Sing - Ash and Porsha (Novel)

Porsha could still remember the conversation she had with Ash just a month ago on the phone, feeling extremely nervous as she twirled on the pink cord. Her usual fluffy hair was in disarray as she sat cross legged on the floor, wondering if the porcupine would say yes. “Don’t pick up. Don’t pick up.” She repeated, only to groan internally when she did.

“Ash speaking!” The other woman said, sounding like she was in a good mood.

“Ash! Hey, it’s me, Porsha. Remember?” Porsha asked, trying to sound casual.

She could practically see Ash roll her eyes over the phone. “Yes Porsha, I obviously remember who you are.” When Porsha didn’t respond, Ash asked, “what’s up?” 

“Well… you know I don’t have a place in Calatonia….” she started, hoping Ash would fill in the blanks. “And I’m going to be moving there to join the group any day now.” 

“Oh, do you need help looking for an apartment?” Ash asked, “I heard there’s one nearby I can get the number of… one second, let me find it.” Porsha could hear the sound of rustling on the other end.

“No, no.” She bit her lip. “Well, I know you were living with your boyfriend, and he doesn’t live there anymore.”

Ash sounded slightly colder as she said, “yes?”

“So there’s a spare bedroom, right?” Porsha asked, hoping this would finally help Ash understand. 

“Oh, you want to move in with me?” 

“Would that be okay?” Porsha asked, wondering if she was pushing too much. Ash didn’t seem too upset about the idea. 

There was dead silence from the other end for a few seconds, and Porsha considered hanging up and never talking to Ash again, but the porcupine said, “you know what? Sure! That sounds like a great idea.”

“Really?!” Porsha couldn’t help but sound excited. She’d never had a bestie before, and she thought it would be amazing to be able to live with someone she adored, like Ash. “We’ll be the greatest of roomies!” She squealed. 

Ash had rolled her eyes again. “Sure, whatever you say Porsha.” 

They had discussed the process extensively after that, and today, Porsha stood at the bottom of the apartment building, looking up at the worn brick exterior, wondering what grand adventures were about to unfold. 

She had barely brought any luggages with her, which would be abnormal from an outside perspective since she was a known spoiled brat, but with this move, Porsha had decided to separate from her abusive father once and for all, and make a name for herself outside of his domain. It all began with her lack of boxes, as she only brought the essentials. She would use the pay she received from the theater to take care of herself. It wouldn’t be as lavish as her previous life, but it was what she needed to heal herself, and part of the reason why she had called Ash, and not anyone else. Ash’s life and ability to care for herself was exactly what she needed at the moment. 

She hauled the pieces up, taking slow steps as she climbed each floor, eventually reaching the fourth. She knocked on the door, only to find that it was open. “Ash?” she asked tentatively, “is this the right place?” 

She found Ash holding a cigarette opposite of the front entrance, leaning against the rails with the windows wide open. She wore a leather jacket and jean shorts, with her spikes immaculate and clean. This was quite a contrast to Porsha’s current outfit, a pink one-piece with a large logo on the front. Porsha wore white flats to go along with the outfit, knowing she would have to do plenty of walking that day.  

Ash flicked the end and dropped it on a nearby glass table before looking up at Porsha, sporting a genuinely wide grin as she spotted her. 

“Of course it’s the right place! Did you think I sent you a fake address?” She scoffed then studied what Porsha was carrying. “Do you need help carrying the rest of your stuff?”

Porsha blushed and said, “actually, this is everything.” 

Ash raised a single eyebrow. “Who are you and what have you done with Porsha?” 

“Hey, don’t say that!” Porsha exclaimed, “I’m trying hard to escape my father’s shadow, and I figured bringing all the stuff he spoiled me with wouldn’t be a good way to start.” 

Ash whistled. “Wow, you’re really growing up.”

It was Porsha’s turn to roll her eyes this time. “You know I’m just a tiny bit younger than you, right?”

Ash laughed. “Yeah, but I’m so much wiser!” 

“Uh-huh.”

“Do you need to borrow any of my clothes, then?” Ash noted, though began skimming the wolf’s long legs, realizing there was no way anything of hers would fit. She’d never thought of it before, but she would’ve loved a long pair like that on herself. She shook her head and said, “no, nothing of mine would fit. Forget I said anything.”

Porsha smiled gently, looking thankful. “That was so nice of you to offer, you’re honestly a great friend.” 

Ash blushed. “Oh, no need to say it like that. Anyone would’ve asked.” 

“I think I should be fine for now, anyways. I’ll get paid soon, then I can shop for more!” Porsha grinned. Ash wondered if the other women even knew how expensive things were, or if she had ever spent a cent of her own money before. She would’ve never admitted it to her, but Ash was charging her less than half of what her rent should’ve been, knowing she was a friend and feeling bad for her situation at home. She wasn’t quite sure what Porsha’s dad was like, but after the incident last time, she was sure it wasn’t good. 

“Well, let me show you your room.” she said. Porsha nodded and closed the door behind her, already looking in awe of the space. 

Ash hadn’t had many people over after what had happened with Lance. He had taken all of their mutual friends away, and she was left with the new friends she had made at the theater. She felt a little awkward showing Porsha around, with the wolf exclaiming at every little thing like she had never seen them before. 

Ash was able to afford a pretty decent apartment with her savings, especially since Lance wasn’t eating it all up with his expensive habits. Now, she had a large living room with a huge TV and plush carpet, a master bedroom covered in posters of her favorite bands, and a second bedroom for ‘guests’, which had been empty until the week she had received the call from Porsha. She had spent the next week decorating the room, though tried her hardest to make it appear like a generic guest room. She didn’t want Porsha to know she had done it just for her. 

It was now filled with a single bed with plush bedding, a large teal carpet down the center, and a matching wardrobe and makeup table with a large mirror placed on top. It wasn’t anything super fancy, she wasn’t wealthy after all, but it was what she could afford, and she hoped Porsha liked it. She was nervous, knowing that she was used to such a fancy life.

“Is this okay?” She asked nervously, though tried not to sound it.

“I… I love it!” Porsha squealed. “It’s so bare bones, enough for me to go crazy decorating it! My dad was in charge of everything at home, and wouldn’t even let me decorate my own room. Now I can do whatever I want to make it sparkle!” 

“Sparkle?” Ash said, raising her eyebrows. She frowned as she thought about it and said, “no glitter!”

Porsha gaped at her. “No… glitter??” 

“This is a punk rock household, and it will remain so!” She stomped her right foot dramatically. 

“Okay, okay.” Porsha laughed, then surprised Ash out of nowhere by rushing into her and giving her a big hug, squeezing her body tightly as she did. “Thank you for everything.” 

Ash reached up to pat Porsha’s head awkwardly, saying, “no worries, Porsha.” Though she could feel her heart warm for the first time in a very long time. 

—---

After the initial move in, the two women were inseparable. At first, Ash tried to respect Porsha’s privacy by keeping in her own room, but eventually got called by the wolf so often to join her in the living room that they spent almost all evening or morning there whenever they weren’t at work. They walked to the theater together every day, and walked back together gossiping about the events of the day. 

Both had longed for company after their broken pasts, and had found companionship with each other, something that they had desperately needed. Ash woke up seeing Porsha, and fell asleep right after seeing her. They discovered a joint fascination in true crime shows, which they both watched in rapt silence as they passed the popcorn bowl back and forth over the couch, with one of them getting angry anytime the other ate too much from it. 

It was an evening like this, right after a show, when the two women walked up the four flights of stairs, both exhausted from a grand performance. “We have to finish it though!” Porsha was insisting. 

Ash sighed. “You can’t wait until tomorrow!?” She would never admit it, but she was becoming quite a sucker for following Porsha’s every whim. She just couldn’t say no to the wolf! 

“Pleaseeee?” Porsha said, making a pouty face with her lower lip and wobbling it. 

“You know I can’t say no to your wobbly lip!” Ash said, groaning as they finally reached their floor. She unlocked the door and looked back at the wolf, who was still making the same face. 

“Don’t you want to know who killed Sasha? I’m sure it was the mailman!” Posha exclaimed. She was feeling just as exhausted as Ash, but she felt the need to spend more time with the porcupine, at least for one more hour. 

“Okay, okay. Let’s watch the last episode tonight. But if I fall asleep it’s not my fault!” Ash huffed. 

Porsha let out a melodic laugh. “You fall asleep all the time anyways!” They quickly entered their own rooms to put on their pajamas, and scooted onto their usual positions on the couch. 

“Let me grab a smoke, first, then you can press play.” Ash said, already pulling out a cigarette. 

Porsha watched her move towards the balcony, looking slightly quizzical, “how does that taste? The cigarette?” 

Ash shrugged. “Not very good, but I like how it feels.” 

“My dad would go crazy if he ever saw me smoke a cigarette or drink any alcohol.” Porsha said, mostly to herself. 

Ash felt a boiling in her stomach as she said, “screw him. He doesn’t get to dictate your life anymore. You’re a grown woman and you’re making a living for yourself. You can do whatever the heck you want!” 

Porsha laughed quietly. “I just always feel like he’s judging me, even though I haven’t seen him in months.” She sighed. “Scratch that, I still see him on the news all the time. Seems like he’s already forgotten about his daughter.” 

Ash rolled her eyes. “Who cares what he thinks anyways? Come, join me. I’ll teach you how to do it.” Porsha looked reluctant at first, but stood up again. Once again, Ash looked down at the woman’s smooth legs, now completely exposed from her short pajama bottoms. She wondered what it would be like to touch the soft fur. She shook herself out of it, she might be bi, but she had no idea if Porsha was even attracted to men, let alone women! She had never expressed any sexual or emotional attraction to anyone, and had always desired friendship above all else. Ash couldn’t help it though, she found herself repeatedly thinking about Porsha on a daily basis, and it was getting worse everyday. She didn’t know how long she could stop herself from revealing her thoughts to the wolf. She had been attracted to other women many times before, but this was her first time ever feeling an emotional connection to one. 

Porsha flopped her paw out, and Ash placed a cigarette in her paw. Porsha took it and placed it in her mouth, letting Ash light it. They were standing so close to each other Ash had to try to maintain her breathing, not wanting to give her nervousness away. “Suck in.” She said, feeling quite shaky. 

Porsha did so, her eyes widening before she dropped the cigarette on the ground, coughing loudly as she did so. Ash, bewildered, began patting the woman on the back as she continued coughing while bent over the balcony. “Oh gosh, I didn’t mean to do this to you! I’m so sorry!” 

Porsha shook her head with tears in her eyes, but let out a weak smile. “It’s okay! That was fun!” She swallowed as she composed herself. “Actually, can we try again? I just wasn’t ready for how that felt inside of my lungs. Wow, that was warm.”

“Are you sure you want to try again?” Ash said, looking incredibly concerned. 

Porsha nodded, and picked up the cigarette from the ground. “Okay, light it up!” She sucked in once more, and only released a tiny cough this time. 

“Can you bend down?” Ash asked, and Porsha complied, looking a bit confused. Ash wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled gently. “All better.” Porsha blushed furiously, but looked away as she leaned back again. She moved to the edge, grabbing a handle as she looked at the streets below. 

“What are you thinking?” Ash wondered. It was rare to see the wolf so deep in her own thoughts, and after so many months of being so close, Ash could always tell when something was on Porsha’s mind. 

“Just… how far I’ve already gotten towards being my own person.” She breathed in another puff. “I don’t even think my dad would recognize me now, and it’s all thanks to you.”

“All thanks to me?” Ash frowned, and stood next to the wolf, wishing she was taller so she could see her face properly. There was always so much being conveyed in the wolf’s large eyes, and it felt unfair that she was too short to ever see it properly, unless they were on the couch together. 

“You’ve encouraged me to become someone better.” Porsha explained. “I never would’ve been able to do that on my own.”

Ash turned to her. “First off, you’re already perfect just the way you are. You don’t need to be better, you just have to stop making decisions based on his judgment. Second, I wasn’t that one to make you the person you are right now, you are. You’ve done all of this on your own with your own abilities. I wasn’t even involved when you insisted on joining us! Now look at you, with your own act at a great theater.” 

“I never would’ve been able to stay here if you didn’t charge me half the rent and buy all of my furniture for me!” Porsha responded, swinging her body around to look directly at Ash.

Ash looked sheepish as she said, “wait, you know about that?” She had been so careful to try to hide it from Porsha, even taking the time to tell the other members of the theater group not to tell Porsha about the low rent. 

“I’m not stupid!” Porsha exclaimed. “It’s obvious all the stuff you’ve done to help!” In truth, Porsha had no idea until she had spoken to a neighbor, who had informed her about how much she was charging her own tenant. Then, the other day, she was asked by Buster how she had liked the new furniture, since he had helped Ash pick it out for her. She was so bewildered she had changed the topic, wondering why Ash had done so much for someone like her. It was on her mind for a couple of weeks, and she had never been able to find the opportunity to properly thank her. 

“Well, you would’ve been able to get here either way, and we both know it.” Ash said, wanting to stop talking about this. “Come, let’s finish the episode. It’s already nearly daylight.” 

Posha watched Ash’s figure as she stepped back into the apartment, wondering for the first time why her heart was beating so quickly. 

—-----

It was a month later when the women exited their favorite ice cream store, both holding chocolate chip mint ice cream in their paws. “I knew I could convince you that this is the best flavor!” Porsha said, grinning from ear to ear. 

Ash rolled her eyes, but didn’t say anything. Instead, she asked, “there’s someone new working there today, isn’t there?”

Porsha thought about it, and nodded. “I think so. The fox, right?” She wasn’t the type to really notice other people. Porsha was always in her own world, and now Ash was one of the only things she noticed. 

“She’s really pretty. I like her poofy tail.” Ash commented. Porsha stopped walking, feeling a million conflicting emotions at once. She didn’t like Ash talking about someone else like that, and she had never heard her compliment someone’s appearance before. She also didn’t like how that exposed her emotions, and how vulnerable Ash made her feel. She thought of all the times her image obsessed, homophobic father had turned the television off when he saw a gay broadcaster on screen, or how he had fired their maid when he found out she was married to a woman. It made her feel queasy inside, and not in a good way. 

“Did you just call a girl pretty?” She said, and regretted it as soon as it came out. It was bitter, and not what she had meant at all. She knew Ash was going to take it the wrong way. 

