Winter Traditions, Chapter 2: Saint Nicholas Day

Story by Jaden_Drackus on SoFurry

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#3 of Coming Out (Jay Dee and Cerberus)


Saint Nicholas Day

For my family, the holidays spanned the entire month of December in a way. Because we were so used to being apart, it was reasonable to expect a couple of different holidays. My family celebrated Saint Nicholas Day on the 6th, we had our family get together on Christmas Eve at my Grandfather's house, spent Christmas Day with my Uncle's family, and then my immediate family would have another Christmas when we returned home on the 27th or 28th. As November prepared to become December, I explained all this to Cerberus who, as one might expect, had a few questions.

First and foremost, we had talked about just what we should get each other. While both our incomes were pretty high for college students, we weren't exactly wealthy either. I had deliberately set aside most of the money I'd won for 'Coming Out' for Christmas shopping. We both agreed that a handful of meaningful gifts would be best. I asked my parents if we could have Christmas with them, and they agreed.

With that out of the way, Cerberus focused on St. Nicholas Day, as that was fast approaching. He had never heard of it before.

"As I understand it," I'd explained to him. "In some of the European countries, the tradition was that St. Nicholas would leave presents in the children's shoes rather than under a tree. My family has continued the tradition as kind of a way to prepare for the holidays. Now we tend to give each other things like ornaments and things like that."

"So just a small thing to get ready for the season," he'd said, his bushy tail wagging fiercely.

We were in the attic, and I was rummaging around to find the artificial Christmas tree stored up there. It was only a four-footer, pre-lit, but my parents had given it to me when I got this house (my grandfather had owned it somehow) and it was all I needed. I found and passed Cerberus my box of ornaments.

"Exactly," I said as I finally found the tree. "And it doesn't have to be decorations per say. Gloves, scarves, hats, and things of that nature are just as likely. My parents usually got me a book or a CD. Dad gets Mom jewelry- just something that in theory could fit in a shoe."

"Do you need any of those things?" Cerberus asked.

"Not really," I replied after a long moment of reflection. "I'm a fire dragon, Cerbi- I don't get too cold in the winter."

"You really can breathe fire?" he asked, his bright blue eyes going wide.

"I can really breathe fire," I replied as I pulled the tree out and began carrying it over to the ladder where Cerberus was standing. "I don't have too much cause to though."

"I didn't know that," Cerberus said as he started down the ladder. "Will you show me sometime?"

"Sure," I'd replied. "Just, not indoors okay?"

We set the tree up and decorated it. We spent a good deal of time that night cuddling on the couch and looking at the tree in the darkened living room. As Cerberus lay sleeping against my chest, I ran my claws through his fur and had my snout in said fur; I came up with the idea of what I could get Cerberus for St Nick's Day. Two days later, I acted on that thought.

Cerberus had a meeting with a client, and I wasn't working so I drove him to his meeting and told him that I was going to go shopping. He said he would call me when the meeting was winding down, and so I headed into town.

I found myself heading towards the male grooming aisle in the upscale department store in the mall, facing row after row of brushes. Some boxes showed cats, some showed ferrets or otters, and some showed bears. It appeared that I had not arrived at the dog section just yet, but I had already reached my conclusion. I had taken a look at Cerberus' brush that morning, but...

"I'm way out of my league here," I'd said aloud as I stuck my hands in my jacket pockets.

"Clearly," I'd heard a voice say behind me. It was just on the edge of laughter, but wasn't in any way condescending. "Perhaps I can help you?"

I turned to find a bitch standing behind me. She was wearing the black vest that I'd seen all the other employees of the store wearing- and just to make sure I knew it, she had a name tag that proclaimed her "Thema J." She was shorter than Cerberus with brown fur, a somewhat bushy tail, bright yellow eyes, and her right ear folded over. I didn't recognize her breed, I mean- I only know Cerberus is a husky because he told me. I worked my jaw a little bit, trying to figure out just how much to tell her. That must have struck her as funny, because she chuckled at me- even though she politely buried her snout in her paw to cover the action.

"Okay," she said after she recovered. "Let's start with the obvious: you're shopping for someone else. Did you get any instructions?"

