Archive of Our Own

It was lunch time at the New Moon Theater. The crew was gathered in the theater’s break room where Meena had brought a big pot of tomato bisque soup and a tray of cookies for lunch. The animals were eating the soup and chomping down on the cookies with delight.

“Gotta hand it to you, Jumbo, this soup’s not half bad.” Mike commented. “Although, I’d personally add less salt next time.”

Most of the cast around the mouse groaned in annoyance. While Mike had mellowed out since the big show, the mouse was still rather condescending and snarky. Of course, they’ve somewhat gotten used to this.

“Don’t listen to him, Meena.” Lisa assured, waving off the mouse. “The soup is delicious.”

“I really like how creamy it is.” Perry added, putting another spoonful into his mouth.

“And these cookies! Wow! They, like, totally melt in your mouth!” Gunter exclaimed, munching on one of the cookies.

“They really are delicious, Meena. Both the soup and the cookies.” Johnny said with a grin.

Meena smiled and blushed at these compliments.

“Thanks everyone, but I can’t take all the credit.” Meena replied. “These are my mom’s recipes. I just simply followed the instructions.”

“Well regardless, thank you for bringing lunch today, Meena.” Buster spoke.

“Oh, you know, maybe your mother and I can trade recipes sometime.” Rosita suggested. “I have this really good pie recipe and I bet my kids would love to have something warm and tasty on a chilly day.”

“I think my mom would like that.” Meena responded.

Suddenly, Ash got a notification on her phone. Ash picked it up and checked the caller ID and groaned when she looked.

“What’s wrong, Ash?” Jessica asked. “Who’s calling?”

“It’s just Lance.” Ash answered with a sigh.

“Ugh, ignore him.” Rena groaned. “He’s not worth your time.”

“Trust me, that’s what I’ve been doing. He’s been trying to get a hold of me nonstop since the show.”

“Clearly he should have realized the great thing he had with you before he decided to foolishly throw it away.” Lisa commented.

Many of the animals nodded or responded with agreement.

“He definitely gets no sympathy from me.” Dillian said with a scowl. “Cheaters are the worst.”

“That means you got cheated on too, huh?” Mike spoke.

“Mike!” Lisa scolded.

“What? That’s what he’s implying, ain’t it? I’m just making things clear here!”

“That doesn’t make it any less insensitive!”

“It’s fine, guys.” Dillian said. “There’s no point in trying to deny it.”

The room was awkwardly silent for a moment before Buster spoke up.

“Would, um, would you like to talk about it?”

Dillian sat there in silence, looking down at his bowl of soup.

“You don’t have to if you don't want to.” Rosita remarked gently. “I know it must be a sensitive topic for you.”

“No, I think it would be better if I just let it out now.” Dillian stated. “Don’t want to bottle up anything after all.”

“Are you sure? We don’t want you to be uncomfortable or feel forced to tell us.” Jessica uttered.

“Really, it’s fine. You guys are my friends anyways, so I don’t have a problem telling you all this.”

“If you say so.” Johnny said.

With that, Dillian began his tale.

For a long time throughout high school and college, Dillian really felt like that he had found his soulmate. Before graduating from middle school to high school, Dillian had come out to his parents that he was romantically attracted to other boys rather than girls and they were supportive of him. Surprised, yes, but still supportive nonetheless. During his final year in middle school, the hawk believed that he ended up meeting the guy of his dreams.

His name was Tobias, but most animals called him Toby. Toby was a coyote about two months older than Dillian. The two met each other during their first period together in English class. Toby’s fur was an attractive mix of red and gray and his eyes were a brilliant gold color. Dillian pretty much fell for the coyote almost the second he laid his eyes on him. The teacher had assigned the hawk and the coyote to sit next to each other, which gave Dillian the opportunity to cast a glance at his classmate now and then.

It turned out that Dillian and Toby had a total of four classes and the same lunch period with each other. This in turn allowed the two boys to become friends with each other during that school year and only grew closer and closer. Dillian’s attraction towards Toby soon turned into a full on crush on the coyote. During the last week of school, Dillian decided to take a chance and ask Toby to be his boyfriend, and to the hawk’s surprise, the coyote ended up feeling the same way and thus, the two began dating. Dillian’s parents were very happy and supportive of their son once Dillian told them about his new relationship.

Dillian and Toby were a very happy couple throughout their high school years. They went on dates, bought each other gifts, even kissed whenever they got the chance. To Dillian, it felt like the perfect relationship. The hawk really thought that they were going to be with each other forever. However, during their first year in college, it all began to come crashing down. It was about three days before their fifth anniversary and Dillian decided to pay his boyfriend a surprise visit at his workplace, a smoothie store at the mall. However, before Dillian could enter the store, Dillian noticed Toby’s arm around an animal he didn’t recognize. A suspicious Dillian hid behind a stone pillar and observed the scene from afar. After a little while, Toby and this mystery animal sat up and hugged tightly before he left. After the animal left the area, Dillian left his hiding place and marched towards his boyfriend.

“Toby?”

Toby turned to Dillian with a slightly surprised expression on his face.

“Dillian? What are you doing here?”

“I came to visit you. What’s going on here? Are you…are you cheating on me?”

Toby gave Dillian a puzzled look.

“What are you talking about?”

“I just saw you with your arm around that other guy.”

Before Toby could come up with an explanation, Dillian angrily exclaimed at the coyote.

“You’re cheating on me, aren’t you?!”

Dillian then moved to the center of the store and shouted as he pointed at Toby.

“Attention everyone! This smoothie boy, this one right here, is a cheater!”

A lot of animals gasped at this. Toby went up to Dillian to try and diffuse the situation.

“Dillian, babe, no, you’ve got this all wrong!”

“Oh, so what, you just put your arm around all of your customers? Is that it?” Dillian snapped.

“No, I put my arm around my cousin!”

Dillian blinked.

“Your…cousin?”

“Yeah, my cousin.”

“Oh…your cousin.” Dillian muttered, embarrassed. “Well…he seems nice…nevermind, everyone! He was just his cousin! Sorry!”

Dillian turned back to his boyfriend.

“And I’m sorry, Toby, I really am. I shouldn’t have jumped the gun like that.”

“It’s fine, Dillian.” Toby responded. “So, uh, my break is almost over, so…”

“Yeah, sorry, I just wanted to check in on you.”

“It’s alright.”

Toby hugged Dillian one more time.

“Alright, I won’t keep you.” Dillian said. “See you later.”

“See ya.”

“Well, since you two aren’t together anymore, I guess that whole ‘cousin’ thing wasn’t the truth?” Lisa insinuated.

Dillian sighed sadly.

“I can’t believe I was so gullible.”

“So, uh, who was this mystery guy anyways?” Mike asked curiously.

“Does that really matter right now?” Johnny retorted.

“Well, I’d kind of like to know too.” Rena uttered.

“I mean, just for curiosity’s sake.” Perry added.

Suddenly, Fernando walked in the room.

“Hey guys. Smells good in here. What’s cooking?”

“Um, tomato bisque soup.” Meena answered. “I made it myself. I also have cookies if you want.”

“Sounds great!”

Fernando noticed that everyone had awkward expressions on their faces.

“Uh…what’s going on here? Did I interrupt something?”

“I was just telling the story about… him .” Dillian answered.

“Him? Who are you…oh. Him.”

Another moment of silence passed before Mike broke it.

“Anyways, my question? Who was this Toby guy cheating on you with?”

Dillian looked hesitant to give the answer. Fernando looked equally uncomfortable.

“Do you, uh, at least know what kind of animal he was?” Perry asked.

Dillian looked nervous to speak. Fernando then sat next to the hawk and put a hand on Dillian’s wing, giving him a small nod. After taking a deep breath, Dillian spoke.

“He was…a Gila monster.”

It didn’t take long at all for everyone to connect the dots. A few cast members gasped in shock.

“You mean…Toby was cheating on you…with…” Ash whispered.

Fernando nodded before speaking himself.

“With me.”

On the day of the anniversary, Dillian was holding a cake and walking in the park. Toby had told Dillian to meet him there for the start of their anniversary. Dillian had bought a cake as a present for Toby. Dillian was blissfully unaware of the truth. Dillian had gotten the name of the reptile Toby was ‘cousins’ with: Fernando. When Dillian arrived at the meeting point, the hawk noticed a familiar face and went up to them.

“Hey, you’re Fernando, right?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m Dillian.”

“Oh, that’s right! I saw your picture in Toby’s wallet!”

“Toby keeps a picture of me in his wallet? That’s cute!”

Dillian notices the raspberry smoothie in Fernando’s hand.

“Hey, whatcha got there?”

“It’s just a little something for Toby.”

“Oh, funny! This cake is also for Toby! Dang, he’s getting spoiled today!”

“What’s the occasion for the cake?”

“It’s a present for our anniversary. It’s also my way of saying sorry for freaking out. I honestly didn’t know you guys were just cousins.”

Fernando gave the hawk a confused look.

“Anniversary? Cousins? I thought you and Toby were cousins. He told me that after I found a picture of you in his wallet.”

“...No, Toby’s my boyfriend. He told me you two were cousins after I saw him with his arm around you.”

“No, Toby’s MY boyfriend.”

At this moment, Toby arrived at the scene and saw the two animals interacting with each other. Panic began to set in quickly for the coyote.

