Work Text:
A line of song, a still of life,
A story full of strain and strife.
Each on their own a work of art,
And all the chance to touch a heart.
The coyote sighs after taking a long swig of water, his throat feeling sore from performing a song he recently put together. Though, not sure if he can call in a performance if no one is here listening. Gradually, he stands up from his seat on a thick towel laid out across the dead winter grass before tossing the empty bottle into the nearest trash can. Looking around at the darkening park, not a single person can be spotted.
“Well... you should probably call it Cameron,” he mumbles to himself while unsaddling the guitar from his shoulder. He lets out a weak chuckle before adding, “Damn, maybe I am as bad of a singer as they say.”
Cameron had been playing songs in the park near his college since the start of the semester whenever he wasn’t too busy with classes. Though he would occasionally catch a couple of listeners, admittedly, he did it for himself. The words of his label producer etched into his brain and haven’t left since. He believed his music was good. People have liked it and continue to like it. Looking up at the setting sun in the distance, he pathetically mutters, “So, why isn’t it good enough now?
He sighs while managing to shake himself out of thought. The freezing February air motivates him to pack up his instrument and other items quicker to escape the frigid winds picking up. As he finishes getting all his things together, the lamp posts along the park path begin lighting up, bringing a cozy atmosphere to the once colorless and empty park. He starts on the way home initially in a hurry to get back. Though slowing down, he takes in the sight transforming around him. The warm lights, the sound of the wind, he thinks of how he could write a song about this, but can’t help feeling like it’s missing an element. Nearing the edge of the park, Cameron stops as he spots something, or rather someone, bent over on the floor near the base of a lamp post. From the back, he can easily tell it’s an otter from the species’ telltale rudder tail, though Cameron barely registers that as he rushes over to them.
Nearing the otter, he calls out, “Hey! You okay over there?” Weakly, the smaller mammal glances back at him. Cameron tries to make out any words, but the sound of the wind covers up whatever they were trying to say. He quickly rushes forward to assess the situation, arriving right next to the otter and crouching down to talk to them better. Now having the chance, he looks over the person kneeling on paws and knees in front of him. From the parts he can see, the otter’s fur is a dark shade of brown aside from certain areas like their lower face and inner ears that are accented by a light cream color. Though his own figure is a bit smaller than average, Cameron can tell that the otter is no bigger than him, possibly even a couple of inches shorter, judging by their thick but short legs. In terms of clothes, only a long-sleeve shirt decal with the university's logo and dark blue jeans are protecting them from the cold. Lastly, as his gaze fully looks over their face, not much but fatigue and immense pain can be read from it, brown eyes meeting his own as Cameron can’t help but feel troubled at what he’s stumbled upon. “Hey, it’s gonna b-be alright… wh-where are you hurt?” The temperature seems to be dropping quicker, making it hard for even Cameron to speak, which only worries him more. Slowly, the otter manages to shift his body into a seated position, grunting as he does.
“I-it’s my b-bad ankle… f-fuck...” He attempts to move his right foot to show, though ultimately wincing in pain and letting out more curses as his body shudders violently. Cameron struggles to work out a solution to the situation, first taking off his own jacket before moving around to the otter’s right and offering his paw. The freezing air instantly bites at his skin despite the winter coat he’s grown in, but he knows he has to tough it out to keep this otter safe.
“Here, let me help you up. It’s getting way too cold to be out here right now, and you’re shivering like crazy.” Though with a bit of hesitation, the otter nods and grabs onto Cameron’s paw firmly. With the bit of strength he has, Cameron manages to bring them onto their good foot as he supports their right side. “Come on, let’s get you somewhere warm.”