"No," I'd replied, sensing that I would be coming out again in the very near future and feeling that sick to my stomach nervous feeling coming back in full force. "I'm gift shopping."

"Ah," Thema said. "And who are we shopping for?"

I hesitated, wondering how to get around this. But I came to the same horrifying place; where there different brushes for males and females? I clearly had no idea. But what if there were? What would happen if I gave Cerberus a female brush? What would that say about what I thought about him? And then I heard that voice again, the one I had heard right before I'd told Mom, the one I had heard right before I'd sucked Cerberus' cock for the first time: Do you really believe that you're the first gay guy she's ever helped before?

"My boyfriend," I said quickly, before my courage could leave me. I ploughed on. "He hasn't replaced his brush in six years, and it's getting pretty ratty. And when a dragon thinks your brush is bad..."

"It's really bad," she finished with another chuckle.

That wasn't too bad, I told myself. I couldn't possibly be the first gay guy she'd helped. Hell, I might not even be the first gay dragon she'd ever helped find a brush.

"May I ask what he is?" Thema inquired.

"He's a husky," I'd told her. "We're going to meet my family for the holidays, and I just want him to look his best."

"Absolutely," she'd agreed. "Well, the canine products are further down the aisle. Now are we just replacing his current brush or are we thinking about a full grooming kit?"

"I don't know yet," I said as I fell in behind her.

"Strange that he hasn't replaced his brush in that long," Thema mused. "Most of our canine clients replace their brushes every few years."

"It has sentimental value," I said, lowering my voice. "His parents gave it to him right before they passed away."

"Ah," she said, her tone taking on just that hint of regret appropriate for that kind of revelation. "So we're looking for something special."

"Yeah," I'd concurred. Wow, in four questions she had brought me from a stranger in a strange land, to someone who had at least some idea of what he was looking for. I wasn't trying to replace Cerberus' brush so much as trying to get him another one that would get the same amount of sentiment attached to it.

"Well, for a husky I would recommend a grooming kit- one that has a large, stiff brush for his tail; a medium brush for his head and body; and a soft brush for his more sensitive areas. Some come with powders that can be brushed into the fur to help change scents if your family isn't used to having dogs around. Tell me, is he a social groomer?"

"A what?" I'd asked.

"A social groomer," Thema had repeated. "Some canines enjoy having others brush them. We carry brushes and grooming kits that come with larger handles that are easier for those with claws to use."

"I've never asked him," I'd said. I liked the sound of it though. "He does enjoy when I run my claws through his fur."

"I thought he might," she said. "Well, if your budget allows, why don't we pick a kit for him to use and one for you to use. If he likes it, the two you should enjoy grooming each other."

"Each other?" I hadn't considered that at all. Some dragons, especially those with metallic colors, polished their scales, to bring out that metallic sparkle. My scales had a hint of metallic sheen to them, but I had never polished them. Of course, if a certain husky told me he liked my scales polished, I'd go at them with a power buffer. Still, the idea of me brushing Cerbi's fur put a happy little smile on my face, a smile that I was sure Thema saw. But she didn't say anything about it, and we ended up picking out two sets: a one with smaller red handles for Cerberus to use on his own, and a set with larger handles that were almost gunmetal in color. I was pretty sure that she picked them out based on the color of my scales, but I didn't mind. We also picked out some brush-in powders for him that smelled nice without being overpowering. I walked out with everything I needed and a somewhat improved opinion of what people actually thought about gay couples.

I did a fairly good job of hiding my gifts for the next couple of days, making sure to wrap them while Cerberus was out shopping on his own. I got a little worried, because he spent the better part of two days out shopping. We decided to do the shopping for my family together; I always got something for my Mom, my Dad, and my younger brother Deax. If I saw something that made me think of one of my cousins, I got them something; otherwise, it was just accepted that the family gift was from all of us. The exception was my cousin Andthous, who had the new wyrmling, for him I would usually add to his small collection of video games. I did most of my shopping online, with Cerberus helping with the shopping for my family. With everyone else taken care of, it was time for me to begin shopping for Cerbi.

