Crossing Lines (Anthro)

"Oh my God, that wasn't funny!" she said, stunned. "That was a lame joke! Why do I think you're so funny...and charming?"

Azel rolled his eyes and tapped his head with his free hand. "You're still buzzed. You probably will be for a few days."

"Oh...right..." Rina said, cutting her eyes away and blushing. That was why she wasn't thinking straight. She was even topless right now and didn't seem to care. Wait. She was topless! Rina blushed even deeper and seized the covers. She covered her chest and fell back onto the bed, turning away from him. Azel laughed in a way that Rine suddenly found incredibly endearing, but probably wouldn't have before.

"I've already seen all that," he said. Rina let out an embarrassed groan. Azel snort-sighed and moved over to her. She felt his arm wrap around her and his body press against her. He was only wearing boxers, and his skin felt warm on hers. He nuzzled one of her ears before kissing it. Rina shivered at the sensation.

"Stop that!" Rina whined but offered didn't resist.

"I love your ears," Azel replied. "They're so fluffy." As a snow leopard she had thicker fur in certain places, this included her ears and her tail. All of that, however, was beside the point. Azel used the "love" word again. While Rina had said he loved him in the middle of her heat, and she certainly meant it at that moment at least, Azel hadn't been in any deluded state. Rina sighed and turned over. She looked into Azel's face but allowed his arm to rest around her body.

"You love me," she said bluntly.

"Yes," Azel replied, equally bluntly.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Since when?"

"Oh, a long, long time," Azel briefly turned his eyes away from hers, thinking. "I'm not sure exactly when but do know when I first realized it. Do you remember when I was ignoring you and you rescued me from those bullies."

"Yes," Rina replied. In fact, she had thought of that exact event that day.

"Well, you yelled at me and started crying..."

"I was not crying!"

"Yes, you were."

"No, I wasn't!"

"Yeah okay, sure. Anyway, you yelled at me for leaving you alone, saying you didn't care what anyone else said. I realized I broke your heart. That was what made me think. Why did I do that in the first place? Why was I willing to hurt both you and me because it would be better for you? I didn't want to be apart from you, but I was willing to do it because I thought it would make you happy in the end. Why would I do that? That's when it hit me. It was because I loved you. I didn't care that you were snow leopard, and you didn't care I was a deer. If you were willing to brave everyone else's judgement and ridicule, I would too. I never wanted to be apart from you ever again."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"If I told you and we got together, would it have worked? Your parents loathe me, and if they found out they would have sent you to another school, or even moved. My parents think you're some kind of phase I'm going through, a nearly twenty-year phase apparently. If I told them we were going out they probably would have done the same. Then where would be? Apart. So, I kept quiet. Let your parents hate me or my parents ignore you. We were together and that was enough."

"I mean, we've been adults for a while..." Rina offered.

"True, but other adults in this country aren't any better. They would still hate us, even assuming you loved me back. I would need to create a place for us to stay, a place independent of our parents and all the people who would judge us. So I went through college, got a good job, and I've been saving up so I can make a place. It did mean I had to spend less time with you, but once I had everything ready, I was going to tell you."

Rina clenched her jaw, trying to think. The fact that he was working so hard for her made her want to cry, but that was likely the afterglow of her heat talking. Azel had a good job and could easily get a good wife, but he had never seemed interested. In fact, he never spent time with other women. In fact, the only woman he spent time with was her...oh, wait!

"Okay," Rina finally said. "I can see that, but why me?"

"Why would I fall in love with the woman who stayed beside me, protected me, and cared for me no matter what her parents or anyone else said?"

Rina blushed. "Okay...but I would be a terrible mate. I fail at everything."

"There they are," Azel said, narrowing his eyes.

"What? Who?"

"Your parents, in your head."

Rina flinched and scrunched her brow. Azel sighed and shook his head.

"They have their claws in you," he said. "They always have. The first day we met you were crying in the woods because your mom yelled at you. You've let their voices get in your head, and you believed them."

"But I...I barely passed high school. I failed out of college!"

"You didn't even try, Rina. I was there. The second you didn't understand something you gave up because you were sure you would fail."

"I just lost my job..."

"They made you work while you were in full heat without medication. That was absurd. Of course you couldn't do your job right! No woman could! I bet you tried to claw your boss."

Rina looked away from him. "I tried to bite him."

"Your boss treated you like garbage, so did your parents, your brother, and all the people we grew up with. We have to get away from these people, away from here. That's one of the things I came to talk with you about."

"What do you mean?"

For a moment, Azel hesitated. He didn't think he should bring it up, especially when Rina had just gone through a heat, but they were already sharing a bed together. He might as well shoot his shot.

"I didn't want to ask this," he began. "at least not after what you've been through today, but I don't have a lot of time. My company has a job opening and I'm thinking of transferring."

Rina lifted herself off the bed, her eyes wide. "Transfer!? To where? Are you going to move!?"

"I was thinking of moving, yes. The job is in Tuleraine."

"Tulerai..." Rina froze as her brain made the connection. Tuleraine was a small city a thousand miles away. It wasn't particularly remarkable except for one thing: there was a high number of interracial couples that lived there. It was considered a haven for those who married across lines they shouldn't.

"You were..." Rina began. "You were coming to ask me to...go with you?"

"Yes, if you wanted to," he said. "I know I never told you how I felt, but it's an opportunity to get away from here. If you want to go and not be with me, that's fine too. I just think we should both go."

