(I see this question a lot, so I figure I'll answer it here, though the answer can change depending on how old this chapter gets. I own two dogs right now, both Australian shepherds. I do often rescue, so I may post pictures of those dogs from time to time, but Pepperjack Cheese and Racquetball are my two idiots. My big white fluff boi, Snowman, who is my profile picture, passed away last year.) 

Why is it so hot? 

Fox tried to roll over, but something was wrapped firmly around his waist. He could feel that the waistband of his pajama pants had dropped a bit while he'd been sleeping, but it seemed, just barely, still modestly on him. 

Warm breath wisped across his neck every few seconds, but that wasn't what made his eyes slowly crack open. It was the jumbled static from one of his bonds in the back of his mind. It only took his vision a few moments to clear. A shadowed figure sitting up closer to the edge of the bed drew his attention upward. 

Amos was resting his back against the headboard with one leg partially raised, his left arm resting on his knee and an unlit cigarette between his lips. 

M'mmo? 

The man jumped the tiniest amount as his eyes, slightly reflective from excess water, turned to him. He looked away abruptly for a few seconds, then sniffed and gave his a head a quick shape before returning his attention to Fox. 

Hello there, my fuzzy friend. I'm sorry, did I wake you up? 

Fox was about to respond when he felt the arm around his waist withdraw. The blanket that had been pulled up to the middle of his bare chest was gently drawn back enough for the person behind him to move out from beneath it. He knew now that it was Owen, and as the man carefully moved over him to get closer to Amos, he quickly closed his eyes. He wasn't exactly sure why he was still pretending to be asleep, especially since Amos already knew that he was awake, but when the guy didn't give him away, he decided to just keep quiet and see what happened. 

Once he was sure that he felt no eyes on him, he squinted one open to see that Owen had settled straddling Amos' lap, but he wasn't quite sitting in it. His attention was focused completely on the other man as he gently settled a hand on either side of Amos' face, then leaned down to press a kiss to the edge of one eye. 

After another sniffle Amos tucked his head against Owen's clothed chest as Owen's hands moved past him. One settled on Amos' back as the other wove its fingers into the man's messy hair. 

"I'm sorry I'm bothering you so much, Owe," Amos eventually rasped out. 

Owen glanced toward Fox as his hand began to rub Amos' back. Fox quickly jerked his eye shut and tried to pretend that he was still asleep. Thankfully, Owen seemed to buy it, but even as they started talking again, he still felt eyes on him. 

"It's alright," Owen replied quietly, earning a chuckle from Amos. 

"I know that you don't like having people in your space." 

He doesn't seem to mind me too much? I'm a fox, too, but I shift. Does that make me a people? Does he not want me here? 

A hand gently settled atop his head, drawing his eyes open without any further thought. 

Oh, oops. 

Two sets of eyes were staring down at him. Owen was leaning down a bit to reach him, but still remained with one leg on either side of Amos' lap. His expression was hard to read, but it didn't look upset. 

Amos, however, had a very clear smirk on his face as he leaned right up against Owen's back and nuzzled his nose against the man's shirt, licking his lips in process. 

"Down boy," Owen said calmly, his attention still on Fox. 

A deep chuckle left Amos as he replied, "it's definitely not going to be going down anytime soon... unless I have a volu—" Owen had turned back to face Amos and pressed a finger over his lips as his other hand took the cigarette hanging precariously from the edge of the man's lips and tossed it elsewhere. 

Fox watched, his eyes widening when Amos slipped his tongue out and slowly ran the tip from the base of Owen's finger to the very top, all while his eyes held the other man's intently. 

A familiar musky scent sifted through his nose, his animal side helping his human one figure it out quickly. 

Someone is horny. 

Both Amos and Owen burst out laughing. Fox watched as Amos doubled over and Owen swung his leg over the man's lap so that he could sit on the blanket beside him. He tried to contain his own laughter after a moment, but even with the hand over his mouth, it was still pretty obvious that he was unable to hold it in yet. 

Deciding that it was time for himself to join... whatever the heck was going on, Fox sat up and tilted his head. He was about to open his mouth and actually say something when his stomach growled loudly. 

Owen seemed to take that as a sign to get the heck up before Amos could mess with him again, because he quickly hopped off the bed and grabbed his glasses on the nightstand. 

"I'll make some food," he mumbled as he hurried from the room. 

Fox watched him go, turning only when he heard Amos move beside him. 

The scent is coming from him...

Amos grinned and shook his head. He seemed to contemplate something as he stared at Fox, but whatever it was, he decided to push it aside as he turned and swung his legs over the edge of the bed, clearly intent on following Owen. 

"H-hey, Amo?" Fox whispered hesitantly. 

He wasn't really sure how the man would take personal questions, but he was curious. 

Amos turned toward him with a raised eyebrow. 

"Yeah?" 

