Beastly Roommates Ch. 02: His Family

"Well, they're clearly comfortable cuddling in front of us," he whispered. I let out a small giggle, and figured if our hosts were fine with getting cozy, then we could too! I draped my arm around David's shoulder and smiled as he snuggled happily into me. My tail was behind him, but he pulled it around his waist and started running his fingers through the tuft of fur at the end. It felt lovely. Once we were all settled, I turned back to Van and Serafina.

"I must say, I was very surprised to hear about you being mated to a human." Serafina and Van exchanged smiling glances before turning back to David and I.

"That'sss understandable. We try very hard to keep a low profile," she explained.

"And the entrance to the back certainly makes that easier." Added Van.

"How did you two meet?" Asked David.

"A little over four years ago I walked into the diner because I was hungry and in the area. At the time didn't know what kind of place it was." He looked at his mate adoringly. "But when this gorgeous women came up to show me to my seat I knew I'd be back."

"And for two months thisss odd human kept showing up into my restaurant," added Serafina with a giggle. "Then one day, after all the other patrons left he catches me completely off guard and asks me out."

"And you thought I was making fun of you!" Laughed Van.

"Yesss, I did. Though he managed to convince me that he was sssincere and I agreed to go out to dinner with him... once."

"And once turned into twice," teased van, lightly tapping Serafina on the nose, making her giggle.

"And by the third date I was head-over-heels for this wonderful man." She sighed, but then her face took on a darker tone. "But it wasn't easy. My family doesn't talk to me much anymore.

"Mine disowned me completely... bunch of bigots... can't say it was really all that much of a loss..." Van muttered with a scowl, though it seemed like it bothered him more than he wanted to admit. "The biggest obstacle ended up being the harrassment we'd get whenever we'd show any public affection. Sometimes got pretty brutal." He pointed out a couple of light scars on his arm and my heart sank. "Eventually we decided that we needed to be discreet."

"I'm so sorry," I whispered. The two of them gazed at one another again for a moment, smiling tenderly before Van looked our way again.

"It's hasn't been easy, but it's definitely worth it."

"I'm very glad to hear that." I said, feeling quite happy to hear from others who have been in David and my situation before, and that they were doing well, even years later.

"What about you two?" Asked Serafina. "How did you meet?" David told them about the bar, then him happening to get my ad for a roommate, and eventually how our relationship grew while Van and Serafina listened on, seeming to be quite interested.

"That is adorable," gushed Serafina once the story was done, but after a moment her expression darkened. "Have you spoken to your families yet?" David stroked the fur on my arm for a moment before answering.

"I told my mother about Ruth. Her and my sister were very supportive, though I think my dad's gonna need a bit more convincing."

"I haven't spoken to my father in six years, and I don't have any other family. I left over mating concerns, but I always planned on going back after being mated, thinking he would have no choice but to respect my decision after it was made. However, given the circumstances I'm not sure if that's a good idea." I felt the familiar longing to see my father again. Seemingly able to sense it, David took my hand and gave it a comforting squeeze.

"Both of our best friends are supportive though," added David. "That helps."

"It doesss," replied Serafina. "Alice has been a good friend for a very long time."

"It took her a while to warm up to me, but she eventually came around!" Laughed Van. "Seeing as you came here together, you're not trying to keep as low of a profile, are you?"

"We'd eventually like to go public, but after hearing your story, I'm not sure that's a good idea," I answered with a sigh.

"Umm... Actually, you two might be in a better position than we were." The young man said hesitantly. "Have you met Kenneth and Chandra?"

"No, but Julie mentioned them once. Why?"

"They're pretty open with their relationship, but a girtablilhu's venom is no joke, and Kenneth is a bounty hunter with a fierce reputation," explained Serafina.

"I suppose that makes sense, but why tell us that?" I asked.

"I think she's trying to say we're intimidating!" David said and my heart sank. I thought back to the day we met and how he made three rough-looking men think twice about approaching with just a glare. In addition, though I was small for my kind, I towered over almost everyone I'd ever met in the city.

"I don't like people being afraid of me." David started rubbing the back of my hand with his thumb.

"I'm sorry," apologized Van. "I meant no offense."

"Its ok." The next few moments were spent in silence before David spoke again, changing the subject.