“Th-thank you…” they barely manage to get out from their chattering muzzle while leaning into Cameron’s warmth. The coyote nods as the two begin walking back into campus with the stranger using Cameron as a crutch to avoid his bad foot. He seethes in pain with every stumble and close fall, but eventually the two manage to reach Cameron’s dorm hall. Upon opening the door in, a wave of soothing heat washes over the two that lulls a relieved squeak out of the otter. Cameron tries to ignore the noise he isn’t even sure they are aware of making, instead deciding to check up on them.
“How are you feeling now?” he asks while leading the otter down a hall further into the dorm. The walls inside are a mundane shade of beige that is only contrasted by the dark brown room doors spaced out along both sides.
“Much better now… thank you again so much man…” Cameron barely acknowledges the compliment and smiles with a hint of relief. Fortunately, the place appears pretty empty, so no one has to witness Cameron haul a half-conscious, injured otter around. Though still recovering, the rapid improvement in their condition is apparent. His once weak and shaky voice now gradually returns to presumably what it is normally. The otter’s voice comes off fairly masculine, though ranging on the higher end with an edge of dryness to it.
“Hey, it was nothing, I couldn’t leave you out there like that,” Cameron says before chuckling softly, relieved to see life return to this person whom he just met. The pair arrive in the common room and Cameron carefully sits the otter down on one end of the large-cushioned couch before taking a seat beside him and sighing exhaustedly. The two sit in silence for a moment, basking in the internal heating before Cameron turns and asks, “So, what’s your name?”
“I’m Chase Hunter,” he replies with a bit more energy. “I’m a journalism major with a minor in creative photography.” The exhausted otter sinks into his seat more, gazing up at the ceiling while he does so. Cameron, on the other hand, looks puzzled as he sets his guitar to the side. Where had he heard that name before?
Ignoring the strange sense of familiarity, he responds, “Nice! My name’s Cameron Wilson. I’m a music major if you couldn’t tell,” he jokes while looking over at his guitar. “Regardless, it’s nice to meet you,” the coyote adds while holding out his paw for the otter. As his attention returns to his surroundings, Chase sits up and gently shakes his paw in return.
“It’s nice to meet you too man,” Chase smiles softly and sincerely. The pair’s eyes meet, now in a much calmer environment, Cameron takes note of details he hadn’t noticed outdoors. For one, the otter sported a decent-looking goatee that matched his darker fur color. While he felt a bit jealous as he could never grow any decent facial hair of his own, he found it oddly cute on Chase for some reason. Snapping him out of thought, however, was Chase’s other paw waving in front of him. “Hey, you there Cameron?”
“Oh shit, uh sorry… what were you saying?” Cameron tried to play it off while hiding his flusteredness.
“No worries man, I was just wondering where we are? It was kinda hard to pay attention out there,” he asks with a hint of confusion.
“Oh, this is my dorm hall, the one at the corner of 2nd and Park. It’s kinda close to the photography building, so I’m sure you’re familiar!” Cameron speaks with energy unfamiliar to him. Usually, he stays pretty reserved, but something about this whole situation has made him feel connected with Chase. Cameron turns to face him better and leans into the cushions with his side, his tail slowly brushing against the back of the seat as he does. “Also, there is something I wanted to ask you too... if that’s alright of course.” The otter turns his attention towards Cameron as the coyote continues. “What were you doing out there in the cold? Your outfit isn’t exactly the warmest thing to be wearing out there, so I take it you weren’t planning on being out there long. What happened?” Chase glances away and pauses before responding.
“Well… I was planning on going to the park to take pictures of something a friend told me about. But when I got there, my ankle started acting up to the point where I could barely even stand…” Cameron listens intently, while noticing the embarrassment building on Chase’s face as he sighs pensively. “There was this accident that happened almost a year ago, and it’s never been the same since. Lately, it had been feeling fine, so I thought it wouldn’t be a problem, and well… that’s about it.” The coyote’s look of concern returns as he eyes Chase’s right paw as if trying to spot the injury. “Hey, don’t worry man, it’s nothing serious,” as he adds nonchalantly, Chase rolls up the cuff on his jeans that cover his injured foot. Just as he said, Cameron can’t notice anything wrong with it, so he decides not to press further.
