Love & Lattes - Group Therapy Ep. 04

"Well..." Karen spoke out, earning a shocked look from her lover.

"You want to?!" Ivory spat out the words, the shock in her own voice evident.

Karen gave a cocky grin and folded her arms, "W-well, yeah actually. I mean maybe not as long as today, but..."

"Oh ho! I knew I saw the flames of a fighter in your eyes my coniglia! You, you are a warrior, yes? You rise to a challenge and relish in the heat of battle! Always craving the new sensations of victory over adversity!"

"Yeah! That's right!" Karen huffed the words excitedly, her little mocha tail flicking about rapidly as she clenched her paws into fists with a grin.

"Oh for the love of..." Ivory muttered under her breath, dragging her paw through her hair.

"Yes! We will mold you into a fierce warrior of song! People will be captivated and enthralled by your indomitable spirit!" Bianca now practically sang the words, her arms stretched upwards in an over-the-top display.

"O-okay! Let's do it!" The rabbit jerked both her large dark ears up, fist raised in a similar fashion.

Ivory slapped her forehead and hissed, "This is going to be a long week..."

—♥—

"Everything seems to be in order. Your payment should already be in your account," The intake officer spoke out in a bored tone of voice as he jotted some things down on a form behind the desk he was sitting at.

"Great, how are the girls, Jarome?" Isaac asked in a conversational tone.

The bored-looking deer looked up from his papers, his attitude shifting as he lifted his ears a bit. "Well, you know Jasmine is killing it on the softball team, and Kate is doing great with her new music lessons. How is Karen? I'm surprised she isn't with you."

"Wow, what position did she end up in on the team, what's Kate playing? Yeah, the wife was occupied with some other errands, just me this time." Isaac spoke in a friendly tone as the two engaged in casual banter with one another.

Joseph flicked an ear listening in on the conversation while standing around behind Isaac and looking about the lobby. There were loved ones waiting for their friends or family to come out after being bailed out, others waiting for bond officers to make bail for said loved ones.

A few minutes of idle chit-chat passed between the wolf and deer before the officer reined it back in and decided he should probably get back to work. "Well, I should process the next perp and stop running my gob." The buck looked back at the paperwork then to the wolf. "Anything else to add from the apprehension? Any trouble?"

"Nah, he was a good boy more or less." The wolf growled the words with a grin on his face.

The fox perked his ears up at that and turned to interrupt the two of them. "The fuck do you mean he was a good boy?!" Joseph snarled as he looked over at Isaac. "What about your cheek?!"

The deer gave Isaac a questioning look, acknowledging the bandage on his face before speaking, "Isaac, did this guy attack you?"

"Relax James, we just spooked him. Nothing to press charges over, the guy has enough stacked on him already." Isaac spoke the words calmly and cut his eyes over to Joseph. "It's cool, Joe."

The fox snarled a growl of disapproval and stomped out of the lobby to the parking lot. Isaac gave Jarome an apologetic smile. "Sorry about that."

The deer seemed to ease his tension and gave the wolf a curious look before speaking. "Who's the fox? New trainee or something?"

The wolf sucked in a breath through his teeth trying to think of how to explain it. "Complicated... He had nothing to do with the job, he is just protective of me."

"Right. Sounds like a lot of drama I don't need a part of." James nodded his head, sensing the awkward mood starting to settle. "So... We aren't tacking an assault charge on?"

"I would rather not, Jarome. The guy was just scared, and it worked out. He has enough problems waiting for him, no need to tack on another year or something over this," Isaac rubbed the back of his head as he spoke the words.

"Alright, Isaac, it's your decision." Jarome signed off on a form and pushed it into a box on his desk. "Tell Karen, I said hi, okay?"

"Will do, see you next time." Isaac gave the deer a smile and a wave of his handpaw before turning and walking out of the jail and into the parking lot.

"What even the fuck was that?!" Joseph was barking out the words angrily before the wolf had even gotten within ten yards of him.

"Harvey already has a nice fat rap sheet on him just from his other shit. No need to salt a wound," Isaac spoke out in a soothing tone of voice as he closed the distance and stopped a few paces from the young fox.

"So what? Fucker tried to cut your throat out!" Joseph growled and clenched both his paws into fists at his side, his tail thrashing now.

"Joe, Calm down. What good will it do to kick him while he is down? He was just scared." The wolf said while keeping a calm relaxed posture as he spoke.

