Kensuke and Rask Story (untitled)

Kensuke and Rask Story (untitled)

The sound of rustling backpacks and eagerly departing footfalls brought the lion back to consciousness with a soft groan. Sitting up, he slowly brought his face from between pages 374 and 375 of “Chemical Principles: 8th Edition” and back to earth. Bright fluorescent light wasted no time in assaulting his visage as he brushed his long bangs from blocking it, but the reason for his next groan did not reveal itself until his eyes had adjusted. The whiteboard spanning the entire width of the lecture hall had been mostly white last he remembered, but now was covered with a stream of mathematical expressions and disembodied comments relating to them. Chemistry: 1, Internal Clock: zilch. Gripping his headfur in frustration, the lion retreated to the safety of pages 374 and 375 with a thump.

The professor, a samoyed of the short and round persuasion, gave a sympathetic cluck in the direction of a sight all too familiar to him. However, being a practical man, he picked up his briefcase and trotted toward the door, making no attempt to interfere. Office hours had been invented for a reason.

The feline picked his head up and emitted a series of low, grumbly sounds as he repeatedly banged his head against the pages of the textbook. “Just... can’t... fuggin’... keep... my eyes... open!” His outburst was suddenly interrupted, however, by the sound of a voice and the feel of a paw on his shoulder. “Easy there, buddy—that can’t be good for the resale value.” He looked up and turned his head, following the paw on his shoulder to its source.

The paw’s owner looked to be a tall, powerfully built Siberian husky, wearing shorts, sandals, and a form-fitting t-shirt, in spite of the wintery weather. His expression seemed friendly and not mocking, so the lion decided to respond. “Feh... my sleeping schedule’s been off kilter for weeks now, so my notes are full of holes, and this subject isn’t my forte, anyway...” He sighed and flopped his head on the book again.

The husky comfortingly scritched the lion’s short shoulderfur with his claws, having had similar experiences himself. He paused for a moment, glanced at the time, and decided to be a good Samaritan. “Hey, do you have some free time now? We could go to Java’s and get you up to speed on this stuff.”

Taken aback by the unexpected offer, the lion looked up again and blinked. “Huh? You sure?” A warm smile, a nod, and a dismissive wave of the husky’s paw put him at ease. “I did pretty well in high school chem, and a lot of the stuff up ‘til now has just been review to me. Besides, I’ve got two hours before my next class. It’s no problem.”

The lion smiled broadly and stood up, putting his eyes at about the husky’s neck line. “That’d be awesome, er...” He searched his mind, realizing he didn’t know the other’s name. The husky piped up to fill in the gap, shifting his books to his left paw and extending his right. “Oh! Sorry, I’m Rask.” The lion smiled again and took the husky’s paw in his own, shaking it enthusiastically. “Kensuke. But call me Ken. Good to meet ya!” The husky smiled in return. “Sweet. Well, I’ve gotta hand something in to another prof first. Meet you there in ten minutes or so?” The lion nodded. The husky grinned back. “Okay! See ya then.” He turned and bounded for the door at something of a sprint, his long, floofy tail swishing behind him.

Kensuke remained still as he watched the dog’s retreating figure, still a little taken by surprise. After a moment, he remembered himself, gathered up his books, and headed for the university’s coffee shop, his mood a notch or two brighter than before.

~ ~ ~

The coffee shop was rather crowded, this being one of its prime hours of the morning, but Rask managed to spot the lion waiting at a small two-person table. The husky waved and started to walk over, but he hadn’t gotten very far before he felt an arm around his torso and a muzzle kiss him on the cheek. Recognizing the scent quickly, Rask purred and let a playful grin sweep across his face. “Hiya, Curt.” The one behind him, a slim, more darkly-furred husky, grinned and responded. “Hey, cutie.” The first husky laughed and gave the other a tag on the cheek with his broad, canine tongue. “What’cha up to?” Curt nodded toward the piping-hot cup in his paw. “Just gassing up before my next class. How about you?” Rask nodded. “I’m meeting someone to do a little chem tutoring.” He nodded toward the lion, who was watching the scene with interest. Curt followed the direction of Rask’s eyes and chuckled in a knowing manner, while giving the other husky’s abs a grope with his free paw. “Ooh, he’s cute. You sure that’s all you’re meeting him for?” Rask laughed, throwing his head forward a bit. “No, no… it’s not like that.” He turned to Curt and nibbled his neckfur for a moment, then gave him a muzzlenudge in the direction of the exit. “Get to class, huskyboi.” Curt laughed and removed his arm from Rask’s waist. “I’m goin’, I’m goin’…” He headed for the door as he said he would, turned and winked at Rask, then departed with a seductive flick of his tail.