"Sorry if this is getting a little personal, but do you know if mixed couples can have kids?" Asked David. I listened close because I was curious too.

"I don't think so," answered Van. "We know nearly a dozen mixed couples, and none of them have any offspring."

"We agreed some time ago that even if we could have children, we wouldn't," added Serafina. "I don't even want to try to imagine what kind of bullying and harassment a hybrid child would have to go through." I sighed in dismay.

"I would have liked to have been a mother at some point, but that makes sense," I said quietly. David turned in my arms to look up at me.

"Hey, don't give up already," he said tenderly, "Maybe we can adopt or something. There's a lot of kids that need a good home."

"That is true, and if you decide to go that route, we wish you two all the best," Serafina said as she started unwrapping Van. "And while I don't wish to send you away, I really do need to get to sleep soon."

"I get that. Can I ask you one more thing?" Asked David.

"Of course!" Answered Van

"This one's actually for Serafina. My job site is just around the corner. Would it be a problem if I stopped in for lunch with my friend, Tom? He's the one who's been supportive of me and Ruth." The Lamia thought for a moment.

"I don't think so, but I can't have any trouble either. If I start getting complaints I may have to ask you to ssstop coming. I'm very sorry if it ends up coming to that, but I make a living by catering to a certain clientele, and when it comes to my business, they come first."

"I don't blame you. I'll try to just keep to myself." David stood up and so did I while Serafina slithered over.

"It was very nice to meet you David." She held out her hand, which he shook before she turned to me. "And it was wonderful getting to know you a little better. Let's not wait too long before doing this again!" She wrapped her arms around me in a hug.

"Yes, I agree." I returned the hug while David and Van shook hands as well. After that we put on our coats and left.

"That was kinda cool!" Exclaimed David, once we were on our way home.

"Yes, it was quite nice to speak with someone who's already gone through what we have coming up."

"Yeah, it really was. If you ask me, I say the more support the better."

"I agree."

The roads weren't very crowded, so the drive back to the apartment didn't take very long. It was nice to be home and we went straight to our bedroom.

"Mmmm..." I heard David cooing right as I took off my shirt. I turned and he was staring at me with a familiar, hungry look on his face. My heart started to flutter as he stepped slowly and deliberately toward me. When he was within arms reach he ran his fingers up through the fur on the side of my neck, making tingles run down my spine. Mere moments later I lowered my head and crashed my lips into his while we stumbled toward the bed in a flurry of quickly rising passion.

Chapter 7

"You mean they're submitting another bulletin!?" I exclaimed in frustration.

"Yes," answered my project engineer. I knew it wasn't his fault, but the amount of changes being made to the original design mid-project was ridiculous, and I was struggling to keep my temper in check.

"Alright, fine. I'll take a look at it this afternoon."

"Thanks, Dave." I hung up with a sigh. A new bulletin meant more changes without any a change in the project end date. I massaged my temples for a moment before the trailer door opened.

"Heyo!" Shouted Tom as he walked in.

"Hey," I replied unenthusiastically.

"What's up?" He asked, sensing my mood.

"Just got off the phone with the engineer. The the next bulletin is in for review..."

"Another one!" He exclaimed. "What number is this one!?"

"Eleven... I think."

"This is getting ridiculous," he muttered. "Well, I do have some good news for you."

"What's that?" He grinned and his eyes lit up.

"It's time for lunch!"

"That is good news!" I said with a chuckle. "Got somewhere in mind?"

"Pfft, no." I broke into a smirk.

"How about Serafina's? I went there with Ruth a couple weeks ago and it was pretty good."

"Is that the place run by that snake-chick you mentioned when we started this job?" I glared at him.

"You know, if someone called Ruth a 'cow-chick' I'd probably knock them flat..." I retorted. He opened his mouth to presumably say something snarky, but seemed to think better of it.

"I see your point," he mumbled a few seconds later.

"Moving on," I said, not wanting to dwell on the topic. "Yes, that's the place." He hesitated before responding.

"Is it ok for a couple of humans to go there?"

"It'll be fine," I insisted. "I had the opportunity to ask her myself when we were there."

"Ok... I'll go, but I really hope you're right."

We left the job site and I drove us the short distance to the diner. As we walked in I really hoped I was right about it being ok for us to be there.