Fox slowly climbed over the blankets until he was sitting next to Amos. The guy was still sporting a certain issue, but Fox honestly didn't really care. He was never introduced to situations where he thought he should be embarrassed about a body, or body part. It was natural. Amos' body was clearly showing that he wanted Owen. 

"Let's get that mind going somewhere else, hmm? I'm trying to be a good boy. You had a question for me?" 

He had had a question. And he had intended to ask it... but one thing Fox didn't have much experience in was emotions and relationships with other people. So, instead of actually saying anything else, he pursed his lips and looked away a few times, but then abruptly lunged forward and wrapped his arms around Amos' neck for a tight hug. 

I wish I were better at talking to people. I'm not used to caring, but I hope he's okay. 

Amos sat still for so long that Fox thought that he might have done the wrong thing. Normally, when he'd seen others hug, it was a reciprocated gesture... but Amos was just sitting there like a statue. 

Did I do something wrong? 

He hesitantly began unwrapping his arms, but when he started to lean away, strong arms suddenly wrapped him up tight against. One of Amos' hands eventually sifted its fingers through his hair as the man's head rested near his own, their cheeks brushing briefly. 

"You didn't do anything wrong. You're a good boy, Fox," Amos said quietly before leaning back just enough so that they could look each other in the eyes. 

Does that mean that he's okay? 

He still didn't seem quite right, especially his eyes. They looked... He leaned in a little closer, trying to use the miniscule light from the alarm clock on the nightstand beside them to help his night vision. 

"Your eyes are darker around the edges," he said, his own breath unknowingly ghosting against Amos' lips. 

Owen... I'm having trouble behaving. 

Fox blinked, confused by Amos' statement, until he suddenly found himself on his back against the blankets, his wrists pinned above his head. His heartbeat tripled in that fraction of time, making his chest rise and fall to match his panting breath. 

"A-Amos?" he whispered hesitantly. 

He'd seen people act in such a way while he'd been outside as a fox... but most of those times hadn't been positive experiences. He'd interrupted the majority of them to help the person that had been pinned. 

But now I'm that person. 

Amos blinked down at him. 

"You're that person?" 

Fox flexed his fingers slightly, but couldn't move his hands or arms much more than that. Amos easily outweighed him.

"I'm the person in the park outside that is being pinned down by another person." 

Amos was off of him in a blur, his body stumbling backward into a long, low dresser. He ended up sitting on top of it with his elbows on his knees and his hands covering his face. 

"Dear god, Fox. I... I would kill anyone who ever tried to do that to you. I-I didn't, I—" his words were silenced when Owen walked up to him, his fingers gently drawing Amos' hands away from his face so that he could straighten just enough to look hesitantly up at the man before him. 

Fox noticed tears running down Amos' face and quickly pushed himself up and to the edge of the bed. 

I thought something wrong again. 

He was suddenly unsure whether he really should have made a bond with Amos. He never seemed to say, or think, the right thing. When Owen leaned in and began whispering soothingly to the other man, Fox fidgeted, then quietly slid from the bed and hurried from the room. 

Worried, nervous, and very confused, Fox decided to forego dinner, even though the scent of cooked meat called to his growling stomach. Instead, he walked over to the front door and opened it, then silently closed it behind himself before letting his Fox take over his human body, making his fox-printed pajama pants pool around his paws. 

It was chilly out but he refused to let the cold biting at his nose deter him. He needed to go... somewhere, for a while. He wasn't sure where that somewhere was going to be, but he had four paws and enough nervous energy to keep him moving for a good while. 

By the time he got a few blocks away he could feel some static in the back of his mind. Someone was trying to connect to him through their bond, but he was too far. 

He slowed to a stop near a small convenience store and looked over his shoulder, back the way he had come. The sidewalk was dark, the streetlights flickering here and there. His heart began to ache. He didn't like the idea of sleeping outside anymore... Sitting down, he felt the chill from the concrete uncomfortably cool his paws and fur as snow began to drift downward, a few flakes already settling on his cold nose. 

I want to go home. Would they still be upset with me? 

He stood up hesitantly, then sat back down after flicking his ear when a particularly cold gust of wind hit the sensitive inner part. 

I want to curl back up in bed with Owen. I want Amos to forgive me for whatever I had said wrong. 

He stood back up and lifted a paw, but then put it back down before taking a few steps backward. 

I don't want to be in trouble, though...

Whining quietly, he spun in a circle while looking down at the dirty ground beneath him, then back up as he faced toward Owen's home. 

I want to go back. Even if I have to face a situation I don't understand. I can learn not to say bad things. I can be a good fox. 

He squared his shoulders and flicked his tail, then gave a little hop forward to start his run home. Except, before his front paws could even land back on the sidewalk, a dark burlap sack snatched him up. Fox tried to orient himself and scratch his way free, but his efforts were abruptly halted as the bag was slammed against the hard ground, knocking him unconscious instantly.