Hi everyone! I’m planning on coloring a few of my previously unfinished sketches. I did a quick editing pass over the story, too. Enjoy!

Even Trade

Marcus sat alone in the booth in the small diner. Even this early in the morning, many of the tables were filled and servers rushed back and forth as they sought to accommodate the early morning crowd. The smell of pancakes, hash browns, and coffee filled the air, accompanied by the symphony of clinks of glasses and forks.

Well, okay, so he wasn't exactly alone.

"Excuse me, s-sir..." The voice was barely a whisper. "Are you ready to order?"

Marcus looked up at a meek little mouse wearing the colorful uniform of the diner. She looked frightened to the point of shaking, and it wasn't hard to see why: she was staring at Marcus' stomach. The large bulge still occasionally squirmed, letting out muffled protests.

"Just a coffee," Marcus said. The mouse gulped, but dutifully jotted down the order and hurried off, disappearing into the kitchens.

"What about her?" Marcus asked. "She looked pretty tasty."

Marcus felt a twinge of hesitation coming from somewhere below his hips.

"Look, I understand where you're coming from, but you can't keep her. I you need to let her out."

The feeling of hesitation intensified.

Marcus let out a sigh. He leaned over and ran a hand over his stomach. The bulge inside moved against his touch, and he heard a muffled voice. "I usually let you have whatever you want, but this is the exception. She's mine. You put yourself in this situation; you know you shouldn't have pushed me into doing this while I was half asleep like that. Now, I'm willing to get you some breakfast to replace her, but you have to let Milly go. How would you feel if I ate Lise?"

The feeling changed again, this time becoming shock, with a tinge of anger.

Marcus had to suppress a laugh. "You don't like that idea, do you? So you see what I'm saying. You can eat Lise if you want, but Milly's off limits. Got it? Besides, I thought you liked Milly. Wouldn't you miss the belly rubs she gives you?"

The anger dissipated into a feeling of satisfaction as memories of past belly rubs filled his mind.

"So we have a deal then?"

Another moment of hesitation passed, but then that gave way to a grudging acceptance.

The mouse server walked back up to the table, a steaming cup of coffee in hand. "Here's your coffee, s-sir," she said. "Is there anything else I can get you?"

Marcus smiled.

"Yes, in fact, I think there is."

---

Marcus' apartment wasn't large, but it was cozy. He had made a point of making the place feel like a home rather than just a place to return to at the end of the day. Books were strewn about, posters for his favorite movies hung on the walls, and a small bonsai tree grew in a box on a table in the corner. A TV sat against one wall, with a low table in front of it, covered with more books and a laptop. Across from the table, where a couch might be sitting in another home, was a large pile of cushions and pillows -- Marcus had trouble finding couches large enough to support him.

Marcus entered his domain with the mouse slung over his shoulder. He had bound her arms behind her back, and her legs were tied at the ankles, preventing her from doing much beyond squirming. His belly swung beneath him as he stepped around the low table and tossed the frightened mouse onto one of the larger cushions. She bounced, landing on her back.

"P-please," she begged. "L-let me go."

Marcus approached, putting one fore paw up on the cushion next to the mouse. He towered over her, and he felt a twinge of hunger come from below. "I'm sorry, sweetie," he said. "But I need you for a trade."

"A t-trade?"

Marcus' stomach rumbled, and he said, "Come on, now, don't complain. I already said you can have her, but you know what your part of the deal is."

The mouse furrowed her brow, obviously confused, but Marcus felt his stomach clench. Earlier, of course, this hadn't worked. He had tried his best to empty his stomach, but the muscles had just refused to move. Now he felt his stomach tighten, and the wiggling bulge in his belly started moving upward, squirming its way through his upper body and towards his head. The mouse watched in amazement as Marcus held out his arms, opened his mouth wide, and heaved a pile of cream-colored fur into his hands.

The pile of fur coughed and spluttered, revealing itself to be a petite, female fennec fox. Her fur dripped with various fluids, her normally fluffy tail looked flat and lifeless, and her large ears were laid back against her skull.

"Are you okay, Milly?"

Milly glared up on him. "Jeez, your stomach smells awful, Marcus. Not my ideal place to spend a night."

"I'm so sorry," Marcus said. He couldn't completely suppress a smile: he knew he was in the dog house, but Milly had made a joke, which meant that she wasn't hurt and couldn't be that mad at him. "I tried to let you out as soon as I woke up, but..."

"Yeah, yeah. But 'he' wouldn't let you. Put me down, please."

Marcus allowed Milly to slide out of his hands and alight on the ground. She glanced at the mouse, who was watching this whole thing with wide eyes. "She's my replacement?" Milly asked.

"Yeah. Do you want me to wait?" Marcus felt a flash of annoyance from below, but he ignored it.

Milly stretched, placing her hands on her back to push her spine forward. "Nah, go ahead and enjoy. I'm going to go take a shower -- but when I come out, I'm going to have a talk... with both of you."

