Gift Exchange, Part 1: Let's Go, Go, Go!
#1 of Gift Exchange
This is the January serial for the Jackalope Serial Company! Part one is posted here, but the next three will be Patreon only for a little while -- if you'd like to see the rest of the story, please consider signing up! At the low low price of just $1/month, you can see how this story ends!
Rane and Jakebe are preparing for their friend's holiday party, but things aren't quite going right with the wardrobe for some reason. Will Jakebe's resourcefulness save the day? Or is Rane simply too big a problem for mere clothing?
"Gift Exchange" is a birthday present for my dear husband, Tube -- he was sweet enough to say that he wanted a story from me, so here it is!
"You're too big for this," Jakebe said. "Are you sure the tailor got the right measurements?"
The jackalope was decked out in his finest dress -- a black three-piece suit over a crisp white shirt, which had sleeves just long enough to show off his onyx cufflinks each with a silver pair of antlers emblazoned within them. He even had a pair of spats covering the top of his broad, large paws. Jakebe's husband, Rane, had a matching suit that he was having trouble getting into. There were, of course, a few modifications for the giant dragon.
The lining was a thin layer of titanium-weave mesh resistant to the friction of hard scales that would cut ordinary fabric to ribbons before too long. The material itself was a blend of silk and cotton, fortified with magical warding that made it impervious to damage from fire and electricity. There were tweed patches that snapped closed around the spikes at his knees and elbows, and the back of his jacket was little more than a set of straps designed to buckle around and between the bases of his wings and the ridge of spines down his back. The tail of the jacket wrapped around the gargantuan width of the base of his own tail, with a small leather strap hidden beneath the fabric to hold it in place. The suit was cut with Rane's exaggerated features in mind, accentuating his bullish neck and hulking shoulders, stretching around the globes of his biceps and slightly elongating the monstrous torso of the dragon. Once the final strap was buckled, it would like he was poured into his suit, which would flow like oil over his features. The problem was getting to that point; the accommodations that had to be made for the dragon made getting into it a positively Victorian experience.
The fact that the shirt was stretched around his chest and the suit simply wouldn't strap around his shoulders and wing-bases didn't make things any easier. Jakebe had to climb on top of his husband in a vain attempt to fix his clothing, but as much as he tried to stretch the snap towards its intended button he was several inches too short.
Rane rolled his shoulder uncomfortably, forcing Jakebe's claws to dig into the fabric so he could keep his balance. "I'm sure the tailor did his best," he rumbled, smoke rising from his nares.
"Did you move this much while he was here? Because that would explain a lot." Jakebe grumbled and thumped the dragon's shoulder as he shifted again. "Hold still! This isn't going to work if you keep squirming."
"Are you sure you've applied the straps correctly?" Rane turned his head to catch a glimpse of his husband's leg, the muscle of one thick haunch rippling even through his clothing. It was the most interesting thing he had seen in at least fifteen minutes.
"Yes, I'm sure," Jakebe answered shortly. "I went through the whole set of directions twice before you stuck one leg into your pants. I wanted to be sure we only had to do this once."
The jackalope struggled with the strap, swinging down to plant both of his paws on either side of the dragon's right wing. The shoulder of the suit jacket rode the small hill of Rane's trapezius, fabric wrinkling from the pressure. Even with that, he could only get one edge of the button to tap against the edge of the snap. "Damnit! It's like your chest is too big or something."
Rane grunted. "Couldn't you just use your magic to extend the strap?"
Jakebe shook his head and sighed. He walked up the huge dragon's back and sat on his shoulder. "Not if I didn't want to cancel the wards. Which, you might remember, doubled the cost of the suit. I don't know about you, but I'm not down with throwing away all of that money."
Rane sighed as well, more smoke rising lazily from his nostrils. Jakebe tried not to be too distracted by the way the jacket stretched around his shoulders, or the way the shirt stretched dangerously between the buttons struggling to keep his chest covered. "Yes, of course. I honestly don't see the need for all this covering, anyway. It's much more trouble than it's worth."
Jakebe grinned, flashing his oversized incisors. "Because you look really good in that suit. Well, you would if we can get that strap on."
The dragon lifted an eyebrow. "I do? Better than I look without the suit?"
"I didn't say that." Jakebe leaned in and kissed his husband's snout, right above the base of one barbel. "Hmmm. Do you think you could shrink down a bit, just for the party?"
Rane fixed him with a direct stare, his slitted golden eyes boring right into the jackalope's warm, brown ones.
"Just for a few hours! It would be like, I don't know, sucking in your gut to get the belt to fit."
"Do you remember what happened the last time I tried to keep myself smaller than this for an extended length of time?"
Jakebe perked his ears, then immediately folded them again with a blush and a smile. He squirmed on his perch, his own pants feeling noticeably tighter. "Yeah," he churred. "I do."
"I'm not sure our friends would appreciate that happening during their Christmas party." Rane's voice carried a subsonic purr of pleasure with it, and he shifted on the bed as well.
"Yeah, you're right." The jackalope hopped off the hulking frame of his husband and landed nimbly on the floor, pivoting on one oversized paw to face him. Even though Jakebe cut an impressive figure at seven feet tall and a few hundred pounds of muscle and fur, he was completely dwarfed by his titan of a lover. Sitting down, Rane's horns loomed over his antlers, and the dragon's mammoth chest was right at eye level. "But they might appreciate having that story to tell their friends and...open-minded family members for generations afterward."