“If you say so… I’m just glad I was able to find you there before it got super late.” He’s never been the best at comforting others and isn’t sure what to say. The conversation went dead from there as he attempted to think of something to say, his thoughts running back to the strange familiarity he felt when first hearing Chase’s name. He must have zoned out for a bit as he notices Chase turn to look over at him.
“Something on your mind man?”
“Oh uh! Well, it’s something I couldn’t stop thinking about when you said your name. It sounded really familiar, but I couldn’t tell from where.” Cameron returned to sitting normally after casually blurting out the thought he was ignoring, trying not to immediately weird out this stranger beside him.
“I get that a lot, so no worries. I’m the journalist who wrote that whole piece on Echo that got super popular a year ago. People often remember the story but not the person,” he jokes sarcastically while looking off.
“Wait really? So you’re one of the Echo survivors? And, is that-”
“Yup, that’s where the ankle came from. Broke it and had to walk on it for hours till I could get help. Thankfully, it’s the only thing that still weighs on me from back then.” After saying that, Chase goes quiet, staring at the floor with a blank expression. “Sorry, I don’t like talking about it all that much.”
Cameron looks away, feeling a bit of shame before responding, “I’m so sorry, I… well I can understand to an extent.”
In response, Chase looks over inquisitively at him. “You’ve been through your own hysteria too?” he jokes playfully while smirking at Cameron.
“No- well, kind- no, not like you at least.” Cameron’s paws gently hold his thighs as he avoids Chase’s gaze. “I got diagnosed with schizophrenia about a year ago. I had suspected it for quite a while, so it wasn’t that devastating to learn. But what became unbearable is how people would treat me. Asking questions like I could go crazy at any moment…” Cameron shakes a bit, reminiscing about all the people he considered friends who would treat him like some zoo exhibit after he came forward about his diagnosis. It wasn’t fair. He did everything he could to fit in but it matter nothing to those fucks. Even after all this time, it still frustrates him so bad thinking about it. Cameron’s claws dig into his thighs deeper as his breathing steadily accelerates. What the fuck could he do? Why didn’t he do anything? He tells himself he tried his best, but did he really? He still knows it was his fault it all fell apart. It’s his fault his friends stopped talking to him. It’s his fault Dyla-
“Hey Cameron… it’s gonna be okay man… just slow down.” Cameron feels a warmth on top of his paw and it snaps him out of his state. Refocusing on what’s around him, he sees Chase’s paw placed on his. Slowly, Cameron turns his head till his eyes meet the otter’s concerned gaze. “Maybe our situations aren’t the exact same, but I get it. People wanna know what they can’t understand and then get mad when you don’t tell it to them how they wanna hear it. But it’s not your fault, you can only control what you do, right?” Cameron weakly nods, his ears lowered in shame as he tries not to break more than he has in front of Chase.
“Yeah… but, it is kinda my fault…”
“How man? Because your friendships fell through once they learned? It’s their fault if they didn’t wanna respect you and your boundaries-”
“I never gave them a chance to,” he interrupts solemnly.
“What do you mean?”
“Maybe not all of them were nice… but some of them did care. I just never explained it and let them think what they want. But eventually I couldn’t take it anymore and one day just stopped talking to them.” Chase stays quiet as Cameron leans forward into his paws, the couch creaking beneath them. “I convinced myself that there was no one who wanted to get me, and so enough there wasn’t, not even my boyfriend.”
“Boyfriend?” Chase asks curiously. Cameron had barely registered what he was saying before it came out. What is wrong with him? First dumping all his shit on some random stranger and now coming out to him? Has he really been this desperate for someone to be close with? He pressed his paws harder into his face, almost digging his claws in before Chase managed to hold them back. “Hey! Stop before you hurt yourself! It’s not a problem dude, I’m gay too!” Chase blurts out while trying to comfort Cameron. Though it’s clear from the redness building in his cheeks that Chase wasn’t planning on coming out in return.
