Grant was having an absolutely lovely dream about a cute little inn on a lakeshore, the even cuter owner, and lots of baking in the kitchen interrupted by another type of countertop activity. He could vaguely make out some voices in the background though.
"What's ... him?"
"Btushed by ... Valley ..."
"Going ... right?"
"... tell, yes. His memories ... little scrambled, ... come back."
He wished they'd shut up and let him get back to his dream. He stretched out a little and one of the voices came in more clear. There was that accent that drove him crazy from the first day he heard it. "Grant? Can you hear me?" His eyes opened to the concerned face of the kangaroo hovering over him. How did he ever think the animal features were bizarre? They fit him so perfectly, expressive ears, deep brown eyes. He reached up and took one of Tanner's ears in his hand, feeling the soft white fluff on the inside.
"Like I said." Came the unfamiliar voice again. "He might be a little scrambled for a bit, but should come back."
"Grant, how are you feeling?" Why was Tanner so worried?
"Let me show you." Grant replied with a mischievous smile, and gently pulled Tanner in closer, drawing him into a kiss. At first the kangaroo melted into it, but a moment later he pulled back, placing a hand gently on Grant's chest. "Okay, I think you need to get a little more rest." He sounded troubled, and bothered. Why should he, they had done that plenty of times, hadn't they? No. They hadn't. Tanner had tried once and Grant had..
It all came tumbling back in an avalanche, he could feel his eyes go wide and his ears fall back along his skull. His ears? He reached up to grab one of those, feeling along it, tall and flaring, so similar to Tanner's yet different in a way he couldn't quite put a finger on. He also knew he looked a little horrified.
"I think it just came back." A grey-furred wolf in a lab coat, button up shirt and rolled up slacks came over to check on him. "Can you tell me your name?"
"Grant." He answered, letting go of his ear and letting the doc check his eyes.
"Full name."
He flicked his eyes to Tanner, then sighed. "Ulysses Grant Long." Tanner mouthed, 'Ulysses?' "Shut up, my father was a history buff. Sorry, not you, doc."
Except the doctor was looking down at the clipboard in his hands with a mild frown. "Are you completely sure about that surname?"
Grant blinked a few times, then nodded. "Long's the only one I've ever had. Used to be Longhorn, but my grandfather shortened it when he moved to the States since he..." Grant trailed off, scrunching his brows.
The doctor slipped right in. "Tell me about your family, their species, don't think on it, just tell me."
"Mom's a desert hare, like me and my younger sister. Dad's a highland bull, so's my younger brother..." Grant put a hand against his head and shook it. "That's not right, is it? I'm human, why do I?"
"Highland bull?" The doctor asked, his eyes flicking towards one wall as if trying to see into another room. "No, those memories should be accurate. At least for who you're becoming on this side. Normally they come in a little slower, but we're still trying to figure out what exactly happened out there. Can you recall your human family at all? Think hard."
Grant felt a hand wrap around his, an encouraging squeeze, and he looked at Tanner, feeling that flush of embarrassment again. Grant thought for a moment then nodded. "Yeah, my parents are both alive, older brother. Not close to any of them. I was kind of the black sheep and just drifted away after I got married to Sandra and we moved to the city. That's more clear."
"What's the earliest human memory you can pull up? Think hard."
Grant shut his eyes, he could remember a dingy high school, a bit out of date and out of repair. Lots of trucks. Rural Pennsylvania, an old coal mining town. "The high school in the town I grew up in."
"What was it called, the mascot?"
"Coalfield High, the Miners." Grant answered, having to actually think on it, then opened his eyes. "Nothing before that." He should be more worried about that, shouldn't he? Years of his life were just gone, but he couldn't bring himself to care. Tanner looked more upset by it than he felt. I mean, who really remembered their childhood anyway.
Except he could remember. A kitchen covered in colorful tiles, him sitting on the counter as his mother cut veggies to make dinner. Occasionally handing him a stick of carrot or celery to chew on, his little brother crawling on the floor headbutting the cabinet doors, which dad had to assure his mother was a perfectly normal behavior for a young bull. The doctor was talking and he had to focus on that voice again. "Just keep an eye on things and if you start to feel dizzy or think you're experiencing more memory loss. Call me. Loss mind you, new memories forming is perfectly normal for your stage. But if any changes happen to be painful, I also want a call. Stop by tomorrow around eleven so I can do a follow up. Mr. Rooney, here, should drive you. I don't want you behind the wheel of a car, just yet."
Tanner was nodding like he was Grant's caretaker, but Grant made sure to take the business card himself. The doctor stepped out and Grant looked right at Tanner. "I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me. I shouldn't have done that."
It seemed to take Tanner a moment to figure out what he meant and then he laughed. "If it makes you feel better, you're quite good at it. It's alright, the change is confusing. We have some weird reflexes during it." His smile was a bit weaker, as he got off the bed. "You should get dressed, then it's relaxation time for the rest of the day."
