Part 3 featuring art by  NinjaV of...Venti and Art!

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"Hey, Art!" Venti said as he entered the apartment. "You home?"

"Yeah," came the reply, "just doing some laundry."

Venti pulled off his gray t-shirt, scraping his knuckles on the ceiling. At a few inches over nine feet, it was a "hazard" of undressing while standing up. He entered the kitchen, where inside a small alcove Art was putting a load of dirty clothes in the washer. "Can you add this to the pile?" Venti asked before wadding up the shirt into a ball and tossing it casually. The wadded up shirt landed perfectly into the open mouth of the washer.

"Nice toss," Art said without looking behind him. When he finished putting the rest of the clothes to be washed, he turned on the washer and swiveled on a bare hindpaw. The beads in his braided mane clicked quietly against one another. "How was your day?"

"Mind-numbingly fast," came the reply as Venti moved over to Art, engulfing the lion in strong arms. At six feet, Art would never scrape his knuckles on the ceiling. Not without Venti lifting him up. Which he did.

"So you like working at the warehouse?"

Venti nodded. "Never thought I would, but just goes to show what I know. I just have to remember not to lift the boxes with just one hand. Fragile items are fragile."

"And don't stack them up to your eye level."

"I learned my lesson the first day there," Venti said with a smirk. "And I've been there for a month and one week now."

"You know me," Art said before kissing the black jackal on his golden nose. "I have to keep you honest."

"That's a full time job," Venti said as he carried Art into the living room. "So how was your day?"

"Work was mind-numbingly slow, but you'll never guess who I saw while I was on my way to the car?"

Venti sat down on the sofa, placing Art on his lap. "An old ex-boyfriend?"

Art shook his head. "Nope. Guess again."

Venti furrowed his brow as if trying to think very hard. "An ex-girlfriend?"

Art made a face, as if the thought repulsed him. "As if."

Venti dragged two fingers through Art's beaded mane. "Then I give up."

Art rested his head against Venti's chest. "Remember the old guy who made a gun that shoots styrofoam bullets?"

Venti nodded. "Yeah. I also remember how you got hit on the head with it. Knocked you out cold."

"He was staggering around the parking lot. I think he was confused, because he'd go one way, stop, then go the opposite direction."

Venti pictured the scene in his head, then chuckled. "He is getting up there in the age department."

"You should know, huh?"

Venti looked down to see Art grinning toothily at him. "And what is that supposed to mean?"

"Well, you're a couple years away from the big 4-0, right?"

Venti raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"Hate to break it to you, boyfriend of mine, but you're getting up there in the age department too."

"Just because you haven't turned thirty yet does not mean I'm robbing the cradle."

Art replaced his head on Venti's chest. "True."

"I mean, come on, if you were underage then maybe I can see where the problem would be."

"Can't argue with that."

"And it's not like I asked you out first. You asked me out, remember?"

Art stifled a giggle. "The look on your face was priceless."

"As a matter of fact, you never did ask me out. You just said you were going to set me up with a blind date, and it turned out to be you."

"Amazing, ain't it?"

"You're a damned tease is what you are."

Art looked up at Venti, who tried his best to glare down at him. "I like to live dangerously. Who else would tease a jackal of your stature?"

"I can name a few."

"I mean, you're huge. As in the weight lifting kind of huge."

Venti narrowed his red eyes at Art. "Now you're just trying to flatter me."

Art shook his head, then kissed the cleft formed by Venti's furry pecs. "If I were trying to flatter you, I'd say you make the Hulk look small."

"That's more like it," Venti said as he felt the grin form on his slim muzzle.

Art reached up to rub Venti's shoulder. "You going to the gym, or did you already go this morning?"

"Went this morning," Venti said, rubbing the back of Art's neck. "Why?"

"I was thinking we should go out and celebrate your one month and a week of employment."

"That sounds like a good idea, but maybe we should just stay at home and celebrate."

Art glanced up at Venti who had a naughty look on his face, punctuated with a blatantly exaggerated waggle of his eyebrows. "Hm. I think I'd like that."

"I kind of thought you would," said Venti as he curled an arm around Art's waist. The lion was easily lifted into the air as the jackal stood. "We can have dinner later. I'm starving."

Art rolled his eyes. "Anyone else but me would wonder about that statement."

Venti smiled. "Good thing you're you and not anyone else," he said as he made his way to the bedroom.

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