Our opposite sleep schedule made this at least easier on me, since I could shop in the morning while Cerberus was still sleeping. Given the sleeping accommodations at my grandfather's house, I had already picked out one gift that I wanted to give him, but that particular gift was almost a joke. I thought long and hard about what to get him. What about a collar? Cerberus didn't usually wear them, but I was sure he would if it was from me. No, that wouldn't be right. I couldn't ask him to conform to what I wanted, that was unfair. Where was Thema when I needed her? She would have me straightened out in five minutes. I tapped a claw on my desk and thought about it for a long time. At that exact moment, my phone rang: it was my mother.

"Hi, sweetheart. Is Cerberus around?" she asked when I picked up.

"No," I'd replied. "He's still asleep." Of course, she would know that- she had his number.

"Good. We were just thinking about what to get him, so I thought I call and see if you had any ideas."

"Sorry, I've just run out," I said dejectedly. "I only had one idea, and that was just to make life easier at Grandpa's."

"I see. Well, what is he into?"

"A lot of the same things that I'm into: sci-fi, fantasy, video games. But he's an artist, so he sees them a little differently."

"Does he like to read?" she inquired next.

"Are you thinking about getting him a Kindle?" I asked with a smirk. My mother loved the E-book reader, and claimed that it had condensed her collection of books down to one simple device. I couldn't argue with that- her romance novels had all but taken over the house before she'd found the device. Last year, she had gotten my brother and me one for Christmas.

"A little," she admitted. "If you think he'd use it. It would probably be an 'only' gift from us though."

I laughed at that. Cerberus had said that he was worried that my parents would try to shop for him when he was thinking about just getting or making them some Christmas ornaments.

"He's thinking about making you some picture ornaments of the two of us," I'd told her when I could breathe again. "He doesn't expect anything from you guys at all."

"Well, would he like one?"

"He seems quite content to keep stealing mine," I'd answered. "But if it means I can get it back on a more frequent basis, I think it's a good idea."

"Good. Now, what are you thinking about getting him?"

"I don't have the faintest idea," I'd admitted. "I've got some small stuff: art supplies, an Amazon gift card, a tee shirt, but I'm still looking for THE Gift if you know what I mean."

"Does he wear a collar?" she'd asked.

"No, he doesn't," I replied, putting my head in my claws. "I already thought about that."

"How about a copy of the story you wrote?" she'd asked. "I know you would rather give him something meaningful, so what could be more meaningful then that?"

"It was online only," I told her. "I only have electronic copies."

I heard typing in the silence that followed. Was she online too?

"Are you going to reject the collar idea?" she'd asked. Something had changed in her voice.

"I'm not sure," I replied, a question in my voice.

"I saw a website that offers collars that you can store electronic data on. Some even have thumb drives. I think he would appreciate a collar with the story of how you two met on it. I'll email you the website."

"All of a sudden," I noted. "You are really sure this is a good idea. Why?"

"Let's just say that I have some information that you don't," she said with a chuckle. "Are you working today? Classes?"

"Just classes. It's the last day," I replied. Work for me now consisted mostly of tutoring, and with the semester winding down, my services weren't in demand. Not that I minded as it allowed me to spend more time with Cerbi. Work would pick up again after the New Year.

"Well, have a good day then," she told me. "Give my love to Cerberus."

"I will Mom," I said. "We'll see you in a week."

My email updated just as I hung up. Sure enough, there was the website with collars. I was expecting that they would be 'girly': wide, gaudy things with lots of bling; and while there where many that fit that description, there were some that were perfectly masculine as well. The one that caught my eye was quite helpfully modeled by a husky with a similar coloration to Cerberus- it was a thinner leather job with a silver clasp, and had a thumb drive hanging at the throat. The only other decoration was a small metal plaque that was left blank for personalization. While it was fairly expensive, it was well within my budget- even with the extra for personalization. This did seem to be a good idea.

I had just settled on a very dark blue for the collar when I smelled Cerberus in the doorway. I quickly closed my laptop and spun my chair around to face my sleepy boyfriend. He stood in the doorway, rubbing his eyes and yawning.

"Isn't a little early in the morning for porn?" he asked with a sleepy smile.

"Is it ever too early for porn?" I asked with a chuckle. Had I been busted? He could just be going off my reaction to smelling him, and not specifically what I was looking at.