"But I can't..." Rina was about to list reasons, but then realized she lost her job and couldn't pay for her apartment. She had a few other friends, but none of them were like Azel. Her only other option was her parents. Her parents! Never. "Yeah, you know what, you're right. I SHOULD go with you."

Azel lifted his eyebrows in surprise but looked pleased. "Great! We can get an apartment together or I can get you a separate one."

"You'd pay for my apartment?" she asked, shocked.

"Whatever you want. I love you and I want the best for you."

Rina hesitated, opening her mouth and closing it a few times. "I don't know. I need to think..." Then she stopped for a few seconds before scoffing. "Oh, what the fuck am I talking about? I love you too. Let's move in together."

Azel abruptly laughed in confusion. "That was quick!"

"I mean we might not have a choice," she admitted. "There's a good chance that I'm..." She trailed off, briefly putting her paw on her stomach. Azel shifted uncomfortably. When women went into heat, most of the time it coincided with them being fertile. It wasn't guaranteed, but the chances were extremely high.

"I'm sorry," Azel muttered. "I was just trying to calm you down. I didn't think you would..."

"I grabbed you, it's fine," she said.

"I was the sane one. I shouldn't have put myself in that position."

"Azel, I wanted to do that. I had already cum twice, so my mind was clear enough. I made the decision, as reckless as it was."

"Are you sure you want to leave your whole life behind? This isn't just some post-heat recklessness?"

Rina sighed through her nose. She crawled over and enveloped him into her arms. Azel returned her embrace, letting her head snuggle into the crook of her neck. She was silent for a few moments.

"Honestly?" she finally said. "The only time I can remember being happy is when I was with you. You were the only person I could be emotional and safe with. I've missed you because once a week wasn't enough. During my heat you were all I could think of, even before you showed up. I think my body knew it before my brain did. I love you, and wherever you go, I'll go, heat-brain or not."

Azel kissed her head and held her tighter. "I love you too. Let's get away from here and start a new life, together."

Rina smiled and licked his neck again. A warm feeling filled her heart and for once she felt hopeful. She didn't know what her future held, where they would live, or even if she was pregnant or not. Regardless, with Azel with her she knew they would make it. They always did.

Then Rina remembered something.

"Wait," she began, lifting her head up so they could look at each other. "You said moving away with you was one of the things you wanted talk about. What were the other things?"

Azel and cleared his throat. His gaze began to shift all over the place, causing her to narrow her eyes.

"What are you hiding?" she asked.

"Um, well, first of all we're going to have to tell your parents,"

"Oh yes, we will! I can't wait to see the look on their faces!" Rina grinned at the thought.

"Right, that, but um...we'll have to go second."

"Second? What do you mean?"

"You know my brother?"

Rina paused. Azel's brother was named Ival. She had met him a few times. He was smaller than Azel, and he only had four points on his antlers. She got the feeling that he wasn't very masculine and that he didn't like her very much.

"Yeah, I remember," she said. "What about him?"

"Apparently, Ival and Diem were working together to try to keep us apart."

Rina gave a glare. Diem was her older brother. He took after their parents in that he only knew one emotion and detested Rina's life choices.

"That sounds like something he would do," she growled. "I'm going to give him a piece of my mind. He was always my parent's favorite."

"Oh, I wouldn't bet on that being true!"

"What do you mean?"

"They never actually did anything. They had a few secret meetings and then they..." Azel shrugged and grinned sheepishly. "...got together!"

Rina's face fell. "You're fucking with me."

"I am not." Azel replied. Rina sat up completely, her mouth hanging open and her eyes wide.

"There's no way!!!" she screamed. Diem!? Getting together with a deer? A GUY DEER? Her brain was breaking.

"They found a way!" Azel replied, holding his hands up uselessly. "Your brother actually met with me and wanted me to tell you, I'm guessing because he's embarrassed. That was what I was originally going to talk about before the job opened up."

Rina put her paws on her head. "Wait wait wait wait! My brother...is into GUYS? He constantly went through women! I've never seen a man who dated so many girls! I caught him in bed with dozens of them!"

"There aren't just straight and gay," Azel reminded her. "There's a spectrum."

"Yeah Azel, I know about the spectrum! He never said or did ANYTHING like that!"

"I had a feeling about my brother," the deer man added. "Although I never would have suspected he would get with your brother. He seemed to detest carnivores. I have no idea what happened, but they are serious. The good news is after they tell your parents, our news will probably seem like small peanuts!"

Rina abruptly stopped, her face falling. For just a moment, she accepted the idea about her brother's relationship, but for a VERY specific reason.

"No," she said. "We should tell them first. My brother should tell them right after."

"What? Why?" he asked.

"When I tell them they'll be pissed. It'll rile them up and get them hopping mad. When Diem tells them they will explode. He's the son. He's supposed to carry on their business and their name. To hear that he's run off with a deer...who's a GUY, will obliterate them. I'll prime them, he'll detonate them!" There was a fiery glint in Rina's eye. She had never looked more excited in her life. Azel stared at her blankly for a few moments.

"Okay, you're kind of scaring me right now," he said. "but it also kind of turns me on, so let's do it."

Rina laughed, this time her normal one. She leaned back down to him, and they held each other again. For the first time she could remember, Rina actually felt good about her life. She was going to obliterate her parents, Azel was going to stay with her, and she was going to start a new life somewhere else. She finally had things to look forward to.