"Yeah? Well, I was scared too ya know! What if he had-"

"He didn't," Isaac interjected.

Joseph was shivering now his fists shaking. "Yeah but what if he had?!"

The wolf snorted out through his nose and closed the last few paces. Saying nothing he just pulled the smaller dog into his chest, holding him in a close embrace with one arm, his palm paw at the small of his back.

With a small shudder, the younger dog released his tension in the embrace, pushing into Isaac's chest with his face. "Stupid... Idiot..."

Isaac grinned and moved a paw to rub at the dog's ears while he muttered into his shirt, a memory of Karen doing something similar early into their career together. "It's okay, Joe. We don't have to always be vengeful. Sometimes it's healthier to let it go..."

"Is that right?" The fox spoke with a weakness in his voice as he pressed harder into the wolf's chest. "And what if he had gotten you?"

"Given you probably would have beaten him to death on the spot? I don't think bottled revenge would be an issue at that point." The wolf laughed as he spoke the words.

"It's not funny!" The fox growled the words and grabbed the front of Issac's shirt, jerking him a few inches down to eye level. "I almost lost you!"

The wolf saw the tears well up in his younger dog's eyes through his glaring. "I'm fine, I'm not going anywhere." The wolf spoke the words gently, rubbing at the fox's ear, palm still resting on his head.

Joseph grit his teeth, ears folding downward as he clung to Isaac's shirt. "Y-yeah? You promise?"

"Of course. You think I'm letting you have both our wives to yourself?" The wolf growled the words playfully and ruffled the fox's ears.

"Ngh..." Joseph grunted at the rough play of his ears then blushed as he moved in to push his muzzle to Isaac's, kissing him with a desperate growl in his throat.

Isaac grinned as Joseph moved in and happily accepted his younger lover's kiss. The two of them clung and embraced once again next to Joseph's car, kissing heatedly their heads tilted to fully deepen the kiss.

Several heartbeats later Isaac pulled from the kiss and let out a soft huff, "Feel better now?"

The younger dog nodded and eased his grip on Issac's shirt before stepping back and composing himself. "Y-yeah... sorry..."

Isaac grinned and rubbed at the fox's ear for a few more moments before pulling his paw away and moving towards the driver's side of the car. "C'mon Joe, we told the girls we would meet them at your old shop, let's not keep them waiting."

Joseph huffed out and nodded, moving to the passenger's side of the vehicle and climbing in. "Yeah, this was the first time I had been away from Ivory in over a year. I didn't realize how much I had missed her."

Isaac smiled and nodded. "I get that, it's been the same for me and Karen, we do everything together. I miss her as well." He grinned at the fox as he snapped his seatbelt on. "Not that I've not enjoyed this time with you... my fox."

—♥—

Karen and Ivory were already at the old coffee shop and had taken a table when their dogs walked in. Karen saw the small dressing on her husband's chin and cheek right away. "Isaac, what the hell happened?!" Her voice came out sharp and worried.

"It's fine, Angel. Guy got a little panicked, me and Joe took care of it." Isaac spoke the words casually as he pulled up a seat next to his wife.

Karen gave the wolf a flat look and shook her head. "Damn it... I knew I should have gone with you..."

"It's a scratch! It won't even leave a scar." Isaac grinned and moved a paw to stroke at his wife's head, rubbing one of her ears gently. Karen eased her tension and let out a soft sigh at the wolf's touch.

"How about you Joe, are you alright?" Karen spoke towards him gently while Isaac rubbed one of her ears through her dark hair.

The fox grinned and flicked his tail about. "Sure sure, other than a bruise on my shin I'm perfectly fine!"

That got Ivory's attention, her brown and white ears perking upwards. "Your shin? Just what happened, hun?"

The two dogs gave the account of what happened with their bounty run to their wives. Both the girls seemed agitated that it ended up turning so dangerous on them but let it go since both of their husbands seemed to be back safely, more or less.

"So how were your lessons with Bianca?" Joseph asked curiously, picking up his mug of coffee with cream but no sugar.

Ivory grimaced and rolled her eyes. "That bitch is a slave driver like always!" The cat groaned the words while holding her own cup of coffee, extra cream in it but sans the sugar just like her partners.

"That's why she's the best." Joseph hummed the words with a grin before taking a sip of his coffee, then fixed his gaze on Karen and perked an ear curiously. "How was it, Karen?"

The rabbit gave the fox a fiery look and huffed out excitedly. "It was invigorating! We're meeting up again tomorrow for more training! I will tear down these walls of challenge and emerge stronger!"

