Chapter 1
Kyle stood between the trees, his nose sniffing the air. Something was coming, a storm was on the horizon and he could feel it in his bones. He knew his little hole-in-the-ground den would not protect his family well enough, he would have to take his babies home to his parents while he sorted things out. He loved his babies more than anything in the world but raising them alone was… hard. Even with Bebe's support, he felt lonely at times without a mate. He had always expected a love like his parents, a partner for life and they would raise a litter and live happily ever after. But well, when he met Rebecca he learned that not all foxes would be mates for life. Some were just mates for a moment.
He was a young thing when they first met, just starting out and stepping into his adulthood. He met Rebecca at a gathering his parents had taken him to make friends and meet others, possibly find his other half. His parents were busy enjoying the fermented fruit and he couldn’t find his usual friends, Bebe his favorite blonde friend, was probably distracted by all the handsome young foxes so he couldn’t blame her for not seeking him out. He was busy looking for a familiar face to hang out with when a soft body with… Brown? Brown fur collided into him, and until that moment he hadn’t realized how attractive dark fur was.
The vixen was giggling but when they locked eyes it was as if everything went quiet and it was just the two of them, surrounded by a hazy crowd and fireflies dancing in the air. Kyle had his breath taken away in more ways than one at that moment, and they both had a grin on their faces, their romance was a whirlwind, and looking back, they rushed into it much too fast. Kyle had never had any romance in his life before, just having a taste had him hooked. Rebecca was awkward and so different from all the women in his life, especially his mother. It was like they were polar opposites. Perhaps that was a sign, he had always denied it vehemently when he was with Bebe and she teased him when his temper would flare up but he was just like his mom.
He had strong convictions and was born and bred to put family first, even family that wasn’t by blood. His adopted brother was a shining example, he was younger than Kyle and hadn’t begun his journey into adulthood yet, still a bit too young and busy playing with his friends. But when Rebecca had become his mate and gotten pregnant the differences were harder to ignore, she was awkward as the day was long but after being sheltered by her family for too long she had also picked up the habit of being a bit too wild without their influence anymore. He had caught her flirting with others more than he could count, even hitting on his friend Kenny with his partner right behind them. Butters was a bunny and Kenny was a fox but they were still a very solid couple, and Butters was not someone to fuck with.
Inter-Species couples were nothing new in South Park, though Rebecca had been raised very traditionally so she wasn’t as respectful as others in the area. Kyle knew he should have felt jealousy or anger from her behavior but he was left feeling more embarrassed by it. He tried talking to his mother about it to get some advice but that only fed the resentment she had for Rebecca, if she hadn’t been carrying her grandchildren she would have gone to war for her son. But Kyle hoped things would get better, talking to Bebe about it helped. She seemed to be having similar problems with her mate, he had become detached when she found out she was pregnant and Kyle was someone she could lean on.
When the babies came he foolishly thought for a second she would settle down for them, but in reality, she seemed to almost shut down and didn’t care to even really look at them, her pregnancy had been hard on her and they only had two babies, both small and frail with dark fur resembling their mother. A boy and a girl that Kyle fell in love with as soon as they were brought into the world. She had no opinion on their names either, it was normal for mothers to not leave the dens after giving birth, it was Kyle's responsibility to take care of her for a few weeks but she seemed to be more and more depressed as time went on. He also had to take care of Bebe, she had given birth just a bit after Rebecca but her mate was not taking care of her, disinterested in how she or their children were doing. Bebe was thankful Kyle stepped in to help her but Kyle insisted it was his duty as her friend. It had been two weeks after his children were born and they still hadn’t opened their eyes yet, still too young and they hadn’t been named either, he had hoped once they locked eyes with their mother she would want to name them but when he returned home with their dinner he couldn’t find her. The children were fast asleep but Rebecca was long gone.
Kyle couldn’t find a trace of her anywhere, his children were still too young to eat solid food so he had to work fast. He took them over to Bebe’s den without a second thought to beg her to feed them till he could figure out what was happening but when he came to her, he found her in an equally distressed state. “Bebe?” he called out, his voice muffled by the squirming babes in his maw. He set them down at his feet to get a closer look at his crying friend, “Kyle?” She turned to him and quickly wiped her eyes but it was useless at this point, “Bebe are you alright?” he reached out to her but she let out a humorless laugh “I guess there’s no point in hiding it and hoping for the best anymore… Brimmy left me.” Kyle stared at her in shock, sure he hadn’t been the best partner, not even good at times but he couldn’t imagine that guy leaving Bebe. I mean he was lucky to have even spoken to his dear old friend.
