Tiger Winter - 13. Moose

“The geek returns!” Emmett’s long-time friend and former team-mate Shadow Rueben opened out his arms in welcome, “and he brought a friend!”

“I am never going to remember all these guy’s names, Xue!” Jian hissed with a slightly panicked expression, “help!”

Emmett laughed.

There was one bar in Moosonee, and like most of the other amenities of the town, it served more than one purpose. The Red Seal doubled as the club house for the players of the Moosonee and Moose Factory hockey teams; during the day, the book group met there; it was also one of only two restaurants in town, the other being a diner-by-morning and steak-by-night affair; and in the summer it was also a soda shop and ice cream parlour. But Boxing Day was, by fairly long standing tradition, the evening when most of the younger generation, either visiting home from afar or simply taking a break from their parents, invaded, drank, and talked into the small hours of the morning. It was when and where, three years ago, Shadow had given his then girlfriend a trial-by-fire approach to meeting his friends, with predictably disastrous results; and, the first year Emmett had returned home, where Jackson Riley had proposed to Shya Gunner, and she’d said ‘yes’. To say Emmett had mixed feelings about taking Jian there was an understatement of massive proportions.

Ten minutes later, Emmett realised he shouldn’t have bothered to worry, because Jian could charm money out of an Ebenezer Scrooge if he wanted, and getting friendly with Emmett’s high-school friends proved no great feat by comparison.

“You shot five rabbits on your first time out?” Shaniah Link gave the little not-tiger a high five, “damn, Emm, he’s almost as good as you.”

“Emmett is unnaturally gifted,” Shadow sulked.

“Just because you couldn’t hit the broad side of the snowplough shed from ten feet!” Emmett was on his second beer, having raced through his first being nervous, and now he had settled himself down a little bit. “He’s good at a lot of things.”

“Only they all involve that kind of not frozen water you guys don’t have much of round here,” Jian’s eyes flashed at Emmett as he smiled. “I’ve never heard of any surfers from northern Canada.”

“We don’t really make ‘em up here, Tiger.” Jian had worn his Christmas present to the bar, and already his descriptive nickname was catching on. “Moosonee is a town that produces fishermen-”

“And they all go to work for Emmett’s dad…” Shaniah chipped in.

“-explorers-”

“Who freeze to death…”

“-and hockey players.”

“Who move south and never come visit,” Shaniah finished. “You know I can’t get Luka to come home for love nor money? Your brother better not end up like that.”

“He won’t, he’s way too attached to the prospect of catching dinner out on the ice.”

“One of these days that famous Garrick luck is gonna run out,” Shadow warned, “polar bears actually avoid going near them, god knows why,” he explained to Jian. “But it can’t last forever…”

Jackson Riley elbowed Shadow in the temple as he wandered in from the cold.

“Don’t say that, it’s like you want Moosonee’s most famous son to get mauled to death.”

“I am not famous,” Emmett muttered. He did not want, in front of Jian, to have his friends tell him how proud everyone was of him. They did anyway.

“There were five people in our class who actually graduated college: three of those were community college. Emmett stayed on, did a Masters, got a PhD, and now he’s a lecturer!”

“Associate lecturer…”

“Don’t quibble over details Emmett, it spoils the fun.” Shya had followed her husband in, and everyone stood to greet her, exchange hugs and kisses on the cheek, “Emmett… it’s so nice to see you. And who is your lovely friend?”

Emmett had never known such overwhelming fear to arise so quickly. As soon as Shya spoke, it was as though a hush fell over their little group, and Emmett could scent the change in the air as everyone looked at him differently. He had always been open and honest with his friends, and Moosonee was such a small place no one really gave a damn what kind of person you fancied as long as they fancied you back; but Emmett had never brought anyone home, never introduced a guy he liked to his friends, and now every single one of them made the same assumption that Rye, Logan, and his entire family had made. Emmett had never been anything other than delighted in Jian’s company, but in that moment of sudden inspection, he felt the urge to jerk away from the slender man who sat next to him.

