Rocky was startled from his sleep by a knock on the door. He mumbled a string of curses under his breath and sat up, opening the door.
"Yeah?" He asked, trying unsuccessfully to rub the sleep from his eyes.
"Rocky…"
The eco pup didn't need to see to know who was speaking. He slowly put his paw down and stared down at the floor. "Shouldn't you be getting ready to go, Zuma?" He asked softly.
"Rocky…"
"I think I have some of your stuff in here in case you want it."
"Rocky!" Zuma reached out and grabbed his paw. "Please… please look at me." His voice begging and trembling.
Rocky slowly dragged his vision from his paws to Zuma's eyes. He cut his eyes away, unable to keep up prolonged eye contact.
"I'm so sorry, Rocky. I treated you terribly. I never should've attacked you like that or said such accusatory things. I… I know I… really hurt you. I get that now." The words tumbled from Zuma's mouth.
"Uh-huh. It's fine, don't worry about it." Rocky mumbled, wrapping his tail around his paws.
"No, Rocky, it's not fine! For the love of god, you can't even look at me." Zuma raised his voice a little more than he intended.
Rocky flicked and shrunk back, taking his paw back and flattening his ears. "I-I’m s-sorry…" He stammered.
Zuma sighed and slowly dragged his paw down his snout. "Rocky… are you… are you afraid of me now?" His tail dropped, and he hung his head also, sadness clouding his voice.
Rocky shifted uncomfortably. "No…"
That lie sounded hollow, even to him.
"I'm not… I'm not gonna hurt you, I promise. You… I mean I… oh God what am I saying…" Zuma hid his face in his paws, trying to keep it together. "I never meant to hurt you. I just hate feeling useless, helpless, and it made me so mad. And… and I… I just took it out on you… I'm sorry for being such a shitty boyfriend." Tears welled in his eyes and soaked his paws before going on to roll down his face, splashing onto the ground below.
Rocky just looked at him, feeling like a spectator of his own life. He shuffled his paws and looked back down at the ground. “Zuma…” He reached out a paw hesitantly before pulling back. “Don’t… “ He ran out of words. Zuma looked up at him, uncertainty shining in his eyes.
Something tugged at Rocky’s heart and brought him back from the phantom realm he’d lost himself in. It’s Zuma… how can I stay mad at him? He said he was sorry, hasn’t he? Rocky touched his muzzle to Zuma’s cheek and sighed, breathing in his scent. It was like breathing in life. Rocky rubbed his back gently and murmured, "It's okay, little buddy. I forgive you." Zuma hid his snout in Rocky's chest and took deep, shaky breaths.
"I'm… I’m really sowwy…!"
"Shh… it's okay… I get it, everyone makes mistakes. Shit, I know I've made a bunch of them. But you forgave me every time, how could I not do the same?" Rocky picked him up smoothly and carried him inside, away from prying eyes, kicking the door shut with his hind paw. He laid him gently on his bed and snuggled up to him.
Rocky felt his heart slowly mending. It was nice, like a hot cup of cocoa on a winter-frosted morning. It slowly warmed up his insides, warmed up his heart, and made him feel all giddy on the inside, like a puppy again.
It's funny how love works. It’s teasing, tempting… alluring even the hardest hearts. Like a lullaby, it charms you and makes you feel like you’re in no danger at all. But love is as captivating as it is dangerous because love and sense don't go together.
"I love you, Wocky." Zuma whispered in his ear, twisting his tail with his boyfriend's. His breath ruffled Rocky's ear fur, making the eco pup squirm in delight.
"I love you more." Rocky countered, ruffling his head fur.
"I loved you first." Zuma finished smugly, nuzzling Rocky's neck with his nose.
"Cheeky bastard." Rocky nipped at him with his teeth, his tail wagging playfully.
"Hey, quit it!" Zuma sat up and bowled him over gently, straddling his waist and pressing his shoulders down in a clear sign of dominance.
Rocky shivered multiple times, feeling deliciously warm and for the moment, perfectly safe. "I…I…" he faltered, his cheeks burning. “God…”
“You are such a bottom boy. It’s kinda cute.” Zuma tilted his head and smirked. “Y’know what? Scratch that. It’s freaking adorable.”
