Broken Secrets Ch. 12

This is a short work of erotic fiction containing furry, or anthropomorphic, characters, which are animals that either demonstrate human intelligence or walk on two legs, for the purposes of these tales. It is a thriving and growing fandom in which creators are prevalent in art and writing especially.

Please note that all characters are clearly over eighteen and written as such in all stories.

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"So, what are we doing for Halloween this year?"

Sasha practically bounced in place, Kao rolling his eyes, on a handheld gaming console, where he was obviously losing, judging from the beeps it was making.

"Ugh, mom, we don't always need to do something for Halloween, you know..." He grumbled, though the drake, to be fair to him, was more annoyed at his game than he was with his mother. "It's not always going to be like it was when we were kids... I liked your cakes though."

Sasha puffed out her cheeks, filling them with air as her paws went to her hips.

"Young dragon, I'll have you know that you won't be getting any cakes if you keep talking to your mother like that!"

Kao may have been an adult, just about, but he knew better than to anger a riled-up dragoness, muttering an apology, his snout shoved further down to his gaming screen. It didn't help him win, however.

"Hm..." Fyr considered the question, sharing the armchair with Car, where she was sprawled, a little possessively, over his lap, sitting on top of him. "Well, I always liked those parties before...but they were for little kids, mom, I don't think we'd fit in there anymore. And trick or treating is definitely for kids."

Car's head came up a notch, the drake's eyes shining with shy yet childish joy, though he still held a little of it back."

"What? No! You're never too old for trick or treating! I wish I'd had a younger brother or sister or something so that I could have taken them out with me, I'd've loved that."

Fyr chuckled, leaning against him as she looked up.

"Maybe you, Car, but Kao was a pain in the tail to drag around trick or treating... Always dressed as a robot or something crazy... I think one year he was a pirate!"

Kao grinned.

"I still have the sword."

"Alright, alright," Sasha said, reclaiming their attention from diverging with a snap of her fingers. "Come on, I'm not suggesting that we go and trick or treat...though we could dress up...but we can go pumpkin picking or something? The corn maze is supposed to be for adults too, the big one that the farmer got a little carried away with. I think they'd lose the kids in there if they let them go in unsupervised, to be fair..."

Fyr pursed her lips, tail curling back and forth curiously.

"I suppose pumpkin picking could be fun, it's been a long time since I've carved a pumpkin... Have you ever done that, Car?"

"Hm, well, can't say I really got into anything other than the typical Halloween candy stuff, that's what I remember most about it," he admitted with a half-shrug, Kao chuckling in the background. "But I'd like to go if it was with you, Fyr."

She smiled. Something had changed in the last few days as the Autumn months closed in around them, fortunate to be in a part of the world where there were defined seasons, the changing colours of the leaves setting the land apart, if only for a little while. The tree lined streets gave an indicator that the months were changing, though the study schedules that Fyr and Car were both on, picking up extra courses to supplement their education, did not follow the traditional cycles and breaks that they'd been used to. In a way, it had thrown them both off kilter somewhat.

But it did not matter, not as she gamely said that they could all go, head to the party with the cider tasting -- not for Kao, unfortunately, as he was underage, but he could have apple juice from the farm too -- and go pumpkin picking too. It was only early afternoon, though there was still some time before night drew in, hours that weren't to be wasted. She liked how it made her mother light up, as if it was one thing that she had always truly enjoyed, even when things had been difficult in their life.

So, she would do whatever was needed, for her mother's sake.

*

Car dashed home, though his parents' car was not in the driveway, as he'd expected. He hadn't been around all that much since they'd moved out, though they'd asked him especially to keep an eye on the house while they were away visiting family. Not for any bad reason, of course, but it still made his stomach twist uncomfortably. A lot of bad news could come from within families and there were memories there that the drake didn't want to revisit.

The house was quiet, however, as he mooched through the rooms, doing the usual, sorting the mail, watering the plants (god, his mother had so many plants), making sure that everything was in order. He might even be able to squeeze in a quick clean and freshen up of the place before they were back, for there was always the chance of a place gaining a hint of must and dust after the owners or occupants had been away for a while. It was something that he'd always noticed when he'd been younger and come back from holiday with them.