“Jian, hi,” Jian stood to shake Shya’s hand, but she pulled him into a quick hug and kissed his cheek.

“Little Tiger! Logan told us all about you.”

Emmett hid his face in his palm with a groan. Somehow, he had forgotten that he and his other brother not only shared the same set of friends, but also that Logan had never been anything even approaching discreet when it came to other people’s business. For a man who kept as many of his own secrets as he did, he was shit with anyone else’s.

“Jian Kiang, it’s nice to meet you.”

“So Emmett dragged you north for the winter, huh?”

“Something like that,” Jian smiled happily, “he was a bit confused that I’d never seen the Northern Lights or been out on the ice, and felt it was necessary to correct this.”

“Damn straight!” Shadow clapped Emmett on the shoulder, “Emm, you didn’t say you’d brought a boyfriend home for us to meet.”

“He’s not…” Emmett sighed.

“Oh, we’re not together.” Jian managed to make it sound light hearted and easy, and then he covered Shadow’s flustered apology by asking Emmett’s friends about Moosonee in the summer. When he mentioned that Rye had taken him over to Moose Factory, the group roared with mock anger, and set to teasing Jian good-naturedly. Emmett drained the rest of his beer and slunk away.

Outside, he cleared the most recent snowfall from a rather warped wooden bench and sat down heavily. Denying that he and Jian were dating, even though it was true was making him angry; and Shadow’s assumption of their relationship had made Emmett want to punch his long-time friend. Emmett concentrated on breathing, lowering his core body temperature to the point where he didn’t think he was going to go feral and snap at the next person who touched him, and wondered what the hell was wrong with him. Whilst he was busy wondering, the sky above exploded into colour.

“I’m being an idiot aren’t I?” Emmett sometimes felt silly talking to The Great Spirits, because his problems didn’t amount to anything in the grand scheme of things. Hell, his problems weren’t even problems: his life was great; he was home for the next three weeks, with all the fishing and seal hunting a healthy polar bear could want; he had family who loved him. And then there was Jian.

Jian had kissed him twice, had nuzzled into his fur, and snuggled against his side all the way home. Jian, who wore the present Emmett had given him almost as though he owned no other clothes, who was strong enough to face off a polar bear and push him through the ice, and who had come four hundred miles by truck and another five hours by train, just so that Emmett wouldn’t feel lonely all Christmas.

“I am. I’m an idiot.”

“You’re not an idiot Xue-bear,” Emmett didn’t even turn around, because Jian’s voice was accompanied by his warm, delicious scent, “you’re just confused.”

“Why?”

“Because your life in Moosonee is not normally invaded by cute Chinese boys who woo all of your friends?” Jian volunteered. He draped his arms around Emmett shoulders as the bear shifted and hugged him tight: Emmett never wanted him to let go. “The Great Spirits are happy tonight.”

“Haaorm.” Emmett raised his wedge-shaped head to look up at the stars hiding behind the dancing lights, his pale fur bathed in rainbow colours.

“Do you think we should go home?” Jian ruffled his head fur and stroked his little ears. “You destroyed your clothes a little bit there.”

Emmett looked down at what was left of his shirt and jeans, all split down the seams, his boots torn open and completely un-repairable. After the time he had accidentally destroyed a trendy imported leather jacket which had cost him three months of scraping and saving, Emmett had been much more careful about not wrecking all his clothes.

“Wooarm?”

“Don’t worry, I said goodbye to everyone for you,” Jian gathered up Emmett’s fallen clothes, “come on Xue.”

With Emmett dressed in his fur, it made more sense to track away from town across the ice of the Bay so they could arrive at the house from the back. Jian had learnt how to dress for a Moosonee winter, and his thick soled boots crunched across the snow layer as they walked in the darkness. The Great Spirits had finished their dance, and it was wonderfully quiet as they walked, Jian with his hands still in Emmett’s fur. They were more than halfway across the ice and circling back towards town when Jian’s fingers tightened against his skin and Emmett stopped.