"At least you're still into huskies," Cerberus yawned. Yup, I'd been busted. Well, he couldn't have guessed everything. "Why don't you finish up while I get a soda? Then, if you're still frisky, we can have a shower before class."

"Hey Cerberus," I called after him, halting him halfway out the door. If I'd been busted, then I was going to make sure that I was on the right track. "Do you like blue?"

"It's my favorite color," he said without turning around.

And then he was gone. I opened up my laptop and placed the order. Blue was my favorite color too.

Our last final for the semester was on the 6th of December, so we decided to wait until afterwards to celebrate St Nicholas Day. After dinner, we sat in the living room and we exchanged gifts. Cerberus had gotten me a set of gloves and a cover for my Kindle. I loved them, and gave him a kiss before passing my gift to him. He opened it and laughed.

"Look at all these brushes!" he exclaimed. "I didn't know my fur was so bad!"

"It's not my doggie," I assured him with a hug. "I just want you to look your best for the holidays."

"And what about you?" he asked. "How are you going to look your best for the holidays?"

"Well, I can polish my scales," I told him. "But I've got a lot of places, like between my wings, that I just can't reach. I have only done it a couple of times- but if a certain doggie told me it looked good, I might do it more often."

He'd laughed at that, and we kissed again. As we did, he ran his paws over my scales as if he was trying to polish them himself. What conclusion he reached, I had no idea. But I broke the kiss feeling just a little bit guilty.

"Cerbi," I said seriously. "I'm sorry."

"For what? I love them Jay Dee."

"I...I told someone else about us without you there," I admitted. "I had no idea what I was looking for, so I told the customer service person there. She was very helpful."

"That doesn't count silly dragon," Cerberus laughed as he threw his arms around my neck. "But it was very brave of you."

"It was?" I asked. The only answer I got was another long kiss.

"Are there two sets here?" Cerberus asked as he began going through the brushes. "Look at the handles on these! Am I supposed to use two paws with these?"

"No," I said as I took the brush out of his paw to demonstrate that it fit perfectly in my claw. "Thema, the customer service lady, said you might be interested in having your favorite dragon brush you..."

"Having someone else brush me?" Cerberus laughed. "That would make me feel like a prince..."

We hugged again, and suddenly, Cerberus was breathing on my chest scales (we were in our underwear, our normal after dinner state of undress) which sent a pleasant shudder through me. Then he was rubbing the mist off of them: the results must have pleased him, as he made a happy grunt.

"I think you should polish your scales," he said. "I would help you."

"And then I could brush my prince?" I asked, suddenly catching his comment from a few moments ago. Dragons are still shaking off the bad reputation we have with most of the furred and other scaled population- that we live up in the hills, steal and hoard treasure, and kidnap nobles in the night and eat them.

Cerberus squealed, and pushed himself away from me before flopping on his back a few feet away. He pulled his arms and legs into his torso and tucked his tail between his legs in a 'please, don't hurt me' position that wasn't quite ruined by the grin on his face. I dropped on to my claws and knees, spreading my wings and puffing my crest to make myself look bigger. It was a display that would have been quite terrifying in my true dragon form; in my Anthro form, I secretly hoped that it just looked silly.

"And why would an evil dragon like you want to brush a handsome prince like me?" Cerberus asked in mock horror. "You're just going to eat me anyway."

"Princes aren't as good eating as princesses," I said as I began crawling towards him, my tail sweeping the floor behind me. "You'd be more useful for ransom to increase my hoard. You'll have to look good for that..."

He scrambled onto his paws and knees and made a show of trying to scramble away from me. I solved that by blowing a short blast of flame out in front of him. Instantly, I regretted it- I should have pounced on him like he was expecting; even though it was nowhere near him, and very short, I could tell that I had scared him. I winced hard. Stupid, stupid, stupid! But when I opened my eyes, he was back in that 'please, don't hurt me' position with a big grin on his face.

"I doubt that my family would pay ransom for me," he said playfully. "I'm a second son..."

"Ha!" I snorted. "Do you really think I'm really so foolish as to believe that a noble would wander out here without something of value?"

I had resumed my crawl towards him after realizing that he wasn't scared too badly. I was almost to him when I delivered my next line.

"You know- we dragons are very good at locating treasures," I told him as menacingly as I could. "If you're hiding something, I'll know..."