Ash paused as well. “Yeah, what’s wrong with that?” She was already beginning to look pissed off. 

Porsha shrugged, trying to reduce the tension. “I just… didn’t think you looked at women like that.” 

Ash still refused to walk as she said, “yeah, Porsha. I’m bisexual. I like both women and men.” Ash wanted to turn her heel and walk away that very instant. This was not how she wanted this conversation to go, and she had been hoping the last few weeks Porscha would be able to figure it out without Ash having to tell her. 

“Bisexual?” Porsha looked incredibly confused. “I didn’t even know that was a thing.”

“That’s because you’ve been forced into living in a little bubble your whole life!” Ash said. “There’s a lot of things you still don’t know!” Like how I feel about you.

“So you’re calling me dumb now? For something that wasn’t even my fault?” Porsha scoffed, so angry that she threw her ice cream in the nearby trash can. 

“I’m not calling you dumb, I’m saying it was something forced upon you!” Ash replied.

“I’m not saying being bisexual is a bad thing… I just didn’t know it was possible.” Porsha retreated. 

Ash couldn’t help it. She felt berated and judged, like she was being pushed in a corner, and realizing that the person she knew wasn’t quite what she had imagined this whole time. Porsha wasn’t going to be anything beyond her friend, and right now, she really didn’t feel like one. “Well, maybe you should’ve considered it.” 

Tears began welling in Porsha’s eyes. “My dad… he’s always made fun of people who weren’t straight… he never let me learn about it.” 

“I thought you said you were beyond that now. That you were your own person and that you were capable of learning how to be yourself without him.” Ash said, and decided she didn’t want her ice cream anymore either. 

“That doesn’t mean it’s easy to wash away so many years of conditioning!” She sobbed. 

“Well, let me know when you figure it out.” Ash replied. She knew she was being harsh, but everything was more painful coming from Porsha now that she had developed feelings for her. Every statement she made was scrutinized ten fold, and Ash needed some time to process all of this information. She had not intended any of this to unfold this way. “I’m going to take a walk. Please don’t follow me.” 

She couldn’t bear to look back at Porsha’s hurt expression as she walked off, leaving the wolf behind on the streets, hoping she had learned the way back home on her own.

—-----------

She had gone home that night after Porsha’s usual bedtime, hoping to avoid any encounter with the wolf. Porsha seemed to be in a similar mindset, as the lights in her room were on, but the door was shut tight. Ash hadn’t slept a wink that night, tossing and turning as she flip flopped between who was really at fault in this. 

The next day, they walked to work on their own, with Ash waiting for Porsha to leave before she left by herself. She had done it many times before on her own, but it was horrible this time, and she had to stop a few times, wondering if she should just walk back home and call in sick. She didn’t want to have to face Porsha at work and pretend everything was okay. 

She felt even more miserable after seeing Porsha’s expression during their morning meeting. The woman had red sunken eyes, like she had cried for eight hours straight, and her usual silky fur was matted against her body. It was so similar to how she had looked after being berated by her dad that Ash wondered for the hundredth time if she was a bit too harsh on her. 

Everyone seemed immediately aware that something was wrong, though no one brought it up all morning. Ash flunked her practice performance, throwing her mic down halfway through singing because she just couldn’t do it anymore. She spent the rest of the afternoon helping out with decorating the stage, because she just couldn’t get herself to sing. 

Porsha’s normal happy spirit was extinguished, and she sulked around the place like a ghost, ignoring most people as she wandered about, not even bothering to practice for her own performance. 

Buster repeatedly asked them what was wrong, his bowtie crooked as he gave them weak grins, trying to cheer them up. Neither women said a word, though, not feeling close enough with him to explain such personal problems.

It was when Rosita approached Porsha at the dressing rooms that made her finally break, releasing a waterfall of tears again as Rosita handed her a candy from her purse. “That’s my favorite!” Porsha sobbed, trying to open the wrapper with blurry vision. 

“I know, my dear. My kids love them, too” She patted Porsha on the back. “Now, tell me why the two of you are arguing.” She sat next to Porsha on the couch, trying to look as motherly as possible. 

“How did you know?” Porsha asked, popping the candy in her mouth.

“Well, the two of you have been thick as thieves since you moved here! And now you haven’t spoken to each other all day, with puffy eyes like these? There’s clearly something wrong.” She handed Porsha a clearly well loved handkerchief. 

Posha blew hard against it, smiling her thanks. “I think I’ve ruined my friendship with her.” She started.

“Oh?”

“I was confused about the concept of bisexuality, because my dad never let us talk about it, and it seemed to push her away.” She sighed and swayed her legs. “Now I don’t know how to fix it.” 

“Are you interested in hearing my perspective as a mother?” Rosita asked, already looking like she knew exactly how to fix this. Porsha nodded immediately. “I think… you may have pushed her away because you care about her in more ways than one.” 

“What do you mean?” Porsha asked, redness starting to creep up her face. 

“I think you know exactly what I mean. And if any of my piglets come up to me one day and tell me they may like someone of the same gender, I would support them until the day I die, and karate chop anyone that tries to attack them.” She smiled and put her hand on Porsha’s leg. “There is nothing wrong with loving who you want to love, and people who find the time to judge another for doing so are not worth your time.”

Porsha burst once more, her tears coming out so fast she could barely contain it. The noises of her crying echoed through the room, and it took her a while to finally settle down, with Rosita watching her every step of the way. “I just… I’ve waited my whole life for someone to tell me that it’s okay.” She could barely get her words out, making loud hiccing noises the whole time.

Rosita placed her fingers on her cheek, the warmth of it like the embrace that Porsha needed. “It’s okay, Porsha. It’s okay.”

—---

“Are you listening to a word I’m saying?” Clay Calloway asked mid-chew, staring at the empty-looking Ash as she stared down at her own lunch. 

She sighed dramatically and looked up at him. “No. No, I’m really not, Clay.” She scooted her chair back. “I know we planned to have lunch together today, but I just can’t do this today.”

“I know something’s wrong. Just spill it.” He dropped his fork, glaring at her as he willed her to speak. 

“I really like someone, and I’ve now pushed them away, and there’s nothing I can do to fix it!” She growled, slamming her fist on the table as she did.

He absorbed the information, and nodded, wiping his mouth with a napkin as he did. “Listen, you’ve helped me get out of a tough situation before, and I’m always here to repay the favor. I’ve learned from being with Ruby all these years that communication is the most important part of being in a relationship - any relationship. If you don’t talk, they can’t understand you. It took me a while to learn how important it was, and I wish I had known sooner. I’m learning it all over again now, being with the crew and making friends again.”

“You think I should go and talk to her?” Ash asked, already knowing Clay knew exactly who she was referring to. 

“I’m wondering why you’re not talking to her right now.” Clay said matter-of-factly, and picked up his fork again. 

Ash grinned for the first time that day, and stood up, her quills already looking more perky. She rushed to the changerooms, knowing exactly where Porsha was, and was surprised to find Rosita exiting at the same time. “Oh, exactly who I’ve been asked to find!” Rosita said with her usual bright demeanor. “There’s someone in there that’s looking for you.” She whispered conspiratorially before walking off. 

Ash walked slowly into the room, seeing Porsha sitting on the corner couch, looking even worse than that morning. “Hey.” She said, scratching the quills on her back awkwardly. “I heard you wanted to talk?”

Porsha nodded, “wow, she found you so quickly.”

“Actually, I was already standing at the door. I wanted to talk to you, too.” She admitted. “Can I sit down?” 

Porsha scooted over, letting her sit. 

“What did you want to talk about?” They said at the same time, both stopping at once.

“You first.” Ash said, feeling more awkward than she’d ever felt before. 

“I… I’m so sorry for sounding like I was judging you.” Porsha explained. “I’ve already learned so much since then, and I can’t believe I’ve been so blind to it all.” 

“I shouldn’t have gotten mad at you for it in the first place. It’ll take longer than just a few months to remove years of abuse…”

“It’s still inexcusable, though.” Porsha insisted. Ash wrapped her paws around Porsha’s arm, needing to feel the wolf’s warmth against her. She was pleased when Porsha didn’t push her away. 

“I think I had a lot of expectations and build up in my head, and when you didn’t react the way I wanted, I just snapped.” She admitted. “I shouldn’t have put all of the blame on you.” 

Porsha laid her head on top of Ash’s head, breathing out a loud sigh of contentment. “I’m so glad we’re talking again. This has been the absolute worst.”

“It hasn’t even been twenty four hours!” Ash laughed, unable to help herself. 

“I know but… we’ve been spending all day and all night together recently, I feel so lost when you’re not around.” 

Ash nodded, understanding exactly what she meant. “It’s so good to hear you feeling the same. I thought I was going crazy.” 

“Wow, I don’t know what I would’ve done if Rosita wasn’t around to guide me.” Porsha giggled softly, her nose still sounding congested from all the crying. “I should really thank her for telling me exactly what I needed to hear.” 

“Hah. Clay was the one who smacked my ass and told me to go talk to you!” Ash laughed. “I’m glad we’ve made such great friends here.”

“Agreed.” Porsha replied. Though she knew there were still many unspoken words, all she cared for at this moment was being next to Ash again, and was glad they were able to get past their first big fight. The fight with her father was nothing compared to how this fight had felt, and she knew she would have to one day tell Ash how she really felt about her. 

Instead of doing so, though, she pulled the porcupine even closer, feeling her body’s warmth as they settled on the couch, neither of them wanting to move an inch. 

PART 2

Porsha propped her legs up high on the wall, humming as she painted her nails. Yes, this looked amazing. She turned her head towards the door, screaming, “Ash! Ash! Come here!”

She heard Ash grumble to herself, jump off the couch, and walk over to her, popping her head in. “Yes?” 

“Do you think this color looks pretty on me?” She extended her fingers out, showing off the bright blue.

Ash rolled her eyes, “you made me come all the way over for that?”

“C’mon! It’s super important. We’re both celebrities now, you know? We have to make sure we’re pretty for our fans!” Her eyes sparkled as she dropped her legs and jumped off of the bed, pushing her fingers close to Ash’s face. “Well?”

Ash examined it closely, clearly wanting to make Porsha happy. “I like the… uh… sparkles.” 

“I know right?! They’re my favorite part! I’m so glad you understand.” She gave Ash a big squeeze, though felt a slight prick against her arm and gasped. She immediately pulled her arm away, seeing the single porcupine quill embedded in it. “Oops, I always forget about that.” 

Ash seemed distraught. “Are you okay?! I’m so sorry. I hate doing that to people.” She pulled the porcupine quill out, making Porsha wince again. 

“Oh, no. It’s okay Ash. I was the one who hugged you!” Porsha said shyly. Ash had always been worried about this when she imagined a relationship with Porsha, though all of that was still up in the air. All of her previous relationships, although few, have been with other porcupines, and they were all aware of what to touch and not touch to not get pricked. Porsha, on the other hand, was wild and unpredictable, and could run straight first into her quills if she wasn’t being careful. 

Ash shook herself out of her thoughts and said, “you’re worried about your appearance but you haven’t really bought any clothes for yourself since you’ve moved here. Are you sure you don’t want to go shopping?”

Porsha looked a little embarrassed as she said, “I didn’t think I could afford any of it. I walked by some of my usual stores the other day, checked the prices for the first time, and bolted right out!”

Ash chuckled, she absolutely loved Porsha’s naivety, “you checked a price tag for the first time?” 

“Well, I’ve always just swiped the card and ignored the number.” Porsha grinned. 

“Spoiled,” Ash rolled her eyes, “I have an idea, though. Why don’t I show you where I shop, it’s definitely cheaper than the stores you would’ve shopped at before.”

Porsha’s eyes widened, “Ash is finally going to show me her secret world!” she exclaimed and spun around. 

Ash sighed, leaning against Posha’s bedroom door, “it’s not a secret world… it’s just a thrift store.” 

“A thrift store? What does that mean?” Porsha asked, her ears perking up.

Ash walked out of the room, grabbing her purse as she said, “c’mon. Let’s go. I’ll explain on the way there.” Porsha ran after her, blowing on her fingernails as she grabbed her own purse. 

“So people just give away clothes they don’t want anymore?” Porsha asked. “I usually just throw my old ones out! Actually… I don’t even wear something a second time generally. Well, that was until I moved to your place with only five outfits.” 

“Yes. I’m getting quite tired of those.” Ash joked. They walked down an alleyway, and she spotted her favorite store right around the corner. The swinging metallic sign said, ‘Rewind’, and the store window was too small for those who didn’t know about the place to notice. She had heard about it from one of her rock friends, and had basically only shopped there ever since. It was always fun to see what was available, since the selection changed almost every week. “A lot of thrift stores are for charities, which is why people donate. But this one the owner just goes around and finds stuff to resell. I absolutely love her style.” 

She pushed the door open, making it emit a low chime. The inside of the store was crowded, with stacks of clothes and accessories piled up everywhere and a small changing room area in the back. A beaver was currently standing at the cashier, watching something on her phone. She glanced up and immediately let out a wide smile, looking at Ash. “Hey, Ash! We’ve missed you!” 

Ash grinned back, “sorry. I got a new clueless roommate and I’ve been trying to show her around.” She hip bumped Porsha, who looked a little shy again, feeling completely out of her element. 

“Ooooh I feel like I’ve seen her before!” The beaver said, taping her paw against her face, “you’re Porsha, right? Your father’s super rich!” She was wearing a large pink bow on the top of her head, and had a hoodie on and black jeans with a fancy floral scarf wrapped around her fur. The combination of styles didn’t seem like it would work, but in Porsha’s mind, it was absolutely perfect. The beaver clearly knew what she was doing. 

Porsha gave her a light grimace, “yeah. But I’m not really on good terms with him right now. Which is why we’re here today. I’m learning how to thrift shop!”

The beaver winked, “well I’m Katie, and I’d be pleased to show you around! Though I’m sure Ash knows the place even better than I do.”

Ash laughed. “Maybe…” 

Katie let Ash and Porsha go, telling them she would be able to assist them if they had any questions. Ash began showing Porsha around, showing off the different sections of the store. Porsha became more and more overwhelmed, not knowing where to start. 

“Everything’s different from the next!” She cried out, flipping through the section containing cozy sweaters.