“Uh oh.”

Toby rushed towards the hawk and the Gila monster. The two quickly noticed the coyote and were not pleased to see him.

“Hey, I see you two have gotten acquainted with each other.” Toby nervously uttered.

“Yeah, we did. And apparently, it turns out we’re both cousins.” Dillian answered, glaring at the coyote.

“Care to explain?” Fernando added with equal irritation.

Toby was at a loss for words. There was no way he was going to worm his way out of this. Fernando continued the interaction for him.

“Oh, by the way, I got you a smoothie. It’s raspberry. Your favorite. Have some.”

With that, Fernando put the cup over Toby’s head and poured the cold contents all over his head. Passersby watched the scene unfold with surprise. Fernando then angrily stomped away. Before Toby could try to stop him, Dillian interrupted.

“Yeah, and how about some cake with that?”

Dillian then smashed the cake onto Toby’s face, smearing the pastry all over him. Dillian began walking away, but Toby was able to stop him for a moment.

“Dillian, wait! Let me explain!”

Dillian angrily turned to Toby, not having any of it.

“How could you?! After everything we’ve been through together! And before our anniversary too!” Dillian cried with tears in his eyes.

“Dillian, please-!”

“Just stop! Don’t ever talk to me again!”

Dillian stormed off, leaving Toby alone, covered in smoothie purée and bits of cake, to regret his actions as bystanders judgmentally glared at the coyote.

“I’m really sorry you had to go through that.” Jessica uttered.

“Yeah, you didn’t deserve that.” Perry added sympathetically.

“That guy totally got what was coming to him though!” Rena commented.

“I know that as someone who also got cheated on, this may be a bit biased, but yeah, he totally deserved what happened next.” Ash said agreeing with the fox.

“Well, thinking back, I probably could have handled that better.” Dillain admitted.

“Me too.” Fernando said.

“Hold on, there’s still something that hasn’t been answered yet.” Mike stated. “How did you two end up becoming a thing? I mean, I would have thought there’d be some bad blood between you two, with both of you being cheated by the same guy after all.”

“You seem rather into this story, huh?” Lisa remarked.

Mike just shrugged.

“What can I say? Hawk knows how to tell one.” 

“But he does bring up a good point.” Johnny uttered. “How did you two get together if all that stuff happened?”

“Well…life is funny like that.” Dillian answered.

The next few weeks felt like torture to Dillian. Heartbreak was a terrible feeling and the fact that it was from his former lover cheating on him made the situation even worse. Any time he had outside of work was spent in his apartment, crying to himself in his bed. His heart ached from the messy break up. He slept terribly and could barely bring himself to eat. To be honest, Dillian wanted to crawl into a hole and just shrivel away. However, as bad as things were, Dillian knew he couldn’t hide away from the world forever. He still had to work, obviously, but he was also running out of food. Reluctantly, Dillian left his apartment and trudged all the way to the grocery store.

Dillian gloomily pushed his grocery cart through the aisles as he grabbed different food items off of shelves and dropped them into the cart. The hawk slowly moved throughout the store, not really paying that much attention to his surroundings. Dillian looked like an absolute mess. He was wearing a baggy gray hoodie with baggy black sweatpants and white tennis shoes, all of which were rather messy and dirty looking. Dillian’s feathers were also matted and disheveled since Dillian was too upset to properly groom himself. Dillian’s miserable appearance caught some disturbed stares from other shoppers, but Dillian didn’t care. Nothing really mattered anymore to him. Just might as well let life take him wherever it wants to. Not like it already hasn’t. Dillian soon reached the aisle where the chips were and was about to grab the last bag of cheddar and sour cream chips when another hand also reached out to grab it. Dillian looked to see who else was going for the chips and couldn’t believe his eyes. It was Fernando. The guy his ex cheated on him with.

The two animals quickly made eye contact with each other. Fernando was in a similar condition as Dillian, looking like a slob with a messy combination of a hoodie, sweatpants and tennis shoes. Dillian and Fernando stared at each other with an equal amount of shock on their faces. After an awkwardly long amount of silence, Fernando spoke up.

“Uhhh…hey.”

“Um…hi.” Dillian responded.

“So, you like the cheddar and sour cream flavor too?”

“Yeah, got a craving, I guess.”

Fernando shifted his eyes onto the bag and back to the hawk.

“So…do you want it?”

“I mean…yeah, kinda, but I guess if you want it too, I can just find a different flavor.” Dillian answered.

“Well, I think you were going to grab it first.”

“Maybe, but…I…you know what, I don’t really want it anymore now.”

Fernando glanced at the bag and then sighed.

“Ugh…I’ll pass on it too.”

Despite being the one Toby cheated on him with, Dillian decided to continue conversing with this ‘Fernando’.

“So, uh, how’s life treating you?” Dillian asked, trying to be friendly.

“It’s…complicated.” Fernando responded. “...Oh who do I think I’m kidding? My life stinks right now! I find out the guy I’ve been dating for almost eight months has been cheating on me the entire time! To think for even a second I found my dream guy and it turns out he’s just a two-timing cheater!”

“Eight months…that’s how long it’s been happening.” Dillian thought to himself. “And I didn’t even notice. I’m such an idiot.”

“I should have known it was all too good to be true. I just…I just really wanted someone to call mine. Just my luck. The first guy I date ends up cheating on his partner to have me on the side. Like I’m just some kind of extra accessory or something.”

Dillian couldn’t help but feel sympathy for the reptile. Again, even though this guy was the one Toby cheated on him with, Dillian simply felt bad for Fernando. All he wanted was to be loved. Honestly, the hawk fully understood the Gila monster’s sadness. For all that Dillian knew, Toby had grown bored of Dillian and wanted some extra action and Fernando just so happened to be the one Toby wanted that with. To use another guy, heck, to use another animal like that. Dillian couldn’t leave Fernando like this. He was better than that.

“Hey, it’s gonna be alright. I’m honestly not that much better off right now. I’ve dated Tobias for about five years and believe me, it really is awful to find out that I’ve been cheated on, especially on our anniversary.”

Fernando widened his eyes. It was his turn to be sympathetic.

“Five years? Geez, I thought I had it bad after thinking I wasted eight months with him, but now…just wow. I’m really sorry.”

“It’s fine. Well, as fine as it's gonna get. It’s hard to just get over a guy you’ve been with for so long.”

“I honestly can’t imagine how much that hurts.”

“Yeah, like you said, it turned out to all be a total waste of time forming a relationship with that guy. Probably should have stayed friends. Could have saved me a lot of time and pain.”

“And money. One time I spent, like, two-hundred bucks on this pleather jacket for him.”

“That was from you? He told me that it was from his mom!”

“Yeah, so much money down the drain.”

“Tell me about it. Spent half a grand on a laptop for him last Christmas. Never getting that back.”

“He told me he bought it for himself! Okay, let’s list items and we’ll take turns to see if we bought those for him.”

Dillian nodded and the two began listing the items.

“A pair of blue aviators. Said they were from a thrift store.” Fernando said.

“Got those for a vacation.” Dillian answered. “A Dark Warrior action figure. Said it was from a pawn shop.”

“A surprise gift for him after we saw the movie. A smartphone. Said he found it on sale.”

“Got it for his birthday. A green tracksuit. Said it was from his grandma.”

“It was a gift when winter started. A digital watch. Said he bought it from the clearance section.”

“Surprised him with it after his old one broke.”

Dillian laughed softly.

“We both wasted so much money on that guy.”

Fernando laughed with the hawk.

“Tell me about it.”

For a while, the hawk and the Gila monster just chatted about different topics. Little did the two know that this would blossom into a great friendship and eventually, something more.

“After that, we started to hang out together and along the way, we just sort of happened.” Dillian said, concluding his tale.

When the story was finished, many members of the crew looked at the couple with sympathy.

“Well, I think it’s good to hear that everything turned out okay in the end.” Rosita commented with a soft smile.

“In a way, we might have Toby to thank for this.” Fernando chuckled dryly.

“How so?” Ash asked.

“Well, if Toby wasn’t a two-timing cheater, Fern and I wouldn’t have gotten to meet each other and we wouldn’t be having this wonderful relationship.” Dillian responded. “Believe me, I am far from grateful for Toby doing that to us, but I am happy that things turned out the way that they did.”

“Well, if you guys are happy, we’ll be happy for you too.” Lisa replied.

“Yeah, you two make a really great couple.” Rena agreed.

Fernando smiled and looked at his boyfriend, who shared his expression.

“Yeah…we really do.”

The day went on like normal with the crew finishing up lunch and spending the rest of the day practicing or coming up with new ideas for future shows. Lance also attempted to call Ash a few more times, but she just ignored him. Soon enough, another day at the New Moon Theater had come and gone. Everyone had gathered their belongings and began heading home. For Ash, the porcupine placed her guitar inside of its case and made her way out of the building. Suddenly, an all too familiar voice called out to her.

“Hey! Ash!”

Ash’s eyes widened and turned to the voice with a dismayed expression. It was Lance. The guy who she once called her boyfriend. The guy who cheated on her after everything they had been through. And he was running towards her.

“Lance?!”

Once Lance caught up to Ash, he took a moment to catch his breath before talking.

“Ash. Hey, uh, how have you been?” Lance asked.

