Art by  panda_lover!

The Vacation story continues, as Venti cannot find an article of clothing, so it's Art to the rescue!

* * *

"Art, I can't find my speedo!" Venti called out from the bedroom.

Art chuckled. "Which speedo are you talking about? You own like a zillion pairs!" He knew in five seconds Venti would request his assistance, but for now he was content to sprawl on the couch.

"The gold one! You know which one I'm talking about, right?" Venti stepped into the living room, naked and fretful. Art did his best to keep his eyes on Venti's. "It looks shiny but it's not."

"Shame you can't wear my speedos."

"I could if I didn't care about getting arrested for indecent exposure."

Art rolled his eyes. "Is it me or does most of our conversations eventually drift into you getting arrested for something you wouldn't mind doing?"

"Maybe, I don't know." And then came the request Art expected. "Can you help me find them? I want to make a good impression."

"A good impression for who?"

"For the people going down to the water park in hopes of seeing delicious eye candy."

"They'll get an eyeful today with you, Otis, Singa, and Daniel." Art got up from the sofa and headed to the small room next to the kitchen. He looked at the pile of unfolded laundry atop the dryer, and saw a particular gold speedo. "Here you go," he said as he threw it over his shoulder.

"What would I do without you?"

Art glanced over his shoulder, but Venti was already in the bathroom, perhaps to complete his preparations. Art couldn't think of a single thing the jackal needed, since it seemed he only needed the speedo. "Be naked, I guess."

"You act as if that's a bad thing."

"Depends on who you ask. Want me to grab the mail before we go?"

"Sure, might as well tackle the bills."

The day was warm, but bearable. A dry heat with no humidity. The sky was blue, the sun was bright, and Art found himself eager to leave for the water park. It'd been a while since he'd gone, but as far as he knew this would be the first time for Venti. The mailbox contained the usual junk advertisements, but this time there was a key for the special mailboxes. Curiosity grew inside Art as he walked to the box marked on the key, and inside there was flat envelope address to Venti.

"Venti, you got something in the mail," Art called out as he returned to the apartment.

"Is it a bill?"

"No, it's personalized. Someone named Panda sent you this."

Venti came into the living room, putting on a pair of jean shorts and a silver tank top. He took the envelope from Art, and then his muzzle split open into a grin. "All right, it finally came!" He slowly opened the envelope and carefully pulled out a medium-sized picture. "Remind me to go to the art store and get a frame for this picture my friend drew."

"What is it?"

Venti held the picture out for Art to view. It was a drawing of Venti and himself, kneeling in front of two chibi dolls made up to look like them.

"Why are we kneeling in front of two chibi dolls with our fingers forming hearts?"

"Because we love each other."

"Granted, but why the chibi dolls?"

"Because the key to a successful relationship contains chibi dolls."

Art arched an eyebrow as he looked up at his jackal lover. "Babe, I love you, you know that, but sometimes I gotta wonder what makes you come up with this crazy stuff."

"It's the protein shakes. They alter my brain chemistry so that I'm always on a natural high."

Art's cellphone rang before he could form a reply. "You're lucky I'm taking this call. Otherwise my reply would bruise your ego to the point of no return."

"God bless the telephone, savior of egos everywhere!"

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