He yawned. Maybe a sit down wouldn't be that bad. It had been a busy time and, to be fair to him, it was exhausting running around fucking Sasha and being with Fyr, his time short enough at the best of times. He had too much on his plate and things there were going to come to a head eventually, even if he wanted everything to carry on the way it was, forever if possible.

Tired, a bit too tired. He had to head out to meet them at the farm where everything was being held, one of his friends working out there too -- was it in the family? His eyelids were heavy, too heavy, leaning back against the sofa, fighting the claw of sleep.

A little rest wouldn't hurt, not after ransacking the fridge for food that would have gone off anyway before his parents got home. His stomach was full and everything around him was so quiet and soft and he was just so...sleepy...

What?

He woke with a start, sitting bolt upright, heart pounding. It was never a good way to wake up, Car's tail slamming back into the sofa, yet the dragon seemed to have slumped down against the seats in his slumber. He checked his phone, cursing under his breath -- Fyr was going to kill him! He was late, very late, but the messages that popped up on his phone screen, scrolling through them quickly, told him that Fyr was already gone.

Damn it... She's really going to have it in for me this time...

But he didn't mean that. He would have been annoyed too if Fyr had stood him up for what was practically a date, hating having his time wasted. And there he had gone and done exactly the same thing to her, all by falling asleep on the sofa. He couldn't even honestly explain to her why he was so tired, for it would have broken her heart. That wasn't something that Carenath had any intent to do.

There was one message, however, from Sasha. Rubbing his temples, he flicked it open with his thumb.

Sasha: Hey, hon, if you text me the addy I'll come pick you up. We can head out and follow them up to the farm.

Sasha: There'll be plenty of quiet places there for us to sneak off and...you know...

That, at least, was something to perk him up, tapping away at the touch screen to send back his address, even though he could have just driven over there. To be fair, it would be quicker for her to pick him up, though a little strange, considering all that was going on between them. He supposed that things were going to be strange, however good they were too, despite all.

In the chilly late afternoon air, he waited on his doorstep, rubbing his arms, his favourite sweatshirt with Fyr. The kind of dragon that would freeze to death rather than ask for something to wear, he stuck it out, toughed it out, arms folded tightly across his chest as if that alone would help him keep in a little more heat. He was grateful when Sasha pulled up, the familiar, blue dragoness rolling down the window with a smile to call him over.

"Come on! We'd best head on, honey."

To anyone watching, there was nothing strange about them, their interactions. Only Sasha knew how her eyes followed the drake over to her car, muscle pulling lightly under his T-shirt, imagining how firm his glutes would feel when his arse was once again in her paws. She nipped at the edge of her lip, not hard enough to draw a bead of blood, enjoying the view. It was even better when he slipped in alongside her, reaching over to slide his paw down her thigh as if they were far more than casual partners, taking the time to fuck when they could.

She shivered. There was something there... Something that she had not had for a very, very long time. But she wasn't sure if she was ready for "that" yet.

"Hey, hon, what happened to you?"

Car grimaced.

"Ugh... Fell asleep on the sofa, not been sleeping well enough, clearly, lately... Fuck, Fyr's going to be so fucking mad at me."

"No need to swear, sweetie, we'll get you there and everything will be fine, don't worry. There's still time before the sun goes down and I hear there'll be dancing at the party, later, too. Maybe you and Fyr can stay out while Kao and I head home?"

She laughed lightly, giving a tiny shake of her head.

"Kao never liked Halloween, but I had to get him out to stop him from sitting where he was and gorging on candy, bless his heart. He's a funny dragon and he'll grow up... Always thought that Fyr matured earlier than him, but what are you going to do? You can't change things with dragons like that, they'll always be who they are. A little getting out and about though was always good for Kao."