"I'm surprised you're here." Grant said, slipping out of the bed and walking over to his clothes. He could feel a breeze up his backside through the hospital gown, but Tanner was looking away. "You give all your guests this treatment? Who's watching the inn?"
"Just the VIP ones. And Gilly's got it, I trained her on check in and out procedures." Gilly was one of the inn staff that came by during the day, an affable young mink from the college who was quite eager to learn the trade to open her own inn one day. "Can we talk about Ulysses?"
"No. Not unless we can discuss Rooney." He put plenty of emphasis on the first syllable.
"Fair. C'mon, let's get you back to the inn." Though there was one more stop before they left the clinic. Niles had set himself up in the lobby and stood as Tanner and Grant approached.
"I owe you an apology and a huge favor, Grant." The sheriff began. "That went sideways but by no fault of your own. It's hard to stop someone when you can't actually touch them."
"Could have warned me." Grant said with a laugh.
"Needed you acting natural, better if you thought you could. Sorry." The jackal's ears flicked backwards in a way he was beginning to figure out was apologetic. "Doc said you're remembering your family on this side, a younger brother, a highland bull?"
"Yeah, named, um.. Benjamin. Benny. You know him?" The sheriff shook his head. "That's a rare breed around these parts though."
"Wouldn't be Benjamin Franklin would it?" Tanner asked a bit sarcastically. Grant thought a moment then slowly nodded his head in the affirmative. "Oh hell." The roo burst out into a small fit of laughter.
"Anyway, if you need anything. Anything. Let me know." Niles stuck out his hand for Grant to shake, which he did with a firm grip.
It was a quiet car ride back to the inn, and Tanner helped him right up to his room. He kept his promise though, making sure Grant stayed off his feet and insisted on being texted if he needed anything. When he jokingly sent Tanner the text 'Company for dinner' when the roo was only feet away setting the tray down he began to relax and not act like such a mother hen.
"So, you guys don't seem to think it's weird that my parents are a hare and a bull, so I guess that's common?" Grant asked as he took a bite of the beans and rice. There was sausage, which Tanner said was vegetarian, tasted wonderful though.
"Common enough, more so as the years go by and everything gets all mixed up. My parents are both kangaroos, but my older sister is married to an elk, and my younger brother to a fruit bat. Hard to find roos this side of the pacific, and we moved here when we were all kids, so.." Tanner shrugged. "They both have kids now so the family gatherings are getting a bit weird. Baby bats hang from anything they can grab, my brother-in-law usually has one of the little ones dangling from an antler. At least everyone is an herbivore so it makes family meals easier."
Grant laughed at the mental image and shook his head. "Sounds like fun to me."
"Hang around long enough and you can meet them. I'm shutting down the inn this year for Thanksgiving and they're all coming here. Though, I guess your truck will be repaired a long time before that, huh?" Tanner's jovial mood seemed to dampen a little.
"Do you mind, um, humoring me for a moment? There's something I want to try, but it might be a bit.. awkward?" Grant set his fork down, looking over at Tanner.
"Sure, whatever you need." Tanner replied, his tone turning curious.
So Grant leaned in and pressed his lips against the roo's muzzle. Tanner went rigid at first, not expecting it, but relaxed slowly, one of his hands coming to rest on Grant's neck as the kiss continued. Grant slipped an arm around Tanner as he felt something tingling in his face. Not where he expected a tingle, but their mouths started to fit together better as his face stretched out into a short muzzle, the shifting of his teeth getting in the way for just a moment. After what felt like both and hour and mere seconds they finally pulled apart.
Tanner grinned a little as he reached up to touch Grant's muzzle lightly. "Looks good on you, very dignified. Going to miss the beard though. So, what was that about? I thought you weren't into guys?"
"Not generally. I don't know if it's this place, or you in particular, but I can't get you out of my head. I mean, obviously when my first reaction on seeing you when I wake up is to kiss you. I needed to see if it was just the delirium or what." Grant explained.
"Actually, your first instinct was to grab my ear and start rubbing it in a way that was not really, um, suitable for not being alone." Tanner said, his ears flicking a bit.
"Wait, so that was worse than the kiss?" Grant sat up a bit.
"That was practically foreplay, Grant." Grant buried his face in his hands.
"Oh god. I'm sorry. Oh god, it is isn't it? I can remember that now." He peeked over to find Tanner laughing. "It's not funny." He said, trying to sound serious. "I might as well have just stuck my hand down your pants in front of the doctor." But he fell against Tanner in a small fit of laughter.
"It's fine." Tanner kissed Grant lightly on the forehead. "What does this mean for us though?"
"Honestly. I don't know. I want time to think about it, is that alright? I like you, obviously. But this is a big change, and I've had a lot of big changes recently. Are you alright if I leave you unsure a bit longer?" Grant asked, settling a hand on Tanner's.
"Take whatever time you need."