“Huurnt?”

“Xue?” Jian bit his lower lip in a manner that Emmett found irresistibly cute, “um… can I kiss you again?”

“Wroow?”

“Because,” Jian stroked his face, the pad of his thumb tracing a curve under Emmett’s dark eye and down his cheek bone, “you never say ‘no’ to me in your fur.”

Emmett wondered what on earth he was doing, or was allowing to happen, but too big a part of him loved the way the little not-tiger looked at him in the darkness: his eyes shining, adorably fluffy in his striped hoodie with his ears up as he leant forwards for the kiss. The polar bear had no idea how, if he even could, kiss the boy back, but Jian’s lips against the very short fur of his muzzle were soft and warm, and the boy smelt like jasmine and sea salt. Emmett used one paw to wrap around Jian and bring the skinny young man up against his fluffy chest, and Jian melted against him. When Emmett felt his friend’s pulse quicken, he sniffed the air and scented red-lust rising from the diminutive man.

“Yeah well…” Jian blushed pink, and Emmett was surprised and oddly pleased, “That happens. Come on, it’s cold.”

Afterwards Emmett wondered how he hadn’t noticed the signs of their impending doom. Though he would never say so and make Jian feel bad, he knew that he was being distracted by the cute little tiger with his wonderful stripes and his perked-up ears. His nose was too full of Jian’s summery scent mixed with the lust that the boy was failing to cover up as they walked. Emmett too was full of his own frustrations, many faceted and lain out before him like a map of all his shortcomings.

The moose had come out at them from the thick tree line towards the northern edge of town. It was bull moose, big, heavy, and angry. Moose were evil creatures sometimes, but they did not attack polar bears, and by the time Emmett had given the thundering hooves his full attention it was too late, and the black antlers were already dipped, and the moose was upon them. Emmett had the time to turn his shoulder into the big scoop of the moose’s horns, and he was thrust across the ice, his long claws tearing gouges into the surface with a noise like the ripping of canvas. But the moose was suddenly not bothered with the heavy-set polar bear, and he whipped around to focus on Jian.

Emmett roared in panic and fear. The moose probably weighed a thousand pounds, and Emmett doubted that Jian was even a tenth of that. The huge spiky beast scraped its pointed hooves, head down and shoulders hunched before it charged at Jian. Emmett was not sure what happened: Jian yelled, but it wasn’t a scream of panic; all he could see was the moose and its legs and antlers, black against the white snow; Jian’s orange and black stripes, his whole body tiny compared to the huge moose. There was a skidding of hooves and the moose stopped with its nose nearly touching the ice.

Jian took a single step forwards, his small body vibrating with power.

“Get out!” His voice was darker than Emmett had ever heard it, a growl that made even Emmett shudder for a moment. “Back off!”

The moose grunted, snorted a white cloud of smoke, but as Jian raised what should have been an ineffectual fist above his head, the moose turned with a scraping of hooves and began to head away across the ice. Jian snarled after it.

“Be told!” As soon as the little tiger was sure the moose was heading away from them at a fair clip, he rushed straight to Emmett’s side, “Xue-bear? Are you OK?”

“Haaromm,” Emmett picked himself up and shook from nose to tail. When he stepped forwards, putting weight on his front left paw made him grunt in pain. “Raawl!”

“Oh Xue…” Jian ran his palm over Emmett’s bruised shoulder, “poor baby.”

“Hurrn,” Emmett turned his head and nuzzled the skinny boy. It was faintly embarrassing to have been beaten up by a moose that had been scared of Jian, but Emmett didn’t dwell on that fact. He inhaled the boy’s rich scent, burying his face in Jian’s clothes, and his friend hugged his head hard. Emmett only realised Jian was crying when he felt the chill dampness in his fur.

