcoholic haze and swallow up that last lingering bit of persistence that had been fighting tooth & nail to make the night last.

With a sigh, Gus leaned the knocked out nanny up against his chest, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead before resting his chin there ever so carefully. Closing his eyes, he began to gently stroke her hair.

“And I promise that I’m going to propose to you.” He spoke softly in an almost reverent tone in time with gingerly rocking his Mellowmar. “The way you deserve to be proposed to.”

Another snore emanated from the fatigued female, earning a soft snicker from Gus.

“It’s going to be big, flashy and meaningful.” He continued, nuzzling lovingly into her scalp. “And it’s going to come with the biggest honking caprid wedding you’ve ever seen!” He added, his smile growing meek once he began having second thoughts about that particular part of his declaration. “I mean, if that’s what you want, that is. Whatever you want, I’ll be happy either way, as long as I have you.”

The slumbering she-goat’s snoring paused for a moment, a pleasant sigh escaping her muzzle before another sharp, screeching snore poured from her gaping mouth.

“And I promise that I’m going to do everything in my power to make every single day we’re together the happiest you can imagine.” He continued, his tone growing increasingly warm and dreamy. He closed his eyes once more. “Until…the day I…draw my last breath…”

“Mmmh…” A soft, weary reply burbled from his drowsy dame’s lips. “I loveshoe so mush Gus…” She added.

Gus chuckled.

“I love you so much too Melly…”

With a soft sigh, the bleary billy opened his eyes one last time. Slowly, and hesitantly, he laid the slumbering she-goat down onto the sofa with care before slumping back against the doughy arm of the sofa. Reaching over to the coffee table, he scooped the open bottle of water into his hoof, taking a long swig of the liquid before letting out a satisfied exhale.