“That’s the point, Porsha. You’re supposed to find the hidden gem among all of this stuff.” Ash explained patiently. 

“Are all of your clothes from places like this?” Porsha asked, examining Ash’s favorite black leather jacket. 

“This one was a gift,” Ash said, “but most of it - yeah!” 

“A gift? From who?” Porsha asked, cocking her head curiously.

“My mom - she was always really supportive of my career as a rock star.” Ash looked reminiscent, and Porsha realized she probably shouldn’t prod any further, especially since Ash described her mother with past tense. It might’ve been a good conversation to have another time, perhaps with some hot chocolate. 

Porsha didn’t want to complain to Ash, but she couldn’t imagine wearing clothes that someone else had already owned and loved. It was just… icky, wasn’t it? She began flicking through, trying to figure out a way to look interested without disappointing Ash, but suddenly came across a cute black dress. She pulled it out, flipping it between her paws. She looked at Ash, “look how cute!”

Ash examined it, then nodded, “actually. I never wear dresses, but I agree. It’ll look great on you!” 

Porsha ran to the changing room with it clutched against her chest. Ash waited outside for a few minutes, tapping her foot against the ground, “everything okay in there?”

“I don’t think it’s going to fit!” Porsha exclaimed from inside, her voice slightly muffled.

“Why don’t you come out and show me?” Ash asked. 

“No, no!” Porsha said, and the dress suddenly came flying out from the top of the curtain dividing them. Porsha dramatically opened it, staring at Ash. “Wait, I know! You try it. I bet it’s your size!” 

Ash shook her head, “oh no no. Buster made me put on a dress, and I hated it. I don’t think I can do it again.”

“Oh, Ash! Please, please, please, please!!” Porsha bounced up and down on her heels, giving Ash her greatest puppy-dog eyes. 

Ash sighed. How could she say no to that? Especially from someone she had a huge crush on! She grabbed the dress, grumbled under her breath, and slammed the curtain shut. Porsha waited outside eagerly, asking Ash multiple times if she was done. Ash shyly opened the curtain up a few seconds later, looking at anywhere except for Porsha and her reflection in the mirror. 

“Oh my goddess! You’ve never looked so awesome!” Porsha exclaimed, grabbed Ash’s paw, and spun her around. Ash wanted to hide in a corner and never come out - this was just so embarrassing. 

She looked up at Porsha, still refusing to look at her reflection, “you really think I look good?! In a dress?!” 

“You shouldn’t force yourself into a certain kind of style, Ash! I could tell you loved it as soon as I pulled it out of the rack.” She pushed Ash to the mirror, forcing her to look at her reflection. Ash swirled from side to side, looking at herself. The dress fell down to her knee, and contained moon and star patterns swirling throughout. It looked perfect for one of her slower songs… and she couldn’t help but imagine herself wearing it on stage. 

“Well?” Porsha asked, standing behind her with non-containable glee.

“I… it’s nice.” Ash admitted, seeing her cheeks light up in her reflection.

“You need to compliment yourself more.” Porsha said, brushing her paw against the quills on the top of Ash’s head. 

Ash’s blush turned bright red. She didn’t think she could handle it… she felt like she was going to explode. “I…” She gulped, “let’s go find something for you!” She ran back into the changing room, changed back into her outfit, and held onto the dress, knowing she would have to buy it now.

They spent the next thirty minutes picking out random pieces of clothing for Porsha, with Porsha becoming more and more into the process with every pick. She couldn’t believe the amount of options the small store had, and the amount of cute stuff she could get with such low prices! Buster wasn’t paying them a huge amount of money, and she had to pay for everything herself, but now it seemed like she would be able to go back to her previous habit of retail therapy. She had been stopping herself for a while now, so it was glad to know she would be able to splurge from time to time without emptying her bank account. 

She spent forever in the dressing room, taking her time to put on different pieces of clothing that would compliment each other perfectly. Ash, surprisingly, wanted to see every single outfit, and Porsha was flattered, and honestly having the time of her life. She hadn’t ever, in a million years, had this much fun, and all they were doing was thrift shopping together! 

“I could pull this off… yeah!” She said, swirling around in front of the mirror. She was now wearing an outfit Ash had picked out, which was so out of her usual comfort zone, but looked great on her. The wiggled her fingers through the ripped jeans, giggling at Ash as she did so.

“Don’t ruin it before you buy it!” Ash laughed. She checked her watch, “we’ve been here for hours! We should go check out before they close.” 

The two girls grabbed their items, with Porsha having a huge pile in her paws, so high that it was blocking her view. Ash, on the other hand, only had the black dress Porsha had picked out for her, and knew she would be treasuring it. 

Ash awkwardly looked at Porsha, pulling her wallet out, “let me get it this time. I’m the one to introduce you to this place.”

Porsha looked absolutely flabbergasted, “Ash! You’ve been an absolute angel letting me move in. You’re not allowed to pay for everything I purchase, that’s just not fair.” 

Ash wasn’t used to people not taking advantage of her if she offered, especially with Lance as her most recent ex, and felt a jolt of shock, realizing she probably shouldn’t have done so in the first place. “Sorry… I just…”

“It’s okay, Ash. I know you’re just trying to be nice. But I’m trying to learn how to be my own superwoman, and I can’t have you doing everything for me!” Katie was listening through the whole encounter, looking between the two of them with a sly grin.

“You two are dating right? Please tell me you’re dating.” Her tail swished back and forth behind the counter. 

The two women looked flustered at the same time. “We’re not…”

“No, no!” Porsha finished. They glanced at each other, then both put their items on the counter.

“Oops! Must’ve hit a sore spot there. Here, let me check you out.” Porsha couldn’t believe how little she had to pay with the amount of items she bought. She would have to check out other thrift stores, and force Ash to come with her! She didn’t think she would ever be able to shop again without her, it was just so much fun getting a second opinion, and Ash wasn’t the type to sugar coat anything, which was enlightening. 

They walked out with Porsha carrying handfuls of bags, still beaming from the experience. 

—------------

A few days later in the studio, Ash sat at the ledge, watching Johnny and Nooshy dance. She had always been so jealous of their relationship, seeing how they respected each other but still had so much laughter and fun when they were together. She couldn’t help but compare it to how she was with Lance, and how it could never compare to something like that. 

She couldn’t believe she was still so broken about it. Yes, she was having a great time with Porsha - but they’d never defined anything, and she couldn’t just assume they were more than friends without actually having ‘the talk’, which she was too shy to ever bring up. For now, she was just trying to spend as much time with her as possible, and that was already enough.

She was still in her head when Rosita entered, swaying her hips back and forth like she always did. She leaned against the wall, watching the dancing as well. “They’re getting better everyday, aren’t they?”

Ash nodded. “I can’t believe how much he’s improved. She’s a phenomenal teacher.”

“It’s from all the chemistry. They understand each other. I’ve been getting some lessons from Nooshy as well, actually,” Rosita smiled. 

“Really? How’s that going?” Ash wondered if she should as well, but dancing just wasn’t really her thing. She’d rather experience the audience through her voice and electric guitar. 

“Good, but I’ll never be as good as them,” Rosita admitted, then jolted, “wait, I actually came here to ask you something. What were you planning on doing for Porsha’s birthday?”

Ash stared at her, confused, “what?! Her birthday? When is it?”

“It’s this Saturday! How do you not know?” Rosita looked like she was about to scold her.

“I don’t know… I’ve just never talked to her about it, and she’s never told me!” Ash looked completely mortified. She should’ve thought to ask at some point. 

“Oh dear… you’re going to have to think of something pretty quickly…” Rosita tsked. 

“I have to go. Now.” Ash said, practically running out of the room. At this point, she would’ve known Porsha’s likes and dislikes more than anyone else, but Ash just couldn’t admit that to herself. Instead, she searched up the number for Suki, dialing it almost immediately. She stood backstage, pacing back and forth as she heard the phone ring. 

“Hello, Suki for Jimmy Crystal,” Suki’s voice said on the other line.

“Suki! Hi! It’s me, Ash,” Ash said.

“Who?” Suki asked, sounding bored. 

“From Buster’s crew? I’m the porcupine punk rock singer,” Ash explained, exasperated. She had always hated Suki, and knew she was probably pretending not to remember her. 

“Ah yes, Porsha’s living with you now, isn’t she?” Suki asked.

“She is. That’s actually why I’ve called–”

“Is she in danger? I knew she wouldn’t have been able to cut it out there alone.” 

“No. She’s perfectly fine,” Ash said, beginning to feel more and more annoyed. Is this what Porsha had to deal with on a daily basis? No wonder why she wanted to leave. She thought her dad was bad, but Suki was even worse at times, and was all Porsha had for company on most days. “I wanted to ask you what you’ve usually done for her birthday in the past.” 

“Oh? We don’t actually do much. Jimmy asks her what she wants, she gives us a list, then we buy it for her,” Suki explained. “Well, not this year. Jimmy is still mad about the whole thing.” 

“Wait, you don’t have a birthday party?” Ash was shocked. She had always thought the princess would get showered with gifts and get hundreds of guests to dote over her, maybe to schmooze to Jimmy. She didn’t get parties at all? It just didn’t make sense.

“No. Jimmy’s too busy to handle something like that,” Suki said, and Ash could hear the distinct sound of someone trimming their nails on the other end of the line. 

“I see… well sorry for wasting your time,” Ash gritted out, feeling her blood boil. 

“Kay. Bye!” Suki said, and proceeded to hang up.

Ash walked back to the studio, where Rosita was still watching, “we have to have a surprise birthday party for her. We have to!” Ash exclaimed so loudly that Johnny and Nooshy stopped their dancing, turning to look at her. 

“A birthday party?” Nooshy asked. “For who?” 

“Porsha. Apparently she’s never had one because her dad’s so goddamn busy!” Ash stormed across the room, her mind already filling with ideas. 

“Wow, that’s quite depressing,” Johnny said, scratching the back of his head, “even my dad’s held a few parties for me, though usually just with his criminal friends and their sons.” 

“I don’t know the first thing about hosting a party! And it’s in three days!” Ash slumped down on the ground, leaning against the mirror. 

Rosita walked over to the, giving the top of her quills a pat, “calm down, little one. We’ll figure it out together. Let’s go around telling everyone first, so at least we can get a guest count. Then we can ask Buster if he’s okay with us having it here. We’ll also need to come up with a distraction plan. Come, let’s get started.” She reached her trotter out, pulling Ash up from her slumped position. Ash nodded, feeling more confident now that Rosita was helping her. She was an amazing mom - to her own kids, and to the other members of the theater. 

They spent the next three days planning the party, with Ash feeling completely in over her head. She wanted Porsha to have the time of her life, but also not overwhelm her by doing too much at once. She also had to figure out how to act normal while also making phone calls and planning all day, and pretended she was planning the next act with Buster or writing a song everytime Porsha asked her to hang out. 

Porsha, on the other hand, was wondering if she had done something to anger Ash. She kept catching her closing the door behind her, like she was hiding something, or wanting to talk to someone in private without Porsha knowing, and it was becoming somewhat frustrating. 

Not only that, it seemed like the other theater members were doing the same thing. It felt like she had a giant pimple on her forehead, and couldn’t get rid of it no matter how hard she tried. It continued through the morning and afternoon of her birthday, with not a single person wishing her a happy day. She knew her father wouldn’t call, since he was still angry with her, but she had thought Suki would do something since the woman had practically raised her. 

She was feeling her lowest since Ash had been mad at her, and all she wanted was some time hanging out with Ash, but the porcupine wasn’t home, and hadn’t been home for hours. 

By six p.m., she wondered if she could figure out how to go to sleep for the evening, just to get the day over with. She was about to change into her pajamas when she got a text from Buster: “Can you come by the theater? Your outfit’s finally finished.”

It didn’t make any sense, why would he call her in on a weekend just to have her try out an outfit for a show that was still weeks away? She sighed, realizing she didn’t have anything to do anyways. She texted him back, agreeing to come by.

She put on a black leather jacket, one she had purchased with Ash when they went thrift shopping again, and began walking alone to work. She lit a cigarette, and caught her reflection on the glass of a store window. She almost didn’t recognize herself - but in the best way possible. She was developing into her own wolf, with influence from Ash and from her friends at the theater. She wished her father would see her now, and know she wasn’t his to control anymore. 

She walked in through the back entrance, and the theater itself was eerily quiet. It made sense, since it was the weekend, but it still gave her a creepy feeling, like someone was watching her. “Buster?” She called out. She went into the women’s fitting room, expecting him to be there, but there was no one in sight. 

Deciding to walk to his office, she stepped further into the backstage, and spied a single pink balloon floating by itself in the center of the hallway. What was it doing there? It must’ve been some sort of prop. She walked past it, and saw a yellow balloon, then a green one after that. She couldn’t help herself, she began following it, with each balloon spaced the exact same distance apart from the other. She began jogging, wondering what was going on, and realized she had walked all the way to the curtain right behind the main stage. She pushed it aside, and jumped immediately. 

“SURPRISE!!” A chorus of voices called out. She spotted hundreds and hundreds of balloons, some on the ground, some all the way at the top of the high arched ceiling. In the center of the room was Ash, wearing the black dress they had purchased. There were presents on top of a piano, and lots of refreshments and snacks on top of makeshift tables. It was absolutely perfect. 

Her eyes welled up with tears, and she looked at Ash like she was the only person in the room, “did you… did you do all of this for me?”

Ash glanced around, looking sheepish. “I heard you’ve never had a birthday party before, and I wanted to do this for you. Do you like it?”

“I don’t know what to say,” Porsha looked around, spotting every single smiling face. “I thought everyone forgot.” 

“You’ve been bamboozled!” Gunter exclaimed. “We bamboozled you!” 

“I feel like I’ve been so obvious,” Ash laughed, “I’m shocked we actually managed to surprise you.” 

“You did! I never expected to have an actual party!” Porsha wiped the tears from her eyes, which seemed to not be able to stop pouring out. 

“Everyone deserves a party, Porsha. Especially you,” Rosita approached her, and gave her a big mom-hug. “And Ash has been frantically trying to pull it all together for the last few days, wanting you to have the greatest day ever.”

Ash nudged Rosita, telling her to stop. It was too late though, Porsha’s heart already felt like it was going to burst. 

