Well, a bit delayed, but here is one Kahuna story! I didn't think I coulda had one of these i a while, but everything clicked so well, I had to try it again for old time's sakes, also to give a view at the deal of this year about Hawaii's "odd four"

Characters owned and co-written with  pac  Shane_Rufus and  qovapryi. Thanks again for the help and the willingless, guys! Means a lot!

(Contains language and adult themes. Sentences in (()) means French language, mainly used in the first part where some really really old chars come through again. Remember them?)
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March 25th. Cannes, France

The trio of friends, a collie, a weasel and a gull, walked along the downtown, hopping clubs around. Friday night, no homework or anything, it was the perfect chance to have some fun and unwind. As tired as the trio was, Luc, the canine, insisted in one last stop, promising something “they won’t forget” and it was “incredible and exciting.”

Truth be told, the place turned shadier by the second. Nadia, the weasel, was having an off feeling while Robinson, the gull, felt his feathers stand on point. Nadia pretended to look at the time. ((“Guys, I'm really sorry, but I have to go. Mom might kill me if I delay too much.”))

((“C’mon Nadia. It’s gonna be quick!”)) Luc insisted.

((“Luc, I really can’t. I gotta go home asap. I’ll see you tomorrow, hun.”)) the weasel smiled and nodded, pushing her fears of the site away, returning where they came from, eventually catching a cab quickly, leaving Robinson and Luc by themselves.

The collie shrugged. ((“Julian would prolly not chicken out, even if he’s Mr. Bigshot now. C’mon Rob, quick!”)) Guiding his friend through some unsightly buildings, they eventually found a hotel room, which they were granted access to. The sight was… interesting. Just like a nightclub, but people dancing on the beds and furniture. Luc and Robinson walked along and found a couple of people sitting down. Their appearance and the overall feel of the place really upset the gull, but the collie seemed unfazed as he greeted the shaggy, dirty cat.

((“You got the cash?”))

((“Mhm, quick, show it to me!”)) The reality came hitting hard for the avian. Unkempt place, discarded lighters, mysterious wrappers on the floor, spoons-

((“Check this out, Rob!”)) the canine said, holding out a small bag of white powder.

And… drugs. Robinson put the pieces together fairly quickly, trying to keep his beak from dropping at the sight of his friend in bliss at the dystopian room.

((“Luc… No...we’re leaving. Now”))

((”What are you talking about, we just got he-”))

The avian pulled the collie, whispering in an angry tone. ((“I am not staying on a… fuckin drug house or anything this shit is. We are leaving and we are getting you some damn help!”))

Luc got violent, shoving the avian once. ((“Fuck off man, don’t tell me how to live my life!”))

((“THIS IS NOT THE WAY!”)) The gull’s feathers puffed up in anger. ((“I’m leaving, Luc. It’s final. You are coming with me and don't let this shit repeat again...”)) he forcefully grabbed the collie’s wrist and attempted to walk away.

The collie shoved Robinson’s hand off. ((“Rob, it’s fine, I know these guys and have done it before! I got this, is totally safe!”))

The gull leered. ((“Fine. Do as you want. But you know I’m right about this...You need help”)) he parted, going away and trying to push this memory out of his head.

Luc scoffed him away. ((“Whatever. Hey Mahmoud, you got the stuf- Yeah… That one looks great...Hit me up!”))

---

Apr 16th.

The canine couldn’t have been better. Slowly ingraining himself in the starting line and becoming one of the staple players in Hawaii, with his numbers going steadily up as well as being part of the “odd squad” as the media called the group he was in with soon superstar Scoonie Barrett and the iconic Norwich IV as well as new get and longtime pal of the Kahunas, Zack Tate, Julian’s life was set. While maybe not lighting the superstardom status, the saluki made a brand of himself, becoming the go-to Three Pointer and the face of the bodymod athletic culture. He hoped his good fortune would keep on.

The knob on the saluki’s door turned, giving him entry to his small, yet pretty cozy house. Living by himself was quite the experience. A space he could call his, be himself 100% or have someone to “give” 100% to. But for today, that himself was tired as hell. The canine set sight for his bed, plopping on it and reaching for his phone. As he pressed it on, he saw he grabbed his more personal cellphone by mistake. Before he could shrug it off, he noticed the large quantity of messages it received.