“You are?”
“Yeah, I mean is that a problem?” Chase says with playful offense while Cameron’s gaze stays fixed on his paws. He chuckles weakly before shaking his head in response.
“No, just… I guess it’s always a surprise to learn even when you are yourself.” Another awkward silence ensues as Chase returns to sitting beside Cameron, though a bit closer now as the two are almost shoulder to shoulder. Out of nowhere, Cameron mumbles, “Sorry for losing it there. Maybe my friends were right in thinking what they thought of me.” After finishing talking, he receives a playful nudge from Chase, causing him to almost fall over. “Hey, what was that for?!”
“Come on, be nice to yourself man,” Chase teases with a hint of seriousness. “No one’s perfect, plus you sound like you’ve gone through some equally rough things to me.” Though he didn’t wanna make this a contest, Cameron nods reluctantly as Chase keeps talking on. “Sometimes, you just gotta let what has happened be and find the next path to take. After Echo, I thought things could never be the same. I felt broken. My friends felt broken. Life just, didn’t feel real after all that. But we kept pushing and learning to make the most of what we went through. There’s a lot that still haunts me from then honestly… but I’m here now, and I want to be here.” Cameron stays silent as Chase’s words reverberate in his head.
“You’re right, thanks Chase…” as he meekly replied, Cameron felt a soft warmth surrounding him. Chase wrapped his arms tenderly around Cameron, giving him the most compassionate hug he could.
“It's nothing, I couldn’t leave you hanging like that,” Chase playfully returns, stealing Cameron’s words from earlier. In the moment, Cameron’s cheeks go hot as he returns the embrace, holding the otter close to him as he carefully nuzzles under his short muzzle. Doing so causes Chase to let out that same soft squeak from earlier that only makes Cameron feel even warmer in their hug. Slowly, his tail begins to liven up, swaying gently behind him as the two stay like this for a while. With some reluctance, Chase begins pulling back from the hug, though as the two part, they exchange warm smiles and quiet giggles while settling back into the couch.
“So, probably important to ask, but how’s your ankle doing?” Cameron changes the subject. He sits up to look down at the otter’s right paw before curiously glancing back at Chase.
“It’s not hurting as much anymore, though I think it’ll be a bit till I can walk on it.” Cameron nods before checking his watch.
[9:21 PM]
“Well, it’s getting pretty late. Are you going to need some help getting back to wherever you’re staying?
Chase stays quiet for a moment in thought before answering, “I should be alright, hopefully one of my friends can come pick me up. Besides, I wouldn’t wanna impose on you anymore than I have."
“Hey! You haven’t been bothering me! Honestly, it was really nice meeting you.” Cameron says that last part quieter, though Chase still picks it up.
“It was nice meeting you too, Cameron. I hope I can see you around campus sometime.” The coyote nods in response, a little saddened at the abrupt ending to their night, though grateful for the moment they did share. “Oh, also,” Chase suddenly added as he fished around in his pockets for something before pulling out his phone. “What’s your number?”
“Here, let me type it in!” ~~~~~~~~~
After a bit of confirming everything is sorted with the contacts, Cameron helps Chase up to his foot, the otter wincing in pain as he does.
“You sure you’re gonna be alright Chase?”
The otter grunts as his limp paw drags against the carpeted floor, “I’ll be fine I prom- SHIT!” Cameron urgently sits Chase back down and looks down at him worriedly.
“That doesn’t sound like fine…” Cameron glances away at the hall nervously before adding, “You know, if you want... you could stay in my dorm for the night?”
Chase looks up at him with surprise, “Oh? I mean, is that okay? I wouldn’t wanna bother your roommate.”
“For sure! My room is just me for now, and my RA is cool with friends staying over and such. But I mean it’s up to you.”