“Let the party begin!” Gunter said, pressing a button out of nowhere, beginning the specially curated dance track. 

Porsha could barely speak through the entire party. She felt entirely overwhelmed, and didn’t know how to possibly explain to Ash what this meant to her. She had filled herself on snacks, watched the rest of the crew laugh and dance, and just enjoyed being there, being a part of something so wonderful. She didn’t even want to open the presents. She didn’t want presents. It reminded her of her father, how he had bought her things to make her stop annoying him, and never really cared about her in the first place. She was just a token to him, and so the presents themselves were a token. 

They made her open the presents anyway, and she found love behind the items. It wasn’t just a generic bottle of perfume, or some designer purse she would forget about the next day. It was stuff she would genuinely be using daily, and would cherish forever. So this was what real love and friendship was like. 

By eleven, a few people had trickled out, wishing her an excellent birthday as they waved goodbye. Gunter seemed like he would still be able to dance all night unless someone forced him to leave. Ash grabbed onto Porsha’s elbow, pulling her to the seats in the back for some privacy. “Are you feeling okay?” She asked gently. 

Porsha sat next to her, heaving out a loud shaky breath, “yes… just so overwhelmed.” 

“In a good way?” Ash asked hopefully.

“In the best way.” Porsha said, her eyes tearing up again.

Ash fished her jacket pocket, pulling out a small box. Porsha looked at her, confused, “this is my present. I wanted to wait until we were alone,” Ash explained.

Porsha shook her head, “but… but the party was already everything. I don’t need a present.” 

Ash pushed it towards her, insisting, “just open it.” 

Porsha took the small box in her hand, and began pulling the ribbon, her heart beginning to beat faster. She flicked the lid up, and immediately started to giggle, “what…?”

“It’s an alien doll,” Ash said, like it all made sense.

“It looks just like the one I had on during my first live show!” Porsha said, immediately understanding.

“I saw it when I went shopping for the party decoration, and knew I had to get it for you,” Ash said, “it’s not much, but it looks just like your costume!” 

Porsha hugged it against her chest, feeling warmth fill her entire body, “I love it.” 

“I almost forgot,” Ash fished her pocket, and took out a pair of pink sunglasses, perfectly proportioned for the alien, “that’s for it to wear.”

Porsha gasped, grabbed it, and fitted it on the alien. “I can’t believe you found an exact replica of my sunglasses! It’s soooooo adorable!” She looked down at it, stroking its head, her grin unable to dissipate. 

Both women were silent for a while, both just enjoying the music and each other’s company. “I… I wanted to ask you something, actually,” Ash began. 

“Do you think I can go first?” Porsha asked instead.

Ash was confused, but nodded, “go on.” 

Porsha heaved out a great sigh, and said, “you… you’re the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me. I know I’ve hinted about it before, but you’re the only reason I’ve been able to survive out here without my dad, and you’ve been so absolutely kind and amazing.” Ash was about to say something, but Porsha shook her head, “let me finish.” She cleared her throat, “and this party, this was just another thing on top of all that. I don’t even know how to fully explain what it all means to me.”

“It’s just a party, Porsha,” Ash said, trying to downplay it.

“No. It’s not just a party, and we both know it,” Porsha said, finally addressing the elephant in the room. 

“What do you mean?” Ash asked, needing Porsha to spell it out word for word. 

“I think we both like each other, like like like,” Porsha whispered. 

Ash giggled, but nodded, “I think we do.” 

“And I’ve never liked anyone before. Not a boy or a girl. I’ve just never seen people like that,” Porsha continued, “but with you everything’s completely different.”

“I wondered… but I never wanted to force you into anything,” Ash explained, “but yes, I like you as well, Porsha.” She shakily held onto Porsha’s paw, feeling its softness. 

“What does that mean, though? I have no idea what to do…” Porsha said, “I think that’s part of the reason why I’ve waited so long to tell you. I’ve just never done this before, and I feel like I’m going to do something wrong.” 

“I think we should take our time, there’s no one forcing us to move quickly through this. We can do it at our own pace,” Ash said. 

Porsha immediately felt a rush of relief, “really?”

“Yes, really,” Porsha got off of her chair and squeezed into the one Ash was sitting in, wanting to be close to her. Ash immediately pulled her close, wanting to feel her as well. “So we’re not going to use the D-word and the G-word?” She whispered.

Ash laughed, “you’re so cute, Porsha. No, we don’t need to use the D-word or G-word.” Porsha nuzzled against her, feeling safe. Never felt like another word needed to be spoken. 

They stayed that way until past midnight, when even Gunther decided he had enough of dancing for one day. No one said anything as they left the two of them alone, enjoying each other’s company for the first time after revealing their feelings.

Eventually, they stood up, neither one of them wanting to break contact as they continued to hold hands. Porsha leaned down and gave Ash a kiss on her forehead, “thank you again.” 

“Anytime,” Ash replied. They walked home in the dark together, with Porsha staring at the doll in her hand multiple times, not able to believe everything that had happened in the past few hours. Ash was silent as well, clearly deep in her own thoughts. 

This was by far the greatest day of her life, and she couldn’t imagine anything beating it. 

PART 3

A month later, Porsha stood at the top of the platform, her face concentrated on the task at hand. They had been preparing for their next big performance for quite some time, and of course she volunteered to do all of the acrobatics she could. 

She loved being in the air, to fly across the stage as the audience cheered for her, their claps encouraging to soar as high as she possibly could. It was probably her favorite part of the theater in general, other than the friendships she makes along the way, of course.

Ever since her and Ash had decided to become ‘official’ at her birthday party, nothing much had happened. She wasn’t quite certain what was supposed to happen, with it being her first ever relationship and all, and Ash didn’t seem fazed about it whatsoever. 

Every time Porsha thought about bringing it up, even to Rosita, she felt herself clamp up, just like she always did when it came to Ash. Everyday she hoped that their ‘relationship’ would progress further, but was also so nervous about it she almost didn’t want anything to happen.

Maybe that was why she was distracted that day, or why she was feeling spacier than usual. She had been too confident about knowing her moves, since she always took a leap of faith when she jumped off any platform, and had failed to practice like Buster had instructed her to many times. 

Feeling the need to clear her head a little, she had arrived at the studio on her own an hour early, and currently stared at the rows of ribbons set up for her from the ceiling, colors she’d picked out with Buster to look best with the current set. She hadn’t attached her harness, since she didn’t actually know how to on her own, but had barely fallen in the past, and knew it wouldn’t be a big deal. The practice stage itself had mats on the bottom, anyway. 

She picked up the remote from her pocket, started the music, and began singing. Yes, this was when she felt the most like herself. She grabbed onto the closest ribbon, and pushed off the platform, whooping a little before starting her part of the song. She swung to the next ribbon, and then the next, trying out moves that would definitely shock their next audience. 

Halfway through the song, she grabbed onto the yellow ribbon at the very center, and immediately realized something was wrong. It was tied too loosely, and as soon as she put her whole body weight on it, she felt it unravel itself so rapidly she could only feel her center of gravity fall to the ground. She could only let out a single scream as she plummeted downwards faster than she had ever felt before. She closed her eyes, knowing she would land on the mat and everything would be okay, but the momentum of her swing from the ribbon before had managed to push her past the mat, and before she could do anything to stop herself, she felt her head hit the metal bar on the platform she had jumped from, and fell unconscious almost immediately.

The song continued to the next, and then the next, with no one at the theater realizing what had happened. It was only thirty minutes or so later when someone let out a scream, and went to alert the rest of the theater crew. 

Johnny was the one who reached her first, and forbade the others from touching her, having knowledge that if she had a concussion, it would be the worst thing for her. They turned her to her side, and Buster called the ambulance almost immediately. 

“What happened?” Rosita asked, frantic just like everyone else. 

“I think she fell from practicing her act,” Johnny said. He was bent over her and watching her ever move, but knew he had done as much as he possibly could with his limited knowledge of first aid from school.

“Why wasn’t she wearing her harness?” Rosita looked up, realizing how high the fall could’ve been.

Johnny shrugged, and the rest of the crew made their way around her, all with worried expressions on their faces. “What’s going on?” A voice called from behind them, and some turned to see Ash, who was the last to arrive at the theater, which was usually the case. “Has anyone seen Porsha? She usually waits for me in the mornings…” Ash trailed off as she moved closer and closer, finally spotting what all the commotion was about.

“Porsha…?” Ash whispered, and began shoving everyone aside so she could rest next to her. “Porsha…?” She reached down, already reaching out to grab her, but Johnny and Gunter grabbed her at once, pulling her back. She struggled against them, tears already forming in her eyes. She kept trying to pull forwards, but the combined strength of the two of them was too much for her, even in her desperation. This resulted in the three of them collapsing onto the ground, with Ash piercing the two of them with her quills.

The men underneath her yelped, and Gunter pushed her off immediately, screaming, “ouuuuuch!” as he circled around the room covered in around a dozen quills. “Get it off, get it off! Ahhhh!!” Rosita pulled him aside and began pulling the quills off as Ash turned around to face Johnny, who still had his arms out ready to grab her at a moment’s notice.

“What the hell happened to her?” Ash asked, and began wiping her eyes repeatedly, hating that everyone had seen her lose control like that. “Is she… is she still breathing?”

Johnny nodded, “she’s… well I would say she’s fine but I don’t actually know.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” She was almost growling at this point, but had to try to calm herself down. Being pissed off at everyone around her definitely wasn’t the way to go about this. “Sorry, sorry. Can you explain what’s going on?”

“I don’t exactly know. No one does. We all came in and found her on the ground with the music still playing. We assumed she fell while practicing for the show,” he explained.

None of this made sense to Ash. Why would Porsha come here on her own without her? And why didn’t she wear a harness to guarantee her safety? It was like she had a death wish or something… she had known Porsha was irresponsible at times, but didn’t think it was to this degree. 

She moved close to her and sat down, holding onto her hand as she watched her silently. She didn’t really care if anyone believed they were more than friends at this point - Porsha had never said it had to be a secret to the group - all she cared about was the ambulance coming as soon as possible, “wait, there’s an ambulance coming, right?”

“Actually, it’s here now.” Buster said, stepping into the room.

The crew watched as two deers walked in at once with a gurney in between them. Ash could barely breathe as they lifted Porsha up and deposited her on the bed like she weighed nothing. She rushed behind them, her heart pounding as they made their way out the theater and to the ambulance. Buster was right beside her, probably feeling responsible for all of them like they were his family. 

She began climbing up to the ambulance after them, though Buster grabbed her arm, holding her back, “they only allow one person on the ambulance, I think it should be me, no?”  

She glared at him, her wrath boiling backup again. She was ready to kick him if didn’t let her on that damned ambulance. He seemed to notice her immediate change in expression, though, and backed off onto the ground. “Okay, okay. You go. But call us with any updates, Ash.”

She nodded, and the doors slammed shut around her. 

She sat in the ambulance with one of the paramedics and Porsha, and didn’t pause before going up to hold Porsha’s hand. She tried to answer all the questions the deer had, but she was just as clueless as the rest of them, since no one was actually there to see the incident. 

“Is she going to be okay?” She asked, her voice sounding raw and ragged. 

The deer looked up for a second before going back to her patient, “I can’t say, you’ll know more after we get to the hospital.”

The trip to the hospital itself felt like it was lasting an eternity. The paramedic kept telling her to relax and sit down, but Ash was too wired up to want to do any of that. She could only look out the window a couple of times, trying to see if she recognized any of the landmarks around them. She wondered if she would have nightmares about the sound of the siren screeching around her, so much louder than she would’ve imagined inside the ambulance.

They finally halted to a stop, and she jumped off the back of the ambulance to let the paramedics pick up their patient again. The doctors were there to take her, and the paramedics rapidly told the doctors what they knew about her condition so far as they all pushed Porsha into her own private room. It was almost all exactly like what Ash had seen on TV many times before, but so much more intense. 

She could only stand and watch as the doctors ordered tests and procedures she had no clue about, and most were pretty dismissive when she tried to get an update. They told her repeatedly they had no definitive diagnosis yet, and to be patient. She eventually sat at the corner, twiddling her thumbs and wishing there was something she could do - anything. 

It was around midnight when she was startled awake, and was relieved to see a friendly face. “Rosita, what are you doing here?” 

“Finally put all the kids to bed,” she said, “we haven’t heard any news, so I volunteered to come by as soon as I could.”

Ash nodded, “I still don’t know anything yet. They just keep wheeling her out of the room, doing some sort of test, then wheeling her back in. I keep hoping she’ll be conscious, but it’s not happened yet.”

Rosita put a hand on Ash’s shoulder and asked, “what about you?”

Ash was confused, “what about me?”

“Have you eaten at all?”

The thought of sitting in the room and eating while Porsha was still unconscious was unfathomable to her. “No,” she admitted.

Rosita fingered her purse and dropped a granola bar on Ash’s lap. “Eat,” she said simply.

Ash shook her head, and Rosita looked down at her firmly. “I’m not going to get up and get an update from the nurses until that entire bar is down your belly.”

Ash’s immediate thought was that she could definitely take Rosita, but she knew the experienced mother was right, and that she needed to be strong for Porsha. She consumed the bar, and the two of them headed out to the reception desk together, hoping someone had news since Ash had fallen asleep.

They called on a nurse nearby, who informed them that the tests have concluded that Porsha indeed had a concussion and some bleeding in her skull, but the outlook is positive, and she’ll likely be awake soon, though she’ll need monitoring for a week or so.

It seemed like the best news they could’ve gotten with the current situation, and the two headed back together, with Rosita volunteering to call and give the rest of the crew an update. She left after, but took Ash and Porsha’s apartment key with her to gather overnight supplies for them, telling Ash she’d be back the next morning.

Ash, now feeling slightly relieved, pushed her chair as close to Porsha’s bed as she possibly could, and held onto her hand again. “Please wake up, Porsha. For the sake of my sanity. I can’t take this any longer,” she continued to whisper to her, telling her random stories until she could no longer hold on any longer, and fell asleep once more. 

Rosita was true to her word, and arrived the next morning with breakfast take out and a luggage filled with anything the girls would need. Again, she forced the food down Ash’s throat, and informed Ash that the crew wouldn’t be practicing for a week, with everyone too on edge to continue while Porsha was in the hospital. 