And with that, I took hold of the leg of his boxers in my teeth and whipped them off of him with a snap of my neck. I was rather proud of myself for that; it had been a long time since I had done anything like that. I think it rather surprised Cerberus though: he almost went tense before falling back into the game. I let him lie there and relax for a moment before I put my snout between his legs and blew a heavy breath into his tail hole. He shuddered at that, as much as I had when he breathed on my chest; but I didn't linger there, and went down to the base of his tail and drew in a deep breath. That's where the scent glands are on canines, and I got a lungful of Cerberus' scent as strong and as pure as I possibly could. It was my turn to shudder in pleasure again as my eyes rolled back into my head as Cerberus filled my snout; I could taste him, and I loved it. Dimly, I heard Cerberus gasp. I pressed my advantage, blowing into his tail hole again as I moved up to his sheath. As my snout arrived at my destination, I heard Cerberus moan. I was almost annoyed, as he was more aroused than I had intended him to be: the tip of his shaft was beginning to peak out of his sheath.

"Ah, ha!" I'd exclaimed. "I knew that the prince had a treasure! And now, it's mine!"

And with that, I ran my pointed tongue over his sheath before gently wrapping it around the exposed tip of his member. I began licking him in earnest, setting a more rapid pace then I normally did. Cerberus was moaning almost constantly, and I could hear his paws scratching on the wooden floor. Before I took him into my muzzle, I saw that Cerberus was playing this 'victim of a marauding dragon' fantasy he'd come up with to the hilt: normally he would stroke my crest or rub the base of my neck and shoulders. Now though, he was pawing the floor in ecstasy and arching his back to bring his crotch closer to my snout. I was glad he did, as I reached inside my shorts to stroke my own arousal. Cerberus would of course have taken care of that, but I felt that it would ruin the 'evil dragon stealing from the handsome prince' act we had going on. So I was glad that Cerbi was thrusting a little as it helped me keep my balance while my other hand was busy.

In my own brutal self assessment, this turned out to be a lackluster performance for me as it was the first time I had tried servicing Cerberus and myself at the same time. It took me a while to find a rhythm with my mouth, tongue, and my hand in sync. Three times, Cerberus whimpered at me when I stopped sucking to allow my hand to catch back up. But it was worth it, as Cerberus' knot touched my snout just before I felt the intense sensations beginning to build in my crotch that signaled that I was oh so close to my own inevitable climax. Had my mouth not been full of my favorite doggie cock, I would have laughed at the silly, naïve me of five months ago that thought he would never be able to get Cerbi's knot into his mouth. Now, it didn't even slow me down: I had it in my muzzle and tongue wrapped as soon as it appeared. Cerberus loves that, and I can make him climax instantly by tickling the underside of his knot with my tongue. But I waited a moment before I did, letting the sensations build for both of us.

Cerberus finished first, still in my mouth (another change from the early days of our play), filling my muzzle with his slightly salty, musky cum. I loved it, and savored it for a long moment. But it couldn't last: the taste of my lover's seed in my mouth sent me over the edge into my own orgasm. My mouth came away from him in a gasp, and I covered his crotch and stomach with the contents of my muzzle. I flopped down on my stomach next to him, completely exhausted, and feeling a sticky warmness spreading through my shorts. I giggled uncontrollably at the idea that I might get stuck to the floor.

"Cerberus," I called after a long moment. "We have to stop doing this on the floor- it's too cold down here."

He didn't answer in words, but all of a sudden, there was a warm and furry weight on my side, and while it couldn't quite dispel the cold seeping into my stomach, it did make me feel a lot better about the thought of spending the night here. Which might be a possibility, I saw as I brought my head back to face him and found myself looking into sleepy blue husky eyes.

"You're the best boyfriend a husky could ever have, Jay Dee," he said as those eyes closed.

"And you're the best boyfriend a dragon could ever have, Cerbi," I completed as I managed to free myself from the sticky grasp of the floor, rolled over so I could hold him, and wrapped my wing around him.

Sleep claimed us both then, and we spent a happy night on the floor in front of the Christmas tree covered only by the soft glow of the Christmas lights.

(Thanks again to Ruth of Pern for editing my silliness.)