“Sorry,” Jian rubbed his eyes on his sleeve and sniffed as he straightened up, “I’m silly.”

“Wroam,” Emmett nuzzled Jian’s abdomen, and then licked the back of his hand.

“Xue!” Jian shivered like a happy kitten, “c’mon snow-bear, let’s go home.”

They walked back quietly, and slowly. Emmett tried to hide the limp on his left side, but it was hard to put the full weight on both front legs, and by the time they reached the safety of the woods at the back of the house, he was exhausted. Jian ran into the porch and returned with sweats, and Emmett groaned as he changed back into his skin. He pulled on the clothes Jian had brought, and the young man turned around with a fast blush at the sight of the naked polar bear.

“Thanks,” Emmett touched Jian’s shoulder to let him know it was safe to look again, and smiled, “you’re one scary tiger do you know that?”

“Xue, your shoulder…” Jian looked so concerned that Emmett raised a hand just to check he wasn’t bleeding or something. A visual inspection in the dark showed the deep purplish bruises that had risen under his pale skin, each point of the moose’s massive antlers having left its own mark all over his shoulder, bicep and chest.

“No wonder it hurts,” Emmett grunted, then he sneezed. “FUCK!” It had felt pretty much like getting hit all over again, but this time in a very specific point in his ribcage. “I think I cracked a rib.”

“Come on, it’s cold,” Jian glanced at Emmett’s bare feet in the snow, “and I am not letting you get frostbite on top of everything else.”

*

Explaining to his parents why he had returned from the bar half-dressed and covered in bruises had not been the most joyful thing Emmett had ever done, and neither had been Logan’s grunted mockery of the fact his big brother had been beaten up by a moose. Rye, on the other hand, had been deeply impressed by Jian’s courage.

“You chased it off?”

“Er, yeah?” Jian frowned as he returned from the kitchen with hot chocolate and fancy cookies brought up from the south, “I told him to get lost; was that bad?”

“You’re damn lucky to be alive, kid,” Logan sighed. “That must have been some mad moose though.”

“With big fucking antlers,” Emmett forgot himself and reached up for his hot chocolate with his left arm. “Damn! That hurts.”

“Well if you have cracked a rib, it’s gonna,” Jason Garrick frowned at his son, “you should be more careful. What were you doing out in town in your fur anyway?”

“Pop…”

“I don’t wanna know,” Emmett’s father shook his head, “’night boys.”

“A moose that attacked Emmett was scared of you,” Logan grinned appreciatively at Jian, “you must have more tiger in you than we thought.”

With just the four of them left awake, Rye tuned the television to a sports channel, and within five minutes all of them were hollering quietly at the hockey game. As people skidded and sliced across the ice, Jian yawned hugely and rubbed his eyes.

“Sorry…”

“Hey, don’t worry about it,” Emmett smiled. The sofa he was sitting on made up Jian’s bed, and it was relatively early. “Go sleep in my bed, I’ll take the couch.”

“But, you’re injured.”

“He’s not that injured,” Rye didn’t drag his eyes from the screen, “Hell, I’ve played with cracked ribs. Garrick people are tough. ‘Night Tiger.”

“Thanks Xue,” Jian pressed his face against Emmett’s uninjured shoulder briefly, “good night.”

Emmett was distracted from the game by the visualisation of Jian in his bed. He imagined the boy shedding his clothes, leaving them strewn over the floor, and crawling into Emmett’s enormous soft bed. Emmett was not looking forward to spending the night on the couch.

“You guys had a nice time at the bar then?” Rye asked between plays.

“Yeah, everyone loves him.”

“Easy to see why,” Logan opened a paper packet of jerky and took a handful of pieces before passing them on, “kid scared off a moose, and he can put up with you: he’s stronger than he looks.”

“Whereas you are dating a caribou…” Emmett didn’t fancy being the centre of conversation, and so turned on his brother.

“You saw Emelene again?” Rye chirped, obviously excited, “how come she didn’t come into town?”

