"Door's unlocked, human," Rex growled, his voice a low rumble as he stepped into the apartment.
Kev, still feeling the pleasant effects of the weed oil, offered a lazy smile. "Hello, Rex," he replied, his voice a bit slurred.
Rex's eyes landed on the water pipe and the bag of oil sitting on the coffee table. A predatory grin spread across his face. "Getting high, little human?" he purred, his voice laced with a suggestive undertone.
He sauntered over to the couch and plopped down beside Kev, his arm casually draping over the human's shoulders. Kev shifted uncomfortably, the tigerman's proximity and forwardness making him nervous.
Rex leaned closer, his hot breath tickling Kev's ear. "If you need to relax before the club opens," he whispered, his voice a seductive growl, "I can help you with that."
He traced a finger down Kev's arm, his touch sending shivers down Kev's spine. "A good little homemaker like you deserves to be... mated," Rex continued, his grin widening. "You could clean up my apartment, and I'd make sure you were begging me not to leave for work every day."
Kev's cheeks flushed, a mix of embarrassment and annoyance coloring his face. He was too high to formulate a witty retort, his mind foggy and his limbs heavy.
Rex, sensing Kev's vulnerability, pressed his advantage. "The wolf hasn't even claimed you yet, has he?" he asked, his voice a knowing purr.
Horns emerged from the bathroom, dressed in the same clothes he'd worn the night before. His fur was still damp. "Howdy, Rex," he greeted, his voice booming. "What brings you here?"
Rex turned, his predatory grin widening. "I could ask you the same thing," he retorted, his eyes gleaming with amusement. "Even with the candles, I can smell you were here for a while." He glanced at Kev, his grin turning suggestive. "Human, are you playing with the moose?"
Horns laughed heartily, his chest heaving with mirth. "Rex, you've got the dirtiest imagination," he said, shaking his head. He plopped down on the couch and reached for the water pipe. "I just crashed here," he explained, taking a long drag. "It's my day off, you know."
Rex's grin remained fixed on his face. "Human," he purred, his voice a low rumble, "I'll spend my day off with you too. I'm sure you'll enjoy my company much more than this grass-head's."
Horns exhaled a cloud of smoke, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Don't be so sure, kitty cat," he retorted. "Kev here appreciates a man who knows how to relax and have a good time."
Rex, ever the instigator, leaned closer to Kev, his grin widening. "Human," he purred, his voice a low rumble, "tell us. If it were Fang, would you rather him be lazy and stoned or aggressive and dominant?"
Kev's cheeks flushed a deep crimson, his gaze dropping to the floor. He couldn't meet Rex's eyes, the tigerman's suggestive tone and predatory stare making him acutely uncomfortable.
"See?" Rex crowed, turning to Horns with a triumphant smirk. "The human needs a real man to take care of him."
Horns leaned back on the couch, a knowing smile playing on his lips. "Kev's not interested in you, cat," he said. "Can't you tell he's waiting for Fang?"
Rex laughed "If Fang takes too long," he retorted, his gaze returning to Kev, "who's truly to blame?"
Horns shook his head, a hint of disapproval in his eyes. "Kev seems to be good for Fang, haven't you noticed?" he asked, his voice taking on a more serious tone. "He's calmed down a lot since Kev arrived."
Rex scoffed, his ears flattening against his head. "All I've noticed is that Fang is passive around the human," he countered. "He needs to get over this funk and start acting like the boss again."
Horns laughed again. "You're such a hothead, Rex," he said, shaking his head in amusement. "Fang hasn't done anything crazy since Kev arrived. And just because that means you get fewer messes to clean up, it isn't a bad thing."
Rex, his pride seemingly wounded by Horns's words, rose from the couch with a huff. "In two days, I'll have my day off," he announced, his voice a low growl. "And if Fang is still stringing you along by then, human, I'll just have to show you what you're missing."
Horns, his amusement fading, raised an eyebrow. "Why did you even come up here, Rex?" he asked, his tone a mix of curiosity and suspicion.
Rex shrugged, his gaze sweeping around the apartment with a bored expression. "Boss told me to be here at the start of my shift," he replied, a hint of annoyance in his voice. "Who knows why the old wolf wants me babysitting the babysitter."
Horns chuckled, taking a long drag from his joint. "You got someone good covering for you?"