"I was probably about the same as him," Car admitted with a shy smile, settling down into the passenger seat, though it had been a while since he had sat next to Sasha like that. "I only wanted the sweets and the candy... I probably went hyper and mad on it too, poor parents. You don't realise the kind of effect this stuff has on you until you're older."

Sasha barked a laugh, loud and sharp, though it was merely due to the extent of her mirth, her paw rising to half-cover her muzzle.

"Oh, dear... Yes, I remember those days! I used to send them out into the garden with their bathing suits and the sprinklers! It cooled them off in the summer, at least, though piles of fallen leaves were good for burning off excess "sugar energy" too..."

Sasha's eyes grew misty.

"I know not many are in the same boat as me here, but I love the Autumn months. The change of the seasons, the earth coming into a period of hibernation... It all feels right, a calming change. The colours of the leaves are pretty, but I used to decorate with so many pumpkins that they covered too many surfaces, tripping over them out on the porch. Fyr, bless her, she never complained. I think she does secretly like them too."

He smiled, his paw resting on her thigh, catching the small inhalation of breath she made.

"That's so sweet... I love hearing you talk about how Fyr was when she was younger, you know...before I knew her. But it's nice to hear someone talk so passionately about something too. No one seems to do that anymore."

He laughed, rubbing the back of his neck with his free paw, though he didn't want to remove his paw from her leg. It felt right there.

"Sorry, that must be real weird... Yeah, sorry..."

"Not at all, Car."

Sasha met his eyes with a smile, yet still had to keep her attention on the road.

"It's nice that you let me talk about it too, actually engage with it... Feels like there's not many left in the world like you, Car. I hope you stick around a good, long time, I'd hate to lose you as a..."

The pause dragged out, leaving them both shuffling uncomfortably. What lay in that pause, they had to ask themselves? Oh, it would all come out in time, but some things would have to become known sooner rather than later, as much as both dragons attempted to bury them, to pretend and lie and say that they weren't there. A lie, after all, did not mean that something did not exist.

"I know exactly what you mean."

That time, however, it was Car who broke the silence, showing a little more of his maturity in how he took control of the situation in a more adult way than ever, leaning over to close the distance between them. When they were driving together, alone in the car, there was no reason for it to be there at all, not when there was no one to see them, their secret safe as he dropped a soft kiss on her cheek. The dragon's lips lingered there for a moment, despite the bumps of the road, and she murmured something in return, heat rising to her cheeks.

"How do you always know the right thing to say, Car," she murmured, the warmth creeping down her neck not entirely unwelcome. "You're too young to talk the way you do. If only I had met you when we were the same age, I mean, if things had been different."

He nuzzled her cheek, inhaling her scent if only for a moment.

"Maybe things had to work out this way for a reason," he answered, though it was not much of an explanation, only musing. "I'm glad I met you all the same. You and Fyr have brought so much to my life and I wouldn't have it any other way."

He sat back, a little flustered too, though that was all well and good, as long as he remained in control of himself, not pushing Sasha too far, not into anything that she didn't want to do. He was too conscious of her and her wellbeing for that, especially with how she had made sure that he was comfortable with everything that they did before proceeding. He wanted to ensure that he always afforded the same care to her, even when he may have been thinking with other parts of his body other than his mind.

"Look!" Sasha pointed, changing the direction of their conversation. "We're almost there -- it's this turn, right?"

Of course, she knew where the turn was: it had been there for the last fifteen years or so. Though she had not been up there for a good while, not after Fyr and Kao had lost interest in Halloween festivities, the traditional autumn garb that she loved so much. Sasha's tail curled back against her seat, trapped a little as she drove, though she could not help but feel a little lighter to be doing something in keeping with her and her personality again. It made her feel more like a dragoness and not only a mother.

She was more than that.

Still, they could not get out of the car and go around paw in paw right from the start, not when others there would know Car and know Sasha and know the whole family. The need for care had started to bug Car, gnawing at the nape of his neck, as if his spine was something that a savage beast had taken in their jaws, set on savouring his flesh and scales rather than devouring him whole. He'd always thought that sensations like that would come in his gut rather than up there, yet the feeling of unease remained the same.