“You knew?”

“Well sure,” Rye shrugged like it didn’t matter, “they’ve been dating for like nine months.”

“What?!”

“Emelene wanted to go for a run,” Logan explained. “She said she’ll come visit next week or so.”

“Logan?” Emmett could barely believe what he was hearing. “Your girlfriend is a caribou? Isn’t that awkward as hell?”

“You’re dating a tiger,” Logan countered.

“How many times? We’re not dating.”

“That was sort of my point,” Logan grinned. “Watch the game Emm, an’ quit complaining.”

One game turned into two, followed by highlights, and Emmett realised how much he had missed sharing the joy of hockey with his siblings. Of them all, Logan had been least involved in playing, but that didn’t mean he appreciated the game any less for what it was: and that, generally speaking, was a testosterone fuelled full-on fight on the ice, with sticks. The highlights they watched were from a particularly gruesome match, and there were six players all told who ended up staining the ice with their blood.

“Awww, fuck… he’s gonna feel that tomorrow.” Emmett groaned in sympathy with a player who had been rather effectively clotheslined.

“I think he is feeling it now, ouch!” Logan drained the last of his beer, “better him than me.”

“Biggest thing you have to worry about is a sturgeon trying to drag you overboard,” Rye replied with a yawn.

“I’m gonna get a nightcap and go to bed, night lads.”

Emmett watched as Logan wandered off to his room with a yawn of his own.

“Emm?” Rye blinked up at him, “does this mean we have to delay our hockey match?”

“Gimmie like, a day or two? I’m not as tough as you are.”

“OK bro,” Rye hugged his legs from his spot on the floor, “I’m gonna go to bed too. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight little cub,” Emmett ruffled his brother’s fine blond hair, “don’t get frostbite now.”

“Emm… I’m not that little anymore.”

“You always will be to me.” Emmett got a half a hug over one shoulder for his trouble, and then Rye was trotting off to bed, and leaving him alone in the near-darkness.

Emmett yawned and stretched, then growled between his teeth as he realised quite how much it hurt to try and stretch with cracked ribs. He probed the site of the break with two careful fingers, but there were no ridges or sharp edges. He remembered from Rye’s impact with the ice during a friendly match once that the treatment for cracked ribs was pretty much nothing. Apply heat and cold in rotation and continue to use the muscles even though it hurt like a bitch. He’d be fine eventually. As Emmett went to lie back on the couch, his neck cricked in sympathy with his back, and the big polar bear remembered quite how uncomfortable the sofa was for him. Jian had the advantage of being short, but Emmett dangled off both ends without effort. He yawned again, and headed for his bedroom.

It wasn’t until he had already closed the door in the blackness that Emmett truly remembered why he had declared his intention to sleep on the sofa. Jian’s scent permeated the room, making it hard to think of anything else, and Emmett wondered how awkward his actions would make things between them. When Jian rolled over with a soft mewl, the polar bear decided he didn’t care.

He left his clothes on the floor where he stood, wishing for the first time in a fairly long while, that he wore underwear under his sweats and thus, to bed. Emmett climbed in under the thick quilt with as little disturbance to the sleeping occupant as possible. Jian slept curled up on his side, his hands tucked up near his mouth, and Emmett stared at the smooth streak of his back in the darkness. When the little tiger sniffed and shifted, Emmett found himself automatically wrapping an arm around his narrow waist as the boy tucked neatly into the space left by Emmett’s body. He slept on, but Emmett lay awake for another hour, even though he was incredibly tired, wondering what he had gotten himself into, and pondering what he could get away with.

*

Emmett hummed gently in his sleep as he rolled over, and wrapped an arm around the figure beside him in the bed. Jian purred, still completely asleep, and Emmett blinked as he woke, wondering why he had never found the soft feline rumble sexy until now. Now it was very sexy, because Jian was sleeping soundly in his bed, dressed in nothing but a pair of well-fitting jersey boxers. True to form, they were orange with black trim, and Emmett smirked happily to himself at the sight. Jian was completely asleep, and so Emmett didn’t realise that he’d reached out with his spare arm, the one that was not trapped under the boy’s neck and currently cradling his skinny chest, and ran his hand down the furrow of Jian’s spine.