"I'm sorry it just… really turns me on." Rocky admitted, looking shyly into the eyes of his lover.
"Is that so, my little bottom boy?" Zuma bent down so Rocky could feel the heat from his breath, and spoke slowly, enjoying Rocky's shivers.
“Don’t call me that.” Rocky whined. “It makes me sound pathetic.”
“You are pathetic and you know it.” Zuma turned his head slightly and bent his head all the way, touching lips with Rocky. Rocky half closed his eyes, wiggling and squirming under Zuma's weight, his tummy swirling with an entire swarm of butterflies.
"Lemme stay with you, lovey." Zuma murmured, pecking Rocky's neck. "The others can go, but it's always been you and I… we'll always be in this together."
"But Chase said…"
"Fuck what Chase said, my loyalty is to you first. We complete each other, away from you I feel like a puzzle piece that doesn't fit anywhere else. So please let me stay…" He continued planting kisses all over Rocky's face and neck.
Zuma. The one pup who could turn him to mush with just a single look. The one pup who still causes butterflies in his stomach. The pup he still has a massive crush on. The pup he'd die for. The pup he'd kill for.
It was at this moment that Rocky knew something.
He could never bring Zuma with him again.
Rocky sat up and wrapped his paws around Zuma's neck, smiling at him sadly. "I want to, believe me, I want to. Remember when I said I've lost everything that matters to me? Well, I was wrong. I still have you, buddy. Jason can't complete his revenge as long as I still have something to live for, which is why eventually, you'll be targeted with as much prejudice as I am."
"I don't care, Rocky. I love you. I love you anyway. I wanna be with you anyway." Zuma's tone was desperate, and he searched Rocky's eyes pleadingly, begging him not to send him away.
"I know. I know my love." Rocky murmured. He took his paws down from Zuma's neck. He reached for Zuma's paws and held them tightly in his own. "Nothing can keep us apart for long. But I need you to listen to me. I need you to go with the guys. They can protect you better and you'll have the advantage of numbers. As much as I love you, and I love you to the stars and back, I cannot put you in danger again, because then I’ll worry which will split my focus… and I can't have split focus. It’s too dangerous.”
Zuma was silent for a moment, instead looking down at their interlaced paws. "I don’t think I can let you go.”
"Please just… please just obey me this one time. I know this typically goes the other way around but just this one time do what I say. I don’t think I can handle seeing you hurt again.” Rocky whined, touching his forehead to Zuma’s chest.
“I… I…” Zuma struggled for an answer.
Just then there was another knock on the door, three short, firm taps.
Rocky mumbled a long string of curses before getting up to answer the door, making Zuma raise both eyebrows in surprise. He opened the door quickly and shut it behind him.
Chase was at the door. "Hi, Rocky. Is uhh… is Zuma with you by any chance?”
"Yeah, do you need him?" Rocky asked calmly.
"No, no… not personally. Just let him know I’m gonna delay us leaving until later tonight. I ran up and down all the streets on the island, and there were a lot of roadblocks set up at the moment. It looks like they will move to another section of the island by evening, but to be safe we're gonna leave a little later." Chase stated.
"Okay. I'll let him know." Rocky replied emotionlessly.
"Umm…okay then." Chase responded awkwardly. He looked like he wanted to say more, but Rocky quickly closed the door on him, sighing in exasperation.
"What did Chase want?" Zuma asked, lifting his head from Rocky's pillow upon seeing his boyfriend coming back towards him.
"You all are leaving later. Something about roadblocks or some shit like that.” Rocky replied, scratching his ear with a hindpaw. “I didn’t pay him too much attention.”
“Are you mad at him? You stood up for him earlier…” Zuma asked, rather confuzzled.
“His logic was solid, it was the same as mine. It’s just… it’s like he said, he can’t just be a friend anymore, which is why I can be mad at him as a friend but respect him as a leader.” Rocky explained. “But that’s not the point. You never answered me.”