Rosita pulled up a chair next to Ash as she ate, giving her the most motherly look possible as she watched, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone go this crazy for another person,” she chuckled, “you were more dramatic than how I behave when one of my piglets breaks an ankle.” 

Ash glanced at her then back to her food, which she was now eating at lightning speed from pure hunger, “do you think it was super obvious? The whole crew probably knows now.”

“I don’t know. Most of them are pretty clueless. Nooshy is the smartest, she probably knows. Gunter also asked me about it a few weeks ago after the party, but I tried to avoid the subject.”

“Thank you,” Ash said, “I don’t think either of us told you you had to hide it.”

Rosita shrugged, “it’s not really any of my business, anyway.” 

“The funny thing is, it doesn’t really feel like we’re in a relationship. I know she’s waiting for me to take the lead, but there’s something always holding me back. I’ve never been like this with anyone else. I usually make the first leap easily in a relationship,” Ash had never been the type to open up to someone this easily, but with someone as understanding as Rosita, how could anyone resist?

“I think it’s because it’s different this time. You know there’s something different about how you feel,” Rosita explained.

Ash thought about it, and finally nodded in agreement, “it’s true, I feel like I’m so scared that anything could push her over the edge, and I’ll lose what we’ve built all this time.”

“What if you wait too long and lose her in the process?” 

Ash felt a pang in her heart. She hadn’t thought about it that way, “do you think that’s possible? That I’ve waited too long?” 

“I don’t think Porsha is the type to leave you either way, to be honest, but I think if she’s someone that matters, who’s even worth fighting for, then you should always feel comfortable to put yourself out there. If they judge you for doing so, then they’re not worth it in the first place.”

The two of them sat there in silence, while Ash repeated Rosita’s words in her head over and over again. She wished she had a mother like hers, she wondered if she would’ve turned out to be a better person, to have pushed herself even further than she’s ever had before. Those piglets were so, so lucky, and had no idea.

Rosita left the room to receive a phone call, and came back to apologize to Ash, letting her know one of her babies needed her. Ash waved her off, and went back to holding onto Porsha’s hand.

It was around twenty four hours from the time of the fall when Porsha began blinking, her vision foggy at first, only seeing the bright lights of the hospital room. She stirred against Ash’s hand, which caused Ash to begin screaming for nurses. 

Porsha was still woozy and confused as the two nurses began examining her vitals, and she glanced down at Ash, who had still refused to let go of her hand.

“What’s… what’s going on?” She asked, and winced at the pain on her head, which was currently wrapped with layers and layers of bandages. 

“I could ask you the same thing,” Ash replied. She didn’t know what had come over her, but as soon as she saw Porsha awake, she felt a wave of rage come over her once more. She couldn’t believe how unbelievably irresponsible Porsha had been, and was desperate to get to the bottom of the accident. 

“I… where am I?” Porsha asked, her voice almost croaking from how dry it was. Ash passed her a paper cup of water, which she swallowed in one big gulp.

“You’re at the hospital. None of us really know what happened. Do you remember?” Ash asked, trying to push down the anger as she confirmed what she already knew.

“I wanted to clear my mind and practice for the show and I didn’t want to wake you up, so I went an hour before normal practice time,” Porsha started, and winced again at the pain pounding in her skull, “the next thing I remember was one of the ribbons untying itself when I tried to grab it.”

“Why weren’t you wearing a harness?” Ash asked, her voice slightly louder than before.

Porsha’s eyes widened as she said, “I didn’t know how to put it on on my own.”

“Are you kidding me?! And you thought that would be completely okay?” 

“There are mats on the bottom!” Porsha exclaimed, trying to explain her actions.

“And yet what happened? Hmm? It still wasn’t enough to protect you!”

“Well, I know that now.” Porsha replied in a slightly snarky voice, “why are you even yelling at me? I’m the patient!” 

Ash was practically growling at this point, “do you have any idea how worried I’ve been? Huh? I felt like my heart had broken in half. I could barely breathe. I thought I was going to spontaneously combust when I saw you laying there like that. It was the worst thing I’d ever experienced. How could you be selfish enough to do something like that to me?” Porsha was speechless. She sat there, staring down at her hands, hundreds of thoughts racing through her sore head. “I don’t know what to say…”

Ash crossed her arms over her chest, turning her head to look away from her. A moment of silence passed before Porsha said, “no one’s really cared about me like this before. My dad would pay for any treatments if I hurt myself, but he didn’t really seem to care that it happened in the first place. And you… I didn’t know you cared for me this much.”

“Of course I care for you, Porsha. Are you kidding me?!” Ash said, turning back to face her. 

“You haven’t really touched me since my birthday, Ash. I didn’t know what to think,” Porsha admitted. 

Ash was the shocked one now, and to both of the girls’ surprise, proceeded to pull Porsha’s thin hospital sheets down and climbed into bed with her. Porsha scooted to the right almost immediately, and they fit tightly on the bed together, both in sitting position, both feeling slightly awkward. 

Ash belt her head towards Porsha, and began resting on her shoulder. “You said you wanted to take it slow, I was trying to respect your wishes.”

“I feel like this is probably too slow,” Porsha said, “though I’ve never been in a relationship before, I’m only just guessing from watching romcoms.”

“Yes, admittedly, we are taking it at a snail’s pace,” Ash said, biting her lower teeth. “I talked to Rosita about this earlier, actually, kind of saying the same thing.”

“Really?” Porsha asked, “if you were feeling the same, why haven’t you said or done anything about it?”

“Why haven’t you?” Ash retorted.

“You’re the more experienced one!” Porsha said, and after Ash gave her a look, added, “okay, I guess we both have stuff we have to work on.”

“Yes, like how you need to take care of yourself better!” Ash said, realizing they had changed the subject from her original concern.

Porsha let out a smile and said, “because I have someone whose ‘heart will break’ if something happens to me?”

Ash went crimson and nodded, “yes, that’s exactly why.”

The two girls were silent, both contemplative and enjoying each other’s warmth. 

Ash finally broke the silence by saying, “Rosita is so good at giving advice.”

Porsha agreed, “I feel like we wouldn’t even have a relationship without her.”

Ash chuckled and nodded, “you think we’d both be a bit better at this if we had mothers that gave us advice like this?”

“We’ve never really spoken about our mothers before,” Porsha said, wondering if Ash was ready to have this conversation now that they were trying to be more open with each other - emotionally and physically.

“Yes, mine passed when I was quite young, and I never really got over it,” Ash said, “I told you this at the second hand store, but she was the one who kept telling me I could be a rockstar.” 

“I wish I could’ve met her,” Porsha said as she grabbed onto Ash’s hands.  

Ash snuggled in closer and asked, “what about you? I don't know anything about yours.”

“She’s still alive, if that’s what you’re wondering,” Porsha said.

“Oh,” Ash replied, she had absolutely no idea, “where is she now?”

“I don’t really know, not exactly,” she sighed, “she left my father right after I was born, telling him she couldn’t do any of it without harming her own star career. I haven’t ever sought her out before. I don’t want to, knowing that she’s never really wanted me.”

“I’m so sorry, Porsha.” Ash said, and realized she had been subconsciously playing with Porsha’s fingers, intertwining it with her own over and over. 

“Eh,” Porsha waved it off with her other hand, “I’ve gotten over it. I don’t think my dad’s ever been the same since, though, from what other people have told me. He’s shifted and poured everything into his own career now, maybe hoping one day she’ll come back.”

“Wouldn’t you know if she got what she wanted, though? Her fame?” Ash asked, though wondered if she should stop talking about this subject.

Porsha shrugged, “maybe. I’ll let you know if I ever see another arctic wolf singing her heart out.” She paused for a second before saying, “hey, I wonder if that’s why my dad hates that I’m in the theater. Maybe I remind him too much of her.”

Ash nodded, “yeah, maybe.”

They spent the next few days in relative peace. Ash was ready to grab anything Porsha needed, and by the fourth afternoon, the doctor had informed them that Porsha had healed much faster than they had imagined, with most of the blood already cleared from her head on its own. They discharged her to Ash and Porsha’s amazement, with the two of them quite eager to go back  home to their usual routine.

Porsha had mistakenly believed she would be able to get away with doing whatever she wanted, though, because Ash was now on her case about taking it easy. Porsha was barely allowed to leave the bed. It was like Ash had some sort of radar. Whenever she tried sneaking past her room to do something, Ash would show up, giving her her iconic death glare before Porsha would be ushered right back to bed. It was driving Porsha completely insane.

The crew had been informed of Porsha’s early discharge from the hospital. Ash had assumed she would be asked to come back to work, but Buster insisted on her staying to take care of Porsha, and she wasn’t going to complain about that. 

“Ash, you’re driving me absolutely up the wall,” Porsha complained for the fifth time that day, “please, I need to do something. I need to go out. I can do my own laundry without you stealing it from me, c’mon!” She was the type of person to need to be jumping around constantly, and she almost felt as if being cooped up in the apartment was far worse for her health than being able to bounce around.

Ash shook her head, “no matter what you do or say I’m not letting you do anything other than sit on your bed until the week’s end!” 

Porsha pouted and said, “well… at least stay in the bed with me, then.”

Ash turned another shade of crimson and stuttered, “well… that wouldn’t be good for your health, either.” 

Porsha refused to listen, and with one quick move grabbed Ash by her arm and pulled her into the bed. Ash gasped and collapsed on her back, looking up at Porsha with wide eyes. Porsha climbed on top of Ash, trying to hold her still by pressing down both of her arms, and grinned at her like she had won some grand prize. 

“Hah! What are you going to do now?” She said triumphantly. 

Ash began laughing, saying, “you know I can easily overpower you if I wanted to, right?” 

Porsha shook her head, “nu-uh. I think you’re just too confident in yourself.”

Ash knew she would have to teach Porsha a lesson, and used only half of her strength to push Porsha back, flip her, and settle herself on top of Porsha, instead, with both legs straddling the wolf underneath her. “See? Easy.”

Porsha shook her head, “maybe I just let you.”

Ash rolled her eyes, “okay there.” Her eyes widened when she saw it, though, a single quill poking through Porsha’s right ear. She hadn’t known she had done so, and gasped, her heart immediately dropping to the ground, “oh my god I’m so sorry!” 

Porsha, not knowing what Ash was talking about, looked sideways to see the quill poking out of her as well. “Oh…” Seeing Ash’s worried expression, she added, “don’t worry! I know you’re sensitive about hurting me, but I didn’t even feel it!” 

“Are you sure?” Ash asked. “Oh gosh, should we pull it out? I can’t believe I hurt you after I swore I was going to take care of you! The crew is going to hate me. I’m never going to let this down!” 

“You need to calm down!” Porsha exclaimed. She pulled herself out from under Ash and walked to the mirror in her room, staring at it. “Hey, do you think I can keep it?”

Ash paused her screaming, “what do you mean?”

“Don’t you think it looks kind of punk rock? I feel like I could rock it. And it reminds me of you.” She swirled from side to side, looking at the new piercing from different angles. 

“I…” Ash said, completely speechless. She couldn’t believe the wolf had managed to shock her yet again. She was so touched she couldn’t even begin to put it into proper words. “Yes,  you can keep it, it’ll look just like an industrial piercing.” She would’ve never believe Porsha would want to look more ‘rock’ for her, but now she she was imaging it, it seemed like an awesome fit.

“Yay!” Porsha replied, pushing her arms up as a whoop of joy. 

“We’ll have to disinfect it, though, and cut it shorter.” Ash said, trying to be the adult one again in their relationship. After they did so, the girls went back to the bed, with Ash a little less hesitant this time. If her patient wanted her company, who was she to say no to that? Besides, Porsha’s bed was far more comfortable than hers, with its plush comforter that she’d always wanted to fall asleep with on winter nights. 

They laid on top of each other, talking about various topics until Porsha finally turned to Ash, “hey, I thought we were going to be more… relationship-y with each other.” 

Ash hadn’t anticipated the conversation change, but had actually thought of bringing it up herself. “I didn’t want to push you while you were still healing… but if you think you’re ready for it now…”

Porsha nodded as Ash trailed off, and they both turned to face each other, their expressions full of wonder and hesitation. Ash, knowing she would have to be the one to take charge, closed the space between them, and pressed her lips against Porsha’s. It was a fast one, a quick peck from both girls, and as Ash pulled back, she looked at the awe on Porsha’s face before going back again. This time, she opened her mouth wider, which encouraged Porsha to do the same. They began kissing slowly but more passionately, with Ash reaching up to push her fingers into Porsha’s hair, pulling her closer. Ash’s heart was thumping so hard she thought she was going to explode, and when they finally stopped, she felt incredibly out of breath. She didn’t know if it was from the anticipation and wait of it all, or because it was Porsha, but this was by far the best kiss she had ever had. 

She had hoped Porsha felt the same as she asked, “well… how was your first kiss?”

Porsha pressed her hand against her swollen lip. “Is it always supposed to feel like that?”

Ash couldn’t help but let out a giggle, “that depends, was it good or bad?”

“I want another one,” Porsha said, a little timidly. 

“It was good, then,” Ash said, and pulled Porsha in for another.

They were wrapped tight around each other for the rest of the night, and eventually moved to the sofa where Ash let Porsha put on whatever she wanted on the TV. Her mind wasn’t on it, anyway. She was really thinking of how else she could attack the wolf and get her to kiss her forever - she didn’t think she would ever be able to get enough. 

She scolded herself for being an idiot for waiting too long. Next time, she should just go to Rosita immediately for advice. 

Now, she cuddled closer to her girlfriend - of course they were going to call each other that now - and brushed her fingers through the wolf’s long coat, trying to hide the smile so obviously plastered on her face. 

Part 4

Porsha was met with lots of fanfare when she finally went back to the theater. It was hard to convince Ash to let her leave the home, but when they went to her follow-up appointment at the hospital and were informed that Porsha was doing completely fine, even Ash couldn’t hold her in any longer.

Porsha was excited to see everyone again, and as she stepped onto center stage with Ash by her side, she was swarmed with the entire cast, all with large smiles on her face. The sense of belonging was so overwhelming she had tears in her eyes, which was quickly wiped away.