“Been that long? Shit...” Julian muttered to himself. There was plenty of spam or money beggars, which he shrugged off. He then got to some family matters what were already resolved through his main phone. He shifted quickly through those, but as he listened nonchalantly, the next one took him off guard for good.

((“Um… gimme a call when you get this...Luc just died, gimme a call...”))

The saluki’s eyes shot wide, uncrossing his legs and sitting straight up. “Goddammit…” he sat aloof, the information still unprocessed in his mind, but fresh in his senses. “Putain...” he stared at the phone, his paws shaking as he tried to contact the message’s number, hoping he’d land the call, given the antipodal difference of times between Hawaii and France. After a pair of failed attempts, he managed a ring.

“Ouais?” the female voice responded casually.

((“What’s going on?!”)) the saluki unconsciously yelled, startling the receiving end of the other phone.

((“Julian?”))

((“Luc! Nadia, what happened to Luc!?”)) Julian pleaded.

((“Well… he overdosed...”)) she sighed, her voice taking a somber tone.

((“WHAT!? When?!”))

((“Late March, we didn’t kno-”))

Julian hanged up abruptly, throwing the phone by his bed, which bounced around. “DAMNIT!” he tugged his hair in frustration. Not only Luc was one of his only pals as a pup, but the fact he died in such a way that he could perfectly avoid was ravaging him up inside. But he couldn’t afford his own struggles affecting the team like he did on his rookie season, he wouldn’t let his emotions get in the way again. He managed to win the spot of starting Shooting Guard and desired to keep it that way.

“Okay… Julian… back of your mind. If this affects your game, then you’re likely screwed...” he repeated to himself as he laid on the bed, leaving the sheets undisturbed, trying to blank his mind and get some sleep.

---

April 17th

But sleep he hardly got… Turns out basketball wasn’t the best distraction for the death of the friend who got you into it. He wasn't as much groggy as he was out of it.

“Jay? Oi Jay! Come spot me up! Gonna bench me a weight record today!”

“Huh? Yeah, Alfie, coming…” Julian replied. The rat wasn't as much of someone to notice emotion changes, so not much mind was given. As Alphonse benched up, the canine tilting the weights enough for the rhythm to keep going, he saw an interview about drug addiction featuring on the news displayed on the nearby flatscreen. Again, the saluki’s mind went haywire, but tried to blank it all out of what happened some days ago. No one needed to know because people would label it as another dramatic episode the canine overblew.

“OI! OI! OI YOU FOOKIN’ WANKA’! WAKE UP!”

The canine snapped out, seeing the burly rat struggling to lift up the weight off his chest. “Shit!” Julian reacted, aiding Alfie up from his predicament, the punk rodent breathing and sweating heavily. “Sorry, Let m-” Julian was interrupted by a shove.

“Y’ almost choked t’ fook outta’ me!” Julian was blank, not digesting the situation. “So?! Y’ gonna ignore me!?”

“...Sorry won't happen again, honest!” his eyes shot open in a nodding, yet spazzy expression.

“It betta’ don’t! Spacey tit...” Alfie snorted, going by the dumbbells to try a more individual set this time. Julian sighed, moving to the cardio machine nearby. Exercise that didn't need much mind and got him in good condition for tonight’s game.

Again, basketball wasn’t the best distraction for the death of the friend who got you into it. In this case, wasn’t the job to have at the moment. From the first moment the saluki stood on the court, it was like he almost barely was in the place, overthinking the situation and having thoughts of that first day Luc and his other friends presented him to the sport he now practices for a living. Reacting to calls way too late, all of his attempted passes stolen by Crystal Davis, and pretty much touring the Minutemen to the free throw line, to the frustration of the team. Fortunately, he managed to calm up the crowd enough with one good three-pointer on the third quarter, not to mention the nigh perfect mustelid backcourt of Tate and Barrett, contrasting the struggling canine, who couldn't manage to rebound or steal or pass or do anything beyond floundering an odd shot every once in a while. Mentally, Julian was ready to walk out of the court. Fortunately, luck was on his side as they managed to score an important home victory, making the crowd phase his poor effort of tonight out. To top it off, the announcer yelled the team’s playoff clinch, to which everyone in roared in approval. Julian couldn’t have that moment, he needed to get away. Alone. Quick.

While the rest of the team basked in the victoryfor a bit, the saluki's mind only had one thing in it: getting out of there. Julian was already in the lockers well before everyone else, hastily searching through his stuff in his locker, trying to set everything he could in order to make his getaway as fast as possible.