Kyle looked down at his own feet in shame, and Bebe noticed his pups were with him and she shifted once again “Oh god, so I was right… I’m sorry I didn’t tell you Kyle I thought, well hoped it was all in my head…” Kyle’s stomach dropped hearing those words, he knew in his heart the truth but he couldn’t bring himself to say it “I didn’t think they’d run off together, I didn’t think she would run off with the babies being so young… I’m sorry.” Kyle sat beside her and let out the breath he didn’t realize he had been holding in and they leaned on each other “What am I gonna do… They can’t eat yet they can’t even see yet. Oh my god, they’ll never even know what their mother looked like.” Kyle himself started to cry and Bebe leaned on him “I can’t leave my babies yet either.” That was the day they made their deal, Kyle would take care of Bebe like normal and Bebe would make sure his babies ate as well. They became a partnership, “What are their names?” Bebe asked one day after they had finished eating, it made Kyle freeze and look over at them, they had been losing their dark fur and looking as fiery as their father more and more every day. It made his heart yearn for her and he looked away guiltily.
“I couldn’t possibly name them without their mother…” Bebe looked at Kyle and patted him on the back “Kyle, I know how hard it is best out of everyone here, but Rebecca was just not a mother. What kind of mother could leave her helpless babies and just run off with someone else's mate? Their choices hurt everyone. Hell Brimmy and her were… They let us know they weren’t going to be good parents long before the babies were born and we both ignored it. At least I did. I’m not even sure why I picked Brimmy, out of all the guys in South Park. I guess he just, seemed like the safe option at the time. We used to play and had even been together briefly when we were just small, just puppy love. He didn’t have a reputation, and I guess I just made a mistake.” She looked down at her babies, “I don’t care if Brimmy isn’t here, my babies will have names.” She looked down at her blonde babes, two girls, and one boy. “I’ll call you Mary, and you’ll be Kay, and my boy will be Ash” Kyle smiled at her, “Ash?” he teased, knowing full well she had named him after a childhood crush. Bebe grinned at him, “Well I can’t name him Ashton he’d get picked on.”
Kyle looked down at his own young ones, soon they would open their eyes to see the world, and they’d need their names. “Why did you choose Rebecca anyways? She was so lucky to have you as a partner out of everyone, but I don’t think she was ready for you. I don’t think she ever would be,” She rubbed circles into his back and he smiled at her, “You remember when you had a crush on me?” Bebe let out a cackle “Oh my god, I don’t think you’ll ever let that one go will you?” Kyle sighed and leaned down to brush his paw against his daughter's cheek “I know how you think because Rebecca was the one that left, she was a lesser parent than me but I can’t help but think about all the things I could have done, should have done to keep her. And I wonder if I’ll keep this guilt forever or slowly grow to resent her like everyone thinks I should. The truth is I loved her, but we shouldn’t have been mates.” Bebe smiled at him, “I know we aren’t mates or blood, but you’re practically a brother to me and I feel like we’ve become a sort of family. I hope you feel the same way.”
Kyle looked at Bebe and nodded, “You are, I’ve never had a sister before but if I ever were to have one you’d be it,” he looked back down at his babies as they began to blink their eyes open and he felt his breath being taken away “Welcome to the world my little Louise, and my baby boy Wayne…” He kissed both of them on their heads “You might be smaller but your cousins are younger, you’ll both have to keep an eye out for them no matter what. I’m counting on you both to protect this family” They both had their eyes open now, looking up at their father like he was the most wondrous thing they had ever seen and at that moment it was true.
Raising Louise and Wayne was really easy with Bebe by his side, they both agreed that they would raise their litters as cousins, Kyle would be Uncle Kyle, and Bebe would be Aunty Bebe. They thrived in their roles, they had always been close but now they were a family. It only took a few days more for Bebe’s little ones to open their eyes, and soon enough the young ones were spending all their days playing together, and then they were starting to speak. Louise and Wayne’s first word was “Mama” as they were trying to call for Kyle, and it made Kyle drop the branch of berries he had been carrying and turn to them quickly, which only encouraged them to keep calling him “Mama” and it simply softened his heart as he approached the two. “I suppose I’m your mama AND your papa, youngins. But you might not want to go around repeating that one around town, I get enough strange looks as is.” He said while affectionately petting them on their heads. They seemed to take his advice well, as they started to call him Papa.
