Love's Eternal Song: Tygra's Story

Chapter 3: Making New Friends

        Tygra walked curiously around the room he'd been given.  He tried to get Timothy Larson out of his mind, but he couldn't stop thinking about the bolt of electricity that passed between them.  Tygra felt as if he knew Tim from somewhere, he just couldn't remember where.  He sighed as he ran a hand through his headfur and tried to calm his racing thoughts.

        He noticed a mirror on the far wall and decided to see what state his uniform was in.  When he got closer, he didn't like what he saw; his clothes were dirty and torn in several places, he had a scratch along his right cheek, and he smelled worse than the Mutants did.  Tygra decided right then that he needed to bathe, so he turned away from the mirror and walked back to the room with the bed.  He was halfway through the room when he stopped and thought about what he was going to do about different clothing while his uniform was being repaired.

 I will go and ask Tim if he has some I may borrow, Tygra thought, turning back around and heading for the door.  Tygra didn't bother locking his door, he was just going down the hall.  He had just lifted his hand to knock when the door opened and someone collided with him.

"OOFF," Tim said as he ran right into Tygra.

"Whoa," Tygra said, wrapping his arms around Tim's back to steady him.

"Sorry," Tim apologized, pulling back out of Tygra's arms.

"It's alright," Tyrga said, letting his arms fall to his sides.

"Did you need something?" Tim asked, taking a step back.

"Yes, I did.  Do you have any extra clothes that I may borrow?" Tygra asked.

"Yeah, but they might be a little tight," Tim answered, turning to go back into his room.

"That's alright, I don't mind," Tygra answered, stepping just inside the doorway.

"Okay, then.  Be back in a flash," Tim said, walking farther into his room.

      Tygra waited for Tim to come back with the clothing.  While he waited, he tried not to think about how good Tim had felt in his arms or how much he longed to have him back there. Stop it, Tygra, he admonished himself, Stop thinking that way.

"Here ya go," Tim replied, coming back through the door he had gone through a few moments ago and walking up to him and handing him a white button-up shirt and blue-jeans.

"Thank you again, Tim, for allowing me to borrow these," Tygra said, taking the clothes from him.

"No problem," Tim answered, smiling faintly at him.

    Tygra returned the smile with one of his own before he turned and walked back up the hall to his room, trying not to feel Tim's eyes boring into his back the entire way.

            Tim stood there in his doorway and watched Tygra walk back to his room.  Tim tried not to think about how good it felt to have Tygra's arms around him. Knock it off, Tim.  He's probably not even gay, Tim railed at himself as he turned and went back into his room.  Tim walked back to his bedroom, flopped down on the bed, and released a huge sigh.  He didn't know what to do about all this; his budding feelings for Tygra, the General still harassing him, his mental power going crazy, and keeping the fact that he was gay from basically the whole Fort.

      There were days when he really hated life, but then he realized there was nothing he could do to change it.  Tim laid there for a few more minutes before he got up, grabbed his room key from where he had put on his nightstand, and left his room, but not before he locked his door.  He knew that he had just seen Tygra, but they needed to get to the Mess Hall before all the food was gone and the best seats too.