Rask grinned in spite of himself, then remembered why he was here and padded over to the lion’s table, setting his cup, books, and himself down at it. Seeing Kensuke’s inquisitive expression, the husky blushed and chuckled. “That was Curt, a rather close friend of mine. He wrote the book on open shows of affection, and I must confess that it’s rubbed off on me more than a bit.” The lion smiled and nodded, remembering how the husky comfortingly scritched his shoulder without a second thought. His eyes widened in surprise as he caught sight of the cardboard cup the husky had set down, clearly the largest size the shop had available. “That’s a pretty serious order… you plan on sleeping tonight?” The husky chuckled and shook his head in the negative, realizing the misinterpretation. “Naw, it’s water. I’m not a big fan of caffeine. Anyhoo, where did chem stop making sense to you?” Kensuke flipped through his notes, and showed him. Rask then began to explain the basic concepts of the chapter, going into more depth where the lion seemed unclear.

The husky proved himself a fairly effective teacher, and before long, the lion felt a bit more reassured of his knowledge. Time, however, had passed, and Rask made an uncomfortable sound as a nearby wall clock brought this to his attention. “Erf. Ken, I’ve gotta run. I still haven’t gotten you quite up to date, though…are you free again after chem tomorrow?” The lion nodded. “Yeah, I tried to schedule my classes as close together as I could, since I commute and all, but I still have that hour break every day after chem.” The husky nodded back. “Okay, sounds good, then! Hey, it was nice meeting you.” He reached a paw across the table and shook hands with the lion. “Nice meeting you too…I can’t begin to thank you enough for doing this.” The husky smiled warmly and chuckled. “Awr, it’s nothing—don’t worry about it. See you tomorrow!” He scooped up his books, stood up, and padded briskly for the door, but not before turning and waving. Ken waved back, then sat there for a moment, still a bit taken by surprise by the whole episode. His thoughts eventually organized themselves, and he smiled inwardly as he got up to leave. “The kindness of strangers…”

~ ~ ~

The following day went as planned, and the meetings became a regular thing. Although Ken felt self-sufficient in the class after a week or two, by the wishes of both, they kept meeting. The two would meet a couple of times a week, usually after chemistry. Ken was invited to Rask’s dorm a few times, and quickly discovered that the husky played a mean game of Super Smash Brothers. Rask observed on more than one occasion that it was unfortunate that Ken couldn’t stay longer, but Ken always responded that they’d expect him to be home. Nonetheless, as the semester progressed, the two became close friends. However, as any student knows, semesters have a nasty tendency to end in…

“…Finals week. I feel like death.” The lion groaned loudly and stared at the tabletop, supporting his head by gripping his headfur with both paws. Rask reached across the table and gave Ken’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “Yeah, it’s gonna be rough on everyone, but don’t worry about it. You seem to be doing just fine in chemistry.” The lion sighed and nodded, still keeping his gaze fixated downward. “I know, but the prof has a bit of a reputation for giving hard-hitting finals. Even if I’m doing okay, the final’s going to be designed to trip people like me up.” The husky nodded, having heard rumors to the same effect. “Well, why don’t we put in an evening of hard studying? It’s kinda late, but your parents wouldn’t complain if I came over to your house, would they?” The lion brightened a bit at the suggestion, considered the matter, and agreed.

~ ~ ~

The long train ride and subsequent walk made Rask wonder out loud how his friend could tolerate undertaking it on a daily basis. Ken responded with a heavy sigh and resigned chuckle. “Oh, well, in my parents’ mind, I’m close enough that paying for room and board in the dorms would be a waste of money, but eh…” He waved a paw dismissively, unlocked the door to his house, and walked in. A call of “I’m home!” to whoever might be there brought no response, so the lion shrugged and led the husky up to his room.