Rosita had approached the two of them when the crew had calmed down a little, and whispered, “so I think everyone knows by now…”

Ash frowned, looking pissed off, “HOW?” She looked over at Porsha, who didn’t seem like she minded one bit. Ash was mostly worried about everyone knowing about Porsha’s sexuality before she was ready, but seeing Porsha’s calm expression calmed her down quite a bit.

“Well, I think it was pretty obvious,” Rosita said. “You were very distraught when we found her on stage, and you stayed with her at the hospital and at your apartment the entire time. Even the densest one of us would be able to catch onto that.”

Ash paused for a second, letting that really soak in. “Oh…”

Porsha let out a loud barking laugh, “well, I guess the jig is up, isn’t it?”

“I’m so sorry, Porsha. I know you were still questioning your sexuality, and now it’s all been forced upon you. I don’t know what I was thinking,” Ash looked down onto her hands, feeling ashamed. She knew she wouldn’t be very happy if someone had done the same to her without her explicit consent for them to do so.

“I don’t mind at all, actually,” Porsha said. “Yes, I did think I would mind, but now that it’s out, I know everyone here won’t treat me any differently than before. They’re my family.” She looked at Rosita, “you’re all my family.”

“And family loves each other no matter what,” Rosita concluded.

“You saw the way that everyone ran up to me,” Porsha smiled, “they knew then, and still acted like they’ve always done.”

Ash felt a welling of emotions, which she had to push back down before saying in a hoarse voice, “you’re right. We are family. And it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks.” They gave each other a hug, and proceeded to get up to the stage to catch up on everything happening in the show. 

Buster welcomed them, and began flipping through the script, talking in a rapid pace about what they had added and removed from it, as well as when they were planning on setting up opening night. Of course, they would have to air a few weeks of advertisement for the show first. 

On the topic of Porsha’s routine, Buster looked a little hesitant. “I didn’t know if you still wanted to do it. I’m not sure if you’ll even be allowed to.” 

Porsha grinned as she said, “well, with my week off I’ve had plenty of time to think about it, and I think I’ve come up with a great idea.”

“Oh?” Buster asked. Ash could see a little hint of apprehension on his face - just like how she looked when Porsha had another one of her ‘grand’ ideas, which usually resulted in something very dangerous and crazy.

“My doctor told me I can go back to the routine but just to be more careful next time, but I think I have something that would work for all of us, and maybe calm Ash down a little,” Porsha began explaining. Ash had no idea she would be involved in this, but her ears perked up a little. “I think Ash should be a part of the performance as well. We can do a pop rock duet with her standing in the center, there.” Porsha pointed. “Obviously Ash wouldn’t do any of the ribbon work.”

The three of them turned to face the stage as Porsha continued, “I figured this would help me focus better by not having as many lines to sing, and Ash would feel better doing all of the practicing with her around. Also, I’m being a little selfish with this request. I have always wanted to have a routine with my girlfriend, and now that everyone knows, why not do it in the next show? The song is already a love song, we can just change up some of the lyrics and beats.”

Ash was rendered speechless for a few seconds before saying, “you really want to come out to everyone? You know our show is huge now… there’s going to be thousands of people… and it’ll be broadcasted on TV. It’s not the same as everyone in the theater knowing.”

Porsha nodded, “I have nothing to be scared of.” Her father’s threats were still looming in the back of her head, an unspoken elephant in the room, but she was sick and tired of hiding from him. 

Buster was pensive before he finally let out a wide grin, so wide that it expanded from cheek to cheek, “brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!”

Porsha gasped and clapped her hands together, “really? I was so nervous about asking you!” 

“Yes, I could kiss you right now! I’ve been needing something that would really hit our new younger audience, and a romantic duet between two women would really catch everyone’s attention! I love it!” Buster exclaimed. “I’m going to have to change the rest of the script to match it, but it’ll be all worth it!” 

“Wow!” Porsha exclaimed, very surprised by Buster’s reaction. She had half expected him to tell her it was just too risky to do something this soon, but he seemed to be all for it!

“Come, follow me to my office. I’ll need both of you to contribute to this new song. Then, when the song is finished, we can adjust the rest of the script and tell the whole crew. We’re going to be quite busy the next few weeks!” Buster was so excited he began skipping to his office, leaving Porsha and Ash to walk behind him.

“I…” Ash said, still looking shell shocked, “I didn’t even know you had something like this in mind.”

“Do you not like it? We can still tell Buster not to do it if you’re not comfortable,” Porsha asked worriedly. 

“No, no. It’s not that,” Ash said. “In fact, I’m extremely touched and flattered. It’s like you’ve given me a present I had never expected.”

“A present? In what way?” Porsha asked, her head cocking to the side.

“Because it’s like you want to show me off to the world…” Ash replied. She stopped in her tracks, making Porsha turn around to stare at her. Ash was crimson red, which was so rare for her it took a second for Porsha to realize what was happening. She didn’t know what to do, seeing Ash like this. All she knew was that she wanted to kiss her just like they did that night.

She moved forward a few steps, closing the distance between them, and pressed her lips against Ash’s. Ash startled, then kissed her back. All of the sensations from their first kiss came rushing back, and Porsha got lost in Ash’s world once more, loving the way she tasted.

“Ehem.” They heard from somewhere behind them. Nooshy stood there with a smirk on her face. “I guess all the rumors are true then.”

“Ah… sorry,” Porsha said, the red now creeping up on her face.

“No, no. Don’t let me interrupt your cute PDA,” she said, before walking back onto the stage.

“We should probably find Buster,” Ash said. Porsha nodded quickly in response, and they hurried sheepishly to his office.

—---

A month later, showtime was quickly approaching. Everyone had been very supportive of Ash and Porsha’s new duet, so much so that the two of them became the center of the show itself. They were the center headline to newspapers, tv advertisements, and the posters of the show itself. Though Porsha had been the person to come up with the idea in the first place, she definitely hadn’t expected all of this attention, and was starting to worry a little.

Yes, she had expected her dad to get a whiff of it no matter what. Maybe even send a few guys to come and watch the show and report back to him, but all the advertisement seemed to be shoving it in his face a little, so much so that he might not be able to quell his anger for much longer. 

It was a random rehearsal day when her phone rang, which confused her at first because everyone she knew in her new life was currently in the same room as her. “Hello?” She answered, not recognizing the caller ID.

“Hi Porsha, it’s Suki,” the voice on the other line said.

“Oh?” She hadn’t heard from Suki in… almost a year? Since the day she had left. This was definitely unusual, and sent a shiver down Porsha’s spine. She left the auditorium, making Ash turn back and look at her with a worried expression.

“I have some bad news,” she continued, getting right to the point like she always did.

“Bad news?” Porsha wondered for a second if something had happened to her father. She still cared for him, but waited for Suki to finish.

“Well… the thing is… your father is really upset with you,” Suki said.

“When is he not upset with me? This is pretty normal news,” Porsha replied, though her heart was still beating fast.

“Listen, I’ve never been very close to you. Honestly, I saw you as just another annoying chore to do for your father… but I don’t know… this time, I feel like maybe you deserve to know what’s coming for you. Because it’s going to crash down on you all at once - and I would never underestimate him if I were you.”

Suki had never spoken to her that way. She was right, she’d always treated Porsha like an annoying nuisance, so this was completely out of character for her. Porsha’s father must be really pissed off for Suki to even feel sorry for her in the slightest. “Is it all the advertisement? I told Buster to ease up on those…” she said with a quiet voice. She could already feel her old self sink in, coming back to the surface like Ash hadn’t spent an entire year trying to heal her. Porsha had thought she had gotten rid of the parts of herself that she despised, but this one phone call was forcing it to come back, like bile sneaking up to the surface.

“Yes. He had actually been very good about it. He avoided talking about you all together, saying that he didn’t actually have a daughter anymore. Then one day, he was in the middle of a meeting. A very important meeting. Buster’s face came up on the TV screen at the restaurant while he was giving his speech, and all of his clients turned to stare at it. You came up right after. You know, the video of you embracing the porcupine while you stare at each other’s eyes? He tried to distract them, but the damage had already been done. All three clients are against… you know.”

“Oh no…” Porsha said. She put a paw on top of her eyes, knowing the worst was coming.

“One of them recognized you from past events, called you out, and that was that. They all left the meeting,” Suki paused. “He really needed that deal, Porsha. It was a make or break kind of thing. And you ruined it.”

In the back of her mind, Porsha was trying to tell herself it wasn’t her fault, but all of the anxiety and fear came creeping in, and she began blaming herself for everything. Why had she come up with such a dumb idea in the first place? “What is he going to do?” 

The phone began breaking up, and Porsha had to repeat, “hello?” a couple of times before she heard Suki once more.

“Sorry, I took a separate car, but your dad’s heading to the theater right now. I warned you the best I could, Porsha, but he is going to ruin you,” that was the last she said before the phone went dead, and Porsha stood here, her phone limp in her paw, staring at the wall. 

She didn’t know what to do. Tell everyone to run? What if he was already here? Her mind raced, her heart raced, and she couldn’t breathe. She slid onto the ground, feeling like her life was flashing before her eyes. 

Ash entered the room she was in, a back entrance hidden in the corner, the look of concern even more prominent on her face. “What’s wrong?” She knelt down onto the ground next to Porsha, not knowing what to do.

Porsha had trouble breathing as she said, “I think my dad’s coming.”

“Is that who called you?” 

“It was Suki, she wanted to give me a warning.”

“How kind of her,” Ash replied sarcastically. “Why are you on the floor?”

“Because he’s going to ruin the theater, and there’s nothing we can do,” Porsha replied, tears were now streaming down her eyes as she tried everything to gather her breath. 

“Of course there’s something we can do,” Ash replied, and was about to lean over and give Porsha a comforting hug when the main doors to the theater crashed open. 

“Oh no…” Porsha said. “He’s here.” Ash grabbed both of her hands and pulled her up, pulling Porsha along with her to where everyone was gathering. They stood in the middle of the auditorium, watching as Jimmy Crystal and two other wolves stood confidently in front of them all, all three with neutral expressions plastered on their faces. Porsha recognized the two wolves, two of her dad’s closest body guards, ones that he always had next to him ‘just in case’. 

“Where’s my daughter?” Jimmy practically growled.

“What do you want with her?” Rosita asked, completely fearless. Buster was standing in the corner, looking quite afraid himself. 

“Seems like private business between myself and my daughter, no? Move aside, silly pig,” he stepped forwards.

Porsha snuck out from next to Ash, making sure to let go of all contact as she faced her father. She barely saw him as she looked to the floor, her old self completely taken over - the one that cowarded when her dad was mad at her, who felt guilty when she was blamed for something that wasn’t truly her fault. 

“Ah, there you are,” he grinned so widely that his fangs glowed against the theater lights. “Now, what am I going to do with you?” It was so embarrassing being scolded like a little kid in front of everyone, and yet there was nothing she could do about it. She was shaking now, so much so that she knew everyone would be able to see her. Ash put a hand on her shoulder, but she stepped forwards so Ash wouldn’t be able to reach her. She knew any contact with Ash would make this so much worse. 

“What are you doing here?” She said in a small voice.

“What am I doing here? WHAT AM I DOING HERE?!” He growled. “Do you know what you’ve done to my business? To the empire that I’ve built all these years to TAKE CARE OF YOU?! You’ve destroyed it single-handedly for WHAT? For you to start a romantic relationship with a porcupine?!”

“I never meant to hurt your business, dad…” she started, though didn’t really know how else she would be able to explain.

“Yes, because you don’t think. You’ve been clueless from the very start. Probably because of how much I’ve spoilt you. Yes, yes… that was my mistake,” he began pacing back and forth, and the entire audience shifted to look at each other, all feeling incredibly uncomfortable. “Now, is this phase over yet? When are you coming home, hmm? You must know by now how poorly they pay you in the theater business. Is that what you want, Porsha? To be poor for the rest of your life?”

She was about to start speaking again, but he turned to face her, and his expression shifted to pure wrath. “What is that on your ear? Did you pierce your ear? Without my permission? Next I know you’ll be indulging in drugs!”

“That seems like a far reach,” Gunter said, breaking the silence.

“Ooooh no, no, no,” Jimmy pointed directly at Ash, who was in her full rock suit. “I know the type of influence people like her have. Next thing you know, my poor Porsha is going to be laying on the streets, begging for a shot up her arm!”

Porsha finally noticed Suki had arrived in the corner of the room, though the woman’s expression was as deadpanned as always, like they had never had the phone call in the first place. 

“Dad… please stop… we can talk about this another time… not in front of everyone,” Porsha begged, the tears welling back in her eyes. 

“No. I want you to promise me in front of everyone here you’re done with all of this. You’re coming back with me right now. Enough is enough. I have given you a year to have your fun. You come back with me right now, or I can promise you, last time will seem like a joke compared to what I do this time.”

Porsha didn’t know what to do. She looked at everyone’s crestfallen expressions. They all looked worried, and it was all her fault. She didn’t want to do it though. How could she now, after all she’s been through. It was not a phase. Not even close. It was the happiest she’s ever felt in her entire life, it was being with someone who truly loved her - as a friend, as something more. It was her finally feeling at peace, like she had a family. How could she give all that up?

She burst into tears, and melted onto the floor again. Rosita moved close and dropped down, giving her a hug while whispering comforting words. This seemed to have riled everyone up, because their expressions of fear turned into hatred, and every single one of the crew glared at Jimmy with pure viciousness. 

“Why are you doing this to her? Leave her alone!” Nooshy said first.

“Yeah, can’t you see that she’s happy now?” Johnny exclaimed. 

Buster agreed, “she’s been improving every single day since we’ve met her. You would never be able to teach her the things she’s learnt!” He had stepped onto a wooden box to be higher up as he spoke to Jimmy.

“No matter what you say, we’re not going to let her go, dream on!” Nooshy continued.

Jimmy looked at them all, and stepped a few more steps closer to them, “oh… is that the game we’re going to play now, hmm? Don’t you think I’ve forgotten what you’ve done to me…”

Ash, who had been staring at Porsha, uncertain of how to help her, made her way to the center of the room, and stared up at him, her quills all erect. “If you make a move to even touch a single hair on Porsha’s head… I will not stop myself from fighting you.”