It wasn't very crowded inside, but I preferred eating lunch a little early to beat the rush, so I wasn't surprised. Serafina was leading a couple of centaurs to their table, but she gave a small smile and nod when she saw us. Before she made it back to us, a leonite got up from his table and started approaching with a fluid grace. Unfortunately, it didn't look like it was going to be a friendly greeting. I had a few inches of height on him and probably quite a few pounds, but he looked every bit as lethal as the predator he resembled.

"You need to leave," he uttered with a low growl, and I gulped.

"We're just here to get some lunch, that's all," I said as calmly as I could manage. Before he could respond, a pale, slender hand touched his shoulder.

"It's ok. He's been here before with one of our regulars, a minotaur." Interrupted Alice. "And if I remember correctly, he also seemed to be friends with a lupine couple that was here at the time. The leonite looked between me and the arachne with a glare. "And our goal here is to serve everyone equally, so long as they're respectful to the other patrons."

"Fine," he replied with a low rumble, and went back to his table. Once he'd take his seat, Alice leaned in close.

"Look, it's one thing when you're here with your mate, but waltzing in here on your own isn't a good idea," she said quietly.

"I asked Serafina about it when I was here last time, and she said it was fine," I protested, making her sigh.

"Alright, I'll take you guys to your table." She looked past me and her face scrunched up in confusion. I followed her Alice's gaze to see Tom, who was staring at her. I smacked his arm with the back of my hand and he snapped out of his his stupor.

"Don't be rude," I hissed quietly. I glanced back at the waitress and she scowled at Tom for a moment before turning around and leading us to a secluded table in the corner.

"Dude, what's with you?" I hissed, once Alice had left with our drink orders.

"I dunno man..." muttered Tom.

"You're acting like you've never seen an arachne before!"

"Not this close I haven't." He glanced at Alice again, but quickly turned his head back toward me when she looked our way again.

"You're being really weird."

"Yeah, I know..." Tom mumbled before burying his face in the menu. A couple minutes later Alice came back. Tom didn't even look up to place his order, and he didn't say much for the rest of the lunch break either.

"Seriously, what was up with that?" I asked when we were headed back to the job site.

"Nothing. Don't worry about it," he insisted.

"Ok," I muttered, not convinced. We got back to the job and he immediately got back to work, leaving me wondering what was up with him. At the end of the day he left without even saying 'see ya' either. I packed up and left myself, and when I got home I had just enough time to get cleaned up before going to pick Ruth up from work. I headed to the door, and when I opened it I almost ran straight into a black-furred centaur woman, whose hand was already raised to knock! We both jumped back in surprise.

"Hi, can I help you?" I asked.

"Um, hello. My name is Felicia, I'm one of your neighbors."

"Yeah, I've seen you around. What's up?" She stomped at the ground in what I thought might have been nervousness.

"I... was wondering I we might be able to talk for a little bit." I wasn't sure what it was about, but I figured that the conversation might go a bit more smoothly with Ruth around. Plus she was getting out of work soon and it was about time for me to go get her.

"Actually, I was about to go pick Ruth up from her job."

"Oh, I didn't realize that you drove her to work." Felicia seemed a bit taken aback by the idea.

"Yeah, whenever I'm not already at work."

"Well, umm... that's very kind of you," she stammered.

"If you want, you can come back later," I offered, wanting to get everything out in the open sooner rather than later. Felicia thought for a moment.

"I suppose that would be fine. How about in a couple hours?"

"That'll do." She pawed the ground awkwardly.

"Then I will be back."

"See ya in a bit." As she left I shook my head at how awkward the whole encounter was. Without any further delay, I grabbed my keys and took off.

I'd arrived a couple minutes after Ruth's shift ended, and she happened to be walking out right as I pulled up. Her face lit up when she saw me and came right to the truck.

"Hey sweetheart, how was work?" I asked when she'd gotten in.

"It was ok," she answered. "Though things have been a little awkward since it got out that you and I are together."

"I'm sorry..." I said quietly.

"I'm not." She took my hand in hers. "It's worth it," she added with a smile, and I felt my heart melt a little. I put the truck in gear without letting go of her hand and started driving.