As he hurriedly filled his gym bag, some of his teammates doing the same, he suddenly got aware of the otter standing besides him, a stern look on his face he hadn't seen often. "I expect more from you next time," Scoonie said. "We almost let the ball drop in the final Q because of your missed threes. Can't allow that to happen again." Julian realized Scoonie was there, but in his absentmindedness due to his own inside struggles, he forgot to acknowledge his friend, his only objective was getting out of there and disappear. The otter thought he was being ignored.

"Jay, you listenin'?" Scoonie insisted, an audible strain in his voice. "This is serious. We can't let our guard drop now that playoffs are getting closer. And the fact we won doesn't erase the fact our entire backcourt struggled against the M-Men." He stood there, webbed paws on his hips, staring into the saluki's eyes. "I won't always be here to hold the fort and save y'all."

"Scoonie I..." he sighed. "I know, but I ha-want to head hom-" as he tried to walk away, the otter purposefully stood in his way, the canine bumping into him, forcing him to look at the otter, whose patience depleted.

"Look at me, Jay," Scoonie growled. "I'm your captain, you better fuckin' look at me when I'm doing the talkin'. I didn't come this far to go out in the first round again, and you better be on the same page." He lowered his voice to a hush. "Step it up, Jay. Step it up or else."

"But... we won! I'm... We did fine!" he argued against. Probably not the best way to continue the conversation, but Julian was really out of it, the aloofness and desperation coming across as anger and insubordination. He stepped back, tail between his legs.

"We did fine 'cause me and Zack were there to solve it. And you know, Ezra and Alfie from the bench did better than you," the otter insisted in his tirade. "This is the first time Sophie comes watching us in Hawaii and I risked lookin’ like a fuckup in front of her just because you had to waste that trey with Davis' paw in your muzzle." As the saluki crouched to pick up his bag and divert his gaze from Scoonie's, the lutrine grabbed his arm, forcefully coercing the saluki into looking back at him. "Seriously Jay, step the fuck up. Either that or Berk will have a few things to say about your spot when 'Rora comes back."

Julian's mind went haywire, but he didn't muster enough to reply, only to whimper slightly. He worked hard to get where he was and due to a bad game he risked it all of that going away, probably at the hands of his best friend. He only mustered a scared stare to match the anger on the otter's eyes as he clutched his wrist too forcefully. The otter made sure that the message had sunk in before relenting his grip on the dog's arm. He went back to his locker at the far end of the half-circle - as the team co-captain, he had inherited one of the two biggest ones, reflecting his position among the team - and started to change into his street clothes. None of his teammates seemed to notice the confrontation who'd just taken place. Eventually they all decided to head out and celebrate their victory with a big team dinner. All except for the saluki. He found the loneliest bench and sulked on it, meditating on what happened and giving himself space to break down.

“Wait, ya going to Sammy’s? Wait me up dudes!” Zack Tate, the new Kahuna pickup yelled across the now empty locker room. Hastily putting an used band T-Shirt on, he made his way out just as he caught sight of the saluki on the bench. The zorilla felt something was off. Not only the canine was not as talkative or celebrated with the team as they clinched their playoff spot. His game was certainly not his best, so it all had to add up to something.

“You good, dude?” the towering mustelid approached the hunching figure. “You've been actin’ weird and the game was off. Is everythin’ alright?” he asked as he sat down on the bench next to the canine.

“Not… really…” the shaking saluki replied. The mix of fear and anxiety almost too strong to bottle, he started to tear up. “Fuck… no...”

Zack became worried once he saw the canine getting emotional. “Then talk it up, dude, talk to me…”

“Goddamn it… is the fucking worst thing I could have heard right now...” Julian cupped his paws to his face. “A friend ODd and died last night...” he said, his voice almost a whisper so to not call attention, even if the locker room was empty.

Zack blinked a few times, before sighing. “Dude… shit... ”

Julian sniffled a few times. “Sorry…Is just…” he balled up, burying his snout between his legs, his tail tucked in too, proceeding to break down. Zack patted the canine’s back as he got it out of his system. “I can’t, I fucking can’t!” he growled in his impotence.

The mustelid tried to clear the air and distract the saluki. “How close were ya?”

“High school. Didn’t talk a lot since the league, but… without him I wouldn’t be here. So… ya get me...” he shrugged, wiping his tears. “This is the worst day I had since I got in the team…. I didn’t have the strength to continue and play today, but after… my rookie season I had to… even if I did terribly anyway...”