They would only call him mama occasionally, it broke Kyle's heart so he let them. Once they were old enough to walk on their own and eat solid food, Bebe and Kyle were finally able to leave the comfort of their own homes. It was a bittersweet moment, they were growing up and would now be able to meet their grandparents, but Kyle would now have to come out of the comfortable hole Bebe and he had been hiding out in and face the world. Kyle hadn’t been able to tell his parents about Rebecca yet, they were too far away and he couldn’t leave his family long enough to tell them. Kyle and Bebe were bathing their children in the stream and making them look nice, they were planning on seeing both of their parents today, first stopping at Kyle’s parents since they were closer and working their way to Bebe’s family. They were both nervous but by each other's side, they would be strong. Kyle led the way with his babies at his heels, and Bebe’s youngins followed right behind with Bebe at the rear to keep an eye out if any strayed from the path or fell behind. The kids were giggling about something they had seen on the walk when Kyle spotted his parents' den on top of their hill, he could see the greyish-green stones and then his mother walking outside to stretch when they locked eyes and he could hear his mom shout for his dad, who slowly emerged from their home. Kyle took a deep breath and started to pick up his pace and slowly break into a sprint to his mom, enjoying her embrace.
He hadn’t realized how much he had missed his mother till he was back in her arms, and he pulled away only to greet his father, enjoying his parents' presence till his mother brought up the elephant in the room, or perhaps the lack thereof. “Where is Rebecca? Why are you with the Stevens girl?” Kyle looked back at Bebe who was trying to stop Ash from tackling his cousin over what appeared to be a giant stick. “Uh, Rebecca she, she left me.” Kyle couldn’t look his parents in their eyes, he felt as though he was coming to them to tell them that he had failed. But his mother simply ruffled up “What, what, WHAT!?” she moved to slap her husband on the arm, though it was more to get his attention. He looked to be lost in thought. “Rebecca left? Where did she go? Why, did she catch you with the Stevens girl?” Kyle began to get defensive now that his father had brought Bebe into the picture, “No dad, god Bebe is like my sister we were practically raised together… Actually, Rebecca left with Bebe’s mate so we kind of had to stay together so our babies wouldn’t starve.” Sheila seemed to look even more aggravated, “What? That little no- wait starve? How old were the babies when she left?” Sheila’s gaze softened when she saw her grandbabies happily trotting up to see what was going on.
Kyle's ears folded back and whispered to his mother, “They hadn’t even opened their eyes yet, they don’t know anything about their mother yet. They call Bebe “Aunty” and we decided to help each other out.” Once Louise and Wayne reached the group Sheila couldn’t help herself, she leaned in to give them hugs, the pair was confused but their papa encouraged them “Kids, this is your grandmother and grandfather. Ma, this is Louise and Wayne.” Gerald sat behind his wife taking in all the information and admiring his grandchildren with a soft smile on his face and his head tilted. Sheila smiled at the babies and pinched their cheeks, “My my! Aren’t you skinny little things, is your father feeding you?” She gave him a teasing look, she just wanted to make them something sweet and yummy and he knew it. Kyle looked back down at Bebe who sat at the bottom of the hill watching over her children playing. “Mom, I still need to walk Bebe to her family’s home so she can tell them what happened. Do you mind if I leave Louise and Wayne here?” Sheila looked at Kyle like he had said the dumbest thing in the world.
“Of course! I need some quality grandbaby time now that they’re old enough, and they’ll get to meet their Uncle Ike when he gets home!” Kyle looked around the area, “Where is Ike by the way, I thought he’d be around here somewhere.” Sheila sighed and leaned over to whisper, “Well you know Ike, he’s starting to get older and wants to spend time with his friends, and he’s just starting to notice girls… Oh, it won’t be long till all my babies have grown.” Kyle smiled at his mom, “I don’t know if I’ll ever be old enough to stop needing you.” Sheila smiled back at him, “Oh bubbie, you’ll both always be my babies no matter how many adult problems you face. Once the children are asleep we’ll have to talk more though. I need to hear everything” Kyle nodded and kissed his children goodbye and that he’d be back soon. He waved goodbye and started to walk Bebe home, this time he was behind the pups as she guided them.