Ash’s shock quickly turned into a mix of anger and annoyance. Here Lance was, just casually greeting her as if he didn’t do anything wrong. As if ‘that night’ never happened.

“Well, I was doing pretty good.” Ash responded sharply, putting an emphasis on ‘was’. “How’s Becky?”

Lance flinched at this.

“I’m…not sure.” Lance admits sheepishly. “We aren’t dating anymore.”

“Oh no, what a shame.” Ash replies with a high amount of sarcasm in her voice. “You two seemed so perfect for each other.”

Lance bit his lower lip nervously.

“W-well, she was nothing compared to you.”

“Darn right she was.” Ash bluntly stated.

Lance fidgeted in place before taking a deep breath and continued to speak.

“Speaking of which, uh, have you been getting my calls and texts?” he asked.

“Yep.”

“So…why haven’t you been answering?”

“I think even you know why.”

“Look, Ash, I messed up big time.”

Ash nodded.

“Yes, you did.”

“So…please, can we just, you know, start things over?”

Ash glared at her ex.

“That’s supposed to be a bad joke, right?”

“Come on, Ash! We had a great thing going together.” Lance pleaded.

“We did.” Ash admitted. “But then you ruined it.”

“Just…give me a second chance! We-”

A third voice emerged from nearby.

“Hey Ash. Is everything okay?”

The two porcupines turned around to see Dillian and Fernando stepping out of the building.

“Dillian, Fernando. Hey.” Ash responded. “Yeah, everything’s fine.”

Lance, trying to make a good impression, stretched his hand out.

“Um, hey, you must be Ash’s co-workers.” Lance greeted the two. “My name’s-”

“Lance. Yes, we know. Ash told us a lot about you.” Dillian interrupted, glaring disdainfully at Lance.

Lance flinched and quickly retracted his hand.

“Dillian and I have had experience with someone like you.” Fernando added. “We’ve got our eye on you, and so does everyone else that works here.”

Lance bit his lip and began backing away.

“Um…right, see ya, Ash.”

With that, Lance scurried off. Concerned for their friend, the couple turned to Ash.

“You okay? He didn’t do anything to you, did he?” Dillian asked.

“I’m fine, guys.” Ash responded. “Really, I am.”

“I’m willing to bet that he was trying to win you back, huh?” Fernando asked.

“You’d win that bet.”

“Honestly, the nerve of him, trying to take you back after he hurt you.” Dillian sneered.

“Well, don’t worry. I won’t be going back to him. I just regret that it took me so long to realize that I’m better off without him.”

“That’s good. Just looking at him irked me.” Fernando commented.

“If he tries anything, come straight to one of us.” Dillian instructed.

“I’ll be fine, guys. I can handle myself.” Ash reassured the two. “Thanks for your concern though.”

The couple nodded understandingly, although Dillian was still concerned.

“We’re all here for you, Ash.”

The porcupine smiled.

“I know, Dillian. I know. You’re a good friend for that. All of you are.”

Dillian and Fernando smiled back.

“So what are your plans for tonight?” Ash asked, trying to start up some small talk and move on from the recent event.

“Fern and I are just gonna hang at the mall for a little while. Maybe grab a bite to eat or see a movie too.” Dillian answered. “What about you?”

“I’m just gonna head back to my apartment and pluck up inspiration.”

“That’s good.”

“Well, actually, I’ve gotten a bit of a writer’s block right now. If there was one thing Lance was right about, it’s that writing songs is harder than it looks.”

“Well, I’m sure you can figure something out.” Fernando responded encouragingly.

“Yeah, if anyone can write a killer song, it’s you Ash.” Dillian agreed.

“Heh, thanks for the encouragement, guys.” Ash thanked with a smile. “Well, better head back now. See you later.”

“Alright, see ya.”

With that, everyone went their separate ways.

Dusk eventually turned into night. Dillian and Fernando decided to get dinner at the mall’s food court. Things were going very well for the couple, just talking and eating.

“So, tomorrow night, I’m thinking about streaming Knight’s Quest 2.” Dillian announced to his boyfriend.

“Oh really? That game’s out already? I thought it doesn’t release for another, like, two weeks.” Fernando responded.

“Yeah, that’s one of the perks about being a popular streamer. I get to play the game early and the developers get some free publicity.”

“Well I’m sure your viewers will be very excited to watch you play it.”

After a few more minutes of talking, Fernando got up from his seat.

“Hey, I’m going to the bathroom for a bit. I’ll be back soon.” Fernando said.

“Alright, you do that.” Dillian answered.

With that, Fernando left Dillian by himself. After a bit, Dillian was playing on his phone when he suddenly felt something bump into his chair.

“Oh gosh, sorry!” a voice exclaimed. “I wasn’t looking where I was going!”

Dillian turned to forgive the one who had accidentally bumped into him.

“Oh, it’s fi-”

And that’s when Dillian saw just who bumped into him.

It was Toby. His first boyfriend. And his first ex.

“T-toby?!”

The coyote looked just as surprised as Dillian did.

“D-dillian! H-hey!”

Dillian sputtered, trying to comprehend the situation.

“W-what are-what are you doing here?!”

“Um, I like to shop here?” Toby awkwardly answered.

Dillian just sat there in utter shock. After so long, after so many years, here he is, face to face with his ex-lover. One half of him wants to give Toby a giant slug in the face, but the other half…for some reason his other half wants to give him a hug. Not a romantic sort of hug, Dillian knew that much, but a hug one would give to a long-lost friend.

Seeing that Dillian was silent, Toby continued the conversation.

“So, um, how’s it been?” Toby asked.

The question snapped Dillian out of his train of thought.

“O-oh, um, uh, good, yes, good.” Dillian responded. “I got a job as a performer at the New Moon Theater.”

“Yeah, I’ve been hearing about that place.” Toby chuckled slightly. “Crazy stuff going on there from what I’ve heard.”

“Well, everything’s fine now. The animals are very nice and supportive there.”

“That’s good to hear. So, uh, been seeing anyone lately?”

Dillian narrowed his eyes a little.

“Why do you want to know?”

Toby scratched the back of his nervously.

“Just, y’know, kinda curious.”

Dillian felt like he shouldn’t answer the question, but for whatever reason, the hawk felt compelled to keep talking to his ex.

“I’m with Fernando now.”

This got a reaction out of Toby.

“Wait, Fernando? Seriously?”

“Yeah, seriously. We actually have a lot in common. He’s also smart, sweet, encouraging…”

Dillian broke his gaze from the coyote’s eyes.

“...Loyal.”

Dillian didn’t even have to look at Toby to know that he flinched after that word.

“I…I see…”

“Why am I even telling you all this?” Dillian scoffed. “You hurt me, Toby. You hurt Fern, too.”

“I…I know.” Toby meekly muttered.

“In fact, why are you even talking to me?”

“I just…we haven’t seen each other in a long time. We had something together before, y’know? For a long time actually.”

“And then you ruined it.” Dillian retorted, snapping his head harshly towards Toby, who recoiled at his ex’s cold gaze. “You single-handedly ruined a five-year relationship by cheating on me with Fern. Like it was nothing.”

“It…it wasn’t nothing, Dillian. That time we spent together…it still meant something to me.” Toby responded.

“Then what about Fern?”

“What?”

“What about that time you spent with Fernando? Those eight months, Toby. Did those mean anything to you? Fern felt something with you during that time too. What, was I getting too stale for you that you needed another guy on the side? Was Fern just someone you wanted to unload extra steam onto? Was that who he was to you?”

As Dillian spoke, years of anger and betrayal began flowing out of his beak. Toby, of course, had more and more guilt appearing on his face as his ex ranted.

“Dillian, I-”

“As I said, you didn’t just hurt me that day, Tobias. You hurt Fernando too. All he wanted was someone to make him feel special. To make him feel loved. He deserved better than that. I deserved better than that.”

As Dillian got out his pent up frustration, the hawk began to calm down.

“But you know, in a weird, twisted way, I have you to thank for who I am today. If you weren’t so stupid back then, I never would have gotten to meet Fern. Fern’s an amazing boyfriend. Without him, I’d be lost. I love him dearly and I want to spend my life with him. For that, I thank you.”

Toby bit his lower lip in shame and regret.

“Dillian…I…I never meant to hurt you that way. And I never meant to hurt Fernando like that either.”

“Well, you did.” Dillian replied. “It wasn’t just the fact you cheated on me that hurt me so much. It was also that you lied. You lied to my face for a long time, Tobias. After everything we went through together, you went behind my back and tossed it all away. And yet…even now, I wouldn’t change a single thing from the past. I found someone even better. Someone who I know won’t lie to me. Not like the way you did.”

“Dillian, please, just let me-” Toby tried to speak.

“I think you should leave me alone.” Dillian interrupted.

“Dillian-”

“Tobias, stop and go away. I’m not going to say this a third time.”

Toby paused for a moment and then sighed.

“...Alright, if that’s what you really want.”

With that, Toby walked away, leaving Dillian by himself for a while. Not long after, Fernando came back to the table.

“Hey Dill! I’m back!”

“Hey, um, yeah. So, um, I think I’d like to go home now.”

Fernando looked at Dillian with confusion.

“Dill? You okay? What happened?”

Dillian was somewhat hesitant to answer, but realized that he didn’t want to hide anything from Fernando. Not like Toby did.

