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I was Anon and I’d been stuck in this dimension for about three years now. It’d been interesting, to say the least, and it was only really during the last six months that I had managed to reestablish some small semblance of normalcy in my life. At least as close to normal as I could get after having been ripped from my own reality and deposited in a world filled with talking anthropomorphic animals. Needless to say, something like that took more than a little getting used to and it was probably something that I’d still be working on for years to come.
Some things never change in spite of a change in reality, however. As Humperdinck established in 1968, “lonely is a man without love”, and I was no different. Especially in a new city where I didn’t know anyone. Long story short, I eventually found myself on Muzzler, a dating app that targeted humans and the anthros interested in meeting them. Unfortunately the interest of the site’s users seemed limited to a quick hook-up with an exotic human. I quickly realised that the state of modern dating hadn’t improved much in spite of my change in reality. No one seemed interested in anything serious. As these stories so often go, I’d been just about ready to throw in the towel when I finally met her.
Although Bonbon and I seemed to click from the very first message, I was unsure if a relationship could ever actually work between us. Even as I arrived for our first date at her favorite café, I was wondering about it. Not only were we two completely different species but there was an age gap between us, her being my senior by almost two decades. Maybe we’d find out that we were just too different, but that was okay. At least I’d given it a chance. I pushed the door open and there she was. An adorably plump bunny with dark grey fur and short blond hair was waving at me from what I suspected was her usual table, two steaming cups of peppermint tea already on the table in front of her. She at least had good taste in hot beverages.
After joining Bonbon at the table, we began conversing with the same ease that we had corresponded and I was pleasantly surprised to find that the bunny’s warm demeanor extended beyond the confines of the app. I was unsure if it was the age difference or her figure, but she gave off a kind of motherly vibe in real life that I found appealing almost immediately, much to my own surprise. As we talked about this and that, my own curiosity eventually made me ask her where she’d originally came from. She smiled as her eyes briefly took on a hint of nostalgia.
“Not far from here. In my younger days I traveled around a lot, though, living on a lot of different little islands...”
For a moment Bonbon seemed almost wistful as she relived her youth as a rambling bunny. Then she shook her head with another little smile.
“Seeing new places and meeting new people was nice... but only for a while. Eventually the novelty wore off and that’s when I came back here. I guess you might said I came full circle.”
I nodded with understanding. It was a common enough story, really. People often wanted to go see the world when they were young but with age came the desire for stability. Maybe bunnies and humans weren’t so different after all. As the two of us kept talking, Bonbon eventually got around to asking me the question that I’d been expecting. The one that everyone always had to ask the visitor from another dimension. To my great amusement she phrased it exactly like Chani from the 1984 movie Dune and I chuckled to myself a little. Frank Herbert would’ve been proud.
“Tell me of your homeworld, Anon.”
For a brief moment I was tempted to start making stupid pop culture references that Bonbon had no chance of understanding, but in the spirit of trying new things I decided to reign in my weirdness and act like an adult.
“Well, in a lot of ways it’s like this world except humans are the only intelligent species.”
The bunny looked thoughtful for a moment before responding.
“Must make it easy for everyone to get along.”
I chuckled as I shook my head.
“Yeah, you’d think so, but people always found something to fight over. Coming here, I was actually impressed to see so many different species getting along.”
Bonbon, obviously thinking about the two of us on our date, smiled knowingly at my comment and raised her tea cup.
“To different species getting along.”
I chuckled again and raised my own cup before lightly bumping it against hers for an impromptu toast. Smiling at our silliness, we took a quick sip. During the lull in the conversation that followed I caught Bonbon staring at me, seemingly miles away. She shook her head a little, cute bunny ears bouncing from side to side as she faintly blushed. At least, I think she did. It was a little difficult to tell with her fur.
“Sorry, Anon. It’s just... It’s been a while since I was on a date and, well... you’re a lot cuter than your pictures. I- Oh dear, I probably shouldn’t say that.”
Quite unaccustomed to compliments, I now felt myself start to blush. The bunny’s expression faltered a little as embarrassment and nerves got the better of her but I decided to not give her the time to regret her kind words.
“I-I think you’re really pretty, too.”
Bonbon was momentarily surprised before her carefree expression returned in full force. She really did have a pretty smile and seeing it again somehow made the café feel a little brighter. In truth, I was finding the older bunny a lot easier on the eyes than I had expected. I imagined that a lot of anthro men probably wrote off Bonbon as either old or overweight. I on the other hand found myself drawn to not only her warm personality but to the soft womanly curves that age and good living had bestowed upon her furry body. It was actually a little hard to look away as the elegant bodycon dress that she’d chosen for our date struggled valiantly to contain those very same curves, much to my enjoyment.
When I suddenly noticed that Bonbon was giggling at me, I realised that I was now the one who’d been caught staring. I frantically attempted to offer up an apology but she simply waved it off with that pretty smile on her face as she straightened her dress a little.
“Looks like this old bunny’s still got it, huh?”
“Yeah, she does...”
I nodded, hiding my embarrassment by taking another sip of my peppermint tea before returning Bonbon’s smile.