Joseph gave her a blank look and then shifted his gaze to Ivory who was holding her paw against her head. "She has been like this since we wrapped up. Bianca tuned-in on her and cracked out some crazy inspirational speech, now Karen is chomping at the bit to get back into the studio."

Isaac grinned at the display. "Once my rabbit sets her mind to something, she won't let go until she is satisfied." The wolf growled, the pride in his voice evident.

Karen shifted her emerald eyes about the trio of them and felt her cheeks burning at the talk of her. "I mean, it's just that I want to do my best for Ivory..."

The cat gave a happy purr and leaned over giving Karen a kiss on the side of her muzzle, resting a paw on her inner thigh. "I know my rabbit... I'm happy to see you so fired up, I'm sure it will do me good too."

"It will," Joseph said with a nod as he pulled out his phone and sorted through some things. "I will put you in for lessons for the next two days in a row. Let me know if you want more after that, Karen."

"Three hours," Ivory snarled out as she glared at her husband.

"Three hours?" Joseph asked curiously.

"Yes! We were there for almost eight hours today!" Ivory hissed out, showing her teeth, her tail flicking and coiling in agitation.

Joseph blinked several times. "Holy shit... I just scheduled Bianca all day because I didn't know when you guys would get around to showing up. I didn't expect you to go the whole time!"

"Yeah well, no more than that. I want to spend some of this month off catching up with you two, not working my tail off!" Ivory spoke in a haughty tone of voice as she looked between Ivory and Issac.

"I wouldn't mind helping you work your tail off," Isaac growled the words with a hungry grin as he leaned onto his elbows and looked at Ivory. The statement earned an embarrassed grin from the blonde cat but half glares from the fox and rabbit. The wolf lifted his ears and blinked at the other two. "W-what? Shouldn't we get used to this sort of thing if we're going to be doing this?"

Joseph paused for a moment before giving a nod, "Y-yes... sorry it's just still new."

Karen blushed and looked between the three of them before shaking her head, "Sorry, honey... like Joe said, it's still new, it caught me off guard. I'm not actually miffed at you."

The older dog gave a shrug, "I mostly did it to test the waters truth be told. We've had some time apart as a group, after all, it seemed a good way to see how we were handling things." He cut his gaze back to Ivory and gave a gentle smile. "How did it make you feel?"

Ivory grinned. "Joseph says things like that to me all the time, I enjoyed it quite a bit..."

"No harm no foul then?" Isaac cuts his gaze over to Joseph in question.

Joseph shook his head and gave a smile. "I'm not upset, like I said, it just blindsided me. It's still something to get used to." He gave a playful grin at Isaac and then looked over at Karen. "So long as it's you two, I don't mind..."

The brief tension subsided and the four of them settled into a comfortable chatter, talking about the trials and tribulations of the day. Half an hour passed and the shift change for the coffee shop started, the evening crew coming in to relieve the afternoon one.

Ivory lifted her ears and gave a grin towards the entrance. "It's about time you showed up. We've been waiting almost an hour!"

The persian cat that came through the door walked up to the group, snatching a chair from a smaller unoccupied table before taking a seat. "Yes, well you didn't give me a lot of warning, Ivory." Crystal purred the words as she ran her paw through her bluish-gray hair, the heavy fluffy tail behind her wagging about more like a dogs would.

Crystal gave a nod to Karen and grinned, "Hey boss."

Karen grinned at her in response and just shook her head before speaking, "You seem well."

"I can't complain." Crystal looked over at Joe and quirked a brow. "You've gotten bigger, how's the married life treating you?"

The fox smiled at his old manager and gave a shrug. "It keeps me busy, that's for sure. It's great to see you again."

"Yeah, I've not seen you guys since you sold out and quit your day job." Crystal purred the words cheerfully.

"I didn't even ask when we got paid!" Ivory hummed the words in a sing-song voice.

"Well, I guess it doesn't matter anymore," Crystal spoke back, mimicking Ivory's little tune in her voice.

Joseph snorted through his nose at the exchange, feeling an awkward urge to go listen to ska. "A-anyway... the label she signed with pretty much threw her straight into training and recording. We didn't have much say in the matter."

Crystal gave the fox a wide grin, "It's a coffee shop sweetie, not a law firm. I had you guys replaced in twelve hours. People walk out all the time."

"Then there's you..." Crystal cut her amber eyes up at the large wolf whom she happened to be sitting next to.