“Of course!- I mean, I’d appreciate that,” he says while trying to awkwardly laugh off his excitement. Cameron can’t help but smile a bit before giving his paw out to Chase.
“Alright then! On your foot one more time tonight.”
~~~~~~~~~
After some time, the two finally manage to arrive at Cameron’s room. Chase’s desperation to stop moving is evident, and Cameron quickly helps him sit down on his bed. Able to relax, the otter takes in his new surroundings. The walls in the coyote's room are covered with posters of bands he couldn’t recognize. His desk was decently organized, the only things Chase could make out being a laptop and a small synthesizer hooked up to it. Beside the desk, though against the wall closest to the door, was a large keyboard that spanned almost the entire width of Cameron’s half of the room.
“Damn, you are a musician,” Chase jokingly noted with a chuckle.
“Yeah yeah, I only play keyboard and guitar though.” After saying that, Cameron paused for a moment before looking around with alarm. “Shit! I forgot my guitar in the common! Be right back!” He quickly bolted out of the room, Chase able to hear his heavy footsteps race down the hall. Finally alone for a moment, Chase takes a deep breath before exhaling slowly. Carefully, without trying to aggravate his foot, he takes off all the winter clothes he was wearing in order to cool off.
Soon enough, Cameron returns to the room, subtly taking in the otter's dressed-down state. He feels his cheeks go hot for a moment, but soon enough returns to chatting with Chase. Talking about their hobbies, school life, and any funny stories that come to mind. As minutes become hours, the two talk into the night while exhaustion gradually descends upon them. Cameron gradually joins Chase and dresses down to just his t-shirt and a pair of boxers to prepare for bed as things wind down. Eventually, the two lay in bed side by side, looking up at the ceiling as all that exists in this moment is them.
“You wanna know something funny?” Chase comments out of nowhere. “I think I was actually looking for you earlier.”
“What do you mean?” Cameron cocks an eyebrow as he turns to look at him.
“Well… I kinda lied about why I went to the park. A friend of mine said she had seen this cute coyote guy at the park playing guitar. She said he played there every Saturday, so I figured I would go meet him.” The two sit in silence as Cameron’s ears turn red at Chase’s words. “Who would have guessed this is how I met him, huh?” The otter’s flirty comment leaves the flustered coyote in silence for a moment as he tries to find any way to respond without embarrassing himself.
“So, did I live up to expectations?” In response, Chase slowly but confidently reaches down and grabs Cameron’s paw. He squeezes it softly, interlocking his digits between the coyote’s while rolling over onto his side to look at Cameron. Before he’s even aware, Chase leans in closer and wraps his other arm around the coyote. He can’t help but blush profusely at the gesture, this kind otter that in just a matter of hours has reached closer to him than anyone ever has before. He isn’t sure what it’s supposed to mean; all that Cameron knows is that this is where he wants to be right now. Gently, he returns the embrace, holding the smaller otter closely and resting his head on Chase’s shoulder.
“More than you can imagine…” Chase replies softly before he gently buries his face into the coyote’s neck fur. His body less tense after getting past the initial rush of the interaction, he relaxes in Cameron’s arms. In return, Cameron can’t help but warmly smile as his paws slowly run up and down the tired otter’s back. He tightens the hug slightly more, eliciting one more soft squeak from Chase as the two shuffle around and settle into a position for the night.
“I’m not sure what I feel for him, maybe it’s too soon to be sure. It’s been rough for both of us to get where we are now. Despite that, I know I want this. I want him in my life. I want to know him as a person. I want to know what makes him happy, what things he likes, and what he wants to be. But… does he want me?”, the coyote and the otter ponder in tandem. As they lay there and cling to each other tenderly, their doubts can barely overshadow this blissful moment. There will be time to figure things out, they know. So for now, Chase nuzzles under Cameron's chin as the two drift off for the night, marking the start of something new.