Milly padded off towards the bathroom, her fur still dripping wet. This left Marcus alone with the mouse. "I... I don't understand," she said.

"You don't really need to," Marcus replied. He leaned down to pick her up, holding her upright by her forearms with her bound feet balanced on the cushion. He ran his tongue over his muzzle.

"W-wait," she said, her dire situation coming back to her. "M-maybe we can work something out!"

Marcus' stomach rumbled again, and Marcus said, "No, I don't think so. The trade has already been made."

He opened his mouth wide and pushed the mouse's head inside.

She put up a fight, of course, kicking and struggling as best she could. But even if she had not been bound, she would have been no match for a large predator like Marcus. Her struggles were for naught, and her screams and protests were quickly muffled by layers of flesh and fur.

Marcus swallowed her quickly, pausing only to remove her uniform on the way down, tearing it with his claws where necessary. The girl disappeared into his gullet, becoming a large, wiggling bulge that made its way down his upper body and through his hips before settling in his belly.

"There," he said. "Satisfied?"

In response, he let out an involuntary purr.

He lounged around on the pillows for several minutes while he waited for Milly to finish her shower. The mouse struggled within him, trying in vain to claw her way back up his gullet.

When Milly returned to the living room, she looked a great deal less like a drowned rat: having just dried herself, her cream fur looked especially fluffy, and her tail swished back and forth, the black tip looking for all the world like she had dipped her tail in ink. She had swiped a shirt from Marcus, as well, which was large enough to look like a dress on her.

Marcus purred. He loved it when she wore his clothes. "So, how much trouble am I in?"

Milly sighed and rolled her eyes, a smile playing across her lips. She climbed onto the large pillow next to him and leaned into his upper body, then held up one hand, indicating a small distance with her thumb and forefinger. "Maybe a four or five out of ten."

"That's not bad at all. I was expecting worse."

"Well, you did get me out. But that doesn't mean you're entirely out of the woods. This is not happening again, Marcus. This is the second time now -- and last time, at least you got me out quickly. This time I was in there all night. I wasn't kidding when I said it stinks in there, you know. Whole place smells like fish... you and your love of sushi. I kind of feel bad for that mouse." She glanced at Marcus' belly, where the mouse continued to struggle inside.

"Sorry," Marcus said. "I don't remember it at all. I guess it happened right as I was falling asleep? The... desires can be pretty strong when he pushes me, and with me being half-asleep like that, he must have overwhelmed me. Then he didn't want to let you go until I had something else to replace you with."

"Speaking of which..." Milly slid herself off the cushion, kneeling on the ground in front of him. This put her in the perfect position to run her fingers across the fur of his belly, ruffling the area between his forepaws, right above the large bulge of the mouse. "Don't think you're not in trouble, too," she said, in a tone of playful reprimand. "I can't believe you didn't want to let me out. I'm hurt, I really am. I thought you liked me?" She increased the velocity of her rubs, moving out to massage more of his stomach. "I thought you liked this?"

His belly squirmed against Milly's ministrations as her hands stroked his belly. The mouse was still fighting inside -- as it always did, his belly was taking it slow. She'd probably be fighting in there all night. Milly obviously wasn't bothered by it, playing her hands across the bulge expertly.

Marcus let out a low moan. "Nnn... he very much does," Marcus said. "I think he's just as sorry as I am."

"Well, that's not good enough." She addressed Marcus' lower half. "If this happens again, there'll be no more belly rubs. At all. Got it?"

Marcus' paws recoiled slightly, as though in horror. He smiled. "I think he gets it."

"Good." Milly climbed into Marcus' lap, leaning against his torso and intertwining her legs with his forepaws. "So we're not going to have a repeat of last night?"

"I don't think so," Marcus said.

"Regardless, I think I'll limit the temptation as much as possible. I know how he gets. I'm not gonna spend the night with you again unless you've already got someone in your tank. Sound fair?"

"Alright, fair enough. But I really don't think you have to worry. I made the 'trade' earlier as a peace offering, but I laid down the law and told him that you belong to me and that you're off-limits. He can eat Lise if he wants to, but not you."

She hooked one arm around Marcus' neck so she could lean down and run her hand along the side of his lower shoulder. "I guess that's your decision, but I hope you don't eat Lise. I like her." She leaned back against Marcus' chest. "So, I belong to you, huh?"

"You know what I mean."

"I think I do." She leaned up and kissed him, pressing her muzzle against his. "Now, how do you feel about a movie?"

Marcus smiled, glad that he appeared to no longer be in trouble, at least for now. He leaned back against the pile of pillows and cushions, taking Milly with him so she could cuddle up against him. He picked up a remote from the table and clicked on the TV, turning it to their favorite movie streaming service.

It was moments like this that made him feel lucky to have someone like Milly. With her warm body curled up against his side, his belly full and his lower half sated, all felt right with the world. Milly accepted him for who he was... all of him, with all his weirdness. And he would keep her safe, for as long as she was willing to have him.