The lion’s room seemed somewhat small, but was unmistakably well-kept. A comfortable-looking bed stood in one corner, carefully made up. Apart from this, the room was furnished only with a small desk and chair, and a chest of drawers, and seemed somewhat bare. The carpeted floor was clean of any laundry, books, or other articles, apart from a weight set in another corner, and this too was carefully arranged. The husky raised his eyebrows in surprise at the neatness, used to almost the polar opposite in his own room, but said nothing.

Ken stepped in ahead of him and plopped down on the bed, setting his books down beside him. He nodded toward the chair, and the husky sat down in it, giving a quick look around the room. “Nice room you’ve got.” The lion shrugged his shoulders dismissively. “Eh. I don’t have many guests, especially since starting college… that’s what it is to be a commuter. Would you believe you’re the only person I’ve gotten to know all semester?” The husky frowned sympathetically. “Awr, I’m sure that’s an exaggeration…” Ken gave his head an emphatic shake in the negative. “Nope. Not a one. There’s no time… I’m always studying and rushing to get home, and… gawd, I hate being a commuter… I’m just so… damn… sick of seeing these same four walls that I’ve been glaring at for my entire life.” He let out a growl of frustration and buried his face in his paws.

Rask made a sympathetic sound, hating to see anyone like this. Almost instinctively, he climbed up onto the bed next to the lion, and wrapped an arm around his back, gently snugging the feline against his side. Ken buried his muzzle into the husky’s shoulder, not seeming to mind at all. He sighed heavily and whimpered a bit. “It just… sucks.” The husky nodded sympathetically and gave the lion a gentle squeeze with his arm. Then, without even realizing what he was doing, he gave his friend an affectionate lick across the top of his muzzle. Ken looked up almost immediately with an expression of surprise and confusion on his face. “Rask…?” The husky realized his error and attempted to stammer out a flustered response that would explain the action, but he was interrupted by the feel of of a sandpapery tongue tracing across his cheek. Now it was Rask’s turn to be surprised. “Ken… are you…?” The lion nodded softly, and brought his body closer to the husky’s.

What followed next, neither party would have ever predicted. The husky turned to the lion and began rubbing his muzzle along the lion’s cheek as he felt the lion press himself up against the canine’s chest. The feline purred loud and long as he felt himself wrapped in the husky’s arms. The canine’s body felt so warm, strong, and comforting, and only intensified his desire to be close to it. The husky felt slightly uncomfortable to begin with, but, reassured by the feel of the lion snuggling into his chest, he reached down and delicately removed the t-shirt he was wearing. Ken let out a low rrrowl as he experienced the unfamiliar feeling of the husky’s chestfur. Feline instinct took him as he began to rub his ears and muzzle against the soft, thick mass of fur and stroke a paw over the curves of the canine’s powerful chest. Rask smiled down at his friend, and bent his muzzle down to nibble and lick gently at the fur between the feline’s ears as he held him close.

Neither knew what this all meant, but both were clearly enjoying it. Ken stayed still for a few minutes, just being held close by the husky, until something seemed to click in his head. He suddenly looked up at Rask and backed away. “I… Rask, sorry.” The husky smiled gently and put a paw on the lion’s thigh. “For what? I didn’t mind at all.” Ken cracked an uneasy smile, hearing this. “I know… but I don’t want you to think that I’m… that I… y’know… that I swing that way. I mean…” Rask raised a paw and interrupted. “No, no, it’s not that. I just didn’t like seeing you so down… and this is kinda how I deal with that.” Ken smiled broadly on hearing this, and threw himself back toward the husky, throwing both arms around him and hugging tightly. “Well, it certainly works…” Rask smiled just as widely and hugged back. “I’m glad I didn’t freak you out… but, um… shouldn’t we get some studying done?” Ken laughed and nodded in the affirmative, releasing the hug. “Yeah, probably… but… would you mind keeping your shirt off?”

~ ~ ~

( end )

~ ~ ~

Well, there you have it… this is my first attempt at ever writing a story. I’m not overly thrilled with the ending, but for a first attempt, I think I did okay. Hope you guys enjoy it, and please leave constructive comments—it’s the only way I’ll learn. Look for the rest of the story surrounding this in Ken’s upcoming comic. I know I will. ^^

Cheers,
~Rask