Once he had dropped her off he began to head back home to meet his family again, knowing that everyone would now know that he had failed as a partner he walked with a heavy heart, not noticing a looming figure between the trees watching him as he left that part of the woods. As he returned to his family home he could smell his mom’s cooking and see the fuzzy figures of his family enjoying the fresh air, the closer he got he could see that his mother was doting after his sleepy children while his father was talking about something with Ike, and once Louise saw Kyle in her eye line she jumped up and beelined towards him “Papa! Look at what Uncle Ike made me!” Kyle finally noticed the small bundle in her arms and she stopped right in front to show him clearly, it was a small fox doll that looked to be made with so much care Kyle couldn’t help but smile. He kissed his daughter on her head and walked her back to his family "That's very sweet of him," Sheila sat with Wayne who was blinking his eyes open to stay awake. "Papa!" He smiled up at his dad, and Sheila hummed "They wouldn't go to sleep without saying goodnight to their father." Kyle pressed his head against his children and whispered goodnight to them, and it was as if they had fallen under his spell they fell asleep, tuckered out after all the adventuring.
Sheila pulled Kyle to the side to join her husband and Ike, and Kyle began to explain what his life had been like since the children had been born. Life went on, and Kyle and Bebe were able to rely on each other just a bit less now that they were able to leave their home. Soon the children would be in school and start feeling the awkward growing pains that came with getting older. But now, a storm was brewing. He had picked up the kids before they would start to walk home and headed to Bebe's, if a flood came his home would be washed away first and Bebe was a close second, as he approached he saw Bebe cleaning out her den, "Oh Kyle! Good, you're here. You feel it too?" Kyle nodded and looked at the sky, it was still sunny but it wouldn't be for long and he came closer, "I think we should go to my parents, their home is above ground and we should be safe there if the rain were to wash this place away." Bebe opened her mouth to agree, but Louise interrupted "Papa, what about our home? My doll is still there we can't leave it all behind..." Wayne puffed up "Yeah! It's our home we can't just move." Kyle glanced over at Bebe and sighed, "Go with Aunty Bebe and keep your cousins safe, I'll go home and get everything before the storm comes but we'll be safer with Grandma and Grandpa." Bebe smiled at the kids and went to take their paws, "Come on, we still have to wait for Mary, May, and Ash to get home and we'll meet your papa there ok?" The kids looked glum but agreed, they didn't care for change especially when the grown-ups were talking as if they'd never go back home.
Kyle walked the path alone now, he was sad to leave his home behind as it held so many memories, and it was the last place he had seen Rebecca. Even if things had ended miserably it was still one of the last pieces of her he could offer his children, they had asked once before why they didn't have a "Mom-mom" he guessed it was probably something they had picked up at school but he knew the question would come eventually. He simply explained to them that families came in all different shapes and sizes, using Bebe as an example "Your aunty is like your cousins' papa and mama, just like me. Some families have two moms, two dads, one granny, one mom, or like our family, one papa." Once the kids were old enough to understand he'd tell them all about their mother, but for now all he cared about was raising them to be happy and successful. Rain was starting to fall now so he picked up his pace and headed inside to grab his daughters' beloved toy and leave their home behind, hopefully, it would just be a temporary fix. Kyle was about to leave for his parent's house when he heard a crack and he stopped, turning to the beaver dam his old teacher Mr.Garrison had built, the thing wasn't very sturdy when he had been working on it mostly because he would stop working on it and leave often on whatever whim had taken over his life at the time but now under the pressure of the pouring rain the thing was crumbling and would be sure to break at any moment, Kyle began to sprint down the path but all the mud and slippery rocks had caused him to lose his balance and he fell into the creek before the breaking beaver dam turned into a roaring stream, the debris ramming into his body as he clutched his daughters doll in his jaw with all his might to keep hold of whatever he could, he was desperately swimming against the current to get to the shore but he was struggling to keep his head above water. He felt helpless and he prayed that he would see his children again. Lighting struck a tree and one of its limbs came crashing down on Kyle, knocking him unconscious.
The birds were chirping and Kyle's body felt heavy, he had a dull headache and he tried to lift his head but he coughed up water instead and he tried not to choke, his eyes blinking trying to make out where he was but everything was fuzzy. All he could see was a tall blob figure in front of him, "Hey are you alright dude?" once his eyes adjusted he could see who stood in front of him was... a bear?! He jumped back, accidentally ramming his body into a rock. He groaned and shook his head "Where... Where am I?"