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"Ugh…Langa. I'm sooooo booorrrrreed." Reki whined, slumping over the counter. Langa blinked slowly, barely nodding his head because his face was pressed against the wooden countertop. It was a slow day at Dope Sketch: no deliveries, no customers, no orders to prep.
"We could...reorganize the shirts again?" The taller boy asked, sounding as bored as he looked. Reki shook his head, making a face.
"Nah, we already did that yesterday, man. We need something else to do." Reki mumbled, looking around the shop. His eyes rested on Sketchy's bed, the little fox curled up in it, sleeping. A grin spread across his face. "I got an idea."
A quick run to the convenience store later, and the boys were enticing the fox awake with a corn dog. Sketchy opened one eye, sniffed, and yawned. He leaned forward to take a bite, but Reki pulled it out of reach just before his teeth could snap shut on it. Langa watched Reki from the top of the counter, tapping his fingers against the wood softly. "Reki, what are we doing?"
Reki grinned and shook his head slightly, waving the corn dog in front of Sketchy's nose, until the fox was standing, growling softly. "We're gonna teach Sketchy some tricks. It'd be good if he didn't go after customers anymore, don't you think? Not to mention us, too." The little fox was not known to have the best manners, and was prone to nipping at anyone who came too close. Except for Oka, of course. Even now his teeth were a little too close to Reki’s fingers for his liking. He drew the corn dog up towards the counter, waving it a bit. "I thought it would be good if we started with something basic, like 'sit' and work our way up from there. I heard somewhere that you can train dogs by using food, so I figured it would work with Sketchy too." He turned to Langa, holding the corn dog out to him. "Here, see if you can get him on the counter."
Langa took the corn dog with only a slight hesitation, and waved it at Sketchy, keeping a close eye on the fox's snout. Reki knew that feeling, having been on the receiving end of those teeth too many times himself. He watched as Langa finally got the fox to jump up onto the counter. His boyfriend turned and looked at him. "Okay...now what?" He held the corn dog just out of the fox's reach, glancing back at the fox every now and then to make sure he wouldn't be bitten.
"Now we get him to sit. And reward him with bites of corn dog." Reki said, moving around to stand at Langa’s side. He took the corn dog back from the taller boy, breaking off a piece of it. He handed it to Langa. “See if he’ll do it.”
Sketchy tilted his head and leaned forward. Langa held the corndog just out of reach once again. “Okay, ‘sit’.” He told the fox. Sketchy’s ears twitched, but the fox didn’t make any move to sit. “‘Sit’. C’mon, Sketchy, ‘sit’.” Langa’s volume increased slightly, getting a little frustrated.
Reki crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t think he knows what the word means, Langa.” He tapped the other boy’s shoulder lightly, and Langa handed over the piece of corn dog. Reki handed back the rest of the corn dog. “You probably have to show him what you want, while saying the word.” Reki held the corn dog in front of the fox’s nose. “Okay, Sketchy. ‘Sit’.” he moved his other arm around the fox, pressing lightly down on its back until the fox was flush against the wooden counter. “‘Sit’.” he repeated, then tossed the piece to the fox, who gobbled it down happily.
Langa watched, eyebrows raised slightly. “I thought you were going to get bitten for sure.” he murmured, keeping an eye on the fox. Sketchy’s tail was twitching, but otherwise he didn’t seem like he would bite at them.
Reki shrugged, “Wouldn’t be the first time. ‘Sides, we gotta teach him somehow, and a little pain would be worth having him trained.” His eyes darted back to the fox. “Okay, now we just gotta repeat it.” He motioned to Langa for another bite of corn dog, and his boyfriend broke off a piece for him. Reki held the piece in front of Sketchy’s nose, once again, and the fox got to his feet. “Step one, down.” the redhead muttered, reaching an arm around Sketchy’s back once again. “Okay, now, ‘sit’.” He made to press down on Sketchy’s back once again, but the little creature spun in a circle and bit down on Reki’s wrist, hard. “Ow, dammit!” Reki gasped, snatching his hand away from the fox and dropping the corn dog in his other hand. The little fox made a happy chirp and darted forward to eat the piece. “Little monster, that really hurt.” he cradled his injured arm close to him, eyes narrowed at the fox.
“Reki!” Langa winced, leaving the corn dog on the counter as he took Reki's arm. “Lemme see,” he said softly, pushing back Reki’s sweatshirt. “Shit. He really bit you ha--” Langa trailed off at the sight of blood and set out a hand to steady himself against the counter. “Ah, I think I’m gonna throw up.”
Reki rolled his eyes and pulled the sweatshirt back down over the bite. “Aw, c’mon babe, it’s not that bad. It’s not even your blood. Let’s go to the back and get cleaned up, okay?” The two left the fox and the corn dog on the counter, Langa leaning into Reki and Reki holding his wrist tightly. They met Oka on the way to the back room, having to pass by his office.
Okay eyed the boys with a bored expression. “What did you two do now?” the manager asked, deadpan.
Reki gave a forced grin. “Ah, it’s nothing. Sketchy just bit a little harder than normal. Gotta get cleaned up.”
Oka’s eyes darted to Langa, who was pale and unsteady on his feet. “And him?”
Reki glanced at his boyfriend, who could barely support himself. “You know how he gets around blood,” he shrugged.
Oka sighed, pressing the heel of his hand against his forehead. “What were you doing to piss him off that much?” he sighed, getting to his feet. “Were you trying to balance him on tech decks again?”
Reki flushed and rolled his eyes. “No. Not exactly. We were just trying to teach him to sit.”
Oka blinked and shook his head. “Of course you were,” he muttered, heading back to the front of the shop. He looked at Sketchy, who was now happily gnawing on the whole corn dog that Langa had dropped. “You’re a cantankerous piece of work, aren’t you.” The fox yipped happily, tail flicking back and forth. “Reki, Langa, would you please come here when you get done?” he called, tapping his fingers against the counter top. He reached out to the fox, taking the corn dog away from him with only a slight growl of annoyance.
The two boys returned shortly, Reki’s wrist bandaged and Langa drinking slowly and steadily from a water bottle until the color had returned to his cheeks. Oka motioned towards the fox. “Watch closely,” he grinned. “Sketchy,” the fox’s ears twitched, and he eyed the corn dog in Oka’s hand, “‘Backside 180’.” Sketchy sat immediately, tucking his tail over his paws. Oka tossed him a piece of corn dog. “Sketchy, ‘powerslide’.” The fox laid down, ears alert. He was given another bite of corn dog. “Sketchy, ‘ollie’.” Oka grinned, and the fox jumped up from his place on the counter, barking as he did so. Oka tossed him the rest of the corn dog, and the little fox took it back to his bed, chewing contentedly. Reki and Langa watched, eyes wide, and mouths open in shock.
“You see boys, you just have to know the right lingo.” Oka smirked, heading back to his office. “Have fun,” he called back, already knowing the two would be testing out all sorts of skateboarding tricks on the fox.
Reki and Langa grinned at each other. “Convenience store?” Reki asked, eyes bright. Langa nodded, practically pulling Reki out the door.
Oka chuckled at the sound of the entrance bells jingling. “Let’s just hope they don’t try ‘frontside sugarcane stall,’” he laughed.
In the front room, Sketchy’s ears twitched, and the fox gave a mischievous toothy grin.