Running with the Pack

"Jesus fuck, my tendon is going to snap!" Steve yells, slamming the weights onto the mat. Catherine's ear twitches, and she crosses her arms as her foot taps against the concrete floor.

"Are you serious? Oh, for crying out loud, Steve. That was only two sets."

Steve bends at the waist, and brings his hand to his knees. He pants, and sweat drips from his brow onto the mat.

"Two sets after cardio, after rowing, and five miles this morning. We haven't even taken a break for water. Catherine, I'm gonna die if I don't get some liquid in me. Okay?" he says with a sigh. Steve eases himself onto the mat, and lies his back down. He splays onto the mat, his arms dead and lifeless at his sides. His knees pop as he brings them down, and he closes his eyes as his lungs burn with oxygen. Catherine clucks her tongue, and stands over him.

"Yeah, and you're the one that wanted to join my work out program. It's not my fault you're a bit out of shape."

Steve opens his eyes, and stares at the mutt-girl. Her ears perk up as she watches him, her nose twitching as she glances down his body.

"But...maybe we do need to take a break." she says.

"Thank you." says Steve as his eyes close again. He hears Catherine's toes clack against the floor off the mat, and the sound of the water fountain in the corner. As his blood begins to pump oxygen back to his organs, he hears Catherine approach, and he smiles.

"Thank you honey, that's very-"

The coolness of the water jolts him as it splashes against his face. He sits up, and wipes the sweat and water from his eyes as he looks up at her. His muscles tense, and he holds his jaw in place as he watches her tail twitch merrily behind her.

"Breaks over. Up and at it, champ."

Steve rises, his eyes to the mat as he brings his shirt to his face and wipes himself off. Then, he glances at her again as his feet press forward, towards the door of the basement. Catherine's ear flops over, and she cocks her head.

"Hey, wait a minute, where are you-"

"I'm done, Catherine. Continue by yourself, but I'm fucking done for the day." said Steve. He gripped the door handle, and began to take the stairs as his muscles spasmed. Fresh pain shot through his ankle, and the clack of Catherine's toes near the door made him turn.

"Oh c'mon, just one more set! It's only the first day!" she said, her eyes wide.

Steve considered their blue depths for a moment, and then turned. He slammed the door behind him, and rose with the steps. A curse left his lips with every movement.

@@@@@

The bleet of his alarm opened his eyes. He silenced it in a single swipe of his hand. He gripped his phone, and tossed it against the wall as he pulled the covers over his head. He made a small opening to breath, and counted backwards from ten as his eyelids drifted. But by the time he got to nine, Catherine had opened the door, and let out a yawn. Steve stayed still, even as she spoke.

"Steve? It's five ay-em, buddy. Time to go run."

Steve stilled himself. He tried his best to look slack and lifeless, but Catherine put her hand upon his shoulders and gave him a shake. He let out a groan, and pulled the blanket down. He rolled over, and rubbed his eyes. He gave a swallow, and looked at her waist. Her tail was swayed back and forth as she watched him, and lowered, still as he spoke.

"No."

Catherine cocked her head, and her smile turned to a pout.

"No? Oh come on, I'll only run a mile today."

"No, Catherine," Steve said, "I'm not doing it today, or tomorrow. I'm going back to sleep. It's sunday. That's what you do on sunday, or something. I don't know, okay? It's early. Even the damned birds aren't up."

Catherine smirked, and leaned in as she said "True, but the harpies are. And you always enjoy watching their shirts drift while the fly."

Steve groaned, and pulled the blanket over his head again.

"Oh, c'mon, that's not fair." said Catherine. "Steve, look-I know you're sore. But I really want you to work out with me. Please, pretty please? I'll even let you have some ice cream after."

Steve pulled the blanket down, and huffed. "Or," he said, "I could get up at noon, still eat ice cream, and enjoy my weekend. Go jog, Catherine. You get all mutty when you don't."

Catherine huffed, and crossed her arms.

"You know, I knew you were going to be like this. The only reason you even wanted to start working out with me was so that centaur girl at work would talk to you."

Steve sat up, and jabbed a finger towards her.

"You leave Karen out of this. And no, that's not the reason. Besides, even if it was, why on earth would you care? You're my roomie, not my mom."

Catherine tapped her foot against the wood floor. Her toes clacked on as her eyes tilted, and her ears perked. A small smile cut across her face, and she leaned closer towards Steve, her face over his. Her nostrils flared as she sniffed him, and her grinned widened.

"Tell you what, I know what will get you out of bed. But you're going to have to work for it." she said, laughter escaping her lips.

"Oh yeah? And just what is-"

Steve was cut off as Catherine gripped his wrist, and smacked his palm open. Steve, spine rigid, stared as she brought it to her chest and cupped her. She clasped his fingers over hers, and rolled his fingers over her breast. She cackled, and tilted her head.

"You know, we're not all that different, Steve."

"This-this is a thing that's happening? Like now? After you've been here a year?"

Catherine hung her head and laughed again. Steve swallowed as she dropped her wrist, his hand still at her chest. He squeezed it softly, and rolled his thumb over her nipple as his mouth trembled into a smile.

"I mean, I always thought you were kinda cu-"

His wrist stung long before Steve realized she'd smacked it away. Catherine took a step back, and continued to laugh. She placed her hands on her hips, and looked at him.

"We're going to play a game, got it?"

"O-okay." he stammered.

"You're going to do the work outs. Exactly as instructed, with perfect form. If I'm happy with your work, and you don't slouch or wimp out, I'll take a piece of clothing off. If you screw up, I put two back on. Got it?"

Steve pulled his legs over the side of the bed, and placed a pillow in his lap as he swallowed again. He forced a smile, and licked his lips.