"Speaking of letting things out, our neighbor Felicia stopped by."

"Oh... did you tell her about us?" Ruth asked slowly.

"No. I was just coming to pick you up so I didn't have the chance, though I told her she could come back later. Honestly, I just want to get it out of the way."

"That is fine." Ruth squeezed my hand and I squeezed it back.

Before long we were home. Ruth went to get changed and I started on dinner; a concoction of diced sweet potatoes, apples, onion, and a few other things all pan-fried together. I also fried up some chicken sausages to put on mine.

"That smells wonderful," exclaimed Ruth when she came into the kitchen. I smiled at her and she bent down for a kiss. Without warning she took my head in her hands and kissed me deeper. I gasped as her tongue lightly flicked against my lips, but as suddenly as it began, she pulled away.

"Wow..." I breathed.

"More of that later," she teased, and turned around to leave.

Grinning like an idiot and feeling like the luckiest man in the world, I watched Ruth's butt wiggle and sway as she walked away with her tail swinging freely. I'd noticed that she'd started doing that when she was trying to be coy. I didn't know if it was intentional or not, but I certainly found it alluring! Once she'd left the room I adjusted my erection and finished making dinner.

I dished out a couple plates and went to the table, where Ruth already had tableware, glasses of water, and napkins waiting.

"Thank you for making dinner. It smells delicious," she said with a smile. I kissed her forehead and sat down.

"You're welcome."

We must have both been hungry, because for the first few minutes, neither of us said anything. However, we did have something to discuss.

"So, how do you want to break the news to our neighbor?" I asked.

"I think we just tell her, but it would probably be best to let her get settled in first." I thought for a moment, but wasn't able to come up with anything better.

"Yeah, I suppose that'll work," I replied with a sigh. We finished our meals, and I put the food away into containers that we could take in our lunches while Ruth got started on dishes. I was done quickly and went into the front room to go relax on the couch for a little while.

Before Ruth had finished there was a knock at the door. My heart starting to pound furiously in my chest as I headed over, took a deep breath, and opened it. As expected, Felicia was standing on the other side.

"Hello again. Come on in!" I greeted as cheerfully as I could while my stomach was in knots.

"I'll be out in a minute, I'm just finishing dishes," called Ruth from the kitchen.

"Your dishes too?" She asked as her eyes flashed suspiciously.

"Yeah. I normally cook and she cleans. It works for us," I explained and the centaur's face softened.

"Oh, I suppose that makes sense."

"Well, make yourself at home!" I gestured to the front room, though I didn't figure she would sit or anything. "Can I get you something to drink? Water? Beer? Wine? I could make some coffee too if you'd rather."

"Water is fine," she answered.

"I'll get it. I just finished," called out Ruth again. Felicia stood in the corner and I sat on the couch.

"So, to what do we owe the visit?" I asked politely. The centaur woman pawed anxiously back and forth for a moment, but eventually answered.

"I suppose I'm here because your roommate spoke highly of you, and since she did so, I thought that it might be worth getting to know you a little better." I grinned widely, happy to finally be given a chance.

"You know, if asked I would speak very highly of her too." Felicia. Seemed quite surprised at my reply.

"I... see." I heard the sound of a couple of glasses being filled and a moment later Ruth came into the room with a water for each of us. She gave one to Felicia first, then handed one to me before sitting down right up next to me. The centaur woman eyed our casual closeness curiously as she took a sip. I looked up at Ruth.

"Should I tell her? Or do you want to?" I asked.

"Perhaps it would be best for me to," she answered.

"Tell me what?" Asked Felicia, confusion evident on her face. Ruth took my hand in hers.

"David and I are together." Felicia's eyes shot open and she spent several seconds darting her head every which way in shock while pawing at the ground. After a couple seconds she took a deep breath and seemed to calm down a little.

"I apologize, but I must have misunderstood."

"You didn't misunderstand. David and I are mated," Ruth clarified and Felicia stared in open-mouth shock once more. A few seconds later it twisted into a look of disgust.

"Human males will be what they are, but how could you let him seduce you like this!?"

"Hey..." I started to retort, but Ruth cut me off.

"He did not seduce me. I wanted this relationship too!" She snapped.

"How do you know you can even trust him!?" Ruth snorted with flared nostrils.