Across the world, two old friends meet at a favorite night club in the Kingdom of Asszeria. The club served excellent food and great entertainment.
"Hey! Hadrian! Long time no see, amigo." A handsome blue-toned Korat mix hailed his old and dearest friend.
"Good evening, Tafari, so good to see you too. It's been...what...three years now?" Hadrian, a powerful Bengal mix asked as he gestured for his friend to have a seat beside him.
"Oh too long!" Tafari chuckled, sitting down and signaling a waitress. "So where have you been lately?" He asked.
"Well, I've just returned from the Tymurr Federation and before that I spent a month in the Tribal Kingdom of Mubatu and before that I was in Sandeval Bay, then returned here again...and you?" Hadrian asked as his food arrived and was set before him.
Tafari didn't answer right away as he ordered a meal. When the waitress hurried off, he poured a glass of wine from the carafe on the table and sipped it.
"Unlike you, I managed to stay home and work for six months. I've only had to travel twice in all that time." He smirked.
"Lucky you or not." Hadrian smirked back. "You may like staying in one place but I get too bored."
"That's because you haven't found someone to make you want to stay put." His friend said wisely.
"Does that mean, you have?" Hadrian asked, raising one brow in surprise.
"Yes, it does. The sweetest turtle dove in all Lignaria." Tafari grinned happily.
"Hmm...does that mean congratulations are in order or is this a fling that has you in such a euphoric state." Hadrian said in mild amusement.
"Congratulations of course. I found my perfect mate at last and I'm over the moon about her." Tafari sighed, joy oozing from his pores.
"You lucky tom! Then a big congratulations. Are you planning on a marriage or a bonding or both?" The Bengal asked politely.
"Only a bonding...marriage is more the stiff-necked establishments style and that's not for me as you well know." Tafari sniffed indignantly.
Hadrian laughed at his friend's antics. "Of course, only the best for you my friend. To your happiness!" He toasted, holding up his glass so Tafari could clink it with his own then they emptied their glasses together.
At that moment, music began and a troop of dancers came out on stage. Tafari's meal arrived and the two friends ate while they watched the show. But Hadrian's mind wasn't on his meal. He was thinking over his friend's good fortune. Lately, he had been wishing for a special someone to make his life more meaningful.
Oh, he loved his work as a trouble-shooter helping to restore ailing businesses to robust health once more, but the constant travel was beginning to pall a bit. He realized he was beginning to desire having someone waiting for him when he returned from his travels rather than an empty home, no matter how opulent it was.
He brooded as the dancers twirled and moved with supple grace. His friend noticed Hadrian's moody expression and when the dancers vanished behind the curtains once more, he pulled something from his inner coat pocket.
"By the way, Hadrian, I came across this really incredible article that I thought you might find interesting. It's about several months old, but I found it in a news rag when I passed through Sandeval Bay on my way home." He handed the scrap of news sheet to his friend.
Hadrian frowned but took the paper and began to read as his friend watched him for his reaction. The Bengal's frown turned to shock. His mouth fell open and his face seemed to pale.
Tafari hadn't expected that reaction at all. "Hadrian! What's wrong? It's only an article about a male who did something remarkable. Why on earth do you look like someone died?" He asked anxiously.
At first, Hadrian couldn't even speak. The article had shocked him so badly, his brain was still reeling.
"I know him!" He finally blurted.
"Really? How interesting. But why the extreme reaction?" Tafari asked, still confused.
Hadrian shook his head violently. "No, I mean I know him."
Tafari raised both brows in consternation. "Hadrian, calm down. You are not making any sense. So you've met him so what?"
"No, argh...I mean I was intimate with him when we were both in the Kaimere Province nine months ago!" He managed to get out.
Tafari blinked in total shock. He looked down at the article Hadrian had dropped on the table then back at his friend. His mind quickly put the two together and his mouth dropped.
"Hadrian! You don't think..."
"I don't know but its very possible. I mean read what the age of the kitten is and how long ago this was. What are the odds?" His friend said in a hushed voice.
"I don't know, Hadrian. How can you be certain its yours? He could have been with others in the same time frame." Tafari said reasonably.
Hadrian ran anxious fingers through his thick blue-black wavy hair. His brilliant emerald eyes looked at his friend in dismay. "Tafari, I did something unforgivable. When I met him at a local club, we hit it off immediately. I've never been so intensely attracted to anyone like that before. We ended up in his hotel room and things got heated fast. I could smell his mixed scent and it just about drove me crazy. Until that moment I hadn't suspected he was dual sexed. We came together and it was like lightning."
"So far it sounds like you had a really great time together so what did you do that was wrong?" Tafari asked, confused.
"I didn't ask permission to take him as female." He said, shame glimmering in his eyes.
"We'd already had preliminary sex and had taken each other at least once. But when we went again and I took the lead, I'm afraid in the heat of the moment, I forgot myself and slipped from anal to vagina and brought us both to climax. When we were done, I felt him stiffen as I removed myself. I think he had just realized where I had been and was shocked. But to my surprise, he pretended nothing was wrong but did ask I leave, thanking me for a great evening which, thankfully, I could tell he was sincere about, then vanished into the bathroom like his tail was on fire." Hadrian said unhappily. "At the time, I didn't know what I had done wrong but did leave as he'd asked. I've not seen or heard from him since."
He paused and rubbed his face in distress. Speaking from behind his paws, he moaned, "Oh god! Tafari, how could I have done that to him. I couldn't be certain, but it felt like I was the first to ever take him that way and its obvious now that he had been in heat but from what little I know of hermaphrodites, its so mild they sometimes are unaware of their condition."
Tafari felt sad for his friend...the tom was truly upset. "Hadrian, I know you. You wouldn't deliberately hurt anyone. It was an accident. Stop beating yourself up about it and anyway you still can't be certain the kitten is yours." He soothed gently, stroking his friend's arm to comfort him.
Hadrian stared into his friend's eyes beseechingly. "But I have to know. If its mine...I should find out for certain." He said thickly.
"But what will you do if it is?" Tafari asked gently.
"I...I don't know for sure. We don't know each other at all except for that one night." Hadrian sighed. "But I do know I like him...I think I could learn to love him if he'll let me. And if I'm a father...Oh Tafari...I hadn't realized that was what I was missing...family. I want a family of my own and now, maybe I have a chance at one." He said hopefully, his eyes shining with tears.
Tafari swallowed his concern and leaned close to hug his friend tightly. "Then I hope you are fortunate in this endeavor my friend. I know no one that needs a chance at happiness as much as you do." He pulled back to look into Hadrian's face. "Promise me you will be careful. Hope is a fragile thing, don't let its loss, should it happen, destroy you. If you need me...don't hesitate to call me and I'll come to your side." He urged his friend.
"Thanks Tafari. I couldn't have a better friend and I don't know where I'd be without you." Hadrian said, sighing deeply. "I'd better make my flight plans immediately. Delaying will only make this 'reunion' harder."
"I'll go with you to the airport and see you off, my friend." Tafari promised.
They stayed on a little longer at the club before parting for the night. Tafari promised to meet him early in the morning and share a taxi to the airport.
Sleeping was impossible for Hadrian so he used the time to pack, call his office and tell them he was taking an extended leave then made reservations for a flight to Megakat City.
The rest of the night he spent laying on his back and thinking of that moment when he held the dark tom known as Ulysses Feral in a night of heated passion. He didn't know if this was fate or the most horrible mistake of his life but he would see it through and hope for a miracle.