(So, I know I said one thing awhile ago when people asked, but my stories also tend to do whatever the heck they want. So... this short chapter before work.)

That feels so damn good.

He couldn't remember the last time he'd gotten a good belly rub.

Wait, I think it was after I did that one kid behind the bleachers in ninth grade...

Either way, it felt freaking amazing. It almost seemed like Gin was using a soft blanket, too, which somehow just made it that much better.

"I don't think I've ever seen something cuter than this," Gin said, sounding like an old lady cooing over a drooling baby.

Pyre adjusted his upper body this way and that as he let the guy continue his attentions, too caught up in the feeling to really care about anything else.

He heard the door open a few moments later and blinked open one eye to see Fen's head poking inside. The guy had clearly just finished showering, but the expression he wore had Pyre slowly coming out of his euphoria.

Is it that weird to rub someone else's belly? Do we need to have sex beforehand? Cause I'm totally down.

"I... don't think that's a possibility right now," Fen mumbled, confusing Pyre even further as he finally reached up and grabbed Gin's arm with stubby little black paws, then tried to move it aside.

What is going on here? Why can't I move his hand away?

"I don't think he realizes what's happened," whispered Gin, as if he was trying to only be heard by Fen, who was farther away than him!

What is with you two? Do I have something on my face? Did I drool really bad?

Pyre slowly sat up, then yawned and lifted a paw to swat at a slight itch behind his ear. He then felt one on his nose, making him twitch it, then swat at it, too.

"I'm not usually one for cute things, but I really just want to walk over there and hug him," Fen said as he stepped inside the room, still staring at him strangely.

You can totally come over here and hug me. We can also do quite a few other things after that, too.

Fen looked like he was thinking about it, and when he just shrugged and walked forward, Pyre hurried to the edge of the bed.

"God, I can't believe how adorable he is. And that fluffy tail!" Gin cooed, making one of Pyre's ears perk up as he sat back on his haunches.

Tail?

Fen didn't have a tail... at least not at that moment. Gin also wasn't shifted right then, and he was the one speaking, so that definitely ruled him out.

I know I definitely don't have a tail.

But just in case...

Pyre glanced over his shoulder and looked down.

Am I sitting on a stuffed animal?

He got onto his hands and knees again and turned, but the tail moved at the same time he did.

This isn't funny.

He turned a bit more, but at some point his back foot somehow got caught on something that made him feel as if someone was literally pulling on his butt, and then he lost his balance and flopped right off the bed!

Not my brightest move. At least there was a blanket down here to break my fall.

Rolling over, Pyre got to his paws and shook out his body.

Oh... there was no blanket down here.

He frowned and looked up as hands appeared and scooped him up.

"I'm sorry I couldn't catch you in time. Are you alright, Pyre?" Gin said as he cuddled him like a baby.

Okay, I swear I'm not that small, and you're not this big...

"Pyre? Are any of your relatives shifters?" Fen asked as he sat down on the edge of the bed next to Gin, his expression suddenly more serious than earlier.

Blinking, Pyre slowly shook his head, then turned it so that he could get a few licks of Gin's neck, because why not? There was a cuddling fee.

"This is really odd, then. Shifter genetics don't usually skip generations entirely," Fen said, earning a nod from Gin as he continued to joyfully snuggle him.

"How should we handle this?" Gin eventually asked, a hint of worry to his voice that changed Fen's expression to one closer to nervousness.

Handle what? You can handle me all day long if you don't mind being bottom.

"Pyre, hun?" Gin said, making Pyre put his little paws on the man's chest so that he could push himself back enough to look up and meet his eyes.

Yeah? Wanna bang?

"You're um..." he glanced back to Fen, then back down to Pyre.

"You're a red panda, Pyre."

A... what?

He stared at the guy looking down at him, then looked lower.

I...

His eyes found little cute red paws.

No way.

He flexed his fingers, but the paws moved against Gin's shirt instead. That was about the time his brain short-circuited. Slimmer hands wrapped around his waist, lifting him away from Gin and up into Fen's arms. He had a little blanket wrapped around him within a moment, then he was being carried across the house and into Fen's large office.

The guy took a seat at his large, comfy office chair, then turned on his computer and began typing. Normally, he wouldn't have the attention span to just stay still, but Pyre was struggling with his new reality and didn't have the ability to do much of anything at that moment.

Soon he felt fingers stroking the thick fur on his head, but again, he didn't react.

"It will be okay, I promise," Fen whispered in the dim room as he clicked through a bunch of things on his computer that Pyre didn't bother turning his head to look at.

The smell of cooking bacon and eggs did catch his attention after a little while, but he was actually comfortable right where he was. He also wasn't sure how well he would handle his new self if he actually tried to function on his own right then.

"Ah, here's our answer," Fen said after another ten minutes.

Gin walked in at that moment, carrying a small plate.

"What did you find?" he asked, clearly having heard him.

Instead of speaking, Pyre felt Fen reach forward with one hand, likely to point at the screen. That gesture brought Gin closer so that he could read whatever he had found.

"Oh..."

The sudden sadness in the guy's voice finally had Pyre turn his fuzzy head to peek at the screen.

Name: Pyre Rite

Sex: Male

Reason for relinquishing custody: Death of guardians

Age when relinquished: 3 months

Age when adopted: 5 months

There was quite a bit more information, but he wasn't interested in any of it. His mind was stuck on the simple fact that someone had let him go to a home with such an abusive man. He remembered that his earlier years weren't too bad, but as middle school had started, so had the beatings and threats.

He'd been able to take the target off of his mother. Or, well, the woman who had adopted him, but that just made his life much harder. Then when she'd left? It was an all out battle to keep himself safe.

They really left me with someone like him... Everyone left me there.

His nose twitched as a tiny piece of bacon was put in front of it, but instead of taking the offered food he tucked his head into the blanket wrapped around himself. There was no way food would settle in his stomach and he honestly didn't want to eat, anyways.

I should just jump off the balcony and be done with this.

There was just too much going on in his mind now. He'd barely wanted to stay alive for the next two years, but now he was stuck being an animal he'd never even freaking heard of. He didn't even want to try.

His mind was getting darker and darker as he began to think of how he could get the sliding glass door to the balcony open with his tiny new height and stubby paws when he felt himself being shifted a little in Fen's arms, then a light pressure settled on the top of his head.

It was too light to be a hand, but he wasn't quite sure what else it could be. So, he hesitantly looked up with wide, watery eyes.

Oh, Fen had kissed the top of my head.

The guy slowly turned his seat and stood, carefully holding him to his chest as they walked into the second living room area and sat down in one of the large beanbag chairs. Gin joined them in a matter of moments, easily making room for himself on the beanbag by lifting Fen, with him still tucked in his arms, right up onto his lap.

Pyre felt one of Gin's arms wrap around Fen's middle, then one of his hands settle beneath his fuzzy backside beyond the blanket still wrapped around him.

The TV turned on a few seconds later to a nature documentary, then the lights were lowered with another controller.

"Let's take a day off from life and learn a little bit about you, hmm?" Gin said, drawing Pyre's attention between him and the screen.

He really didn't want to know anything about his new curse, but when a little red, black, and white creature hobbled its way onto the screen and twitched its little nose, he couldn't help but stare.

Fuck... why am I so cute?

Where are the muscles and teeth?

That's not a panda, I got cheated!

I wonder if this cuteness can help me get laid.