“Dude… listen ta me...” the mustelid added, his lengthy arm around Julian. . “...One bad game won’t kill ya, and tellin’ what happened won’t either. We’re here to help ya. I’m here to help ya. I know this shit sucks, but life...sometimes is shit to us for no reason man. Ya just gotta keep the head high and go be ace at it.”

“Yah… ugh...” Julian sniffled, more calm and controlled now.

“Say… You want me to come over to yer place tonite? Help you up?” Zack grinned,

“No… go on and have fun with the team, I guess… I'll just head home. I’ll be fine...”

“Ya want me to pick something up to eat for ya?” The zorilla asked for Julian to refuse again.

“Fine duder, but anythin’ ya wanna, hit me up. I’ll have yer back if the other dudes have at ya. Ya got my number too!” Zack smiled, heading away to the rendezvous point. Shortly after, Julian did the same, but going straight to his house instead. He had to dwell on this alone for the night, pushing and erasing these last two days from his memory.

The team quickly flocked over to the Sammy’s; a popular Hawaiian sports themed diner, which offered service great enough to become a staple of the team to visit on their off-days, some even gifting pieces of equipment for the owner to proudly display on its walls, at the change of privacy and good treatment if needed. It was also the first time Sophie tagged along the team at Scoonie’s insisting, and it was glad it was for a winning game, only few turned down for the offer that night, but the weasel still felt like a quasi-celebrity of sorts, hanging out with those tall burly players. While meeting such personalities like Alfie and Zack on a conversational level was an experience alright, Scoonie’s guidance and company lightened her mood. THe night was spent reminiscing about the game and the relief of finally not having to stress over the playoffs. Eventually, the filterless rat addressed the saluki in the room.

“Oi! Oi Oi but JCK… more like WTF, mate… MATE! What the fuck ‘appened to ‘im?” the rat bolstered loudly.

“Alfie, Ialready talked to Jay. He knows we need to step up, and he knows his place. Hopefully we can get more outta him and all of us in the comin’ race” Scoonie nodded.

Zack bit his lip to the conversation topic they turned into. “Iunno dudes… considerin’ all things, dude did pretty well. We all have shit games, and we still got that playoff spot!” the zorilla greeted the cheer by emptying all his beer, and tearing apart the basket of wings.

“Zack, he barely made a three this time. We can’t have that in the long run.” Scoonie insisted.

The towering mustelid was getting a bit miffed at the bashing they had versus Julian. Considering what the canine told him about not minding him talking about and letting other in on the fact, he took liberty on himself to address the situation.

“I mean… the dude had it kinda hard tonite...”

“He had it hard? Fookin’ ‘ell he almost choked me to death ‘is mornin’! fuckin’ cunt...” Alphonse grunted.

“I think is best to leave ‘im alone, kind of in a funk and all...”

Scoonie fell silent. What was going on now? What’s this about hardship and funk? Sophie broke the silence. “So… Should we call and ask him, Zack?”

“Nah, it’s serious dude...”the zorilla replied.

“Oh...”

“Let him be for a while and all that stuff.” he grinned.

Scoonie was started to become worried. Considering his own pride as a captain, he didn’t risk to ask yet, waiting to pick up on any cue he could find. What went on with Julian tonight? As long as Zack kept gettin’ fed, the answer would have had to wait. He excused himself for a restroom break, and as he returned to the table, he picked up the conversation the three were having. What he heard made his eyes shot wide.

“Thing with JCK is that he found out one of his old high school dudes died of an OD last nite.”

Sophie gasped in a bit of shock. “… Wow...”

“Yah, he wanted to be up with the team and all, but the shit got to him bad in the game...”

“I mean, he’s committed to you guys. He’s really committed to you to show up and play...” she argued.

“Yah, but he coulda’ ruin the whole shit for us! We the frontrunners, we betta’ keep at it! If ya feeling shit, get outta the startin’ line, ya bastard!”

“Archie, dude, c’mon...”

“Oi, if a dumb wanka’s pullin ‘at shit, then he’s a special kinna bloody dumb cunt not worth cryin for, izznt at so?” he snorted.

Scoonie stood by the table, phasing out of the conversation. All the mustelid could think of was his bad treatment to Julian after that game, the memory steamrolling his mind. He chided and shamed his fiend… and his bad result all because of his friend dy-… and he just yelled at hi-… The otter’s head pounded and his muscles tensed, feeling like he swallowed a stone, his heart sinking to the lowest of low, ridden by the worst feeling of guilt he ever experienced.

