Kev's heart raced as he watched both Rex and Talon stand, their bodies coiled and tense, staring each other down, both hissing at each other. The air crackled, thick with a violence that felt seconds away from exploding. It was at that moment when the door blew open again.
"Brother, you forgot your dirty socks in the bathroom!" Sabrina yelled, her voice a jarring, cheerful intrusion. "Do you expect me to pick them up for you?"
The tension in the room snapped like a frayed rope. All three men, the furious tiger, the incensed eagle, and the terrified human, whirled to stare at Sabrina, who had wheeled herself halfway into the room, a laundry basket precariously balanced on her lap.
Talon's feathers seemed to deflate. "Not now, sister," he said, his voice strained with a mixture of anger and sheer mortification.
Sabrina ignored Talon completely, her eyes widening as they landed on the leather-clad tiger. "Oh, fuck," she said, her voice dropping to an appreciative whisper. "It's hot tiger guy… What's a stud like you doing up here with these losers?"
Rex, still fuming, looked at Sabrina and said, "Who let the freak in?"
"That's rude," Sabrina retorted, her voice a sharp chirp. "You'll hurt Kev's feelings, calling him names like that." She rolled her chair closer to Rex, her bright, inquisitive eyes looking him up and down, much to Rex's utter confusion.
"Sister," Talon said, his voice a low, strained plea, "this isn't the time."
Sabrina glanced back, a defiant glint in her eyes. "You know, I told you the same thing about moving to this crusty copulation condo, so don't bother me. I'm busy." She continued to roll around Rex, who stood stock-still, a powerful predator rendered completely inert by the sheer, baffling audacity of the small eagle in the wheelchair. Rex's golden eyes darted over to Talon, and Talon, despite their near-brawl moments before, couldn't help but offer a sympathetic frown. Even after being at each other's throats, it seemed Talon didn't want to subject his coworker to his sister's… interest.
Kev found himself enjoying Rex's apparent discomfort. The lusty predator had been put on his heels by Sabrina almost instantly. Kev wondered if Rex had ever been on the receiving end of attention like this.
"This is your sister? Why the hell is she here?"
"Didn't Fang tell you they were moving in?" Kev asked, turning away to hide his amusement.
Rex looked at Kev over his shoulder and said, "Of course he did. Why is she in your room?"
Sabrina said, "My brother forgot his dirty socks. Now be quiet, hot tiger guy. I'm trying to imagine you with brains."
Rex looked down, his jaw agape. "What the hell did you just say?"
"Silence. You're ruining it for me." Sabrina said, holding up a hand.
Rex blushed and looked around but found Talon and Kev were both holding back laughs at this point.
The kettle went off and Kev turned to prep coffee. By the time he was pouring out a few mugs, Rex had almost escaped Sabrina's orbit.
Rex said, "Hands off the leather, girl. This was expensive."
"Take it off, then."
Rex grumbled and walked over to Kev in the kitchen. "You really prefer these featherbrains over me?"
Kev nodded and said, "Rex, you've maybe said three sentences to me that weren't vulgar."
"You can say vulgar things to me, hot tiger guy!" Sabrina yelled.
Rex growled, "You're so uptight."
Kev shrugged, saying, "You're the one hitting on me, not the other way around. If me being uptight is a turn-off, leave me alone."
"I like tight things."
Sabrina whistled and said, "Hell yeah, hot tiger guy!"
Talon sighed and grabbed Sabrina's wheelchair. "Sister, this isn't the time. I'm working." As he began to wheel her away, she tossed the laundry basket into the air with a dramatic flourish. The basket flipped, sending a shower of... Talon's socks and underwear... scattering across the floor.
"Oh, look! I guess I have to stay a bit longer," Sabrina announced, her voice filled with mock innocence. "Hot tiger guy, come bend over and pick this stuff up."
A low, dangerous hiss escaped Rex's teeth. "Do you know who I am?" he growled, his voice a menacing rumble.
Sabrina blinked a few times, her expression unchanging. "Hot tiger guy."
Rex hissed in frustration, his fur bristling along his spine.
"Relax, Rex. Jeeze. Guess you can give it, but you can't take it." Kev then walked over to help Talon, who looked utterly mortified, and began quickly picking up his dirty laundry from the floor.
As Kev handed back the laundry basket, he noticed Rex standing over the coffees he had poured. "Help yourself, Rex."
Sabrina said, "Give me one too while you're at it."
Talon said, "Sister, it is late. Why do you need coffee?"
Sabrina sighed and said, "You're so boring, brother. When I tell hot tiger guy I want a cup of hot coffee, what I'm really saying is..."
Rex turned, holding a cup, and said, "This is Kev's."
Sabrina sighed dramatically. "Ugh, why do the hot ones like that luminescent mammal?" she grumbled, rolling her wheelchair towards the exit.