Rex scoffed. "Everyone on my team is good," he declared, puffing out his chest. "That's the thing about guards, they ain't good if they are afraid of trouble. My security guards are great because they want trouble."
"Well, stop looking for trouble in my bedroom," Kev retorted, a hint of annoyance lacing his voice.
Rex grinned, slowly pulling his gaze away from Kev's bedroom door. "Such a nice little nest, though," he purred, a suggestive undertone in his voice. "Can't help but think about what I could do to you in there."
Kev rolled his eyes, a wave of exasperation washing over him. "Does it ever get boring, Rex?"
Rex looked at Kev, a genuine curiosity in his golden eyes. "What?"
"Being an asshole," Kev clarified, his tone flat.
Rex smirked, a flash of predatory amusement in his gaze. "No," he replied, shaking his head. "And how about you, human? Does it ever get boring being so... uptight?"
Kev sighed, deciding to ignore the bait. He turned to Horns, a question in his eyes. "So, your big day off," he began, changing the subject. "Why are you sticking around instead of heading home?"
Horns took a long drag from his joint, a contented sigh escaping his lips. "I can smoke here," he explained, gesturing with the joint. "Also, the ceilings here are higher. Don't have to duck just to walk down the hallway."
Kev chuckled, picturing the massive mooseman trying to navigate a building with standard ceiling heights, his impressive rack of antlers likely causing chaos with light fixtures and sprinkler systems.
Rex's ears twitched, his attention drawn to the fragrant smoke curling from Horns's joint. "You gonna share that, moose?" he growled, his gaze fixed on the smoldering herb.
Horns looked at the joint, then back up at Rex, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Thought you didn't like smoking on the job, kitty cat," he rumbled. "Said it made you too easygoing."
Rex growled, a low sound in his chest. "If I'm going to be following Fang around tonight, it might be for the best," he conceded, a hint of reluctant wisdom in his tone.
Kev was surprised at Rex's uncharacteristic self-awareness. The tigerman seemed to have a fleeting grasp of his own abrasive tendencies.
Horns held up the joint for Rex to take. "You're probably right," he agreed. "That's why I smoke. Drinking too much just ends with me putting a hole in the wall."
"We know," Rex grunted, plucking the joint from Horns's massive fingers and taking a long drag.
Kev's eyebrows rose slightly. Horns had always been the epitome of laid-back kindness. This glimpse of a more destructive side, albeit hinted at, was unexpected. Perhaps the constant haze of weed smoke was more than just a casual vice.
Rex blew a cloud of smoke in Kev's direction, a smirk playing on his lips. "How 'bout you, human?" he purred. "Do you get feisty when you drink?"
"Not really," Kev replied, his voice slightly slurred. "I'd get sick before I tried to fight someone."
Rex acted genuinely disappointed. "Aww, shucks," he purred. "I was hoping maybe you'd try and hit me some night."
"What?" Kev asked. "So you could restrain me?"
Rex just nodded, a simple, matter-of-fact gesture.
"You know what happened last time I danced with someone," Kev pointed out, a shiver running down his spine at the memory of Pedro's fate.
Rex gave Kev a questioning glance. "What? You think I'm a punk like that llama?"
Kev leveled a flat stare at the tigerman. "Yes."
Rex's playful demeanor vanished, replaced by a flash of genuine anger. "Hey!" he growled, his ears folding back.
"You saved me from the enforcers," Kev conceded, his tone softening slightly. "But other than that... why do you think I'd like you?"
Rex seemed genuinely surprised, his mouth slightly agape. "Look at me," he said, his voice a low rumble filled with disbelief. "Haven't the others told you? I'm undefeated." He lifted his shirt, revealing his striped, furry stomach, devoid of any scars. "You won't find a scar on me. I'll let you look anywhere."
"Me either," Kev slurred, a lazy smile playing on his lips. "But for me, it's nothing to brag about."
Horns chuckled. "He got you there"
Rex scowled, taking another long drag from the joint before handing it back to Horns. "You just haven't been around long enough, human," he purred, his golden eyes fixed on Kev. "You'll learn soon enough that I can have anyone I want."
"Then why don't you hit on someone else?" Kev retorted, his voice slightly sharper despite the haze of the weed.