“I…I just met with Toby.”

Fernando gave a serious expression to Dillian.

“What did he say to you? Was he trying to win you back?”

Dillian shook his head.

“No, no he didn’t? He just wanted to know how I was doing, but I ended up just telling him off.”

An awkwardly silent moment passed before Fernando spoke up again.

“Come on, let's go home Dill.”

Dillian nodded and with that, the couple went to exit the mall.

Ash was alone at her apartment, watching TV. Earlier, Ash had tried coming up with some inspiration for a new song, but so far, nothing had come up, so she decided to take a break. Lance’s voice repeated in the back of her mind.

“ I’m just saying, not everyone can write songs, okay? I know I make it look easy, babe, but it’s not.”

Ash proved that she could, in fact, write songs, but he was right that it was harder than it looks. Her breakup with him did give her inspiration for ‘Set It All Free’, but now what? What could she possibly write a song about now? She could just keep on writing about her breakup with Lance, but right now, Ash really wanted to think about anything other than Lance. Suddenly, Ash hears a knock on the door of her apartment. Ash wonders who could be knocking on her door at this time and then quickly realizes and sighs in annoyance. Begrudgingly, she gets up from her couch and answers the door and comes face to face with exactly who she expected to see.

“Uh, hey Ash.”

“Lance.”

“Can I, uh, come in?”

“No, no cannot come in. We can talk here. Unless it’s about us getting together again. If that’s the case, forget about it and leave.”

“Come on, Ash! Look, you’ve proved me wrong, alright? There, I’ve said it. I was wrong, plain and simple.”

“Well, it’s nice to hear you admit that. Now, please go. I was having a pretty good night and I’d like to go back to that.”

“Please Ash! We can work things out, like we used to!”

Ash scoffed at the idea.

“Like we used to? The way we used to work things out was me apologizing to you for getting in your way. It used to be me under your thumb while you hogged the spotlight. Those days are over, Lance.”

“Well, I can change, Ash!”

“I’m sure you can, Lance. But no matter how much you change, I won’t go back to being your girlfriend. It’s just not going to happen. You need to realize that your actions have consequences and that other animals aren’t just going to go along with what you want just like that. You can shape your future, but you can’t change what you’ve done in the past.”

“Ash-”

“It’s late, Lance. Go home and sleep.”

Before Lance could speak, Ash closed the door on him. Ash heard Lance sigh from the other side of the door and his footsteps leaving the area. At least he somewhat knew when to give up. Ash was grateful for that small change, but in the end, she knew that even now this wouldn’t be the last she’d hear of her ex. At least everyone back at the theater had her back. Ash smiled that everyone was so supportive of her and her music and singing. They were everything that was missing in her life when she was with Lance and now, here she was, living her dream. Yeah, she could count on them if things get dark. For now though, she could go for some popcorn.

The next day arrived and Ash had just arrived at the theater’s entrance. To her not-so-complete surprise, Lance was hanging around at the entrance. Tenacious as always.

“Ash!”

“Lance.”

“Good morning!”

“Morning.”

“So, uh, busy day, huh?”

“It just started.”

Lance was blocking the entrance. Seeing that Lance won’t go away without a fight once again, Ash groaned and humored him.

“What is it now? I need to get to work.”

“Ash, please, just one second chance. If I mess up again, you won’t have to see me ever again.” Lance pleaded.

“Forget it, Lance.” Ash bluntly responded.

Lance still didn’t budge.

“Come on, Ash, don’t be so stubborn!”

Ash laughed, absolutely appalled at what he just said.

“ I’m the stubborn one here?”

Lance winced.

“Okay, maybe not stubborn, but-”

“Did you even listen to what ‘Set It All Free’ was about?”

“I did! Really! And I’m really, really sorry!”

“You know, the more times I hear that, the less I feel like you actually mean it.”

“But I do!”

“Then act like it and accept that I’ll never become your girlfriend again.”

With that, Ash just plowed through Lance and went inside the building, ignoring her ex’s protests. The day went on like normal and eventually, everyone went on break. Miss Crawly was handing out baked goods to everyone and Ash was among those who happily accepted a pastry from the old secretary. That’s when Ash overheard Dillian and Fernando talking to each other.

“You’re sure he won’t try anything later?” Fernando asked worriedly. “I mean, now he knows that we’re still around.”

“I’m very sure he wouldn’t. I know what he did to us was bad, but I still know him personally.” Dillian assured him.

“Know who personally?” Ash spoke up.

The two turned to Ash.

“Sorry, I just couldn’t help but overhear things.” Ash apologized. “Is something wrong?”

Dillian fidgeted in place for a bit before answering her.

“I…I just met with my ex for the first time in years.”

Ash widened her eyes.

“Toby?”

Dillian nodded his head.

“It’s kinda weird. When I first saw him, I wasn’t totally mad.”

“Why not?”

“Well, I did date him for five years. I guess…I dunno, I was shocked to see him again. I was confused as to why he would talk to me after all this time. It’s all so…complicated.”

“Well, what did he say?” Ash asked curiously.

“Dillian told me that Toby was surprised to hear that we were dating and it kinda just fell apart from there.” Fernando explained. “Dill told him that he hurt both of us.”

“And that even so, I wouldn’t change a thing.” Dillian finished. “I ended up with someone better anyways.”

Fernando chuckled dryly.

“Life’s been getting weird with us a lot lately.”

Ash chuckled too.

“Ain’t that the truth. So, what are you gonna do now?”

“I personally just wanna put things behind us. Fern and I have already moved on and we don’t want to deal with more drama.” Dillian responded.

Ash nodded understandingly.

“Fair enough.”

“Hey, has Lance been bothering you?” Fernadno asked.

“Yeah, he still has been. Just talked with him outside the theater.”

“Seriously? What, can’t he take a hint or something and leave you alone?” Dillian exclaimed.

“Believe me, I don’t think I could be any more forward with him. I want nothing to do with him right now, but he just can’t wrap his mind around it.”

“Do you want us to deal with him?”

“No, it’s fine. He’s persistent, I’ll give him that, but he’s not a threat. I’ll keep on dealing with him myself. I don’t know how long it will take, but I’m sure he’ll give up and accept the facts.”

“Well, you know what to do if he tries anything funny.”

“I got this guys, really. But…are you guys gonna be alright?”

“What do you mean?” Fernando asked.

“Well, you guys seemed to be worried about Toby coming after you. Like how Lance has been after me.”

“I think we’ll be alright.” Dillian said. “I want to believe that moment in the mall was just a one time thing and that we have nothing to worry about regarding Toby.”

“So you guys can handle yourself?”

“I’m sure we can.”

“Then it’s settled. We can handle our own. We all have nothing to worry about.”

“Yeah, yeah you’re right. Things are gonna be fine.”

With a smile, Ash left the two.

“You’re really sure we’ll be fine?” Fernando questioned his boyfriend.

“Hey, we’ll be okay, Fern.” Dillian assured him, placing his wings onto Fernando’s claws. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Fernando still seemed concerned, but chose not to push.

Another day passed by and everyone went home. Dillian and Fernando just arrived at their apartment building, but before they could approach the entrance, a very familiar coyote stepped out of the building.

“Wha-are you serious?!” Fernando hissed. “What’s he doing here?!”

Dillian was just as shocked to see Toby come out of their apartment building. Toby quickly noticed the pair and froze. The couple cautiously walked towards Toby.

“Just what are you doing here?” Dillian demanded.

“I…live here?” Toby answered.

“ You live here?” Fernando responded. “You live in our apartment building?”

“O-oh, you live here too?”

“Yes, we do.” Dillian followed.

“Um, wow, so crazy, right?”

“Insane.”

Toby then turned to Fernando.

“Hey, Fernando. How’s it been?”

“Fine.” Fernando bluntly responded.

“So, uh, Dillian told me yesterday that you guys are a thing now.”

“Not that it’s really your business, but yeah, we are. And it’s serious. Unlike the thing we had apparently.”

Toby flinched, but stood his ground.

“No, Fernando, we did have a serious thing.”

“Cheating on me was a serious thing? Are you kidding me?”

“It’s more complicated than that, Fernando. Yes, what I had with Dillian was serious, but my love for you was genuine too.”

“That’s not how that works, Tobias.” Dillian spoke. “When you cheat on someone, you’re basically saying that you don’t want to be with them anymore and that you found someone better.”

“It-it wasn’t like that! Really! I loved both of you guys! I had feelings for both of you!”

“And yet, you couldn’t tell either of us that!” Fernando snapped. “And if telling us this now is you trying to win either of us back, you better think again!”

“You went behind our backs and kept both of us a secret.” Dillian followed. “I told you this before, Tobias. It wasn’t just the cheating. It was the lying. You didn’t feel like you could trust either of us to know the truth.”

“I-it was complicated back then.” Toby uttered. “I didn’t know how to explain it all.”

“It seemed pretty straightforward to me.” Fernando gruffly replied. “You were getting bored of Dillian, but you weren’t ready to leave him. And then you met me and figured you could have more for yourself.”

“No, it’s not what either of you are thinking! I loved you and Dillian equally! Really, I did!”

“You’re not making sense to us, Tobias.” Dillian said shortly.

Before Toby could try to explain any further, another animal came out of the building. He was a bobcat. He had light brown fur with black spots sprinkled all over him and was wearing a light blue sweater, faded blue jeans, and white tennis shoes.