Isaac felt himself shift awkwardly and straighten his back before blinking down at the persian. "Uhm... Yes?"

Crystal shrugged her shoulders and grinned. "Oh, nothing... I just get the suspicion you're the root of all this... I knew the moment I laid my eyes on your hunky ass, that first night."

"Hunkey Ass?" Karen gave Crystal an amused grin. "What are you, sixty?"

"This job makes me feel like it sometimes!" Crystal laughed the words then huffed out with a little more resignation in her voice. "Good to see you guys though."

"Hey, I've tried to text with you at least a few times a week." Ivory purred the words and smiled at her old friend, tail flicking about slowly.

"Yeah, I appreciate it. We should go out at least once while you're back in town." The persian spoke the words pointedly as she rose from her seat, pushing the chair back to the unoccupied table.

"Clocking in?" Joseph asked her.

"Yeah... these kids will drown us all in salty tears if I don't let them get out of here on time." The persian sighed and gave a shrug. "You guys take care, let's catch up more later."

The older cat sauntered off to the back of the shop and silence fell upon the table for a few moments before Joseph broke it. "She seems well."

Karen and Ivory nodded at Joseph as the rabbit spoke up. "Yeah, she seems to be the same old Crystal."

"She looks tired and worn out," Isaac said in a matter-of-fact tone. The other three grew silent but didn't argue with the wolf, giving a silent agreement on his statement.

"Well it's a service job, it will suck the life out of you." Karen shrugged a shoulder before continuing. "She's been in this gig since high school, it's been close to ten years for her."

Joseph lifted his ears and looked over towards the counter, watching Crystal getting to work instructing the younger staff members. "I feel I lucked out, landing in this situation with all of you. I probably would have settled into this job through college or found another one like it."

"Isn't she done with school now?" Karen asked Ivory curiously, knowing the cat had the closest relationship with Crystal.

"Yeah, finished it up shortly before me and Joe went on tour." The blonde shrugged her shoulders. "No one is hiring for her field, she needs experience to get the job, but can't get experience if she doesn't land a job in the field, to begin with. The classic catch twenty-two."

Isaac snorted through his nose. "Maybe I should see if Keys can work something."

"Seems abusive to rely on them for so much though." Karen mused the words as she drummed her claws on the table.

"Why? Keys gets paid for the work, it's their job, Karen." Joseph spoke up, adding to the conversation.

"That's true. Who would pay Keys though? How much would it cost?" Karen asked Isaac and Joseph, the two dogs having the most experience dealing with the informant.

"We would pay for it." Ivory spoke out pointedly. "Crystal has done a lot for me over the years, and was even good enough to be supportive of me and Joe when we started dating, turning a blind eye to our shenanigans in the shop."

"Ah, the supply closet fiasco..." Joseph growled the words in amusement, his tail flicking about and his tone of voice sounding prideful.

Isaac snorted back a laugh. "Wow, how bold of you two! It must have been during a seasonal heat." Ivory gave the wolf a grin and tapped her own padded-finger on the tip of her nose in response to his statement.

"Well, I can reach out to Keys about it tomorrow, we should probably hit it," Joseph said as he rose from his seat and rolled his shoulders. The other three stood as well and Joseph nodded to Ivory. "You bring the envelope?"

Ivory nodded and fished out a small sealed envelope from her bag and tossed it upon the table next to the glasses. It simply had the name 'Crystal' written upon it.

Karen gave the two a curious look but the cat and fox just walked towards the exit of the shop motioning for their lovers to follow. Once the four of them were outside and moving towards their cars Ivory spoke up to answer the rabbit's curiosity. "It's a written letter from me and Joseph thanking her for all the things she did for us."

"Oh, that's so sweet!" Karen grinned as she kept pace with the two of them and her husband.

"And a check for ten thousand dollars." Joseph huffed out casually.

"What?! Damn... you guys don't hold back do you?" Isaac barked the words, sounding impressed.

Joseph stopped at his car that was parked next to the small compact Ivory had been driving. "Just like with you guys, Crystal was a big part in how things went down with me and Ivory. I always pay my dues."

Ivory looked upon her husband for a long moment, seeing a mannerism that reminded her of his mother Josephine. She smiled and grabbed the fox's arm and bumped her hip against his. "WE pay our dues, Hun."

Joseph smiled and moved a paw to rest on Ivory's hip, pulling her against him possessively. The cat purred and pushed closer to her husband.