This story takes place some time after Balto 3: Wings of Change. Kodi develops feelings of love for an unlikely someone. How will his parents feel about this one? Thanks to GreyKitty, LakosWolf, and DrewTheWolf for help! Parts of the story written by DrewTheWolf. WARNING!!! If you're a devoted Kodi fan, you will NOT like this fanfic! CONTAINS GAY CONTENT! Rated RRRRR (for Pirate!)

"I suppose secrets should always remain buried," He sat on the edge of town on the cold Alaskan night. Tundra snow barrelling down. The town of Nome wasn't always like this. Happier times had been seen: Balto's great feat, a miracle which had saved the town; the birth of his children. But this? No...never. But it had happened, to them. It could have happened to anyone...but they were chosen and now the burdens had been endured and because of one night of truth, an entire story had unfolded and ended in this?

Two months earlier, one of Nome's mail teams were entering the town, late for the first time, this week. They were usually late at least once a week, but lately they have been tardy almost every other day, and Mr. Simpson was on the verge of losing his job. Stress would strike him harshly with the thoughts of him not being able to support himself and what would happen to his dogs after he got rid of them. He brushed aside as often as he could so that he could concentrate more on delivering the mail and supplies on time.

Kodi pushed himself harder on this mail run. If he weren't connected to the other dog's, he would've passed the lead dog, his best friend, Kirby. He knew about Mr. Simpson possibly losing his job and he didnt't want that to happen, so he tried his best to keep the other dogs motivated, but pep talk never seemed to work for this "enthusiastic" bunch.

"Kodi! Slow down!" cried Dusty, the only girl huskie on the team, from behind.

"Oops, sorry, Dust," Kodi apologized in between breaths. Kodi's family kept bugging him about if he and Dusty were going to be a couple. Truth to be told, he wasn't very interested in looking for a girl. But he always told his father that he was just too shy to talk to her, just to make him happy. Besides, everyone knew that Dusty and Ralph liked each other best.

"Quit daydreamin', Kodi!" shouted Kirby, tugging on the harness. "Don't worry, for once, will ya? We'll make it to Nome in time!"

Kodi smiled in responce, keeping a good speed going. Good ol' Kirby. If there was one thing the two had in common, it was that they had confidence in themselves. Kodi envied Kirby for his carelessness. Kirby was always carefree and was never stressed out over anything. Kodi hoped that he wouldn't worry as much as he did, and grew to be like him And Kirby was right, like he often (but not too often) was: the team made it to Nome on time with the mail, for once.

The team trotted to a halt in front of the post office and shook the access snow from their fur. Mr. Simpson unloaded the sled and after, unhooked the dogs from their harnesses to let them roam the town, as they often did. Hank, and Kano stayed behind to be fed, while Dusty and Ralph ran off to the beach together. Kirby caught up with them soon after. Kodi wandered around town trying to relax, when his father approached him from the front.

"Hey, son," Balto smiled. "How's it going?"

"It's going fine, Dad," Kodi sighed. "For now, anyway,"

"How're things working with Dusty?" he asked, joining his son in the stroll.

"Eh..." Kodi shifted. "Fine." he lied.

"You tell her you like her yet?"

"No,"

"Well, you should do that really soon," Balto said as they neared the beach. "That's what I did when I was your age."

"Sure, Dad," Kodi smiled and rolled his eyes. "Look, I'm gonna join these guys soon. I'll talk to you later. Tell Mom and Saba I said hi,"

"Ok, bye," Balto said, taking his leave. Kodi's father visited him whenever he could, nowadays. Since all of his siblings, aside from Saba, were gone living their own lives elsewhere, Nome wasn't as eventful. And whenever Balto wasn't with Jenna, he was extremely lonely. Maybe havning grandpuppies to tae care of would make him less lonely and that was why he was urging Kodi to make a move with Dusty. To bad for Balto that it was a move Kodi planned on never making. It was a possibility when he first joined the team, when he first met Dusty, but he was always shy around girls, so he never really talked to her alone. It was too late now, though, because she was with Ralph. And that was fine with Kodi. He was in no hurry.