“Hey Toby! I’m ready now!” the bobcat said. “Oh, who are these guys?”

Toby seemed somewhat hesitant to answer.

“Um, right. Dillian, Fernando, this is Ezra. He’s…he’s my boyfriend.”

This revelation surprised both Dillian and Fernando. Toby had moved on, just like they have.

“Ezra, meet Dillian and Fernando. They’re my exes.”

“O-oh.” Ezra uttered. “These are the two you told me about.”

An awkward silence loomed over the small group before Toby spoke up again.

“They, um, they live here too, so…”

Ezra nodded.

“I see.”

“Hey, Tobias. Is he the only one you’re with right now?” Dillian asked, which earned a glare from Ezra. “Just curious.”

“Yes, yes he is. I’m not with anyone else. Ezra’s the only partner I have.” Toby answered.

“So far.” Fernando muttered.

“Hey, Toby made a mistake, I’ll admit that.” Ezra said firmly. “And I’m sorry that you both had to go through that. But Toby’s changed for the better. He’s a great guy, really. I can’t imagine my life without him.”

“Ezra, it’s fine.” Toby affirmed. “They have a right to be upset and frankly, I don’t blame them one bit.”

Dillian spoke up.

“So…you’ve moved on.”

“We all have to eventually, Dillian.”

“Yeah…we do.”

For some reason, seeing Toby with this bobcat made the hawk feel…indifferent. Was it…jealousy? Jealousy for the guy who lied to him? No…no that can’t be it. Dillian loves Fernando with all his heart and that’s all he needed. But still, seeing someone he had once said ‘I love you’ to with now with someone he had just met was strange to him. Why should he care? He shouldn’t care. In fact, now he knew that there was no reason for Toby to interact with him or his boyfriend. Not like what Lance had been doing at least.

“Look, we’re all just trying to live our lives.” Ezra said. “Can’t we all just let bygones be bygones?”

“...Yeah, yeah I suppose we can.” Dillian answered.

“Dill?” Fernando uttered, surprised.

“The past is behind us. Let’s just focus on the future.”

Fernando was about to protest, but Toby spoke first.

“Yeah, I think that’s for the best.” Toby agreed, nodding his head. “Well, it was nice to see you guys again.”

With that, Toby and Ezra left the vicinity. Fernando turned to his boyfriend.

“Why did you let him off like that?”

“There’s no point in escalating things, Fern.”

“He hurt us, Dill! He knew exactly what he was doing, but he didn’t care! And now he’s here, living in our apartment building! We have to be neighbors with the guy who openly lied to our faces several times!”

Dillian sighed.

“Yes, I know that. But…we shouldn’t make things worse. Things are already awkward as they are right now. And besides, he’s moved on too. He has his own boyfriend, so we don’t need to worry about him trying anything like Lance.”

Fernando seemed to calm down a bit.

“I…yeah, that’s true.”

“And we have each other. Like Ezra just said, we should be letting bygones be bygones. Tobias is already ashamed of himself like he should be. As long as he leaves us be, we should do the same.”

“Yeah…okay, fine. Can’t say I forgive him yet though.”

“You don’t have to, Fern. We don’t owe him anything. What he did was wrong, but y’know, I think I believed Ezra when he said that Tobias had changed for the better.”

“One can only hope.”

“Right…so, uh, I actually have to get ready for a stream tonight, so…”

“Of course. Let’s go inside.”

And go inside they did.

Ash was about to arrive at her own apartment and groaned with annoyance when she saw Lance sitting on the steps that lead to the front door. Obviously, he was camping out at the entrance and waiting for Ash to come back.

“Alright, that does it.” Ash muttered.

Ash marched right up to the entrance with Lance standing up from the stairs once he saw her.

“Ash, babe-”

“Don’t ‘babe’ me, Lance. Now you’re starting to take things too far. First you constantly try to call and text me, next you come to my workplace, and now, here you are, camping outside my apartment.”

“Well, how else am I supposed to talk to you?”

“Simple. You don’t. I don’t want to talk to you, Lance. Not when you’re going to be like this.”

“Ash, please, I’m trying to fix things here.”

“Well, when I’m ready, maybe we can. Now please move. You’re blocking the entrance to my home.”

Lance wouldn’t budge.

“Ash, come on-”

“Either you move now or I call the cops.” Ash threatened.

Lance widened his eyes in shock.

“Y-you wouldn’t.”

“This apartment is in my name, Lance. Since you’re not welcome here, you’re trespassing. I am completely in my right to call the authorities if you keep persisting. And another thing, if you continue to camp out near my apartment or my workplace, you’re gonna give me no choice but to file a restraining order.”

“Ash, seriously?!”

“Dead serious. When you stop this, we can talk. But for now, I want you to leave me alone.”

“Ash…please…”

“Last chance, Lance.”

Ash got out her phone and was more than ready to dial 911. Lance gulped and hastily left.

“Later, Ash.”

After Ash made sure her ex was gone, she went inside her apartment and slumped onto the couch and sighed. She couldn’t keep doing this. She shouldn’t have to take things this far. All Lance had to do was accept the facts, but it was like talking to a brick wall when it came to him. Threatening to call the police and file a restraining order, these are things Ash shouldn’t have to do. And yet, these things may end up happening if Lance can’t get it through his thick skull that she doesn’t want to be his girlfriend. That she’s not interested in performing together. That he brought all of this upon himself. That the reason she’s pushing him away was because of him and him alone.

Honestly, she’d love to simply talk things out and move on, but so far, it all just ends up back to Lance trying to win her back. It’s not just the fact that Lance is trying to take her back. In Ash’s eyes, Lance is just trying to get her to be his girlfriend so that he could get more gigs out of her. To use her as a tool to make himself look good. She’s worth more than that and she knows it. The second she realized that she’s far more than Lance’s accessory to fame was the second their relationship crumbled. All he was doing was holding her back from what she could really do for herself. 

She had Buster and the other theater troupe members to thank for that. Now these were animals who really supported her for who she was. Within the short amount of time they’ve all known each other, each and every one of them have supported her far more than the years she and Lance have dated. She’s happier this way. Why couldn’t Lance just let her have this?

A hurricane of emotions filled Ash’s mind. Anger, betrayal, frustration, distress. These were emotions that plagued her when she first caught Lance cheating on her with Becky. This time, however, these feelings were for a different reason. She couldn’t shake off her ex, no matter how hard she was trying. With all of this, Ash came to a conclusion. She needed help. She knew she told the others that she’d figure this all out on her own, but now, she wasn’t so sure about that. She needed animals that she could trust to get her through this situation.

And that’s exactly what she went to do. Ash arrived early in the morning at the theater the very next day. After dropping off her guitar in her rehearsal space, Ash went straight to Buster’s office door and knocked.

“Come in!” Buster’s voice called from the other side.

Ash walked in and was warmly greeted by her boss.

“Ah, Ash! You’re here early today!”

“Mr. Moon, if it’s alright with you, can I talk about something…personal with you?” Ash asked.

“Of course! What can I help you with?”

“It’s about Lance.”

The atmosphere suddenly felt very tense.

“What has he been doing?” Buster asked with a surprisingly serious tone. “He didn’t…hurt you, did he?”

“No, no no, he would never do anything like that! He’s an absolute bonehead, yeah, but he’s not dangerous!”

“What has he been doing then?”

Ash shuffled nervously in place before giving her testimony.

“Lance has been waiting outside the places I go to. The theater, my apartment, stuff like that. Thankfully, nothing big has happened, but I don’t want to wait until that happens. I need to get this all to stop early before anyone does something they might regret.”

“What have you tried doing so far?”

“At first, I just either ignored him or told him off, but Lance is persistent. He keeps trying to win me back by apologizing, but that’s not the main issue here. I don’t want to be his girlfriend again. I’m happy working here at the theater. With all of you.”

Buster couldn’t help but smile at this revelation.

“But Lance, he wants me back so he can use me to improve his image. I’m not that kind of girl anymore, Mr. Moon.”

Buster listened intently, nodding and understanding every word coming from Ash.

“Last night, he camped outside of my apartment and, well, that was the last straw. It was becoming, like, an obsession at this point. I threatened to call the police and file a restraining order if he ever did something like that again and he ran off after that.”

Ash looked down solemnly.

“I shouldn’t have to go this far, Mr. Moon.”

“No, you shouldn’t, Ash.” Buster replied agreeing with the porcupine. “Lance should be giving you your space and he isn’t respecting that.”

“I know, but he just doesn’t get that yet. I told him that if he stops doing this, then maybe we can talk things over and be done with all of this, but he’s being so stubborn!”

Ash groaned with frustration.

“I can’t keep doing this! I need help dealing with him! I know I said that I could handle it, but I didn’t expect Lance to be so tenacious!”

“Hey, hey, it’s alright, Ash.” Buster replied calmly. “You don’t need to do this all alone. I’m here to help you. We all are.”

“I know, I know.” Ash sighed. “I’m sorry that I was pushing away your help, but I really thought that I could handle it at the time.”

“It’s okay to ask for help, Ash. No one here is going to judge you for it. Okay, maybe Mike will be a bit condescending, but I’m very sure that even he has good intentions in his own way.”

Ash couldn’t help but chuckle a bit.

“I’m sure he does.”