Rane snorted, trying to give Jakebe an admonishing look. He couldn't keep the smile off his muzzle, though. "So what do we do? Do you think anyone would notice an unbuckled strap behind my wing?"
"Hmm. Maybe not, but I wouldn't be surprised if the wards used the buttons and buckles as anchor points." Jakebe shrugged. "So if you're not fully done up there's nothing keeping your fancy new duds from catching fire the first time you run into a drunk dragon."
"No dragon would be so undignified as to breathe fire by accident indoors because they were too inebriated." Rane actually did sound offended by the mere suggestion.
"True, but a dragon would get inebriated enough to sit in the fire pit as a party trick." Jakebe's grin spread wide.
Rane's earfans flattened, and a small puff of smoke escaped from his snout. "It was an excellent trick."
"It certainly was." Jakebe stepped closer, standing on his toes to kiss the dragon's chin. "But it might also burn up your very expensive, very dapper suit."
Rane rumbled, his talons carefully coming around the mammal's relatively thin waist. "And we wouldn't want that."
"No, we wouldn't. Listen, I'll change into something a bit more casual. You find something else to wear."
Rane smiled, bringing the mythical rabbit closer. "It's a deal."
Jakebe churred, bringing his paws up to the chest straining that shirt so severely. For a moment, he allowed himself to get lost in the sheer breadth of it, feeling the obvious power of the muscles behind the inadequate cover of cotton and silk. The scale plating covering him was supernaturally hard, more than likely capable of protecting him from just about anything save high-caliber weaponry. One would think dragons to be cool to the touch, but there was a heat blazing within him that made him warm, almost hot. Still, it was so comfortable being curled up against him, despite the hardness of his scale, the unyielding bulk of his muscle, the impossible heat of his body...
"Aren't you going to go get something else to wear?" Rane's hands held him fast, clasped behind his back.
Jakebe folded his ears. "Not until you let me go."
The dragon's eyes flashed, and his grin revealed teeth. "No. Go get dressed."
Jakebe snorted, his nose twitching as he smiled. Just to be sporting, he squirmed and twisted in Rane's hold, trying to resist his lover's iron grip. The fact that he couldn't really even move those thick talons made his pants tighten that much more.
He had to stop, or else they would both be naked and in no condition to go to a holiday party. They probably would need to take another shower, and his fur would take forever to dry, and they probably wouldn't be able to stop themselves from making another mess somewhere along the way.
"OK, let me go." He tried to put some steel in his voice, but it always came out less impressive than he had intended.
"Awwww, can't get away, can you?" Rane's voice rumbled right up his spine, almost making him gasp. The dragon's broad, short muzzle brushed the top of his head, between his ears and the base of his antlers. "Are you stuck?"
Jakebe snickered and poked Rane's chin with his tines. "No, but you're gonna be if you don't let me get something else on!"
Rane relented, opening his hands. "Why would you do such a thing? I just want to love on you."
"You can love on me all you want when we get back from the party. We're going to be late as it is." Jakebe's paws slid from the dragon's chest to his thighs, each broader than his torso.
Rane seemed unconcerned. "We're both magical creatures. Everyone knows we have a different concept of time."
Jakebe turned away, flicking his tail as he walked back to his wardrobe. "Maybe, but that's no excuse to forget our social etiquette." He stared at his shirts and sweaters, then sighed. "It's times like these I really miss pullover sweaters."
Rane's mammoth bulk rose from the bed, the mattress groaning in relief as it was freed from all that weight. "I never understood why you don't simply use magic to wear whatever you'd like."
Jakebe shrugged as he picked out a solid white shirt with black and red accents, then a red and beige button-up argyle sweater. "Clothes are too far removed from their natural materials for me to be really good with them. I could learn, but there are better uses of my time."
Behind him, he could hear the dragon roll and flex his shoulders, popping the clasps of his suit straps. "Like making dragons bigger?"
He tried to ignore the almost painful tightening of his pants. "Nah, those days are over. You seem to be doing quite fine with that on your own."
Rane peeled off his suit jacket, his vest, his shirt, carefully picking at the buttons and snaps with his talons. "It's not my fault I do so well with your magic. Maybe it's a residual effect from the last time."
"That was two months ago. Magic doesn't have that long of a tail." Jakebe tried to focus on other things as he slipped off his trousers, but the sensation of fabric brushing against his bulge was distracting. "I'm thinking there's something else going on."
"Yeah? Like what?" Rane stepped closer, his footsteps audible on the reinforced hardwood floor.
"I'm working on that." Jakebe took a deep breath, trying not to pay attention to the shadow looming over him, or the way he could feel it through his toes when Rane was speaking...
Those huge fingers covered his shoulders, brushing the fur on his neck and cheeks. "Are you all right? You're not angry about the suit, are you?"
Jakebe closed his eyes and brushed his cheek against the dragon's fingers, churring lightly. "No, of course not. I'm just...distracted. The holidays are always insanely busy."
"I know. It'd be nice just to let off some steam, wouldn't it?" Rane whipped the jackalope around, lowering to a crouch so they were closer to eye level. It couldn't hide the obvious bulge of the dragon's arousal, his genital vent forced open to reveal the thick member throbbing with his pulse.
The last of the jackalope's resistance melted away. He stepped forward, brushing his own arousal against it, feeling the warmth of it through the fabric of his underwear. "Mmmm. Yes. But we're going to have to be quick about it."
Rane returned his husband's grin, those fingers moving down to peel away that last bit of clothing. "I'll be as quick as I can," he crooned.
Jakebe doubted that, but he fell into the dragon's embrace anyway.