As the evening progressed and the other regulars began slowly drifting out of the café, the two of us stayed and continued talking. I had to admit that in spite of my initial doubts, I wouldn’t have missed this date for anything. Bonbon was so easy to talk to and just like on the app it felt as if we’d known each other for years. We even shared the same dry sense of humor in spite of her having a demeanor that was a lot more ‘peppy’ than mine. She laughed at another one of my stupid jokes before suddenly falling quiet, a shy smile creeping onto her face as she looked up at me again.
“Would, um... Would you mind if I... if I held your hand?”
My eyebrows raised in surprise but after a moment of hesitation I slowly placed my hand on the table between us, palm up as an invitation. The bunny reached across the table, a soft smile on her face as she gently placed her paw-like hand on mine and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Wow... It was so soft, somewhat akin to a rabbit’s paw but seemingly with the same dexterity as a human hand. It also looked adorably small on top of mine. I gazed deeply into Bonbon’s dark eyes and felt something pass between us as I closed my hand and absentmindedly began to graze my thumb across her paw. She let out a happy sigh before resuming our conversation a moment later as if nothing out of the ordinary had just happened.
Closing time found the two of us as the only customers in the café with the staff tidying up all around us because they were much too nice to just tell us to go home. I was still holding the bunny’s cute little paw in my hand, both of us enjoying our time together and therefore reluctant to separate. Eventually a knowing look from the marmot owner as she passed made Bonbon release my hand. I immediately started missing the feeling of her soft paw. We began to gather our things and made for the door. Bonbon waved goodbye to the owner who just seemed relieved that we’d finally decided to take the hint.
Once outside I hesitated, regretful that the evening was almost over. If I could have done so, I probably would have stayed at that table all night and continued talking to the motherly bunny. When she noticed my hesitation, Bonbon was quick to take charge. A sly smile crept onto her face as her soft paw reached up to grab onto my hand again. I couldn’t help smiling as my body immediately welcomed the return of her soft fur against my skin. As we started to walk – without really knowing where we were going – I very gently gave her paw a little squeeze. The bunny squeezed back with a cute little giggle.
“So, where to?”
“Walk me home?”
Bonbon looked up at me and I returned her smile. As I did, she quickly looked down at our clasped hands and I thought I could see the hint of a blush on her face. Just like before it was hard to tell. A lone car passed us on the street. All around us the city was winding down after another long day, the cabbies and late night food delivery driver the only ones still out and about. I heard Bonbon sigh happily as her paw readjusted its grip on my hand. After a minute of walking in comfortable silence, the bunny suddenly spoke.
“Anon, do you... believe in fate?”
I looked down her, briefly mulling over the question but unsure of how I should answer it. It was never really a subject that I had given much thought.
“I’m not sure. Why do you ask?”
Bonbon looked up at me again, the tenderness of her smile evoking a warm feeling inside of me as she spoke.
“I was just thinking that maybe... Maybe things happen for a reason. Maybe you were supposed to come here so that... so... No, forget it. I’m being silly.”
Bonbon blushed and looked down again, clearly too embarrassed to continue her train of thought. I couldn’t help but smile. The grey little bun-MILF was being way too cute right now.
“Well, I... I’m not sure if that’s true, but... it does sound really nice. It’s a comforting thought to think that the two of us were supposed to meet.”
The motherly bunny looked up at me with a bright smile. The two of us continued walking in comfortable silence. It might’ve been 10 minutes or an hour. I honestly couldn’t tell because I was too busy just enjoying the feeling of Bonbon’s soft warm paw in my hand. Suddenly I heard her voice.
“Well, this is me...”
The two of us were standing in front of a small block of flats that looked, for lack of a better word, cozy. The bunny looked up at me before reluctantly letting go of my hand with a shy smile.
“I had a really nice time tonight...“
“So did I. Easily the best date I’ve ever been on.”
“Good~.”
Bonbon giggled, absentmindedly playing with her hair as she stared up at me. One didn’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out what she was thinking. I was just about to bend down to kiss her when the bunny instead took a few steps up the stone steps leading to her apartment. This put her face at almost the same level as mine. Great minds think alike, I suppose. I leaned a little closer and so did Bonbon, the little bunny unconsciously wetting her lips as she stared up at me like a doe caught in the headlights of an approaching truck. There was no fear in her dark eyes, though. Only a look of longing that I was no doubt mirroring in mine. As our mouths met right above the stair railing, I instinctively closed them as the bunny’s soft fuzzy lips pressed against my own. I could still taste the pepper mint tea on her sweet breath. Never would I have guessed that bunnies were this good at kissing.
A few seconds – or minutes – later we slowly broke the kiss and pulled apart, both of us now out of breath and wide-eyed. A passing cat seemed to have run off with my tongue due to what was without a doubt the best kiss I’d ever had so it was the motherly bunny who spoke first.
“Mmmh... Deelish~.”
Bonbon giggled to herself. I just nodded dumbfounded, my voice cracking a little when I finally manage to find it a few seconds later.
“Y-yeah...”
Raising my hands, I gently cupped the smaller bunny’s cheeks in my palms. A shy smile filled Bonbon’s face and this time I could tell that she was definitely blushing.
“Bonbon?”
“Yes?”
“Could I... take you out to dinner next week?”
Bonbon’s eyes remained closed but her smile widened. I was already leaning back in to give her another kiss.
“I’d like that very much, Ano- Mmhhn~. ❤︎”