Jimmy burst out laughing. He did so dramatically, with tears forming in his eyes as he slapped his thigh a few times, doubling over slightly. Everyone watched with apprehension as he finally composed himself, with Porsha still crying in the corner. “You…” he jabbed his finger against Ash’s shoulder, causing her to take a single step  back. “You think you can do anything against an arctic wolf and his bodyguards?” He turned back to show off the two wolves he brought with him, both incredibly muscular. “Besides, I’m not one to attack someone. I’m more gentlemanly than that.” He adjusted his tie against his suit. “No, in fact, I know the perfect way to really get Porsha to come home with me.”

“Never,” Ash said, her determination not wavering for even a second.

“I will destroy your career. As the Head of Crystal Entertainment, I will make sure no one ever hires you again. You won’t be able to get a job at a dive bar when I’m done with you. You’ll end up begging on the streets, maybe with a final guitar string, hoping someone will give you a single penny. How does that sound?” His grin showed off his deep fangs once more. “Did you hear that, Porsha? Did you hear what I’m going to do with your stingy little friend?”

He looked over to where Porsha was crying, but she was no longer there. Quicker than anyone could even see, Porsha appeared right between her father and Ash, her eyes narrowed and so dark none of the usual yellow could be seen anymore as it filled the whites of her eyes. She had bared teeth that revealed sharp, threatening canines, and her lips curled back in a snarl. Every step she took towards her father was deliberate, the muscles beneath her fur rippled with tension, ready to unleash a burst of energy at any moment. Her claws extended and retracted with each flex of her fingers, and a low, guttural growl escaped her throat, like she didn’t know how to speak properly anymore. The anger was so palpable that everyone in the room could taste it, and no one moved a single inch. 

She looked like a wolf stalking her prey, so delicate and deliberate that when she released the growling bark as she reached her father, everyone jumped at the sound that was now echoing through the room. The primitive sound coming from a predator was clear - it was a sound that only came out in extreme anger or passion, and Jimmy had managed to trigger it in his own daughter. 

She was so close to her father now their nostrils were almost touching, and she had to calm herself down enough so she could even get words out, “everyone here. Everyone here besides you and your stupid staff are my family. Every single one of them. Ash is my girlfriend, and will remain so for as long as I wish. None of this has anything to do with you, father. In fact, I no longer see you as my father. Do not set foot on this property ever again. Don’t look for me, don’t call me, don’t ever think you own me in any way. GET. OUT.” She pointed to the door.

Jimmy looked completely bewildered. He looked like he wanted to get words out, but kept stopping himself before they came out. It was clear his daughter had never come close to standing up to him before, and he had never expected her to do so. “I said - GET. OUT,” she growled again, looking like she was turning more and more into a wild wolf by the second. 

“I… I…” She didn’t let him speak. She took step after step towards him, her nose barely an inch in front of him with every step. Not wanting to hurt his daughter, he backed off step after step, until his back was right against the main theater doors. 

“Boss, do you want us to step in?” One of his bodyguards asked.

Suki still remained silent in the corner, but had a slightly amused expression in her eyes. Jimmy raised his hand, a command for them to back off. Porsha grabbed the door handle behind him and pushed it, a movement so abrupt it made him wince as she did so. “GET. OUT.” She repeated a third time. 

He didn’t say a single word as he exited the building, with Porsha holding the door open for the bodyguards and Suki.

The last time Porsha had released her anger, she was a toddler that didn’t know how to control her predator instincts. All predators learned from a young age how to easily control this. Today, it was all too much.

The fur on her body relaxed and her eyes shifted back to their usual yellow before she let out a final panting breath, and collapsed onto the floor as the doors to the  theater shut with a loud ‘boom’.

—------------------

Ash rushed to Porsha, pulling her close with a shocked expression on her face, “Porsha, Porsha! Are you okay?” 

Porsha stirred almost immediately, wiping her paw against her eyes as she looked up at her girlfriend. “What… what happened?”

“You freaked out at your dad and he left… he looked terrified,” Ash explained. “Do you not remember?”

Porsha furrowed her brows slightly, and said, “I… I remember it faintly. Like I was watching it from the outside.”

“I’ve heard of this before,” Johnny said, approaching them from behind. “Predators that lose control and go back to their natural state when they get angry. Or just emotional in general.” 

“I’ve heard of this too,” Ash said. “But I’ve never actually seen it in real life.” 

“No, it’s pretty rare. Most predators are trained when they’re toddlers to not lose control like that,” Johnny explained, then looked guilty as he glanced at Porsha. “No offense, Porsha.”

She smiled a little awkwardly as she said, “yeah, I think it’s pretty obvious why I lacked any sort of training in that aspect.” 

Ash, already feeling defensive, added, “well, we all would’ve been pretty screwed if you didn’t lose control like that, so I would call it a win for all of us.”

Johnny nodded. “Agreed. I’m glad it happened.”

The rest of the cast, after making sure Porsha was okay, began dissipating, though Johnny continued to awkwardly stare at the two of them, like had something to say. Ash, not having the patient for this sort of thing, immediately said, “what is it?” She tried pulling Porsha up, though struggled with their height difference. Johnny, noticing this, stepped forwards and pulled her up, setting her back on her feet like she weighed nothing.

He scratched the back of his head as he murmured, “this may be a bad time for this…”

“C’mon. Just tell us,” Ash said, crossing her arms and tapping her toes.

“Well… okay.” Johnny said, still looking uncomfortable. Porsha smiled at him, eager to have something to distract her from all the embarrassment her father had just caused. “You know Nooshy has been teaching me how to dance for a while now.”

“Yes. We work together, Johnny. Everyone knows that,” Ash said.

Porsha nudged her, “be nice!” Ash rolled her eyes, but seemed to nod in agreement.

“Well, I’ve been developing feelings for her for quite some time now,” Johnny began. He looked like he was incredibly embarrassed to even broach the subject. If gorillas could blush, he would definitely be doing so at the moment.

“Have you? That’s so exciting for you!” Porsha said, already bouncing back from her father’s incident. Ash was pleased as well. She’d always thought they were great together, and had thought so the day she found out about Porsha’s upcoming birthday.

“I finally had the courage to ask her out on a date,” he started, though was interrupted by Porsha’s loud squealing.

“Did she say yes? DID SHE?”

Ash nudged her girlfriend, “stop talking and let him tell the story. Then you can be excited about it!”

Johnny couldn’t help but chuckle. “The two of you are quite the pair. I’m jealous.”

Ash smiled as well, “believe me, it took a while for us to get to this point.”

“So worth it, though. Continue your story!” Porsha exclaimed.

“She said yes, but I freaked out a little,” Johnny said, “and I told her we could make it casual. Like a double date.” 

“A double date? With us?” Ash said, immediately grasping what he wanted from them.

He nodded, “I’m sorry to spring this on you guys. I know you have a lot going on. Especially with Porsha’s dad and all, but you’re the only couple in the theater, and you two have such a strong connection. I knew I’d be able to rely on you guys.”

Porsha smiled as wide as she possibly could and said, “of course we’ll do it! That sounds so fun!” 

Ash rolled her eyes once more, “shouldn’t you be asking me first?”

“C’mon. I know you secretly want to be involved as well,” Porsha replied, nudging her girlfriend quite dramatically. 

“Okay. You got me there. We’re in,” Ash confirmed.

“Yes!!” Johnny said, throwing his fist up in the air. “This is going to be great!”

They set up the date pretty easily after spotting Nooshy in the practice room, and Porsha absolutely couldn’t wait for the end of the week.

“This is going to be our first serious date date!!” She said as the two of them left the room. 

Ash couldn’t help but chuckle, “I didn’t know you wanted to go on a serious date date.”

“Why wouldn’t I? They’re so romantic!” Porsha said, and turned so she was walking backwards and facing Ash. She clapped her paws together and looked romantically into the distance.

“What did I sign up for, exactly?” Ash asked, smirking to herself.

“The best double date ever, that’s what!” Porsha exclaimed. 

“You’ve never even been to one before!” Ash said, though felt a little guilty about it. It was weird being all of Porsha’s first experiences. She didn’t know if she was ready to take on all of the responsibility of making sure Porsha was always enjoying herself.

“Yes, but I’ve seen it all on TV. I’m sure it’s the same thing.”

“Pretty close,” Ash shrugged. “Now come on, we need to work on our song again. And this time, not being interrupted by a raging lunatic.”

Porsha sighed. “That was rough, wasn’t it? I can’t believe what he said about you….”

“We should stop letting it get us down,” Ash said. “He’s already gone, and I doubt he’ll be back anytime soon. Not after what you did to him. I think he’s gotten the point.”

“I wish he’d understand, Ash. I wish he wouldn’t put his stupid business partners above the relationship he has with me,” Porsha frowned, though was pleasantly surprised at how easy she found it talking to Ash now. Even about something so serious. She was so used to keeping everything to herself that she hadn’t really noticed such a dramatic change in her. This must’ve been what it was like being with someone you trusted in all things.

“I wish he’d understand, too.” Ash said, and stopped in her tracks. Porsha stopped as well, as if it was instinct. Ash, knowing this would happen, pulled Porsha close into an embrace. She nuzzled her face into her fur, loving how warm Porsha was. She was always so warm with her thick double-layered coat. “He might change his mind one day. And if he doesn’t, then he’s losing out on the very best thing in his life. And that’s on him.”

Porsha let out a loud sigh and let out the single tear dripping down her face. “You always know the right thing to say, Ash.”

“Hah. Most people say I have a loud mouth,” Ash smiled, trying to lighten the mood. 

“You do, but you say all the right things when it matters the most,” Porsha explained.

“Good.”

—-----------

Porsha wouldn’t stop talking about the date for the rest of the week. She asked Ash over and over what she should be expecting, how she should be behaving, how she should dress, with Ash rolling her eyes practically every time and telling her to focus on the upcoming show instead. The day before, Ash brought Porsha back to the thrift store, making sure they both had decent enough outfits for the date.

Porsha bought a black top with a skirt that stopped right above her knees, and Ash bought a leather jacket and tight blue dress pants. It was nice to be able to spoil themselves, and Ash had always found it adorable watching Porsha prance around the dressing room. She was even more animated this time, talking about the date over and over as she appeared in and out of the changing room.

They met Johnny and Nooshy in the front of the theater, having chosen a restaurant nearby as their destination, and Ash was shocked to find Nooshy in a dress - a black floral piece with tights underneath. Johnny chose a black blazer and jeans that could pass as ‘fancy’, though still wore sneakers, which was quite on brand with his personality. 

“You look fabulous, Nooshy!” Porsha said, still unable to hide her absolute excitement over this whole thing.

Nooshy grinned and gave her audience a dramatic swirl, resulting in Porsha clapping her paws together loudly. “Perfect! You’re a lucky guy, Johnny.” Porsha nudged him with her hips, which made Johnny look like he was furiously blushing once more.

“Shall we get going, then?” Ash asked. 

“Let’s go!” Porsha agreed. 

The four of them chatted about the upcoming performance as they walked to the restaurant, though Ash noticed the two in front of them didn’t behave quite like a couple yet. Johnny was standing far apart from Nooshy, like he wanted to give her her personal space. It was amusing, since most of the time they were hip to hip at the theater, almost always within touching distance. In fact, they’d barely been apart since the day they’d met when he asked her to teach him for their second show. Johnny seemed to be really in his head about this whole thing, which Ash could definitely relate to, having struggled with Porsha for quite some time about this. It seemed everyone became shy as soon as they desired to be with someone who truly mattered.

Ash wondered if her and Porsha would be able to push him along, just to make him less self-conscious about this whole thing. It was what a friend should try doing, at least. 

“Haven’t you been to many fancy restaurants before?” Ash asked, and scooted closer to hold onto Porsha’s hand as they rounded the corner to the street of Cafe Domaste, where they would be dining. 

Porsha nodded, “but it wasn’t like this. I usually had to smile and act pretty while my dad tried to schmooze one person or the other. No one actually cared about me. I was also pretty young, so I thought all the food was really gross.” She wrinkled her nose, which Ash thought was adorable.

“Reservation for Johnny,” Johnny said to the waiter at the door. The rabbit looked a little snooty, just like the atmosphere of the restaurant itself, and he eyed them up and down like he was making sure their apparel was decent.

“Yes, follow me,” he said, finally deciding they were decent enough. Ash already felt uncomfortable in a place like this, but was glad to see Porsha having so much fun.

They were seated at a nice booth table in the corner, which was pretty isolated from the rest of the space.

The restaurant itself was a study in opulence, with gleaming chandeliers casting a soft glow over tables adorned with crisp white linens and sparkling silverware. Plush velvet chairs offered comfortable seating, and intricate floral arrangements added a touch of elegance to the space. The ambiance was further enhanced by the gentle strains of live music, creating a warm and inviting atmosphere. Servers moved gracefully among the tables, delivering expertly crafted dishes that all four of them couldn’t help but turn their head to look at. 

“Wow, fancy place you’ve chosen, Johnny,” Nooshy said, “I didn’t think that was your style.”

Johnny let out an awkward chuckle and said, “honestly, I just wanted to impress you. I asked some of my dad’s… uh… friends… if they knew any fancy places around, and they said that this was a great place to do ‘business’.” He said the last word with air quotes, and the three of them knew exactly what he meant. 

“You brought us to a criminal den?” Nooshy asked, looking slightly aghast. 

Johnny chuckled, “my dad’s not that intense. I’m sure it’ll be fine.” He waved his hands. 

He scooted into the booth with Nooshy following after him, with Porsha and Ash doing the same. A server came by, a Persian Cat that introduced herself as their waitress, asking if they wanted to drink anything. All four agreed on water for now, and proceeded to check out the menu in silence.

Ash didn’t know if she was stunned by the prices or if it was on par with exactly how fancy the place was. She knew she would be treating Porsha, who she liked to spoil, though she never really spent much on herself, and had plenty of savings from working at the theater to treat her girl for a fancy dinner once in a while. 

“Can you explain what any of this is?” Ash asked, wrinkling her nose at the words ‘quenelle’ and ‘escargot’. “They all sound sketchy to me.” 

Johnny and Nooshy put down their menus at once, both looking at Porsha with equally pitiful eyes. Porsha burst out laughing, and proceeded to explain as best she could, though she’d forgotten a lot about it since cutting herself off from the world she’d left behind. “You know what’s the best part about fancy restaurants?” She said, smiling so much her canines were showing.