“I… I don’t like it, Rocky. I don’t trust you to take care of yourself without me. But… if you need me to… I’ll stay behind.” Zuma had to claw each word from his throat. “I’m… I’m really gonna miss you.”
“Hey, you’re not gone yet, stupid furball.” Rocky tried to cheer him up a bit. “I’m still here, right beside you.”
"I just want this all to be over." Zuma mumbled bitterly. "I wanna do all the stupid stuff couples do and figure us out under normal circumstances. I want to be able to look in your eyes and just see you, not the hyper-aware, psychopathic, masochistic, specter you…"
"I'm not psychopathic! I mean, sure, I'll probably always be a masochist, but all that other stuff can change, I promise. And believe me, if I could just snap Jason out of existence, I would, but I physically wouldn't be able to handle that much power. And we'll get to do whatever we want, don't worry. It might… just take some more time."
"Time," Zuma repeated sadly. "I'm not sure…"
Rocky didn't hear anything after that. Something was off. He got a prickly feeling all under his pelt. His amulet began burning against his chest, and he reflexively backed up to his boyfriend, lightly putting a paw on his shoulder.
"Rocky? Everything okay?"
"I… don’t know. I need to make sure.” Rocky looked into Zuma’s eyes worriedly. “You’ll stay here, won’t you?”
“Uh…. well sure, if you want…”
“Thanks, buddy.” Rocky gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “I love you.” He scampered outside, keeping an eye on his surroundings. He felt uneasy, on edge, and he wasn’t sure why. All he could think of was danger… danger somewhere near….
It was turning dark. The sun was setting, its edge burning as it fused with the horizon. The wind picked up, rustling the leaves and causing the grass to whip around wildly.
Voices started ringing in his head, vague and distant, but clearly distraught.
Help….
“Hello?” Rocky gulped, looking around nervously.
He heard more voices, whispery and hard to hear. Take us… away… don't…please no…!
His vision blurred, with flashes of a memory he knew wasn't his own appearing and disappearing.
Oh, no, not again, come on, come on, come on…! Rocky thought, trying to take back control. But the vision was getting stronger, and he couldn't stop it from playing.
Flashes too fast to see flee before his eyes… a sterile metal table… a mass of wires plugged into a machine… blinding white lights…
His entire body hurt. He was weak, tired, hungry…. And scared. He was so scared. He was trembling, hardly able to keep himself from hyperventilating. Please, get me out of here! Someone help me! The voice he had heard begging… was his own.
Suddenly, the bottom dropped out of the vision, and Rocky found himself back in reality. He was on his chest, his claws digging into the ground and ripping up the grass. He found he truly was trembling.
Rocky slowly got to his paws, terrified and shocked at the intensity of his vision, and how he'd been unable to pull himself out of it. It made him uneasy… like he wasn't in control.
He stood there, panting, his trembling legs finally giving out. He collapsed on the grass and half curled into a ball, his brain still reeling.
What…the fuck… was that?
No one was strong enough to psychically attack him like that… nobody but Jason. However, as Rocky reached out for him with his mind, he couldn't detect him at all.
It wasn't him…
Besides… this didn't feel like an attack. It felt almost like… a flashback… No. A memory.
A memory I never had.
Rocky got to his paws, wobbling around a little bit. He closed his eyes and dug deep, trying to replay the shattered memory again. Flashes of it came back, but the picture flickered and eventually died out.
Rocky lashed his tail in frustration. Why can't I go back? Inside he knew why. The vision had been too much for him. His powers weren't able to conjure the vision up again.
I might not be strong enough... but I know someone who is.
Rocky found his paws turning in that direction before he'd even finished his thought. Only one pup had the knowledge he needed, and he knew exactly where he was.
“You had a vision about what now?” Marshall asked, pausing from pushing a box inside his puphouse. “This sounds more like a nightmare, buddy.”
“I know, I know… but it doesn't make sense. Everyone who was captured with me when Jason took me, I set them free. So I don't know who would be asking for help.”
“Did you feel anything before this…errrr… happened?” Marshall asked, pushing the box inside with his back.
“Actually, yeah. I got this feeling of danger. I felt like it was all around, just lurking in the shadows, waiting to come out and attack.”