"You're...you're serious?"

Catherine gave a nod, and lifted her hand to her breast. She cupped it, and bounced it in her palm.

"Jesus, your eyes are even following it. Yes, I'm serious, Steve. You want to get all slim, hot and sexy? Working out is only half of it. You've got to feel it too. And no matter how much of a figurative and literal bitch I might be, you're still my friend. I care about you. Got it?"

He fought the blush in his cheek, and grit his jaw. He brought his fist to his mouth and gave a cough, and then nodded.

"Okay. I, uh. I'm down, I guess."

Catherine pulled her hand away, and smiled. "Thank you. Now get dressed, and meet me down stairs. We've got pavement to beat." she said. Catherine turned, and walked towards the door.

"C-Catherine?" said Steve.

She turned, and said "Yeah? What is it?"

Steve bit his lip, and stammered "c-can you give me a few? I, uh. Well. You know."

Catherine raised an eyebrow, then her eyes went wide as she raised a hand to her mouth. She brought the other as she fought to conceal her smile.

"Seriously? That quick? Well then, maybe you're healthier than we thought!" she said.

She made it out the door as Steve's pillow flew across the room.

@@@@

Four hours, five miles, five sets, thirty minutes of yoga, ten minutes of meditation later, Steve laid prone on the floor. He willed his jaw to move, but it stayed slack as he breathed through his nose. His eyes were closed as Catherine's shadow crept over his field of vision.

"Steve? You awake?" she said. He grunted in reply. Catherine smiled, and lowered herself to her knees. She leaned over, and sniffed him, starting from the top of his head to his navel. She sat back up, and patted his chest.

"You've done really good today Steve. Seriously. I'm proud of you."

Steve opened his eyes, and looked at her. In the time they'd been twisting, sweating, and pumping iron, he'd managed to get Catherine into her bra and panties. It hadn't been easy. She'd started with her headband, then one shoe, then another, and so on until he was too exhausted to care anymore. Catherine's tail wagged behind her, and she gave Steve a warm smile as she regarded him on the mat. She patted his chest again, and chuckled.

"You almost got me naked. Almost." she said.

Steve grunted in reply, and took a deep breath. He tilted his heard towards her, and said "Hey, look. This has been fun, and I really appreciate it. But I'm at my limit. Can we quite now?"

Catherine's shoulders slumped, and her tail fell to the floor as her ears pressed against her face. She forced a smile, and gave a nod.

"Sure, you've earned it I guess. Good work today. Go hit the showers-you smell."

Steve sat up, and smirked as he said "Gee, thanks. And you don't reek of sweat and fur yourself."

Catherine giggled, and helped him up. They took the stairs together, her behind him. Steve reached the top, and rose to their bedrooms. He crossed the hall, opened his door, and dug in his dresser for some loose fitting, comfortable pants and shirt. He exited the room, and met Catherine at the door. He gripped the handle, and opened it, ducking inside before she got a chance. He closed the door, and spoke through the wood.

"Me first," he said, "I'm gonna take a bath, okay? My joints are killing me."

He heard Catherine whimper, but she said "Alright. Just don't use up all the hot water, okay?"

"Alright."

Steve sat his clothes near the sink, and sighed as he sat on the edge of the tub. He turned the handle, and rose. He peeled his sweat-stained clothes off of him, and slipped into the bath. He turned the water off, and slipped deeper into the water, only stopping as it met his chin. He sighed once more, and closed his eyes as his thoughts drifted towards Catherine. The ever-active, slim dog-girl, who had been a model room mate, save for wanting to include him in her physical activities. And he'd been so close to getting her fully na-

The door creaked on its hinges as it opened. Steve jerked an eye open, and covered himself as he sat up in the water. Catherine, her frame hidden by the towel, stood just beyond the door. Her tail wagged, and she tilted her head as she looked at him.

"Hey, Steve."

"Uh, Hi. I'll be done in a minute, seriously."

"Oh, there's no need for that," said Catherine as she crossed the bathroom, "I figured I'd join you."

Steve nearly choked as she dropped her towel, and slipped in on the opposite side of the narrow tub. She splayed her legs, the suds from Steve's soap concealing her as she pushed her sex towards him. Steve went rigid, and looked away as Catherine stretched before him. She giggled, and laid her arms on the side of the tub.

"You know, you worked really hard today Steve. And I don't think it was just because you wanted to see me naked."

Steve, his gaze focused on a particular tile on the floor, swallowed. He smirked, and said "Well, not entirely. I mean, it helped, sure. But uh, well. I mean, uh-"

Catherine scooted towards him, and laughed. She rose from the water, and pressed her breasts against his chest as her tongue lolled out and lapped against the nape of his neck.

"It was cute, Steve. It really was. Especially the way you stared when you thought I wasn't looking."

"C-Catherine," stammered Steve, but she cut him off with another lick. One that went lower, and traced the edge of his collar bones.

"You know Steve, there's a lot of ways to get in shape. Some that people don't even think of. Would you like to see just how long I can hold my breath? And I hope you're not too sore. I mean, if all else fails, you can just lie down for the next part."

Steve swallowed, and looked at her. She returned the grin, and sat up as their lips met for a long moment. As she pulled away, Steve smiled and slipped an arm around her waist.

"Catherine?"

"Yes, Steve?"

"...Is this part of your daily regiment too?"

Catherine laughed, and rested her head on his chest.

"Well, not yet. But it could be. It's good to mix it up every now and then, don't you think so?"

Steve squeezed her against him, and swallowed hard again as his heart beat a steady bass in his ears.

"I-I think I could help with that."

And so he did. Every day, for the rest of their lives.