“Scoonie? Scoonie?” his girlfriend’s voice broke the loss in thoughts.

“Guys...” he spoke up abruptly. “I gotta leave I gotta...” he stuttered as he hastily made his way out of the restaurant.

"Scoonie, wait! Scoonie, what's going on?" She followed the otter, whose distress caused her to worry.

Scoonie stopped in the middle of the restaurant, turning to face his girlfriend. "I...I fucked up," he said, looking away in a feeble effort not to show Sophie the tears that were clearly pooling up in the corner of his eyes. "You heard Zack...Jay's gonna be hating me to death after what I told him in the locker. I need… I need to talk with him and sort it out."

"Wait... what happened? I thought you all knew about him and his deal..." she asked, confused.

"I let my temper slip after the game," Scoonie admitted. "Chided him in front of the team for his poor showing in the game and all. After he opened to me and trusted me to have his back...he must be hating me right now," the otter said, dejected. "I fucked up captain's duties, and now I have to fix this shit myself."

"Scoonie..." the weasel sighed, a twinge of frustration and disappointment at his scene, but not lingering as the otter admitted his faux pas. "...So... what's to do?" she asked, placing a paw on his back.

"I need to find him and see how can I make up for what I said," Scoonie said, without hesitation. "Can't afford us to lose trust in each other."

"Should I go with you? Do you know where he is?" she asked as they both walked to the diner's main entrance.

"His home, probably. But it's better I hit it alone," the otter said. "Would you hate me if I called you a cab?"

Sophie smiled, shrugging in return. "No worries. I know this isn't a bros before... you know kind of deal, but something that shows you're willing admit you fessed up." She stroke her hand to the otter's face affectionately. "Take your time. I'll be fine..."

The otter gave a sigh of relief. "You're the best, Soph," he said, leaning in for a quick kiss on her lips. "I promise I'll do whatever to make up. Love ya."

The otter gave his house keys to his mate as he called a cab to pick her up. As he looked the yellow vehicle drive away, the otter wasted no time in finding his Scion and heading away to the saluki's home as quick as he could. The restaurant wasn't too distant from Julian's house, but the few cars around significantly prolonged Scoonie's trip to the saluki's apartment. The otter sped through the crowded streets, his only thought of getting to his teammate as soon as possible. Still he couldn't figure how he'd let himself go in the locker just a few hours before, something he'd seldom done in his tenure as the Kahunas' co-captain and certainly not after a game and in front of the entire team. As he parked his car in front of the white one-story house the canine had secured himself little more than one year before, he hoped his friend would at least be open listening to his plea.

Meanwhile, Julian was lounging on his couch, trying to phase out all that transpired. Time was spent either drinking wine, drawing or just plain meditating it all away. His tail was slowly swishing to some music in his oPod… All until very heavy desperate knocking broke his concentration. He looked over the window to detail the car of a certain otter. He growled a bit, deciding to ignore the situation. But the knocking was still heavily insistent and desperate, no signs of stopping.

The otter lashed his frustration at the door, punching it until it hurt his knuckles. "Fuck, Julian, open up!" he roared. "I swear I'm tearing the door open if you don't. You know I would!"

To a snide look at the noise outside, the saluki walked up to his front door, securing it with a small door chain by its side,. The canine unlocked the door and preemptively stepped back, with Scoonie trying to slam it open but the chain stopped from opening the door completely and letting the mustelid come in. "Quoi?" Julian dryly asked, deject and vitriol in his eyes, from the small gap the door let in.

"Listen, Jay...I'm sorry." the otter said, immediately realizing the dog wouldn't forgive him as easily as he'd hoped. "I just fucked up royally. Was raging inside for almost losing the game, and I dunno what happened there but I took it out on you. Got so much riding on this I lost my focus for a moment." Seeing that the saluki wasn't inclined to relent easily, he changed his voice to a pleading tone. "See Julian, I know I messed up, but you know me well enough to know I didn't really mean what I said. I consider you as a truly invaluable member of our squad, and there's nothing I want more than both of us getting over this."

Julian pretended to listen to the otter, nodding along to his plea, looking down while doing so. Then without notice, he proceeded to close the door again. Scoonie realized this, jamming his foot between the door opening to prevent Julian from closing it and ignoring him, both pushing the door. "Julian, please!"