It was like stroking a cat, because Jian’s back arched automatically under his hand, and where his tail, if he had possessed one, would have curled out from his body, his spine flicked back, bringing his pert rump into contact with Emmett’s naked crotch. Jian purred again, and Emmett could hardly dare to believe what he was doing as he repeated the gesture. But this time instead of lifting away, he place his big hand over Jian’s arse and squeezed gently, rubbing over the thin soft fabric in adoration and excitement. Jian was like putty in his sleep, pliable and docile as a house pet while Emmett felt him up. His hand covering Jian’s chest roamed across him, touching at his dark brown nipples and delighting to find that, even though he was asleep, Jian’s body responded to his touch. It did not take long until Emmett’s erection was pressing the fabric between the boy’s cheeks, and Jian own beautifully proportioned pink cock was tenting the front of his boxers.

Jian purred, half whimpered; but his breathing remained steady and even, and Emmett knew that his friend still slept on, blissfully unaware of what was being done to him. The polar bear kissed the back of his neck, his shoulders, and inhaled the rich scent of the boy while his hands pushed the waistband of his boxers down below his rounded arse. Emmett’s breathing was ragged as he placed his hand upon the firm flesh of hitherto unseen parts of the boy he so desperately adored. As Emmett’s fingers touched at his most private of openings, Jian’s body shivered, and he mewled in a tone Emmett could only interpret as wanting. Emmett wet his fingers, lubricated his own pulsing cock, and lined himself up with his sleeping lover.

He plunged in, and as Jian yelled out in waking shock and pain, Emmett turned at an angry snorting to see the moose that had attacked them, charging forwards, almost on top of the bed. He rolled to cover Jian with his body, and as the moose struck him again, each point of his enormous antlers hitting exactly where it had done before, Emmett woke from his dream with a shout.

“Jian!”

“Whoa…” The not-tiger’s voice was instantly soothing, a warm balm on his shattered nerves, “it’s alright Xue: I’m here.”

Still shaking faintly, Emmett found Jian’s shoulder in the darkness, then pulled the boy right up against his chest and held on tightly. To his surprise, Jian made a happy noise and curled against him, his face buried in Emmett’s shoulder.

“That was some dream you were having.” Emmett tightened his grip as the boy spoke. “OK, easy… it’s over now.” He could feel Jian’s lips brushing against the hollow of his throat. “You’re going to crush me Emm…”

“Oh…” Emmett released him quickly, but Jian only moved away by a fraction of an inch, “sorry.”

“It’s alright,” Jian shifted his weight as Emmett lay back so that he could use the polar bear’s huge shoulder as a pillow, one arm draped around Emmett’s waist. “What were you dreaming about?”

Emmett’s eyes finally adjusted to the darkness, and he made out the soft outline of his friend, Jian’s big orange eyes shining at him. He could not tell the boy the wonderful, and then hurtful fantasy his mind had been providing him with. As discreetly as he could, Emmett reached down with his other hand to check that he wasn’t nursing a massive erection under the blankets: his semi greeted him, and Emmett quickly adjusted himself to ensure maximum distance between his excitable crotch and Jian as possible.

“The moose attack.”

“It was in the bedroom with us?” Jian sounded surprised, “Well that would suck.”

“Sorry, I should be on the couch. I didn’t mean to disturb you.” Emmett had shifted his weight to get up, but was effectively pinned by Jian’s meagre weight over his chest and shoulder.

“It’s five A.M. Emmett,” Jian so rarely used his full name that Emmett instantly slacked in shock, “just stay here and be comfy.”

“Comfy for you, or comfy for me?”

