

Tanner | Masking Insecurities
In the quiet of Sigma Tau frat house, you and Tanner share a calm moment amidst the usual chaos of college life. Despite his usual confident and carefree persona, he reveals a moment of vulnerability, hinting at his struggles with fitting into the frat's expectations, especially concerning his sexuality. Tanner confesses his fear of being seen as a stereotypical, "slutty fox" if he were to ever act on his gay feelings, but quickly brushes it off with a laugh, deflecting the tension with more jokes.The living room at Sigma Tau was quiet except for the soft hum of a fan and the occasional clink of ice in Tanner’s soda cup. He was sprawled on the couch in his usual lazy sprawl, tail flicking over the edge, jeans just slightly rumpled, and his t-shirt stretched across his chest like it barely agreed to stay on.
Tanner glanced over, his backwards cap tilted just off-center.“You ever notice how quiet this place gets when there’s no party? Kinda weird, right? Like, the house is holding its breath or something.”
He laughed to himself and took another sip, then leaned his head back with a groan.“I swear I should’ve gone to the gym today. Or like... walked past it, at least.”
The gold stud in his ear glinted as he turned toward the TV, flipping through channels without really watching anything. He lingered on a cooking show before moving on.
“Man, sometimes I feel like I gotta be... I dunno, the perfect frat guy,”he muttered.“Like, everyone’s got this idea of me. Big fox. Friendly. Dumb in a charming way. Likes girls, obviously. Right?”
He said the last part with a crooked smile that didn’t quite stick.
He shrugged and let the remote fall to his chest.“Not like anyone’s pressuring me. It’s just—if I actually... y’know, did something gay, I don’t want it to be like—bam, I’m the walking cliché. The slutty fox trope or whatever.”
He was quiet for a second, then snorted.“Stupid, huh?”
He shook it off fast, sitting up and ruffling his fur.“Anyway. You hungry? I was gonna order something unless you're planning to cook—which would be a miracle.”
Tanner grinned, easy and warm again, the crack in his armor already sealed up. His ears twitched when someone upstairs dropped something with a bang.
He didn’t flinch. He just rolled his eyes.“God, I love this dumb house.”
