“So, what’s with all the tears, lil’ bro? Bomb your last test or something?” Mike teased, ruffling the fur on Sam’s head as they grabbed a booth at the diner. Sam let out a snort as he wiped away his tears and slid into the seat next to Todd, holding his boyfriend’s paw tightly under the table for support. The sights and sounds of the diner filled his ears, from the sizzle of burgers coming from the kitchen to the oldies blasting out of the jukebox in the corner (‘With a Flick of Your Tail’ by Jack Foxxe, Sam remembered, knowing his dad always put that song on whenever they ate here). And of course, the big orange tiger sitting across from him with a bemused expression on his face. Just like he’d always been there.
“O-of course not! I’m doing fine in my classes, you big jerk,” Sam laughed, rolling his eyes and tightening his grip on Todd’s paw. Is any of this real?, Sam thought. I’ve never been in this diner before, but I already know what I’m gonna order. I’ve never heard this song, but I’m already tapping my paw to the beat. And I’ve never met this man before, but…
“…Uh-huh. Sure,” Mike replied, clearly unconvinced. He was looking at Sam with an odd look on his face, a look that both Sam and Todd had seen plenty of times before during their time at CVU. Temporary confusion, followed by a flash of discomfort and unease. The look of a person struggling with their memories. “Look, how about we get some burgers, okay? I’ve got a feeling we need to talk about some stuff, and I’m not doing it on an empty stomach. Deal?”
“…Deal,” Sam finally replied gratefully, letting out a big sigh and smiling in relief. Their food arrived before long, and the three young men dug into their big juicy burgers, mountains of French fries, and chocolate milkshakes until they weren’t sure if they could stand up again. All the while, Sam and Todd caught Mike up on all the goings-on at school, doing their best to focus on the good times instead of the more stressful things that had been happening over the past few days.
“Todd, you joined the CVU pack, huh? Man, I remember those guys throwing some awesome parties back in the day!” Mike laughed as he tossed the last bite of his burger into his mouth. “’Course, I always heard they kept the really wild parties as ‘members only’, you know?”
“I-I guess I’ll find out… Mostly I’ve j-just been howling at the moon,” Todd joked, though he had to admit he was looking forward to getting to socialize with his pack some more.
“Oh! I did that once at one of the wolfpack parties!” Mike said excitedly. “…Well, I dunno if ‘howl’ is the right word. More of a roar or a growl. Tigers don’t howl, after all. God, Adam was soooo embarrassed! So I tell him, ‘Foxes don’t howl either! Or are you calling that little ‘yip’ of yours a howl!?’”
Sam, Todd, and Mike all burst into laughter at that, and the tense atmosphere that had been hovering over them began to fade away. It was getting easier and easier for Sam to tap into his new memories and avoid letting them conflict with his old ones; he was truly seeing the older tiger across the table from him as his true brother and not just some fantasy that had zapped into his brain. It helped that this Mike was so similar to the old Mike, the human brother that he’d left behind in-…
That I abandoned in the other world? Just like mom and dad disowned him? And here I am laughing it up with my happy new family while the old Mike will never hear from me again.
“Bro? You’re crying again,” Mike said quietly, biting his lip nervously. “…Need to talk about it?”
Sam just chuckled sadly and wiped his face, which did nothing to slow the flow of tears. “Nah, you’d just think I’m crazy…” he said. Todd let out a quiet canine whine and wrapped his arm around Sam, pulling his boyfriend in for a tight hug to settle him down.
“Crazy, huh? You know I’d never think that about my little bro,” Mike said. “But… Let me take a guess about what’s bothering you, okay?”
Todd and Sam both cocked their heads curiously, wondering what Mike was up to.
“You’re dealing with the ‘memories’, right? Thinking I’m not your real brother, just some tiger whose family you got slipped into when you came to this side?”
“No fucking way,” Sam replied, his jaw nearly hitting the table. “Y-you’re not... You’re trying to tell me that you’re-“
“Guilty as charged,” Mike said cheekily, looking a little embarrassed. “I felt something weird whenever I talked to you on the phone. All the memories that I was trying to repress about life on the other side kept coming back to me, about how I’d come here to CVU after getting kicked out of the house. About how I’d turned into a tiger and been handed a brand new family that loved me. It was tough having to forget about you, little bro, but I knew you were strong enough to keep on going without me…”
“I missed you so much… I-I tried to find you so many times, but it was like-“
“Like I disappeared. And I did, in a way,” Mike replied quietly. “After a while, my new memories and my new life were all I remembered, except for some tiny flashes every once in a while. I kept on seeing your face whenever I focused really hard, and I took it as a sign…”
“…A sign that I’d find my way over to this side, too?” Sam finished, a small smile forming on his face. “Guess you were right. Here I am, in the fur.”
“You look great in white, by the way,” Mike joked. “When I turned, I was worried orange was a little too flashy, y’know?”
With that out of the way, the mood at the table lightened up considerably. Sam knew once and for all that he’d have everything he could ever want in this new world; the body he always dreamed of, a boyfriend who loved him more than anything, and a brother and family that would never hurt him. And most of all, he knew that Mike had found his own happiness and wasn’t being left behind by Sam chose to stay. And he was choosing to stay. Someday, all the sad memories that him and Mike had back in the human world would simply fade away, and they could live their new lives with no more regrets as tigers, perhaps as they had always been meant to be.
“Just wait until you meet mom and dad, though! Well, I guess you already know them, but actually meeting them in person is the best thing ever!” Mike gushed, finally getting a chance to talk about all the things he’d always wanted to discuss with his little brother. He could already feel the old memories starting to slip away, and he was honestly a little glad to finally be rid of them. “And Adam… I can’t wait ‘til you guys get to meet him! You know, he always gets so jealous whenever I dote on my little brother, and now that you’ve got a cute canine boyfriend too I bet the fur on his tail’s gonna stand on end with jealousy!”
With their dinner done, they paid the bill and headed out onto Mane Street, where the sun was already starting to set over the town. They slowly started walking back in the direction of campus, with Sam taking his time so he could spend as much time with the brother he thought he had lost forever.
“Mike… I missed you, you know that?”
“Yeah, I did. You already said that, little bro,” Mike replied, patting Sam on the back. “That’s not what you really mean, though.”
“…You’re right. I really wanted to say… Sorry. For not standing up for you back then. For not doing more to find you…” Sam said, his voice sounding strained as he squeezed Todd’s paw. Todd kept silent, knowing that Sam and Mike needed to handle their own problems without his help.
“Fuzzball, you did the kindest thing you could possibly do for me,” Mike said. “You grew up into wonderful man, and you never gave up. I think that’s why you ended up here on this side. You earned this new life, so don’t you ever tell yourself it’s just a ‘fake life’ or just a bunch of ‘fake memories’. It’s your life, enjoy it. You and Todd, me and Adam and mom and dad.”
“I love you, Mike,” Sam choked out, leaning against Todd’s shoulder. Todd tilted his head and gently kissed and licked his boyfriend’s cheek to comfort him in this stressful time.
“I love you too. Always have, always will,” Mike replied, once again ruffling the fur on Sam’s head playfully, earning a quiet chuckle from Sam. “Now, I’m in the mood to celebrate. This is a college, so where’s the nearest party?”