Kev took the offered cup and said, "Oh, thanks, Rex, I guess," and was about to take a sip.
Sabrina loudly said, "My room is unlocked too, hot tiger guy! Come by and work out for me!" She left, the door swinging shut behind her.
Rex walked past Kev and locked the door with a solid click.
Kev walked back into the kitchen and put the coffee down, picking a small glass of cream from his icebox and putting it on the counter.
Rex walked over to Talon and said, "So you don't like locking doors."
"Sorry about Sabrina," Talon sighed and sat back down. "She can be… an idiot."
"Whatever. Just teach her some manners."
Kev called from the kitchen, "Rex needs to learn some manners."
Rex took a seat on the couch and said, "Come and teach me some."
Talon said, "Well, your words are vulgar."
"I wasn't talking to you, stupid."
As Kev poured cream into the mug of coffee, a knock at the door made him look up. Talon quickly jumped up and answered it. "Mr. Horns."
Horns walked in, both arms filled with bags, an apple falling off the top. "Howdy, Talon. Howdy, Kev," and dropped the overflowing bags onto the kitchen counter.
"Thanks, Horns. Might have gone a bit overboard, but I appreciate it." Kev began rummaging through, saying, "Sabrina will make some good lunches out of this."
"I saw her leaving. Managed to hide so she didn't spot me," Horns chuckled, grabbing the apple that had fallen.
Kev grinned, imagining the massive moose hiding from the small Sabrina.
Horns turned and said, "Oh, hey, Rex. Are you really spending your day off here? I thought you were joking."
"Why would I joke about fucking the human?" Rex said.
Talon and Horns glared at Rex simultaneously. Horns's easygoing demeanor vanished, replaced by a low, rumbling growl that vibrated through the floorboards. Talon went utterly still, his sharp blue eyes hardening into icy points, his posture coiling with a silent, dangerous tension.
Rex just smirked, unfazed by their combined hostility. "What?" he purred, his voice a low, challenging taunt. "Have I not been clear about it?"
Horns sighed, a heavy, world-weary sound, and pulled out his joint, his large hands fumbling slightly with the paper. "You're gonna get Fang worked up," he said, his voice a low, tired grumble, "and I'm gonna have to deal with it, huh?"
"Who had to deal with a drunken moose the other night?" Rex shot back, his golden eyes flashing.
"I did," Kev said, his voice cutting cleanly through the thick, charged atmosphere. The three massive beastmen looked over at him. "You all want coffee, don't you?"
A chorus of grunts answered him. Kev nodded and turned to the counter, asking over his shoulder, "Rex, how do you like your coffee?"
Rex was quiet for a moment. "Cream," he finally said, and pointedly looked away, as if the admission was a concession he was loath to make.
Kev looked at the three mugs he had poured out on the counter. He sighed. He had already poured cream into his own…. Guess Rex gets my coffee, too, he thought, a flicker of wry amusement cutting through the tension. He passed out the mugs, giving his own to the tigerman, and then went back to the kitchen, ostensibly to busy himself with the now-empty pot.
The simple, domestic act seemed to work. The aggressive posturing slowly subsided.
Talon, breaking the lingering silence, looked over at the mooseman. "You look good today, Horns," he said, his voice a low, respectful rasp.
"You don't realize how good sleeping in your own bed is until you miss it."
Talon said, "I hope I get used to sleeping here soon."
"Sleeping in other people's beds is much better," Rex growled.
Kev looked up from putting his groceries away, "You're not allowed in my bedroom."
Rex laughed, "It's boring anyways. You don't even have any lube."
Horns's eyes narrowed, "Cut it, Rex."
"Oh, now you're pining for him too? Gonna fight me for him?"
Horns blew smoke out of his nostrils and growled, "What, you want to go through another audition?"
Rex went silent.
Talon looked between them and said, "I had to audition too... It wasn't very enjoyable... What was yours, Mr. Rex?"
Rex downed his coffee and said, "A fight. What do you think?"
"What type of fight?"
Rex stood and hissed, "None of your business." He stalked to the bathroom and slammed the door.
"Seems like he didn't enjoy his audition either." Kev said
Horns moved to the couch and plopped down, saying, "Has he been here all day?"
"Thankfully not."
"That's good. He's, uh, really into you. Sorry 'bout that." Horns said, pulling a small white joint from his pocket.
"It's not your fault," Kev said. "Anyways, once Fang gets here, it will be fine."
Horns chuckled and held up his joint. "Here, for until Fang wakes up."
"Oh, that reminds me, can you roll me some more?"
"Of course. Did you find someone to smoke with during the day?"
Kev shook his head and said, "Sabrina, uh… won them."
"Shes a dangerous one," Horns laughed, slapping his knee.