“What?” Ash asked, genuinely curious.

“The bread they serve… you dip it in herby butter and vinegar. Delish!” 

“You seem to miss this life…” Ash commented. “I’ve never really thought about that.” 

Porsha shook her head, “oh not at all. Ice cream on the beach is far better than fancy bread any day.” 

Ash pulled her girlfriend close at that, and they both began giggling, though stopped when they noticed the couple across from them staring. “I hadn’t realized how close you two have gotten!” Nooshy said.

“I was going to say the same. I guess we’re always so busy with work,” Johnny shrugged.

“Um, have you seen how the two of you act?” Porsha replied matter-of-factly. “It’s like no one else exists.” Johnny and Nooshy turned to look at each other, and both turned away in embarrassment at the same time. 

“Were you surprised when Johnny asked you out?” Ash asked, trying to make them break out of their shells some more. 

“Not at all,” Nooshy replied.

“Really?” Johnny asked, looking down at her in surprise.

“I heard you talking about it with Rosita,” she revealed.

“What?!” Johnny said, pushing his head in his hands, “I’ve been planning it for weeks!”

“I was wondering when you were finally going to speak up! I’d had a crush on you for ages!” Nooshy blurted out. 

Johnny looked completely incredulous, though had to pause as the waitress came back to take their orders. After she left, he said, “are you serious?”

“Yes,” Nooshy said, though seemed to have realized what she had let slip.

“I just… you always treated me so much like a friend… I didn’t think you liked me like that. It wasn’t until Rosita told me she could sense it in both of us that I finally had the courage to do so. Imagine how awkward it’d be at work if you had said no.”

“It would’ve been pretty awkward,” Nooshy agreed, “have you seen me look at anyone else, though? We spend at least eight hours together a day, and I haven’t once spoken about another guy.”

“I’m surprised you’re not tired of me,” Johnny smiled.

“Nah. You’re the nicest man I’ve ever met. Plus, that accent is super hot.” Nooshy joked. 

“I hope you’re hungry!” The waitress said as she returned, placing their ordered foods on the table. 

The four proceeded to dig in immediately, with Ash and Porsha sharing most of their food so they could both try as much as possible. 

“This is amazing…” Ash commented, her eyes rolling to the back of her head in pleasure.

“Agreed,” Porsha said as she shoved another mouthful in. 

“I wanted to ask…” Nooshy said, changing the mood suddenly, “how do you guys deal with… you know… being a mixed couple? It’s still not very common, and alongside being gay, it must be kinda rough.” 

Ash thought about it for a second and said, “honestly, it’s rougher being gay or bi than being mixed, but being two different species does have some challenges.”

Porsha nodded in agreement, and moved her head so they could see her piercing, “this is a great example of that!”

“Ouch,” Johnny replied, wincing a little.

“I’m constantly scared I’m going to hurt her. It’s not the same as being with another porcupine. We’re usually both used to being pricked,” Ash explained.

“So how is it in… you know… when you’re in bed?” Nooshy asked, her eyebrows raised.

“Oh,” Ash replied, with both her and Porsha looking at each other. “Um…” Porsha had stopped mid bite with her spoon in the air, going from cheerful to peachy in a single moment. “We… um…” Ash had no idea how to explain that the two of them were going slow. Incredibly slow in modern standards. Honestly, no one knew except the two of them, and she found it a little embarrassing how slow they’d be going, but she knew Porsha needed time, and besides, it was what worked for them. 

“We haven’t gotten that far yet,” Porsha finally said, saving Ash from her spluttering. 

“Oh,” Nooshy said, her eyes wide as she examined both of them. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make it awkward.”

“No, no!” Porsha said, “it’s not your fault!” She seemed to think about how much she wanted to say and finally added, “I’m a virgin, so I asked Ash to give me some time. Ash has been super patient with me.” Ash was shocked Porsha found herself comfortable enough to tell them, though she had been working with them for more than a year now, and they were some of her closest friends.

Johnny said in a quiet voice, “actually, I’m a virgin too.”

“What?!” Ash exclaimed before she was able to stop herself.

Johnny chuckled shyly, “is that so surprising?”

“It’s surprising for me too,” Porsha agreed.

“But why?” 

“Because you’re just so…” Ash started but shook her head and tried to start again, “because of your family, I guess. I just assumed the crew had all the girls your age for you to date.”

Johnny laughed out loud, so loud that the giraffe couple next to them turned to see what he was laughing about, “have you met me? My dad and I are so opposite it’s almost comical. He’s tried to introduce me to some of his friends’ kids, but they’re all so different from me. They prefer guys who are alphas, who are covered in muscles and attack animals that don’t look at them right. I’m just not like that.”

Ash nodded, taking it all in. “I feel bad for making the assumption. I should’ve realized if I just thought about it properly.”

Johnny, “nah, most people assume the same.”

“Alpha men are the worst kind of men,” Nooshy commented, almost to herself.

“Not your type, eh?” Johnny said, grinning as he turned to her.

“They care for no one but themselves. Trust me, it’s what I fell for in the past. And every single one of them cheated on me. Most of them I met while dancing in the streets,” Nooshy explained.

“Seems you’re the most experienced in the dating world compared to all of us,” Ash added.

Nooshy nodded, “though not recently. Recently I’ve just had my eye on this guy.” She nudged Johnny, who immediately shifted back to being shy.

“I wish I hadn’t waited so long now,” he said.

“Eh. It’s my fault too. You weren’t the only one overthinking it,” Nooshy leaned over and wrapped her arms around his and leaned her head on his shoulder. Johnny gaped down at her, then let out the widest smile Ash had ever seen on him.

“This is the best date ever!” He cried out, making the rest of them burst out in laughter.

They chatted for an hour more with the couples ordering dessert to share before they parted ways and walked off in opposite directions. All had agreed they needed to have another date night, possibly with board games or something cheesy like a cooking lesson, and Ash left them wondering if she had done a good job in making them feel more comfortable with each other, particularly Johnny.

She had her own relationship to focus on now, though, because she felt like both her and Porsha might be ready for the next step tonight, and it would be all the more special after such a nice dinner date. 

Porsha seemed to have a great time, and was bright eyed as she commented on every touch she’d noticed between Johnny and Nooshy as they made their way home hand in hand. She flicked the lights on after they walked into their apartment, and immediately asked Ash if she wanted to cuddle and continue watching their favorite show.

“I was actually… thinking about doing something else,” Ash said. She hoped she wasn’t pushing Porsha too far, and was reading all the signs correctly.

Porsha raised her eyebrows, “oh? What do you mean?”

“Something… in the bedroom…” Ash clarified.

“Oh.” Porsha paused, looking between her own bedroom and the couch. “Are you sure?” She bit her bottom lip. “Are we ready for something like that?”

“I don’t want to rush you with anything! You know that. If you don’t want to do anything today, that’s fine too,” Ash said, feeling anxious that she may have made Porsha uncomfortable. 

“No, no. I actually do,” Porsha replied with a shy smile.

Ash didn’t waste a single moment, she held onto her partner’s hand and began pulling her to her room, grinning from ear to ear. She stopped at the bed, and Porsha added, “you’ll have to teach me everything, though. Because I have no idea what I’m doing.”

“How much do you know?” Ash asked.

“Literally nothing.”

“No… erotica? No porn? Nothing?” 

“I read a few romance books that described some stuff, but it was all in my head,” Porsha explained.

“We should’ve discussed this stuff sooner, that’s my bad.” 

“Just explain to me now, I can handle it.”

“Okay,” Ash said, feeling determined, “I think today we just focus on your pleasure. Just tell me what feels good for you.”

“Really?” Porsha asked.

“Yes. I want you to enjoy yourself and feel comfy. We can do something with me next time.”

“What do I do now?”

“Lay on the bed.” Porsha obeyed, scooting herself up to the bed with a doe-like expression on her face.

Ash climbed in after her, and tossed her leather jacket onto the floor. She pressed her lips against her girlfriend’s at once. This was the easy part, since they’ve done it many times before already. Porsha responded at once, opening her mouth to let Ash in as their tongues tangled around each other. Ash felt the familiar heat travel up her body, and she smiled into Porsha’s mouth as she pulled back. “Feeling more relaxed?”

Porsha, now sporting some heat in her cheeks, nodded in silence. Ash reached down and pulled her top over her head, revealing her bra underneath. She reached behind her and unhooked it, pulling the bra off of her partner and revealing her breasts for the first time. “Still okay? Tell me when you’ve had enough,” she said gently. 

Porsha nodded, and Ash bent her head down, pulling a nipple into her mouth. Porsha gasped in shock, and began wiggling underneath her.

Ash laughed and pulled back, looking up at her, “I can’t make you feel good if you’re moving like that!” 

“Sorry, sorry! I’ve never felt that sensation before…”

“Just close your eyes and feel. Don’t think about anything else,” Ash said. Porsha nodded again, and she moved down again to pull a nipple into her mouth. She sucked gently, and reached her hand up to play with the other. She switched sides after a quick glance to see Porsha still had her eyes closed, and did the same. “How does that feel? Do you like it?”

Porsha opened her mouth and closed it again, then said, “it made me feel tingly.”

“Good tingly?”

“Yes.”

“Great.” Ash said before moving further down Porsha’s body. She pulled her skirt down, showing off Porsha’s adorable blue cotton panties underneath.

“I would’ve worn something cuter if I knew you were seeing me naked today,” Porsha said shyly.

Ash laughed. “Are you kidding? You look adorable in everything. I’m just surprised you're so comfortable with me seeing you naked.”

“I’m surprised too. I think I’m just comfortable with you in general,” she said, “I’m not really nervous at all right now. And I thought I would be.”

Ash was pleased at this, and proceeded to take off the last of Porsha’s clothing. She stared at her girlfriend, her face in awe. “You’re beautiful.”

“No one’s ever seen me naked before. Not as a grown up.”

“I’m glad to have been given the honor,” Ash grinned. 

She moved in between Ash’s legs, and pushed it apart. “You’re… what are you doing?”

“I want to see your beauty up close, of course,” Ash said.

“It’s not… icky?” Porsha asked, and Ash responded only with laughter. She began playing with Porsha’s skin softly, gliding her hands up and down her legs and thighs. She knew women like to be played with gently before leading up to something more intense, and wanted to give Porsha all the time in the world to get even more heated up. She got closer and closer to her vulva, flicking her fingers against it a few times, almost like she was doing it by accident. Of course, Porsha couldn’t help herself again. She began wiggling, moving away from Ash and making it much harder for her to focus. 

Ash looked up and gave Porsha the deadliest stare she could manage, “again?”

“I’m sorry! This is all just so new to me! I feel so… weird down there. Like I want… more.”

“More of what?” Ash asked, pleasantly surprised at how sensitive Porsha was.

“I don’t know. More of what you’re doing,” Porsha said.

Ash, realizing Porsha was probably ready for more, moved her fingers even further, and aligned a single digit against Porsha’s opening. She pushed it in, and Porsha gasped out loud. “How does that feel? Painful?”

“It’s… okay… It’s just a little sore.”

Ash nodded and pushed another finger inside and began moving them in and out of her slowly. Porsha gasped and looked down at her legs, her eyes wide with confusion. “How about now?” Ash asked.

Porsha gulped and said, “it’s kind of painful, but not at the same time. This is all so new.”

“I know.” Ash said, already noticing some blood around her fingers. She’d never tore someone’s hymen before, so this part was quite new to her as well.

She situated herself better in between Porsha’s legs, and pressed her lips against her clit. She gave it a gentle kiss, then stuck her tongue out and flicked it. Porsha gasped and jolted back, though Ash was holding onto her so hard she barely moved. Ash grinned and looked up at her lover. “You loved that, didn’t you?”

“That was… that was so good.”

“Close your eyes now and lean back, I want to give you as much pleasure as possible,” Ash commanded, and Porsha nodded, listening again. She began doing everything at once, pushing her two fingers in and out and flicking her tongue up and down against Porsha’s clit. She moved in the way that got the most response from Porsha, since everyone was different in what they liked, and Porsha began moaning loudly. The sounds coming out of her were adorable, and Ash could already feel a pooling between her own legs. She would have to deal with that alone after.

Porsha became wetter and wetter as time went on, so much so that it soaked the bed and Ash’s face. It was the most Ash had ever seen in a lover - though she’d only ever been with one other woman. She began going faster and faster, and wondered if Porsha was about to experience her first orgasm. 

Porsha gasped and grasped onto Ash’s head, tugging on some of her quills as she circled her tongue over and over. She felt the moment Porsha’s entire body seized, and knew she was about to cum. “Ah… ah, Ash!” Porsha cried out suddenly. She began quivering all over as her back arched, and Ash had to try her hardest to continue licking her lover as she jolted. She went hard until Porsha finally calmed down, and pulled away from her immediately.

Porsha laid slumped on the bed with her eyelids drooped, and Ash climbed up next to her with a smile on her now soaked face. “Well? How was that?”

Porsha turned to look at her, her eyelashes fluttering over and over. “Oh my god!”

“How was your first orgasm? Hmm?”

“Your face is soaked!”

“That’s all you Porsha. Seems like you enjoyed it.”

“I feel so bad! Your hands are bloody too…” Porsha said, looking down and noticing it for the first time.

“Trust me. I was having a great time,” Ash said. “I could do that a million more times.”

“Really?” Porsha asked. “Well, I’d definitely want to do that again!”

Ash laughed out loud. “You still have a lot to learn. I have so much to show you.”

“I can’t wait. And I want to make you feel good next time, too.”

Ash smiled, held her hand out for Porsha and tugged her up. “Let me go wash my face and we can go out for a smoke.”

Porsha followed behind her, saying, “wow, my thighs are still quivering from that.”

“I’m just that amazing in bed,” Ash said, looking back to give her a wink.

The two girls spent the rest of the evening sitting on the balcony, watching pedestrians walk on the dimly lit Friday streets as they each held a cigarette. “I feel so relaxed now. Like I just worked out and went to the spa. I feel like I’m going to sleep so well tonight.”

“You can see why a lot of people love sex,” Ash said. 

“It all makes sense now,” Porsha nodded. “I could do this with you all the time. We shouldn’t have waited so long.”

“We have all the time in the world,” Ash said as she flicked the head of her cigarette, “I’m just happy to experience it all with you.”