“The point is that we’re all willing to help you out here. If you need us to tell him off when we see him around, just say the word. If you don’t feel safe in your apartment, just tell one of us and I’m sure someone will let you stay with them for a bit or escort you home or something.”

“You really think they’d do that for me?”

“You’re one of us, Ash. We all look out for one of our own around here.”

Ash smiled.

“Thanks, Mr. Moon. That means a lot to me.”

“Anytime, Ash. Anytime.”

Ash decided to help out around the office before rehearsals began for the day. Just a small way of saying thank you to her boss and friend for having her back.

As for the work part of the day, the theater troupe were on point with singing and/or dancing. Well, almost everyone. Today, Dillian was uncharacteristically distracted. The hawk wasn’t as focused and was making more mistakes than he should be. On the latest occasion, during one of his dance routines, Dillian made a misstep and ended up crashing into a pile of boxes. A few animals rushed over to help him.

“Dillian! Are you okay?” Rena asked with concern.

“Ugh, yeah, yeah I’m fine.” Dillian grunted.

“The first two times were funny and all, but now it’s just painful to watch.” Mike commented.

“Is something wrong, mate?” Johnny asked. “You don’t seem like yourself.”

“I’m fine, guys. I’m just…out of it for some reason.” Dillian explained half-heartedly.

“Two or three accidents is out of it, Dillian. This is the seventh one today.” Lisa replied.

“Seriously, is something wrong, man?” Perry asked. “We can help if you want.”

“Really guys, it’s not a big deal.” Dillian assured his friends.

Rosita certainly wasn’t buying it.

“Dillian, I’m a mother.” Rosita stated with her hands on her hips. “I know when someone isn’t okay and when they’re lying about it. Please, just tell us what’s wrong.”

Dillian broke his gaze with the others.

“I…I don’t want to have to bother all of you guys about it. You shouldn’t have to worry.”

“Dillian, please. We want to help with whatever’s going on.” Meena softly spoke. “But we can’t do that if you won’t say anything.”

“I’m sure you’ll feel a lot better if you just talk about it.” Jessica added.

Dillian sighed. Might as well get it out now.

“I met with my ex a couple days back.” Dillian admitted.

“You that Toby guy?” Rena said.

“Yeah, that’s him. Met him at the mall and the day after, I found out he lives in the same apartment building Fern and I live in.”

“Big yikes.” Gunter commented.

“Well, he’s not trying to win you back like Lance has been doing, right?” Lisa questioned.

“No, I highly doubt that’s his goal. With someone else. A bobcat named Ezra.”

“Arlight, so even though your ex is now your neighbor, he’s with someone else anyways. He ain’t gonna bother you. I’m not seeing the big issue here.” Mike said.

“Well, if I were Dillian, I wouldn’t exactly feel thrilled about having to live near someone who cheated on me either.” Jessica stated.

“It sounds to me like it’s the awkwardness that's the problem here.” Perry said.

“Actually, to be honest, I’m not as upset as I thought I would be. Which kind of confuses me.” Dillian admitted.

“You already lost me.” Mike said flatly.

“I don’t really get it myself. After all this time, I feel that I should feel angry at him. Furious even. Maybe it’s the fact that I already found someone else to love. Maybe it’s from the fact that we used to date. I don’t know what it is. These thoughts and feelings, they just won’t leave me alone.”

“Arlight, that’s definitely complicated sounding.” Lisa replied.

“But I think talking to him might help.” Rosita advised.

“I’m pretty sure I’ve been doing plenty of that.” Dillian said. “I’ve been telling him exactly how he made me and Fernando feel.”

“Um…but have you heard his side of the story?” Meena quietly asked.

“His side? It’s obvious, isn’t it?” Rena said. “Dillian’s ex cheated on him for Fernando. That should be the end of the story, right?”

“Well, not trying to take his side or anything, but it sounds like Toby hasn’t really gotten to properly explain himself.” Meena said. “Maybe there’s a few details we haven’t heard yet. What he did wasn’t right, but everyone does things for a reason, right?” 

“Well, I suppose I never really let him speak for himself.” Dillian admitted. “All I really heard from him was that his feelings for both Fern and I were genuine, but I was a lot more focused on the fact that he lied to both of us. I was just…so upset with him and got caught up in making him feel bad about what he did to us.”

“Well, no matter how absurd it may be, I think you should listen to what he has to say.” Rosita suggested. “You don’t need to forgive him or anything. You’re right about how he should feel bad for what he did, but I don’t think it would be healthy for you to constantly stay upset with him or let this go unresolved.”

“Yeah…yeah you guys are right.”

“Okay, good. She’s right, he’s right, they’re all right. Crisis solved, everyone’s happy.” Mike said. “Now let’s just hope we don’t need to call an ambulance for bird-brain here.”

“Thanks so much for your concern, Mike.” Lisa replied sarcastically.

The rest of the day went by relatively well for everyone. Dillian didn’t have any more incidents and Ash felt a lot more relieved knowing that she had a whole troupe to fall back on. About an hour before her work day ended, however, Ash got a notification on her phone. Ash checked it and saw she got another text from Lance. Ash groaned and considered ignoring it, but then remembered that pretending that Lance didn’t exist would only make things worse for herself. However, when she checked the text from her ex, it wasn’t the typical text from Lance that she was expecting.

Ash, please come to Luigi’s Pizzeria at 8 tonight. This isn’t me asking you to come back to me. I swear I just want to talk to you. After this, you won’t have to hear from me again. I promise.

Ash contemplated not fulfilling this request from Lance, but then remembered the advice her friends were giving Dillian earlier. She shouldn’t keep letting this situation go unresolved. Yes, she and Lance had a disastrous falling out, but it’s not healthy to let it all end this way. She should at least hear what Lance has to say this time, no matter how ridiculous the context may be. Ash sighed and came to a decision.

Meanwhile, the work day ended for everyone and Dillian and Fernando were outside the door of Toby’s apartment, much to the Gila monster’s displeasure.

“Do we really have to do this?” Fernando complained. “I thought we were letting bygones be bygones.”

“We are, Fern. But I want to hear what Toby has to say. To at least hear his reasons. We don’t have to agree with him, but we should at least know why he did what he did.”

Fernando looked rather skeptical.

“Where’s all this coming from? You aren’t…falling back in love with him, are you?”

“Wha-Fern, no! That’s not it in the slightest!” Dillian exclaimed. “Trust me, those days are long gone! It’s you I love! All I want is to talk to him! That’s it! Nothing more!”

Fernando pursed his lips and sighed.

“I’m sorry, Dill. That was stupid of me to think like that.”

“It’s fine. Let’s just keep a cool head and everything should be fine.”

With that, Dillian knocked on the door and after a moment, the door opened to reveal Toby.

“Dillian? Fernando? What are you doing here?”

“We want to talk to you, Toby.” Dillian answered. “We want to hear your side.”

“My side?”

“Dillian wants to know why you did what you did.” Fernando explained. “And I can only pray you had a good reason.”

Toby gave a guilty expression.

“I…no, I can’t say it was a good reason. What I did was stupid and manipulative. Neither of you deserved that.”

“Why are we even doing this?” Fernando sighed with frustration.

“Fern, please.”Dillian responded firmly. “Toby, what you did was wrong, but I know you. You wouldn’t do something like that without a reason. Good or bad, I want to hear your thought process.”

Toby looked uncertain about the situation.

“Toby, please.” Dillian said with a softer expression. “We deserve to know. Once upon a time, you loved us and we loved you. You said you loved us equally, right? Please, prove that to us.”

Toby looked at Dillian, then at Fernando. These were two animals he once held dear to his heart. Dillian was right. They deserve an explanation. They might not like what they end up hearing, but it’s better than them being kept in the dark, like he did to them years ago.

“Alright. Come in.”

The coyote led the two inside the apartment and into the living room. Ezra happened to also be inside and was shocked to see who Toby brought in.

“Toby? What are they doing here?”

“They’re just here to talk, Ezra.” Toby reassured his boyfriend. “Nothing bad is going to happen tonight.”

Ezra had a skeptical expression on his face, but didn’t push any further.

“Well, alright then.” Ezra replied before turning his attention to the guests. “Do either of you want anything to drink?”

“Um, no thank you.” Dillian politely declined.

“I’m good. Thanks though.” Fernando replied.

When everyone sat themselves down, Toby took a deep breath and began speaking.

“So, um, I think I should start from the beginning.”

“Take all the time you need.” Dillian responded.

“When I first met you, Dillian, I was honestly captivated. I used to think that the phrase 'love at first sight’ was just something used in fairy tales and stuff. And we began dating, you became the most important guy in my life.”

These words sounded genuine to Dillian. It was true. Dillian felt the same way when they first met and dated. Toby was everything to the hawk when he was younger. The apple of his eye, the yin to his yang, stuff like that. Everything was perfect. So why did he have to ruin it all?

“The time I spent with you, Dillian, it all meant something to me. I don’t regret a single minute that I spent with you. But…one day, I met Fernando. He was working at a tech shop during the time I met him.”

Dillian looked at Fernando for confirmation and the Gila monster nodded, signifying that Toby was telling the truth.

“Fernando was very friendly with me, giving me genuine advice for my tech stuff. I…I liked being around him. I asked if we could hang out sometime and he agreed.”

