Paws

Gone

The week wore on much smoother after the vet visit. Sam's heat had definitely diminished after their time in the shower, but I could still notice little changes in his behavior and a few extra long showers. He knew I was there for him if he really needed it but he stayed away more than usual. I knew why though, so I didn't mind. At least I told myself that as I stepped out into the crisp evening air and into deep snow. My heavy paws dug into the cold slush, sending a chill straight up to my overheating mind. Snap out of it, stupid bear. He's the one in heat, not you.

Jessica bounded past me as I thought with Coda hot on her heals. His diaper was already getting wet considering that the snow was up to his shoulders, but eh, he had fur and we could just change it later. I waited until Sam sauntered past me before reaching up and sliding the door shut. It was likely close to twenty degrees out but none of us seemed to mind as I ran over to where Sam was playing with the kids near the kennel I still had set up. Jess was plowing through the snow trying to climb on Sam while his own pup was stumbling through the large hills of frozen water, not heavy enough yet to sink into it for better footing.

I made my way over happily, my bear content and warm in the chilly weather with its dense layer of fur, and a tad of fat. While Jess seemed focused on Sam, I waddled over to Coda and cleared a small patch of snow so that he was able to stand and romp around as well. He wasted no time once he was able to stand normally and quickly pounced on my paws and legs, growling playfully as his tail swished against the frozen ground.

Even as we played, I couldn't help but find my eyes wandering to Sam. Over and over and over again. My bear wasn't helping much because each time I looked, it lifted its lip, trying to scent the pheromones being blocked by the collar. I knew they were there and somehow, my bear did too, but he couldn't figure out why he couldn't sense them. Also, he didn't understand why Sam wasn't keening for his attention. He was a capable male all-be-it a bit chubby, and mating when something was in heat was what his instincts told him to do.

It's okay, I'm confused as well, just not about the same thing you are Sir. Fuzzy Butt.

What I was confused about, was why I couldn't stop staring at him. He was a young man, as was I. And hell, right now he was a dog! We had shared something that shouldn't have happened and now I couldn't get him out of my head. Blinking, I felt something nuzzle at my nose and looked down at Sam. He turned in a circle and I had to seriously fight hard to keep my bear from trying to jump his bones.

For the love of god, he's just playing!

Grinding my teeth together, I began chasing him, glad that he was easily fast enough to avoid my slightly chubby bear. By the time he finally stopped over by the glass door, I was panting heavily and my bears libido had thankfully died with the exhaustive exercise. When we got inside I shifted, grabbing Coda and taking him to the bathroom to change his diaper. By the time I had him back in the living room Sam was dressed in a pair of loose pajama pants. The lack of shirt jerked something inside me but I shoved it to the back of my mind and smiled as I turned and went to my room to get dressed.

I didn't want to chance skin on skin contact at the moment, so I put on a light sweater, even though the heater was going strong, along with a pair of black sweatpants. Returning to the kitchen a minute later, I saw Sam handing Jess a small carrot he'd taken from the fridge. He then gave one to his son to chew at, leaving the kids to snack as I walked in to start an early dinner. Tomorrow was Monday so work was unfortunately needed but everyone had begun to get used to coming with me on most days. Whenever they didn't though, Sam managed to take care of them, each time getting better and better at it. He was already adept at changing diapers and his speech had gotten better, along with his motor skills.