Art by  tkc2021!

Six more until the Final Frappuchino!

* * *

Samuel had a rental car, and offered to take Venti home. He declined of course; the offer didn't even tempt him. The day was slowly replaced by the night, which meant it was cooler, and Venti liked the walk from the gym to his home.

Venti didn't mention the other reason: he simply couldn't trust the older jackal yet. As he watched Samuel drive off towards I-80, the walk home was filled with doubts, apprehension, and what ifs. By the time he made it to his apartment, he didn't know what to think or to believe.

He opened the door to the sight of Art on the sofa, hands on his lap, his tail whip-like in its movement. "Are you all right?" the lion asked as he rose from the sofa to hug Venti.

"I think so. It's confusing, maybe even a bit heartbreaking." Venti stared straight ahead as he rubbed the back of Art's head. He crouched down to wrap an arm around Art's waist then lifted him up as he dropped his gym bag next to the door.

Art wrapped his legs around Venti's waist, his cheek nestled against the jackal's chest. "How did he find you?"

"One guess, and I'll tell you before you try: the magazine cover."

"Why'd it take him so long to find you?"

Venti shook his head as he sat down on the sofa. "I guess he couldn't find me. I moved away from Alabama when I was young, and he didn't know how to look for me. Records were sealed and all that, and I never even bothered to look for my biological parents."

"I never knew that," Art murmured as his lips brushed up against Venti's neck. "Why didn't you try to find out?"

"I already know who my real parents are, and they're the best parents a guy could ask for. Why would I care about the ones who didn't want to take care of me?" He paused as the memory of his biological mother's fate came back to him, unbidden. "Or at least the one who didn't want to."

Art hesitated, then glanced up at Venti. "The one?"

"This'll take a bit to explain..."

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