Rex considered Kev, a flicker of something akin to genuine interest in his gaze. "I don't need to hit on anyone else," he corrected, a smug look returning. "They just spread their legs for me… But you." He paused, his eyes raking over Kev's body. "That wolf has good taste… and I wanna have a bite too."
Horns finished the joint, a thoughtful expression on his face. "No biting, Rex," he warned, his voice a gentle rumble.
"Why not?" Rex challenged, his eyes narrowing. "The human might like it."
Kev lit a cigarette, his hand slightly unsteady. "You'd probably have to bite me to wake me up," he drawled, exhaling a cloud of smoke.
Rex growled, a low sound in his chest. "'Cause I'd put you in a coma in the first place."
Horns laughed, shaking his head in amusement. "Rex, you should probably smoke some more before Fang gets here," he advised, "or he's gonna rip you a new one."
Rex grinned at Horns, a hint of defiance in his eyes. "That old dog is all bark now." He accepted another joint that Horns offered, lighting it with a flourish.
"Horns," Kev slurred, his gaze drifting towards the moose, "is there any catnip in we can use to keep Rex quiet?"
Rex growled, smoke pouring from his nostrils. "You're so lucky Fang fancies you, human," he hissed. "I'd have you screaming for me in minutes."
Kev rolled his eyes, a dismissive gesture. The tigerman's bravado was starting to wear thin.
"Horns, is Rex always like this?" Kev asked, his voice a low murmur, still feeling the lingering effects of the weed.
Horns chuckled, taking a slow sip of his coffee. "More or less," he replied with a shrug.
"What's that supposed to mean, moose?" Rex growled, his golden eyes narrowing.
"The way I look at it is this," Horns said, gesturing vaguely, putting down his mug. "Rex draws out the people who are looking for a fight." He hovered his massive hands in the air, as if illustrating his point. "They're like moths to a flame, and then..." He clapped his hands together with a loud thwack. "Rex takes care of them."
Rex beamed, a predatory grin spreading across his face. "Brave or stupid," he purred, his gaze flicking towards the door. "Both types are fun to use as a scratching post."
"Sounds like entrapment," Kev muttered, shaking his head.
Horns laughed, a deep rumble in his chest. "If they pick a fight with Rex or his crew, then they were trouble in the first place, Kev."
Rex puffed out a cloud of smoke, his eyes half-closed in contentment. "Don't make it sound so simple, moose," he said, a hint of warning in his voice. He looked down at the joint in his hand. "This is some good shit."
"If you think Ralph's finest flowers are good," Kev offered, a mischievous glint in his eyes, "why not try the oil?"
Rex narrowed his eyes, considering the offer. "I'll pass," he said flatly.
Horns chuckled. "Kev had some, Rex," he teased. "You scared?"
"I'm not scared," Rex retorted, his gaze hardening. "I'm working."
Horns picked up the water pipe, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Well, I'm not working," he rumbled, taking a long, slow drag. Kev laughed, the tension in the room momentarily broken by Horns's easygoing defiance. After exhaling a thick cloud of smoke, Horns offered the pipe to Kev.
Kev hesitated, then shrugged. "Why not?" he said, grabbing the pipe. "Rex is here to keep me safe," he added with a slightly slurred laugh before taking another hit.
Rex scoffed. "I still don't know why I'm here," he grumbled. "Maybe Fang wants me to take care of you when he wakes up."
Kev coughed out a plume of smoke, his eyes watering slightly.
"Or he's gonna ask Kev what he wants you to do to apologize," Horns said, a knowing look on his face. "Dale said you were pushing Fang's buttons last night."
Rex stubbed out his half-smoked joint, a flicker of annoyance crossing his features. "That horse should just stay behind the bar where it's safe."
Kev giggled, the weed oil amplifying his amusement.
Rex's golden eyes narrowed. "Got something to say, human?"
"Dale's got enough real man to put you in the hospital," Kev slurred, a defiant grin spreading across his face.
Rex loomed over Kev, placing a leg on the edge of the couch, his powerful muscles flexing. "I put people in the hospital every day."
Just then, a sharp knock echoed through the apartment. Rex snapped his head towards the door, his aggressive posture instantly shifting to one of alert attention. He peered through the peephole, his eyes widening slightly.
"Mr. Fang," Rex announced, quickly pulling the door open.