“If possible,” the tiger yawned, “both.”

Jian wriggled all over and cuddled up against his side. Now that he had come down from the adrenaline fuelled high of his dream, Emmett was tired again, but he didn’t really want to fall asleep, not when the warmth of Jian’s nearly naked body was spreading down his side. Emmett let his breathing even out and go shallow, but he was too focused on every point where his and Jian’ skin touched to be able to let go of consciousness. Apparently, he wasn’t the only one, because after a long silence during which time the sky got no lighter at all, Jian’s fingers which had rested calmly on his abdomen, began to trace little circling and fluid patterns over his skin, half following the ridges of Emmett’s musculature. He hummed, it was a wordless little tune Emmett did not recognise, but a piece of his mind uncurled towards the texture of the noise and it felt, somehow, familiar.

“I forget,” Jian sounded like he was talking to himself, “how much bigger you are than me. Your chest is probably twice as wide, more than even; and your arms are huge,” the tracing fingers swept up and across to Emmett’s bruised shoulder, and without pain glided over the skin of his bicep, “I think sometimes I forget that I’m just a skinny kid.”

“No you’re not,” Emmett half turned his head to look at the young man in bed beside him. Jian wasn’t a kid, and he might have been slender, narrow-built and fine boned, but he wasn’t anything like the skinny waif-thin boys who danced in the cities clubs with their shirts off: so thin and taut-skinned that there was almost nothing more to them than bones. Emmett had never understood why anyone found such skeletal figures to be attractive.

“I’m not?” Jian sounded hopeful.

“No, you’re just perfect the way you are Tiger.”

“I love it when you call me that,” Jian cuddled closer to his side, wrapping his previously wandering hand around the bicep he was using as part of his pillow, “I know I shouldn’t wish for it, my life is good enough as it is, but I do wish I was a real tiger.”

“But you are a real tiger,” Emmett twisted and rubbed Jian’s thick black hair with the bridge of his nose, a gesture that was as close to nuzzling the boy as he could manage in his skin, “you fought off a moose, remember?”

“I didn’t fight him…” he felt Jian’s smile against his skin, “but I did scare him off, didn’t I?”

“You big strong Tiger you,” Emmett couldn’t resist the temptation, and rolled onto his side to tickle Jian. The boy yelped in his ear, giggled, and squealed as Emmett’s fingertips skittered down his sides.

“Xue!”

“Gotcha!”

“No you don’t!” Jian’s narrow fingers dug in between Emmett’s ribs as they rolled over each other, tickling the polar bear as far as he could. When he pressed hard on one of Emmett’s dark purple bruises, the polar bear yelped in pain and fell back panting onto the mattress. “Sorry!” Jian hovered over him, “oh Xue, are you OK?”

“Y-yeah,” Emmett took a deep breath, and felt his ribs scrape painfully, “I’m good.”

“Good,” Jian sank back down into the hollow made by Emmett’s arm and shoulder, “sorry.”

“You’re a tough little creature Jian, you know that?” Emmett focused on breathing evenly; trying to calm his racing pulse as Jian’s wrapped an arm back over his hips. Their play-fight had made Emmett’s libido perk up, and as Jian’s fingers drifted lower, exploring the flat tight skin of Emmett’s abdomen, the polar bear was forced to clear his throat, and wrap his own meaty fingers around Jian’s narrow wrist. He didn’t pull Jian back, but just held him firmly.

“Tiger…”

“Hey, it’s OK,” Jian nuzzled into his shoulder, “maybe some other time.” Jian yawned again, and Emmett found himself copying the gesture. “We can still sleep for a few hours right? We don’t have to be up early?”

“We can sleep as long as you like Tiger.”

“Good,” Jian wrapped himself more firmly around Emmett’s chest, and promptly fell asleep. Just as Emmett was being jealous of the boy’s ability to effectively pass out without warning, he yawned hugely, blinked twice, and drifted into peaceful oblivion.