“So you get a feeling of danger and then have a vision of someone screaming for help.” Marshall scratched his head. “If I didn't know better I'd just say you had a panic attack.”
“Panic? Me? No, no, no, this was different.” Rocky defended.
“I don't know, Rocky. You're the most paranoid pup I know… and with good reason,” he added quickly, "but do you think you just got in your head a little there?”
“I… no… ummm…” Rocky sighed. “I don't know anymore. All I know is that it was really scary.”
Marshall opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by a loud noise.
“ALRIGHT EVERYONE, WE'RE ROLLING IT IN TEN, GET THE REST OF YOUR STUFF SO WE CAN GO. COME ON, PICK IT UP!” Chase’s megaphone blared the words out. Marshall and Rocky both half-covered their ears.
“I swear I'm gonna take that megaphone and shove it up his…” Marshall grumbled before stopping himself. “Sorry, Rocky, I've gotta get a few more things. But I have something for you that will help.”
Marshall reached into the box he'd just brought in and pulled out some parchment. “This is a ritual that will strengthen your psychic powers. This should allow you to go back to your vision, almost like lucid dreaming.” Rocky took the scroll from Marshall gratefully.
“Thank you, Marshall. You've been such a good friend to me, beside Zuma I could always count on you to have my back.” Rocky said sincerely.
*Yeah, well, what are friends for?” Marshall replied, red flooding his cheeks.
“I'll miss you. Stay safe.” Rocky murmured, giving Marshall a tight squeeze. He stepped back and looked into Marshall's eyes, his own shining with sadness. Marshall’s eyes held regret and sadness of his own, but something else too. Something Rocky had only ever seen before in Zuma's eyes. Before Rocky could figure out what it was, Marshall blinked, and the look disappeared.
“Take care of yourself, Rocky.” Marshall said, waving goodbye.
“You know you'll see me again, right?” Rocky asked, turning back to look at him. He didn't wait for a reply.
I've gotta find Zuma.
He bounded over to Zuma's puphouse. The lab was inside, pacing the floor. He looked up as Rocky entered. “Oh… you're back. Everything was alright, I hope?”
“Yeah, yeah, nothing to worry about.” Rocky said, nuzzling his neck.
There was silence for a moment, each struggling to say what needed to be said. This was it. They were going far away from each other, and it hurt. Somehow… not saying anything made it less real.
Rocky put his paws around the back of Zuma's neck and laid his back against the wall, cradling Zuma in his paws. Zuma slowly started breaking down, staring with whimpers, then sniffs, to full-blown tears running down his snout.
“Shhh, Zuma… it's okay.” Rocky whispered.
“It'snotokay,whatifIneverseeyiuagain?” Zuma slurred his words together.
“Hey…! You will. You will, I promise. We have a connection, see? One that can't be broken, no matter how far apart we are from each other. I can feel your life force deep in my heart, and so can you. Every time my heart beats, it beats in rhythm with yours.” Rocky held Zuma's paw in his own, twining his toes together with his. “Your love guided me back from death, Zuma. You are… you are my soul, Zuma. And I can't live without you. I don't… I don't wanna live without you.”
Rocky let go of Zuma’s back and wiggled away to stand in front of him. Zuma looked up at him, raising his ears in surprise. He blushed a little at how close Rocky's snout was to his.
Rocky grabbed his paws and sighed, drifting off in Zuma’s dreamy eyes. “Zuma, I need to ask you something. I've been wanting to for a while now, waiting for the right moment. But there's never gonna be a right moment.”
Zuma blinked the tears out of his eyes. “Uh, yeah sure. What's up?”
“Zuma… you are my opposite in so many ways, yet you're my perfect match. Our lives aren't ideal, but we've both fought for each other anyway. Maybe my life needed to be as fucked up as it is, to justify my luck in having you. I don't need to look anymore for the one I wanna spend the rest of my life with. In fact, I've never really needed to. It's you. It's always been you. So…” He stopped and looked away for a sec, his cheeks burning red. “Zumani… Would you… would you be my mate?”