You don't know the half of it…" Kev went to his safe to retrieve Ralph's finest flowers. However, as Kev looked in his safe, it felt like something was missing... Kev passed Horns the bag of potent herbs, and the moose quickly rolled a dozen joints.
Rex returned from the bathroom and grabbed a joint off the table. "Once Fang finally goes to work, I'll have you all to myself, Kev," he said, lighting the joint on the stove.
"And what makes you think that?" Talon asked, his eyes following Rex's every move.
Rex puffed the joint and said, "Fang will be busy, which means this grass-head will be chasing him around. That just leaves me and Kev to find something fun to occupy ourselves with."
"Kev only leaves Fang to sleep," Talon said, eyeing the orange feline.
"Oh, I'll put him to sleep," Rex grinned. "Wont wanna get out of bed for days."
Talon's feathers ruffled, and then they stilled, and he said, his voice serene, "If I find out you've disturbed Kev's sleep, I'll have to swap rooms with him. I'm sure my sister will be quite interested in your next nocturnal visit."
Rex looked disgusted and confused, "What the hell is wrong with you?"
The kettle went off, and Kev, finally, made himself a cup of coffee. Rex, noticing, said, "See, the human's having a second cup, so he's nice and awake for later."
"First cup, Rex." Kev said, shaking his head.
"What? I gave you your cup."
"And Horns came in… You all wanted coffee..."
Rex growled and stormed up to Kev. "What the hell did you do?!"
Kev nervously said, "What? You wanted cream, and I like cream, and..."
A sharp knock at the door cut him off and they all looked over. Talon opened it wide, his posture immediately shifting to one of formal attention. "Mr. Fang."
Fang, wearing a soft-looking suit with a charcoal and silver checkerboard pattern, took in the scene. He strode in, his gaze immediately landing on the tiger looming over his assistant in the small kitchen space. "Rex, why are you crowding my assistant?" he asked, his voice deceptively calm.
Rex looked between Fang and Kev. Did Kev detect nervousness in the tiger's usually arrogant eyes? Rex turned his back to Kev and said, "I was just quietly informing him how he needs to get some cologne. He's setting a bad example."
Kev looked down, the heat of a blush creeping up his neck.
"Rex, that isn't your concern," Fang said, his voice hardening.
"Oh, isn't it?" Rex countered, turning back to face Fang, his smirk returning. "You don't think he's gonna raise his tail for someone if you don't do something about it? I bet the dancers can smell him all the way from the booth."
"SO LET THEM!" Fang yelled, the sudden roar making the mugs on the counter rattle. "IF IT IS AN ISSUE, THEN IT IS MINE AND KEV'S!"
Rex yelled back, his voice a sharp, contemptuous crack, "PATHETIC!"
Fang and Rex stood nose to nose, their teeth bared, the air in the small apartment crackling with a raw, violent energy.
"Hey, boss," Horns said, his voice a surprisingly calm intrusion. "Uh, I just wanted to remind you that we should pick a room for the VIP dinner in two nights."
Fang breathed heavily through his nose before pulling away from Rex, his whole body seeming to deflate slightly as he visibly reined in his fury. "Thank you, Horns," he said, the words tight. He looked back at Rex, his eyes still burning. "Is this what you wear at home?" he asked, his voice dripping with disdain.
Rex bristled. "When the situation calls for clothes," he retorted. "But it seems like you wouldn't understand that clothes are a burden."
Fang growled, "You look like you could have been in that pathetic hyena's gang."
Rex looked away, his jaw tight, his earlier arrogance finally broken.
Fang walked past Rex and grabbed Kev's hand. "It's crowded in here," he said, his voice softening as he looked down at his precious assistant. "Let's go get some food."
Kev looked back as the three others stood and followed them out of his room. Rex watched Talon lock the door before growling and stalking up to walk with the rest of the group. Horns walked next to Kev and Fang and passed Kev the cigarette case.
Kev said, "Thanks, Horns."
Horns said, "That was the last of your stash. I can grab you some more from my office later."
Fang said, "If he's out, then why don't you just contact Ralph?"
Horns waved his hand and said, "I will tomorrow. Kev is free to any of my weed since he let me have so much of that oil."
Rex laughed and said, "That's a shock. The moose is sharing his greens."
Horns patted Kev on the back. Kev nearly fell forward. Horns said, "This little guy isn't gonna even make a dent." Besides," Horns looked over at Rex, "he needs something to help him relax around all these perverts."
Rex scowled and said, "I'm not flashing him, I'm asking him. If I can't even talk to him, then why even bother letting him out of his room?"
Kev sighed and said, "It's fine, Horns. I guess he can't help himself because he's just so hormonal."
Rex hissed, "Real men fuck things."
Fang said, "Shut up, Rex."
They descended the stairs to the club.