Your tail twitches nervously as you walk through the crowded, noisy airport. This will be your first trip alone, and you are understandably anxious. You are a 19-years-old chocolate lab taking a summer tour of Europe. You have travelled abroad before, but always with your parents or some other form of chaperone. This summer, you will be all by yourself overseas.
While contemplating your isolation, you trip over your own feet and fall to the ground, your carry-on luggage dashing against the ground and spilling its contents all across the airport floor. You scramble to recover your lost articles before the throng of uncaring business people and hassled families trample your stuff.
Suddenly, a hand begins assisting you. You look up and find yourself facing the most handsome otter you've ever seen. He's taller than you with the frame of a rugby player: big and broad. His eyes meet yours and you can't help but stare into the two pools of tropical blue. You shake yourself out of your stupor and thank him.
"No problem, mate," his voice is a soothing baritone. "Looked like you could use some help."
"Yeah, I wasn't paying attention. Too nervous, I guess."
"Never been on a plane before?" he asked.
"Not by myself," you admit.
"No worries," he assured you, "It can be a bit scary your first time." He handed you your ticket, which had slipped beneath a bench. "You're traveling across Europe?" he noticed.
"Yeah, just the central ones: Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy. My parents are visiting family in Sicily next month, so I'm going ahead of them and meeting them there."
You really liked this guy. Not only was he sexy, he seemed like a really thoughtful person as well. If you had the time, you would've liked to have found out if he was gay. You wouldn't mind snuggling up to him when you got home.
"Have you been to Europe before?" he asked as you packed the rest of your things away and began walking towards security.
"Only once, when I was ten. I only remember some stuff, like the Eiffel Tower and my aunt's house in Sicily. What about you?"
"Me? Lots of times," he responded. "I'm an architect and the firm I work for does a lot of projects in Germany. This year I figured I'd make a holiday of it, so I'm touring Europe as well. In fact, I think I saw we're on the same flight."
You each pull out your tickets and see that not only are you on the same plane, but your are sitting right next to each other across the aisle. You're thrilled! Maybe if you're lucky you can get to know him better and find out if he's interested in you.
After you pass security, you sit down next to him at the terminal. As you wait to be called on to board, you continue talking to the handsome otter.
"I don't think we met properly," he mentions. "What was your name?"
"Garrett," you tell him. "And yours?"
"Brendan."
The two of you continue talking the whole way onto the plane and throughout the flight. It doesn't take long for the two of you to become close, sharing family stories and talking about shared interests. He seems like the perfect guy to you, and you want more than anything to ask him out. But you know that would be awkward; you've only known the guy for six hours and you don't even know if he's gay. Besides, he probably wasn't taking the same route you were, so you'd just part ways at the airport and never see each other again. You had already put the thought of any chance with him behind you when the conversation turned in your favor.
"It must be nice to get to spend some time with your family," he replied. You had been talking about family vacations and relatives you hadn't seen in a while. "My parents are still uneasy about me coming out. They try to be supportive, but it just ends up awkward. I haven't even talked to them since Christmas."
"You're gay?" you blurt out unintentionally, your optimism peaking so high you can't stop yourself.
"Yeah, that's not a problem is it?" he asks, suddenly hesitant.
"No, no," you quickly assure him. "I'm gay, too. It's just that I didn't expect you to be."
"Oh!" he relaxed again. "Yeah, it can be easy to forget you're not alone! So, you're family's alright with your sexuality?"
"Mmhm," you nod. "It's not like they want me to advertise it, but they don't shy away from it either."
You each talk about how you found out. Brendan tells you how he found himself eyeing up his teammates at swim practice and eventually came out to the senior captain who became his first boyfriend. You recounted your first time with your neighbor after hitting puberty. The two of you experimented with each other and gave each other relief, but he eventually decided he was straight and you decided you weren't. You spent the rest of the flight recounting old relationships and what they taught you. You didn't even realize you had landed when the stewardess gave instructions on leaving the plane.
•••
When you exited the gate, Brendan pulled you aside. You really hoped this was going where you thought it was going.
"Hey, Garrett, I really enjoyed being with you today and I was kinda hoping I could get to know you better. Would you be interested in traveling with me?"
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