Life bustled there, the farmworkers and owners -- including his friend, who waved to him -- hustling about, selling apple juice and cider, a bar set up. There was face painting for those younger and signs pointing to both pumpkin picking and the corn maze, dancing in a square framed with bales of straw. Already lights had been strung up around the flat farmyard, twinkling merrily, though the nip of the evening already pulled at the air. It would not be long before those artificial lights were their only lights there with which to see by, though they would all be fine regardless of the dark. They had each other to keep them warm.

They mooched around, Sasha trying to find out where Kao and Fyr were, but they were not to be easily seen. The drake rubbed the back of his head, groaning, catching her attention. Yet it was not the kind of groan that, frankly, she liked hearing from his lips.

"I think Fyr's still mad at me," Car said with a sigh, lips twisting together. "She's ignoring my messages, left on read."

"Give her time, honey, she'll come around. It wasn't that bad, but even trivial things like that can get our spines up at the worst of times."

Impulsively, she squeezed his paw in hers, the touch brief, just about in the reign of what was acceptable between a mother and her daughter's partner or boyfriend or whatever they liked to class their relationship as. Terms didn't mean much, only what was in the heart of a dragon.

"Come on, I'll cheer you up. Let's go get her some pumpkins. She doesn't like carving them, but she does like eating pumpkin pie! I'll show you the recipe for that tomorrow and -- voila! She'll be back on your side!"

He smiled, a little brighter already.

"Thanks, I don't know what I'd do without you. Does she really like pumpkin pie? I can't believe I didn't know that, I could have bought her a nice one when I was in the bakery the other week."

"Ah, there's nothing to beat a little homemade love, sweetie, you'll see that in time. It's got to be baked from the heart, have a little more effort put in. Trust me."

He did trust her. That was not the only reason he followed her down to the pumpkin patch, lighter on his feet than he had been in a while, drinking in her presence. There didn't have to be anything sexual about it for Carenath to simply enjoy being with her, something that he was slowly coming to see, for it had been clouded by the lust between them prior. That was okay, for he had not expected anything more to be there, though it felt good too, warming him through, a comfortable pair of shoes that prickled with anticipation of the next adventure that they would go on together.

But he would pick the best pumpkins, Sasha talking easily with him about how the town used to be, what had happened there, filling him in on the kind of history that had never been taught in school. He wished that he'd known more about it, for his interest lay more there than in wars that had significance yet felt so far away and in the past that it was difficult to be invested in the learning. Perhaps that was why he had gone into something that felt more tangible and relatable, starting in trying for finance and accounting, slipping towards coding. Who knew?

"Oh, this is a good one!"

He held up the pumpkin triumphantly, a little scratched up from the sharper vines where they were covered in little spikes, but he had what was needed, the best collection of pumpkins that he hoped would be as tasty as they appeared. Sasha chuckled and shook her head, dusting off her palms, though she had not had to do much of the dirty work there, not with Carenath to help her out and take some of it off her paws. That was nice too... She couldn't remember the last time that Fyr or Kao had joined her for a spot of pumpkin picking.

It was good to be out, breathing fresh air, away from the town, though she enjoyed being around town too. She'd felt most at home out in the countryside for some time, even though she could go out there anytime. It was just the drive that did it, the active thought of taking a different turn on the road, going out of her way and off her well-beaten track around town. When she'd lived her life and grown up there, putting down roots, she'd ended up with rhythms and routines, even after becoming a single mother, which meant that she followed the same set patterns time after time after time again.

Maybe it was not always for the best. She glanced at Car, the drake with his phone in paw, frowning, tail hanging low.

"Something wrong, sugar?"

Not a term of endearment that she would usually use, but it felt right slipping off her tongue when it was about Car. He sighed and shook his head, which said more than it didn't.

"Yeah... No... Maybe, I dunno. Fyr's just so cold, she's texting me back now, but I think I hurt her feelings. I was late a few times last week and I think it's so there's one little thing, the one time I had a real reason to be late, that's what ended up being the tipping point."