Yuletide and the Call of Duty

The days that followed were completely silent between Mastavian and Briggan. Quite literally, not a single word escaped their lips to the other. The air grew unbearably heavy, but neither of them did anything to ease the tension. They spent much more time apart during this period than the entire time they knew each other. Briggan had even started sleeping on the couch while Mastace took the bed, in a quietly begrudging manner. Mastace hated to see Briggan like this, but he had no idea how to approach the inevitably uncomfortable conversation they obviously desperately needed to have.

It was the night of Christmas Eve, and Briggan skulked into the bedroom. Mastace was dead asleep, and that suited him just fine. Briggan sat beside his sleeping mate, careful not to disturb his slumber. Watching the semi-peaceful expression on the lion's face, Briggan was finally compelled to speak the first words he permitted in almost a week.

"I'm so sorry, my love. I'm lost and have no idea where to go and no clue about what to do." he whispered.

"Then perhaps you should ask someone to help you find your way."

Mastace wasn't asleep. Briggan had been fooled once again.

The lion sat up and smiled ruefully. "It's about time you came to me, sweetie. I'd begun to wonder if you had let your devils defeat you."

Briggan sat in silence as he gathered his thoughts and carefully considered every choice of words.

"They almost did."

"What kept them from doing so?"

"Honestly, I don't know. I'm so scared, Mastace. The blackout episode shook me to my core. What if I snapped and did the same to you? What if... What if you're not safe with me? What if I seriously hurt you? I'd never forgive myself if I'm the reason you have to lay in a hospital bed."

Mastace just let the words fall upon his ears, soaking in everything. When Briggan had spilled everything, he nodded.

"I thought about those same things. What if you did, and I wasn't able to protect you? What if I fail you? Those are the kinds of questions I ask myself all the time. What if I fail you not only as a friend, but as a mate and member of our family? Even though these things always try to plague me, I can't allow those types of thoughts to inhibit my ability to be there for you. I try every day to put my demons aside so I can focus on someone much more important than my own self-pity. You."

"Mastace, I never knew that you..."

"I know. And it's something I'd battled successfully against for a while. Only recently did it ever gain any ground, even if a miniscule amount."

"I'm sorry for letting this come between us."

"You needed to sort this thing out, I get that. Just... please don't push me away like that again. If you need space, you can ask me. I hate the cold shoulder, ya know."

"Alright then, hon. You got it." Briggan gave his feline mate a gentle nuzzle and a even softer kiss.

"So, does that mean I can have my boyfriend back?" Mastace joked.

Briggan giggled. "Of course, babe. You can have your boyfriend back."

The two laid down and began cuddling up to each other, still in their full daytime attire. "Good," Mastace said, his voice dipped in a light purr. "I missed him."

"I missed you too, Mastace."

"Merry Christmas, babe."

"Merry Christmas."

Waking up the next morning meant nothing other than the pure joy and closeness he'd come to so very desperately rely on without remorse. Mastace was right beside him, the lion's arms wrapped protectively around his body. He found that he'd been waking up before Mastace very consistently lately and that was okay. That meant more time he could relish in the company of his lover in silence. He didn't know why, but he found a very temporary silence such as this to he highly therapeutic. So, he enjoyed it when it happened naturally as much as he could.

It wasn't very long before Mastace too awoke.

"Good morning, babycakes. How'd you sleep?"

"Amazingly."

"Good, let's get out there and have an even better Christmas. What do you say?"

"I say that's a wonder-"

A hard knock sounded from the front door. It wasn't a heavy bang, but there was a little more force put behind it that lent a sense of urgency to the overall vibe.

The pair looked at each other with a perplexed expression. They both slightly stumbled their way to the front door, having not had the necessary time to boot up for the day properly. Mastace opened the door. Upon seeing who was on their front porch, Briggan and Mastace both stiffened and woke right up instantly.

Their parents. Daniel Marcellus and the Harou family were at their front doorstep, each with a wrapped package or box of some sort.

"I'm sorry for not calling in advance, but I didn't know if you'd have listened to me." Daniel said.

"We got a call from Khrysta asking us to be here at about this time." Amaruq continued.

"Yep, and for good reason." The young hyena walked up the steps to Briggan and Mastace, handing them each a medium sized gift bag that had tissue paper stuffed in the top in a very artistic manner.

"What? What is the meaning of this, Khrysta?" Briggan asked, half dissociated from the situation already.

"To be able to spend time with your family and make this year memorable for everyone, duh." Khrysta scoffed and rolled her eyes playfully. Briggan snapped back into full reality, putting the pieces together in his head.

"Oh," Mastace said, clearly doing the same.

"May we all come in? I know we might not have had a good first impression, but our family believes firmly in second chances." The young new wolf in the Harou family said, extending his paw out. Briggan hesitantly took and shook it.

They all spent the morning opening gifts and bantering gleefully as they each put their best efforts to keep the past where it belonged. Some of it popped up naturally in discussion, but everyone seemed to handle it very well. Despite Briggan's aversion to the idea, he and Mastace came out to their families as a couple, which may or may not have prompted Mastace to unofficially propose to Briggan. With much of their future plans now being the center of everyone's focus, Briggan and Mastace began to spill some of their hopes and dreams to every ear that was present.

Mastace wanted to own a small business where he could serve the community, and Briggan just wanted to live a happy life with Mastace, no matter what it looked like.

"What about an occupation?" Daniel asked. "You'll need something to keep you busy if you two are gonna spend the rest of your lives together."

"I would help Mastace, but I'm afraid I'm not the kind of person that would make a good business man." Briggan chuckled.

"What did you have in mind then?" Max, the second son, asked.

"I thought about the armed forces once or twice. Be nice to have that structure and discipline while I reinvent myself. Plus, I'd always be busy with something."

"When do you ship out?" Mastace asked.

"What?"

"You heard me, soldier boy." Mastace teased lightly. " When do you go off to begin your training?"

"How did you...?"

"Honey, I can read you better than I can a book. Plus, I've known you long enough to know what's just contemplation and what's already been put into action."

"Damn." Amaruq said. Everyone else just sat there.

"Not until February. There's still some stuff I need to do."

[Two months later...]

Briggan, Mastace and Khrysta all stood at the bus stop while Briggan clung one of his backpack straps with one paw and used the other to cling to his fiancé.

"It's alright to be scared. Just don't let your drill sergeant pick up on that." Mastace chuckled.

"That's not funny, Mastace." Briggan said, frowning a little. "I've talked to the recruiting officer and a few others. They told me about their experiences in boot camp. That place really does change you."

"My bad," Mastace conceded. The bus pulled up and opened the door to let passengers on and off.

"Just promise me one thing before you go, would you?"

"Yeah, sweetheart?"

"No matter what happens, no matter what you do... please come marching home, my brave soldier boy." Mastace purred a little when using the new nickname he'd come up with when Briggan first made the confession.

Briggan couldn't help but giggle and smile, letting a joyous tear roll down each cheek. "I promise, darling. No matter what, I will come marching home."

With that, they said their farewells as did Khrysta, who'd been crying the whole time. When the time finally came, Briggan fearlessly took that first step towards what would become the rest of his life. Whatever that looked like, however it may happen, he was ready for it.