Zuma just stared. Partly because Rocky never said his full name except for birthday wishes. Partly because Rocky looked mighty attractive, standing there looking shy, confessing his love to his best friend once again. But mostly because Rocky had just asked him the question he'd been dying to answer for a long time now.
“Oh my god.” Zuma whispered, his entire body trembling.
Rocky’s expression changed immediately to fear and worry. “Hey, what's wrong, Zuma? If I'm moving too fast you can say n…”
Zuma threw his paws around Rocky’s neck and kissed him passionately. He tilted his head, getting Rocky’s whole mouth.
Rocky melted like a snow cone on the beach, leaning until he fell on his back. Zuma snuggled into Rocky's chest with his own, his tail wagging and his heart beating wildly.
“Yes, Rocky, yes!” Zuma could barely get the words out. “Holy shit, yes!” His tongue felt tied and he couldn't get any other words out. Rocky obviously felt the same way because he was panting hard and his cheeks were redder than they had ever been before.
Rocky's eyes were so bright, warm, and inviting. He was even trying to straighten his crooked ear and make it stand up straight. The magic amulet around his neck glowed, pulsing with light and magic. It's… no… he's wonderful. Zuma thought.
Rocky thought his tail would wag itself right off his butt, and that his heart would beat harder and harder until it exploded. The love of my life just agreed to be with me.. forever…
The mark on both Rocky and Zuma’s necks glowed. And for once, Rocky was not afraid to show it. He loved Zuma, and he wasn't afraid to let the whole world know. As he locked eyes with his newly accepted mate, he saw deep pools of love, spilling over in his tears. At that moment, all was right with the world. Everything was perfect.
And then it wasn't.
“ALRIGHT, IT'S TIME TO GO, PUPS. WHEELS UP IN FIVE.”
The moment was over, and reality sunk back in.
“I've gotta go. You've gotta go, Zuma.” Rocky whispered. “Stay safe, my love. I'll be waiting for you… as long as it takes.”
Zuma shook his head, obviously tortured between leaving and staying. “I can't do this, I can't, I can't…!” He cried.
“Shhh… you can, Zuma, you can. I need you as far as possible from here. But right now, what I really need is for you to stay strong… be strong for me. Can you do that?”
Zuma closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them, intense, burning pain was in them, along with a resolve just as strong. “Anything for you, Wocky.”
“Then go.” Rocky murmured. He turned to leave, but his paws forced him to stay… just a little longer. “Before you do, however, I want you to have this.”
Rocky reached behind his head and undid the magic amulet around his neck. As he took it off, he felt a strong surge of power come over him. He had to ground himself, closing his eyes to clear his mind. However, it did not take him over this time. Finally…. He was in control. He'd struck equilibrium.
Rocky held the necklace in his paw, then whispered something Zuma didn't catch. The necklace glowed, and the white stone in the center turned orange. “I want you to have this.” Rocky said. “Your powers may be locked up at the moment, but my powers aren't. This will keep you safe, so that even when I can't look out for you… I still can.”
“But Rocky… don't you need this?” Zuma asked as Rocky put it around his neck.
“Not anymore, I think. It was always about balance, Zuma. I found my balance in you. When I realized that, I knew I didn't need this anymore to keep you safe from me. Now it can keep you safe for me.”
The other pups had already started their vehicles and were getting ready to pull away.
“Go, Zuma. Go and be safe. I promise I'll come back to you in one piece.”
“Goodbye, lovey. And thank you.” Zuma whispered. Rocky leaned in and stole one last kiss.
“Now get out of here!” He commanded, turning and running away. He ran because he knew if he stayed there he wouldn't be able to stop himself from running after Zuma.
He had to force every step forward, like he was pulling a ten ton weight behind him, until he couldn't move anymore. He collapsed where he stood and whined, silently crying from loneliness.
Even worse, something was tugging at his heart. A feeling stronger than sadness or loneliness. Unsurety crept up on him, slowly building into panic.
“I… I did the right thing. I got him away from me. I kept him safe…” He said aloud, trying to convince himself of that.
Then why do I feel like I've made a huge mistake?