"LAISSE-MOI TRANQUILLE! ARRÊT!" Julian yelled as they both struggled. Due to all the strain the two produced, the chain broke up, the door slamming open, removing the barrier between the two. The saluki shocked at the scene, before scoffing and trying to walk away from the mustelid.

"Julian," the otter called, trying to keep his voice as calm as possible to avoid startling the angry canine. "I just ask you to listen to me. Then you can do whatever you want, yell at me, lock me out...but please, listen to what I have to say first."

Without much to say, Julian turned around, looking at the otter, crossing his arms, leering coldly. "Listening. ​Captain​." he snidely replied, heavy stress and disdain on the last word.

Scoonie took in the saluki's angry remark. "Dude, let's put the whole captain thing on the side for a moment. I came here as a friend, and hope I can walk out of here and still be able to call you one." Not receiving an answer, he found no choices but to go on with his plea. "You know...I have so much riding on this you can't even imagine. I've been thrust into the leader position all of a sudden, and having to back it up and put the 'tude on 24/7 eventually gets to anybody's head at some point. I've been taught to learn those instincts in ever since high school, but no matter what, sometimes they just come out and turn me into a huge asshole, and not the fearless captain you'd expect me to be." The otter sighed audibly, putting his paws forward in a sign of peace. "I wanted nothing more than give our fans a show to remember tonight, and my subconscious lashed out on you of all people. I hope even if you can't bring yourself to forgive what I said, that you can at least comprehend where it came from and make sure it doesn't cause us more friction down the road."

Julian nodded. "Done with your captain duties? Had to check out all of the to-do list? Good. Guess you may leave now."

Scoonie looked at Julian incredulous. "Julian! I'm being serious! I didn't know that-"

"A friend fucking died and I did poorly cuz of it? Bullshit!" He growled, staring his friend down. "You know... how hard has it been for me? When I got my own internal shit and no one ever gave me a break? Many say my appendix was entirely my fuckin' fault and that 'I shoulda known better'. People telling me that I wasn't deserving of being in another ASW after my rookie one, and now YOU telling me that I should be benched because of a fucking bad game THAT WE STILL WON!" he stressed out, baring his fangs and breathing heavily through his nostrils. "I worked as hard as you, but you had it from the get go. Me? It’s all about my faults and flaws, so I had to work hard to keep my rep up. Top 4 at Three Point contest when I barely got in and was pretty much ignored. Almost all have been critical of me, and everyone I trusted to lift me up morally are far away or not here. Everyone... " he took the otter off guard by shoving him hard on his chest. "...except for you! And now... I can't even trust you... Trust you when... I hit a hard road... like you always did... I guess your life is too fucking perfect to care about others anymore..." he sighed, this time more sad than angry.

"With the entire press, rivals and opposing fans breathing down my neck and hoping I just break down under the pressure? Right on. Go tell everyone how perfect my life is," the otter retorted. "Jay. I care for you more than any other teammate I've ever had. When you fell into that dark place, getting you out of it and lift you up was the least I could do." He turned back to face the window, feeling asunder as he stared outside. "I hoped you remember I promised it."

The otter realized Julian's anger turned into sadness when the canine synched out of the current conversation, sitting down and breaking into tears. (("Why... the hell this shit had to happen?! I coulda stopped it! Fucking hell, Luc...")) he buried his hands in his paws.

It was only then that the otter realized the first part of the saluki's tirade, as well as the whole reason this tension had its roots in. "Dude, I'm so sorry about your friend," he said, putting a paw on the canine's shoulder, which he showed signs of rejection. "I mean I know I can't take back what I said in the locker room, but you know...you could have told me sooner. We've always been open with each other."

"And risk being the rookie fuckup I was? I know you guys were sick of it and tried to improve for the team. I... learned that this business you always have to present yourself and keep the head high. There's no time to... break down over stuff... That much I know. And the mojo with the team was amazing, why risk ruining it? I promised myself I would only bring my team up." he replied, wiping his tears.

The otter shook his head. "Just saying that...if something's bothering you, there's no need for you to beat yourself over it and possibly having it drag the whole team down." He folded his arms over his barrel-like chest.

Julian collected himself. "Ugh..." shaking his head.

Scoonie took it as his cue to hammer that point home. "Can I trust you to do that?" he insisted.