“And you did this behind my back.” Dillian uttered.

“I didn’t think it would go much farther than just a friendship.” Toby explained. “Now that I think about it, that’s hardly an excuse, but I was thinking about introducing him to you as a friend myself. At least, I would have if…if I didn’t end up falling for him too.”

“I thought that you seemed nice and cute.” Fernando added. “I wasn’t sure if you felt the same way, but I also didn’t know you were already in a relationship at the time. This was when I decided to test my luck and ask you out myself.”

Toby nodded.

“I…probably should have just told you the truth, but…when you confessed to me and I looked into your eyes…your kind, warm eyes…I just couldn’t bring myself to say no.”

“I would have understood.”

“Even so, I’ve already developed feelings…the same kind I felt for Dillian. I couldn’t just ignore them. I loved you, Fernando, but I still loved Dillian too. I didn’t want to have to choose so…I just stayed with both of you. And I knew that if either of you found out about the other, you’d end up leaving me.”

“But it ended up happening anyway. Because you lied.” Dillian reminded.

“I know, I know! It was stupid of me to think that way!” Toby exclaimed. “But, at the time, I thought that maybe, when the time was right, I’d confess the truth to both of you. I would have introduced you both to each other and hopefully, maybe, you guys would fall for each other too and then, well, we could all have dated each other at the same time.”

“What do you mean?” Fernando asked confusingly. “That can’t be possible, right?”

“I’m talking about a polyamorous relationship. You know, when more than two people are in a romantic relationship with each other?” Toby explained.

“I…I never really thought about stuff like that.” Dillian replied. “I always thought you could only have one lover at a time because…things just worked like that.”

“For a long time, I thought so too. That’s when all these confusing feelings came to me. I was in love with two guys and dating both of them at the same time. But, soon enough, I found out what a polyamorous relationship was. I…I really wanted to be with both of you, but I was scared of what would happen if I decided to tell either of you the truth.”

“So you just continued to lie to us.” Fernando said.

“I didn’t want to! Yes, it was stupid, deceitful, and cowardly of me to wait so long, and honestly, I regret every lie that I told to both of you! But you have to believe me, I loved both of you guys so much, and I loved you both equally! But you’re right, I should have been honest with you guys instead of hiding you guys from each other, and I’m sorry! I’m really, really sorry that I lied to you both. You’re both amazing guys and you deserved better.”

Dillian and Fernando sat there in stunned silence for a little while.

“But you know, I also can’t really say I would take it back either.” Toby admitted. “You know why? Because then I wouldn’t have met Ezra.”

Toby turned his head to Ezra and placed a paw onto the bobcat’s paw.

“It was about a week after you both left me. I met him at a video store. I just wanted something, anything to take my mind off the event that had happened to me.”

Ezra then decided to take over the conversation.

“I accidentally bumped into him and he dropped the video he was about to buy. It was one of my favorite movies. We discussed about it and we just sorta clicked. We hung out together and he talked about you guys at one point. I was surprised about the whole situation, but he told me his side and his reasons for doing what he did. I’m not saying what he did was right, but I understood why he was so set in keeping you both for as long as he did. He felt torn between you guys, but he didn’t want to let either of you go. He didn’t want to have to choose between you two because he loved both. Maybe if he went about things a different way, maybe you’d all still be with each other.”

Ezra then gazed into Toby’s eyes.

“Although, even though this is kind of selfish of me, I’m kind of glad that didn’t happen. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have gotten to meet the love of my life. I’m really sorry about the stuff you guys went through, but Toby has meant everything to me. I couldn’t be prouder than to be his boyfriend.”

Dillian had some mixed feelings about this whole story. He was still irritated that Toby lied to him, but he also felt flattered that Toby didn’t want to choose between him and Fernando. Toby was more than willing to love both him and Fernando. He just couldn’t figure out a way to bring up the news to either of them and in the end, it resulted in tears.

“You…really wanted to be with both of us, huh?” Dillian asked.

“I did.” Toby answered with a nod. “I really am sorry that I kept lying to both of you. Please, believe me, I loved you both with all of my heart.”

Dillian took a moment to find the right words and sighed.

“You know what, Toby? I believe you.”

Toby widened his eyes with surprise.

“You-you do?”

“If there was one thing you were right about, Fernando and I did end up falling for each other, so maybe we could have given this, what was it called, polyamorous relationship a try.”

“Would that have really worked?” Fernando asked with a bit of doubt.

“We both loved Toby at the time, and if our own years together have proven anything, we would have fallen in love with each other too under those circumstances. So yeah, I think it could have worked.”

Fernando gave the idea a bit of thought and nodded.

“Yeah, maybe we could have made it work. If only he hadn’t gone behind our backs so often.”

Dillian then looked at Ezra.

“But, even so, maybe it was for the best.”

“What do you mean?” Fernando asked.

“If we had gone into a relationship like that, where would Ezra be?”

Ezra was a little surprised that he was being considered in this situation.

“Ezra would still be alone. He wouldn’t have gotten to meet Toby. And by the way things seem, they both look very happy together.”

Ezra gave a small smile.

“Yeah, we are.”

“And honestly, I’m very happy with Fernando myself.”

Fernando smiled at the hawk.

“Heh, yeah. I’m happy with you too, Dill.”

“So, uh, what does this mean for all of us?” Toby asked.

“It just means that, in a crazy way, things worked out for all of us.” Dillian answered. “Listen, this doesn’t mean Fern and I are gonna be asking for you back. We’re well past that. I don’t think I want to be with someone who would deceive me like that.”

Toby nodded understandingly.

“But another reason is that I don’t want to take you from someone who already loves you so much. And I’m already happy as is with Fern here.”

“And I don’t think I can truly forgive you for what you did, but I’m very sure I have a better understanding of the events that happened all those years ago.” Fernando said. “In short, I’m ready to really put things behind us.”

Toby smiled.

“That’s all I really wanted.”

With a smile, Dillian decided that it was time to conclude this situation.

“While romance is off the table, I think it’s time we can start being friends again.”

“Y-you want to be friends with me again?”

Dillian nodded.

“I enjoyed my time with you in the past, Toby. That much I won’t deny. In fact, I don’t regret a single good moment we had together. It wouldn’t hurt to get that feeling again. As friends, of course.”

Toby smiled brightly at this. It was the same smile Dillian used to love about the coyote.

“I’d like that a lot.”

“Yeah, I think I can manage that.” Fernando said with agreement.

“Sure, yeah, you guys seem nice.” Ezra added.

With tensions finally cleared, Dillian stood up.

“Alright, I think everyone’s said their piece. It was good to talk to you, Toby.”

“Yeah, it was. I think we all needed this.” Toby replied.

“I hope you and Ezra live a very happy life with each other. I really do.”

“And I hope the same goes for you and Fernando, Dillian.”

With one last smile, Dillian turned to his boyfriend.

“Come on, Fern. Let’s go home now.”

“Right behind you, Dill.” Fernando said, standing up with Dillian.

With that, the hawk and the Gila monster left the apartment.

“They seem really good together.” Ezra commented.

Toby lightly chuckled.

“Yeah, they do.”

Ezra chuckled back and nuzzled his head against the coyote.

“Love you, Toby.”

Toby grinned and put his arm around the bobcat, returning the nuzzle.

“I love you too, Ezra.”

Ash had arrived at Luigi’s Pizzeria at the time Lance had requested. Taking a deep breath, Ash entered the restaurant. The porcupine scanned her surroundings and saw Lance sitting by himself at a booth in a corner. Ash slowly made her way towards the table Lance was at. Her ex looked up and noticed Ash walking towards him. With a small wave, Lance smiled and greeted her.

“Ash, hey.”

“Lance.”

Ash took a seat across Lance and gave him a skeptical glare. After a short period of awkward silence, a waiter came by and took their order. Lance ordered for both of them. He ordered a medium vegetarian supreme pizza with extra peppers, Ash’s favorite pizza. Ash figured he meant well, but couldn’t help but roll her eyes. When the waiter left, Ash decided it was time to know the real reason she was asked to come here.

“Alright Lance. Spill it. Why did you ask me to come here?”

“I just want us to talk, Ash.” Lance answered.

“About what? And if it really is about us getting back together, I’m outta here and leaving you with the bill.”

“No, Ash I swear that isn’t the reason.”

Ash easened up a bit and softened her expression.

“Alright, you have my attention. Go on. I’m listening.”

Taking a deep breath, Lance began to explain himself.

“I was stupid for cheating on you.”

Ash nodded.

“You were.”

“I lost something amazing.”

“You did.”

“I should have been a more supportive boyfriend.”

“You should have.”

“I was entitled, selfish, controlling, restrictive, delusional, self-centered, you name it. But…I want to fix all of that. I want to change. I know I can.”

“That may be possible.”

“Listen, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, and I mean a lot of thinking. And you were right. You were so right. You’re better off without me. I should have seen this way sooner, but I was so focused on making myself look good, I didn’t consider how you were feeling. How my actions were affecting you.”

Ash kept nodding, but now she was a bit more interested in what Lance had to say now. For one thing, he was finally willing to own up to his flaws and mistakes. Ash decided to keep listening to hear what else he had.

“It’s just that…maybe in some way or another…I was jealous of you.” Lance admitted.

Now this got Ash’s attention.

“You…you were jealous of me?”