In all of his daydreaming, Kodi didn't notice right away that he was staring at his friends running on the beach. He wasn't watching Dusty, he found himself watching Kirby. He figured he must have really envied him if he was studying how he ran. Kirby noticed Kodi staring and Kodi automatically froze. He gulped when Kirby approached him from the beach. Why was he feeling nervous around him? It'd been happening alot lately...maybe he was afraid of him?

"Hey, Kodi!" Kirby greeted, shaking the snow from his fur onto Kodi, who chuckled. "What are you doin' daydreamin' again? Are ya gonna come down and race or what?" He turned around and started running, urging Kodi to follow.

"You bet!" Kodi barked, wagging his tail and following Kirby. Kodi found himself chasing Kirby to catch up to him. The bigger dog would zig and zag through the snow to evade his persuer. It went on like that for a few minutes. No one around seemed to be paying attention, especially Kodi with his surroundings. He ended up slipping on some ice and sliding across it. Kirby stopped in his tracks when he heard Kodi cry out and ended up being plowed into. He almost fell on top of Kodi.

"Whoa, there!" Kirby laughed, peering over his fallen companion. Kodi blushed in utter embarrassment. "Since when were you so clumsy? I thought wolves were always light on their feet?" Kirby said slyly, winking. Kodi felt his heart bounce up into his throat. He hated feeling so embarrassed. He only felt this way around girls, he didnt need to start feeling this way around his friends too.
"What's wrong with you two?" asked Kano, who must have returned from being fed. "It looks like you two are gonna--"

"Zip it, Kano," Kirby spat.

Kodi picked himself up from the ground. He didn't really care for Kano. He and Hank were the most racist...specieist...out of anyone. They didn't know that Kodi was part wolf, and if they did they would have probably beaten him. Naturally, Kirby wasn't afraid of them, because he beat them in weight and size. Kodi admired that about him too. Kirby wasn't afraid, while Kodi was plenty afraid, though he tended not to show it.

Kano shut his mouth and went to race with Hank on the beach.

"Eh, forget about them," Kirby said, "You know how they are."

"Yeah, I just hope they don't find out about me being--" Kodi started

"I won't tell anyone. I wouldn't want those losers beating you up for something dumb like that!"

"Heheh, thanks, Kirby!" Kodi smiled. When Kirby said that, Kodi remembered when Mr. Simpson first adopted him. Dusty, Ralph, and Kirby were all a bit older than him, so they were already getting used to the training of a sled dog. Dispite Kodi being new to their "family," he was quickly accepted when he was old enough to pull the sled with them Out of Kirby, Dusty, and Ralph, Kirby had become his best friend. They were with each other all the time lately, since Dusty and Ralph were always together.

Kirby looked back at the beach to the dogs who remained running on it. The sun was starting to set and the air was getting colder. He looked back at Kodi. "Wanna head back to the boiler room?" he asked.

"Sure!" Kodi said without missing a beat. Catching himself, he said, "I mean, uh...sure, why not?" Kirby shook his head and started walking. Kodi quickly padded up beside him. Kodi innocently studied Kirby's face. His face was much more round than any other huskie Kodi knew. It was a peculiar trait, but it suited him well... Kirby's fur was also raggier, making him look fat. "Well, not fat," Kodi thought. "Pleasantly plump...Wait. What am I thinking? What's gotten into me!"

Kirby felt himself being stared at and looked at Kodi looking at him. Kirby gave him a quizzical look. "What are you lookin' at?"

"Oh! Uh," Kodi shook his head. "I was wondering...what breed are you?"

"Heh! Not wolf, that's for sure," Kirby grinned to himself. Kirby didn't really know, himself, what breed of dog he was. All he knew was that he was part huskie. They found themselves at the door leading into the boiler room. Kirby pushed the ajar door open wider for them to enter. He looked at Kodi and smirked. "Ladies first!"

Kodi, not realizing what Kirby had said, started walking in. An afterthought. Kodi looked back at Kirby, who was chuckling. "Then why am *I* going in first!" Kodi whipped around and started pushing Kirby into the boiler room with his head. "YOU should be first!" Kirby struggled to keep his ground. Kodi was pushing into him really hard. Kirby grinned and cleverly jumped out of the way, letting Kodi stumble into the boiler room first. After picking himself up from the floor, Kodi looked back at the laughing Kirby.

"Ha! Ha! Very funny!" Kodi lunged after