Julian was still reeling in about his own struggle, his tail starting to shake anxiously at the otter’s uncalled lesson instructing. "Scoonie... not now please..."

"Dude, really..." the otter pleaded. "I will always have your back, but I need to make sure the whole team's gonna have yours when it gets tough."

"Scoonie!" Julian chided, the retort sharper than he wanted. "Not... now..." his feelings conflicted, his head starting to pound. "Please go home..."

For a second it seemed that Scoonie just wouldn't have it, but then he realized the saluki had complied to what he'd asked him. It wouldn't have made much sense to keep the argument going, not with Julian still very much feeling the otter's early words. "Alright, Jay...I'll go," Scoonie said, his paw already clutching the door handle. "Please stay safe." The otter gingerly picked the broken chain before making his way out, both changing one last bit of eye contact.

The following days were tense between the two. While they managed to keep themselves professional, the public not able to tell what went on with an amazing win to the Phoenix-like Tennessee and the redemption against the Keystones. But the otter thought about how hurt he was that one of his best friends turned out to pretend he doesn’t even exist once the buzzer beater rang. Did he fuck up irremediably? Was the trust no more? Julian found a confident in Zack Tate on those days, the pair speaking up and eventually becoming closer pals. Scoonie was both thankful to the zorilla and distressed at the “replacement” he went through at the same time.

Scoonie decided to ditch the team’s dinner night after the Keystones’ game to spend time with his girlfriend. Slowly, he learned how therapeutic being with her was becoming; both enjoying their time together wholeheartedly. As they decided to laze it out and catch on on her favorite flicks, Scoonie noted his phone buzzing. Normally he wouldn’t have paid much mind, but the name and image of the saluki popping up took him off guard. Excusing himself for a minute, he opened his phone, dialling up.

“Hey” the unmistakable voice sounded off. Well, at least he still spoke some words to him.

“Sup” Scoonie replied. The while was long and awkward.

“Thinking of the 17th...”

“Heheh… Me too...”

The saluki turned out defensive at what he thought was snickering. “It isn't funny...” he abruptly cut. “Still reelin’ the shit in...”

Scoonie sighed audibly. “Julian… I know I messed up. I admitted it. I am sorry like you can’t imagine. Can we move on? Can we… keep being the friends we are?” he asked sincerely.

Julian’s tone became… ambiguous. The otter didn't know what to make about it. “I'm trying to. I want to, truly want to.” he stressed. “A punch to the trust is a hard one to patch for me... but… I'll stop ignoring you. I know this shit won't work at this point for us nor for the team. So I guess... I'll forgive you.”

Scoonie sighed in relief. “Thanks so much, man… Being a captain is stressful as hell...”

“But!” the saluki interrupted the otter, who fell silent, waiting for his response. “...I want you to stick to my side on my eventual F.A. Support me, my case and my demands, one-hundred percent. Make sure I’ll be respected as a player my caliber should be, being the voice on my side to lift me up ... as you did with others. Deal?” The otter opened his mouth, but was cut. “If you don’t mean it… say no right away.” the canine’s delivery cold and calculated.

Scoonie didn't wait to reply. “Yes...” he quickly agreed. “I'm an otter of my word, that much I hope you know. Not gonna break my promise to you. This one or any other...” he insisted, returning to Sophie, sitting next to her.

“Bien...Fuck… I want fried shrimp now...” he laughed off. Scoonie noted it was the first time since the incident he expressed some sort of cheer with him, making him content enough.

“Your place or mine?” the otter asked.

“The one worth all my rookie contract.” Julian snickered.

Scoonie rolled his eyes. “Alright, alright. I deserve it. We’re waitin for ya. We’re even cracking open wine if you wanna… it’s the Aussie one you really really like... ”

“Dumbass...” Julian laughed. “...I’ll be there soon, man...” he hung up.

“Sorry, Soph… seems we’re having company tonight...” the otter grinned sheepishly.

“It’s fine Scoonie. He’s kind of sweet, and I like hangin out with players… And.. I kinda want to see that double tongue again...” she joked, to the otter’s suspicious face as she laughed off. “Kiddin’”

The otter shook his head. “You’re killing me Soph” she stuck her tongue out. After a while of cuddling, the doorbell rang up, the mustelid responding.

“Hey Jay, step up in, got the chow as promis-” the otter was caught off by the saluki greeting him with a hug, patting his back.

“Missed, ya dude.” Julian commented.

“Me too...”