Lance nodded.

“Ash, you’re a really talented singer, musician, and songwriter. For a long time, I kept thinking I was the genius between us, but after hearing you sing and play that night, I realized that you were just as amazing as I was. Actually, no, you’re way better than I am.”

Ash blinked with surprise. Lance was finally swallowing his pride and giving her so much praise. Was this really the Lance she knew?

“I think…maybe the reason why I was pushing you back when we performed together was that, perhaps deep down, I knew you were the better one of the two of us. I think it was some kind of deep-seeded feeling I couldn’t see or something? I dunno, I’m not a psychologist.”

At this time, the pizza that Lance ordered had arrived. Lance grabbed a slice and took a bite. Ash did the same, but waited patiently for Lance to continue talking. After taking bites and swallowing some of the pizza, Lance did just that.

“When you got in the singing contest and I didn’t that day, I think my inner jealousy began to rise. That koala, Buster was it?”

Ash nodded.

“Yes, his name’s Buster.” Ash said, confirming Lance’s guess.

“Alright, good.” Lance replied. “Anyways, when he said he just wanted you and not me, I’m pretty sure my ego took a serious blow. There I was, the lead singer being upstaged by my backup singer. It felt humiliating to me. Not only that, you wanted to be the one writing songs. I felt that was my job and you wanted to take that from me.”

“I wasn’t trying to do anything like that, Lance. I just wanted a moment to shine.” Ash commented.

“And I was trying to keep you from that. My ego was the size of that theater you work for and seeing you succeed in something that I usually do…I couldn’t handle it back then. In a way, I felt betrayed. Betrayed that you were going to rehearsals, all happy and excited, while I was left alone.”

“I was doing it for us, Lance. I was working hard during that competition to get the money so we could make sure your music could be heard by the world.”

“I know. I know that now. I should have been more grateful to have had such a supportive girlfriend by my side, but instead, I took you for granted. I was calling you a sell out when really, you were just looking out for me.”

Ash took another bite of her pizza slice, thinking back to the singing competition. It turned out that the money Buster had promised hadn’t existed yet. Ash and the other competitors got the full story after the theater was rebuilt and learned Miss Crawly accidentally made a typo when making the flyers for the competition. It was an honest mistake, yeah, but so many animals were looking forward to that money. Still, things turned out alright in the end. Ash had freed herself from Lance and made a lot of new friends in the process, which honestly were worth more than a hundred grand in her opinion. Priceless even.

“That’s around the time I met Becky. She absolutely adored me, my singing, my music, my songwriting, all of it. It felt good to be praised like that, and I guess I just wanted to keep feeling that. She just wanted to sing songs with me and didn’t try to sing over me and let me be the leader, which I suppose was what my stupid ego was yearning for.”

Ash raised an eyebrow at this.

“You’re not trying to say that you cheating on me was my fault, right?”

“No, no no no, that’s not what I’m trying to say! Although, I guess it kinda sounded like that.”

“A bit, yeah.”

“But when I saw you perform on TV, I was blown away by what you could do. Long story short, Becky found out that I still admired you and dumped me. That was when I ended up getting the idea that we should get back together and go back to performing gigs with each other.”

“And look where that’s been ending up.”

“I know, I know, it was still stupid of me to think that way. If I was going to talk to you, I should have admitted my wrongdoings from the get-go. I should have realized all of that instead of trying to ask you to come back to me. Instead, all I could think of was getting you back and imagining us singing and playing music together. Imagining us being famous together. Famous because of your talent.”

Ash sighed.

“You like being in control, Lance. Lead vocalist, lead guitarist, lead songwriter, all of that. That’s just who you are, Lance. It took me a long time to figure that out.”

Lance nodded, agreeing with his ex.

“I did, Ash. The fame and glory were stuff that I wanted for myself. But…I should have considered that you wanted in on that action too. I was inconsiderate, Ash, and now I finally see that all I was doing was holding you back from what you truly are: a talented singer, musician, and songwriter.”

Lance had truly surprised Ash with the realizations he had. It took him a while, yeah, but better late than never, right?

“The point in all of this, Ash, is that I’m sorry.” Lance apologized. “I know that no amount of sorrys in the world will be enough to excuse my actions, but I really mean it. I’m so sorry that I hurt you and I wish I could take it all back. If I had just swallowed my pride and allowed you to do your own thing instead of hogging the spotlight for myself, maybe we’d still be together. But I couldn’t do that and I probably lost the best thing I ever had going for me. I’m not going to ask for forgiveness in all of this, but I hope you can understand that I am in fact sorry and ashamed of what I’ve done. I also understand if you never want to see me again after this and frankly, I don’t blame you. All I wanted to do tonight was apologize because that’s what you deserve.”

Ash was stunned. She was absolutely dumbfounded by the words that came out of Lance’s mouth. There’s actually a bit of relief that there was still a bit of the Lance she once fell in love with shining through. Lance was right that there was no way she could excuse his actions, but hearing Lance really taking responsibility for said actions really hit differently.

“Lance…” Ash started. “I can’t forgive you for cheating on me.”

Lance nodded his head shamefully.

“But, what you just said to me…it showed me that you can change.”

Lance perked up after hearing this.

“Hearing you finally own up to your actions proved to me that you finally learned your lesson. Albeit too late. Still, I find it admirable that you are willing to recognize that I can do anything you could do. Sing, play, write, we were both able to do those things. Maybe you’re right. Maybe we could have still been a couple if you had allowed me to share the spotlight with you. But now, I don’t really want that. I can’t be in a relationship with someone who would lie to me like that.”

Lance winced, but continued to listen.

“But after hearing you say these things, maybe we can work out a different relationship.”

“What do you mean?” Lance asked.

“I mean that we can just be friends.”

“Wha-seriously?”

“When we were together, I genuinely enjoyed my time with you. I don’t want to forget the Lance I once fell in love with, but unfortunately, he’s gone now. But I’m pretty sure a new Lance has just arrived and I think I want to spend some time with him. As a friend, obviously.”

Lance’s expression was starting to brighten.

“You really mean it?”

“I do. While romance is completely off the table, I can work with a friendship. As friends, we can go back to hanging out with each other if you’d like to.”

Lance smiled brightly.

“Yes, yes I would like that. I’d like that a lot.”

“And I know I’m kinda hammering this into the ground, but we’re just gonna be friends.” Ash quickly reminded. “Nothing more. Got it?”

“Yeah, yeah I got it.”

Ash finally smiled.

“Good.”

Eventually, the two had finished up the pizza and asked for the check. However, in a surprise twist, Ash had offered to pay for half of the check.

“Just a way of saying thank you for maturing.” Ash claimed.

After paying, the two porcupines left the pizzeria.

“Well, see you, Ash.” Lance said. “It was nice to hang out again.”

“Yeah…yeah it was.” Ash replied with a smile.

With a wave goodbye to each other, the two exes parted ways.

The next day, Ash arrived at the theater in a very good mood. She made her way into the back and met with Dillian.

“Morning Dillian.”

Dillian happily greeted her back.

“Hey Ash. You’re in good spirits.”

“Yeah, well let’s just say that a huge weight has been lifted.”

Dillian seemed intrigued.

“Oh? Can I get some details?”

“I had dinner with Lance last night.” Ash answered. “And before you jump to conclusions, no, it wasn’t a date. It was just two animals having food together. In fact, we’re on good terms now.”

“Just friends?”

“Yep, just friends. He actually really surprised me last night. Turns out even guys like him can learn something.”

Dillian smiled.

“Well that’s good to hear. Guess he won’t be bothering you anymore, right.”

Ash nodded.

“That should be the case, yeah. Anyways, you seem a bit chipper yourself. What’s up with you?”

“Well, you’re actually not the only one who made amends last night.”

“Toby?”

“Yeah, we’re cool now. We all are. Me, Toby, Fernando, and Toby’s boyfriend Ezra. He seems like a nice guy too. Seems like my friendship circle got a little bit bigger.”

Ash chuckled.

“Yeah, mine too.”

Dillian chuckled as well and scanned his surroundings real quick.

“Seems like we’re the only ones here right now.”

“Yeah, it seems like it.” Ash replied. “Hey, wanna do a quick rehearsal with me?”

“Sure, sounds fun.”

With that, Dillian followed Ash into her rehearsal space.

“What song do you wanna sing?” Ash asked.

“You know what? Surprise me.” Dillian responded.

Ash then hit ‘random’ on her music list and a tune soon began playing.

“Heh, what a coincidence.” Dillian laughed.

“Life is funny and weird like that, Dillian.” Ash said, also laughing. “Funny and weird.”

Regardless, Ash got out her guitar and began strumming and got ready to sing a duet with her friend.

Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road

Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go

So make the best of this test, and don't ask why

It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time

It's something unpredictable

But in the end, it's right

I hope you had the time of your life

So take the photographs and still frames in your mind

Hang it on a shelf in good health and good time

Tattoos of memories, and dead skin on trial

For what it's worth, it was worth all the while

It's something unpredictable

But in the end, it's right

I hope you had the time of your life

Life throws many challenges to all sorts of people. Good or bad, it’s up to them to decide how they want to solve those problems. Ash and Dillian figured that they dealt with them just fine. They were both going to be fine. They had the greatest supporters they could have asked for and they couldn’t wait to spend so much of their time with them.