Clams and Tin Cans | Part Seven [Comm] (Patreon)

Part Seven

Mercurio opened the door to his apartment, revealing the grinning muzzle of his friend Bruxon standing in the doorway.

“Hey hotshot.”

The raccoon smiled, walking inside of his apartment before wiping his paws on the front mat. Merc shook his head at the comment, closing the door behind him before facing his friend. 

“Look, it was one date.”

“So when’s the wedding?”

“Stop.”

The raccoon grinned giddily, striding into the living room before flopping down on the couch and making himself at home. The two had been friends for a few years now, and Mercurio had always been rather fond of her easy-going personality. The raccoon had the default complexion of black, gray, and lighter gray gradients in terms of fur color. He did possess several bright orange highlights, which decorated the tops of his shoulders, his elbows, outer thighs, the insides of his knees, and a few patches on the insides of his ears. The raccoon had a wicked sense of humor, and would often endlessly tease Mercurio, but in a relatively affectionate manner. 

“I’ll say, from the way you’ve been talking about her you seem totally head over heels for this dame.”

Mercurio gave him a sideways look, a slightly incredulous expression coming over his muzzle as he responded, evading the statement partially.

“Dude, who even says the word ‘dame’?”

The raccoon shrugged, raising his paws up until he was lying flat against the surface of the couch and raising his arms to place them behind his head, as if the couch he were laying on were his own. 

“I say dame. Anyway, you two should take a cute selfie or whatever couples do nowadays so I can see her.”

“Sure, I’ll keep that in mind.”

Mercurio sat himself down in an armchair next to the couch, grabbing the remote off of the coffee table as he did so and turning on the television. He switched over to a comedy tv show, and lowered the volume so they could talk. 

“So like, where are you taking her exactly?”

Mercurio grinned, eager to discuss his plans with his friend. 

“Zaxby’s.”

“Fuck off, you’re taking here there and you’re paying for drinks?”

“Unless she wants to.”

“Ah yeah, you did mention she is a “Marge in charge” kind of girl.”

Mercurio turned away for a moment to hide his blush, as he thought about his phrasing when he had described her. He could not do well and go ahead and tell his friend that she was the kind of girl that liked to put grown goats like him into diapers and onesies. Still, he found it a little funny that he was telling Bruxon about Amber’s more dominant side. He could tell that she definitely liked being the one wearing the pants, but that did not mean that he would not treat her. 

“Yeah, Zaxby’s. I really like the vibe there when over drinks, you feel like you get more drunk than you actually are with all that old fashioned wooden furniture everywhere. Plus the barkeep is an expert, he has a thing for serving couples.”

Bruxon shook his head, his attention now also facing the screen as he replied.

“Dude I eat so many of their cheese curds it’s unhealthy…”

“Pretty sure healthy and cheese curds don’t belong in the same sentence anyway, Brux.”

“Yeah, you tell that to my tongue.”

Bruxo opened his muzzle and extended his tongue out, pointing to it with a paw for emphasis. Mercurio glanced over, grinning before nodding in mock seriousness, the corners of his lip turned upwards as he acknowledged the raccoon’s sentiment. 

For a few minutes, they idly watched TV before Bruxon asked. 

“So did you guys bump uglies yet.”

Mercurio was happy that he was not drinking anything at that moment, for the lump that formed in his throat would have undoubtedly caused him to choke. He swallowed hard before answering, hoping that his voice did not sound too tight as he responded.

“Not really, just kind of got all touchy feely. We’re totally attracted to one another though.”

Bruxon prompted further.

“Did you stick your hooves into her otter clam?”

Mercurio winced, furrowing his eyebrow despite smiling back at the raccoon.

“Dude you really are a trash mammal for asking such a question.”

Bruxon laughed at this comment, but seemingly accepted the answer to the question by following up with another one. 

“Do you think she would tattoo her name onto your arm?”

“Dude, I’m not stupid.”

“Heh, just poking you.”

Bruxon sat upright, facing Mercurio who glanced towards him. He saw that the raccoon appeared animated and eager, and wondered what he was about to say. Without skipping a beat, Bruxon continued.

“You nervous at all?”

“Less so than on the first date, but still a little yeah.”

“Dude come on, you’re a doofy lovable guy you’re going to kill it.”

“I know! That I’m going to kill it at least, dunno so much about… What did you call me? Doofy?”

Bruxon’s ringed tail swished behind him as he nodded, explaining further.

“Yeah, doofy. You know, it’s that shaggy mop on top of your head that makes you seem doofy, I bet Amber would agree.”

Mercurio gave him a sideways look, his eyebrow arching as he appeared to be giving him a quizzical look. 

“Dude, that’s all in your head.”

Bruxon shrugged, and the sparkle in his eye told the goat that he was just trying to tease him further in order to set him at ease. Mercurio sighed, looking down at the coffee table as he continued.

“Okay, yeah, I'm a little nervous. She’s totally a keeper, I really, really wanted this to go well. Hell, I get stiff just thinking about her during the day.”

Bruxon raised his paws up, palms facing towards Mercurio as he exclaimed in mock disgust. 

“Whoa! TMI!”

Mercurio rolled his eyes, replying sarcastically.

“Yeah, okay Mr. Otter Clam. I get stiff as a board thinking about when she looks at him or even when she pays any kind of attention to me. She’s totally hot…”

“Careful I don’t charm her away from you.”

“Hey, remind me how much minced raccoon meat goes on the market again?”

Bruxon shook his head, his shoulders shaking as he laughed. He glanced down for a moment, before raising his gaze up at Mercurio with a more serious expression on his muzzle.

“Hey, in all seriousness, don’t worry about it too much. It’s going to go fine, and she’s going to absolutely love your choice of venue. I don’t think I could have chosen a better place to take her myself.”

Mercurio nodded, grateful for his friend’s encouraging words. They lapsed into silence once more, occasionally commenting on the occurrences of the comedy skit they were currently watching. The late afternoon passed, and Mercurio thanked his friend for coming over before escorting him to the door. 

After he closed it, he turned and leaned his back against it while looking up at the ceiling. 

Man… I can’t wait to see Amber again…

He thought to himself, checking the calendar for the fifth time that day to confirm that the date was only two days away. He could hardly wait.