The Workshop
Vic was a proud sort and apt so show off what he considered his ample prowess in many areas whenever he could. Unfortunately, desire to proclaim and prove he was the best landed him in trouble on Christmas Eve. Now he was using his firm though lithe muscles to stock shelves and bag groceries in a place he had never been when the grocery store reopened on December the 26th.
The young man tossed some canned vegetables into an old lady's reusable grocery bag as his eyes wandered around. It was now the first week of January, and he was doing manual labor in the most boring place he had ever seen. He would much rather have been having fun and celebrating after what should have been a successful year. It would have been one too if not for those Christmas decorations. The only fun Vic had since he had been forced into this job was on New Years Eve, though even that was only partially true. Yes, the bar had been fun at first with some music and a chance to talk with some people, but then a bunch of drunk yahoos showed up and started a fight that included what must have been half the people in the little town. At least it seemed like it to him.
"Thank you young man," the old lady said as he moved the bags into a cart. "I'd like to pick them up out front please..." She closed up her purse after receiving her change and then slowly walked off towards the door.
"You heard her... Go and bring the cart out," the teenage cashier said before waving Vic away. He rolled his eyes and slid the cart away from the checkout before taking it out into the bitter cold of the winter air... Or rather, the sunny fall-like weather of early January. Cold didn't bother the blond haired young man, even with it cut shorter than he usually had it thanks to the New Years Eve brawl. Someone had used it as a handhold when it was longer, and he decided that if he was going to be stuck here and have the bar as his only infrequent fun, he wasn't going to have someone else in a brawl yank him around like that again.
Soon enough he was outside and waiting for the old lady to bring up her car. He was waiting rather impatiently and his eyes ended up drifting off again. Eventually a rather large black Buick approached the grocery pick up. Vic only realized it when the body scraped the curb as the car pulled up and stopped in front of the store with one tire on the curb and the old lady behind the wheel. She got out and slowly made her way around to back of the car to open the trunk. Once the groceries were loaded up the old woman handed Vic a folded up bill. "Here you go young man. I wish my granddaughter was a helpful as you," the old woman said with a pleasant smile and a wink before she made her way back to the front seat of her car. Seeming to make up for her slow walking speed, she left a short trail of rubber on the ground as she pulled away from the grocery.
Once the car was gone, he unfolded the bill and quickly shoved it back into his pocket. He wasn't expecting a tip, and he certainly wasn't expecting a $50 one. Vic glanced around as he grabbed the cart and brought it back into the store. Apparently there was a least one friendly person in this town, maybe a couple more too. He hadn't bothered to really notice or talk with anyone since he arrived except on New Years Even where the talk eased though often quite a bit skewed by alcohol consumption. Perhaps today would be a much better day than the monotony of the past few weeks.
The rest of the time at work went as it usually did, back to the monotony of putting stuff on shelves or in bags. Vic however looked forward to the prospect of having $50 to spend. He knew his situation didn't require him to save any money, and his weekly pay was intended for food and rent of his small apartment down the street. After that, he had been lucky to have $20 for New Year's Eve from his first check. He had no idea on what he might spend it on though. He had never really bought much else besides food and the drinks at the bar before. He decided he would have to pay some attention to the shops on his way home.
The clock dragged onwards till the end of his shift. Vic punched out at four in the afternoon and then headed out into the light of the quickly setting sun. He took his time walking back to his apartment as it was a simple walk down the main street. Apart from the grocery, there wasn't much. Most of the other buildings save for the bar had nothing in them. It was a poor and rather old town much past its heyday. He had a look at the few other shops as he passed them by.
He had no interest in the one with a palm with an eye in the center that read "Psychic Reading from Madam Vera, Your Link to the Future!" Vic knew such things were silly. No human had that sort of ability, and he wasn't going to wast money on the made up babbling of some woman looking for a buck. He passed by a bookstore that looked like it didn't care for visitors given the taped up windows and barely lit insides. Besides that, it said the place closed every day at two in the afternoon which had passed. There was the barber the young blond had visited, but he didn't need another haircut. What he needed was some fun... Or at least something he could have some fun with once he got out of this silly situation. As far as he was concerned, that was all it was. He had skill and strength, and showing it off was the best way for everyone to know it. He didn't know why his real boss was making him live and work in this little town. It was pointless as far as he was concerned.
The young man continued making his way down the street passing by the empty storefronts. His apartment building, such as it was, was a mere two storefronts and a walk across the street away. He had decided the bar wasn't worth it, particularity at four in the afternoon. He stopped and had a look at the last two shops. One, like many of the others was vacant. The other seemed to be a clothing store specializing in leather goods judging from the coats and boots on display in the somewhat dirty window. A sign hanging over the door read "Mountain Lion Fine Goods" carved from wood with a date showing the place to have been around since the sixties. A service listed on a piece of cardboard in the window was personalized leather embossing among things like shoe sole repair and suit tailoring.
Vic stared at it for a few minutes as he wondered if it might be worth spending all his money in one place. He knew it was probably going to be expensive, particularly for the idea he had. Not only that, but the clothes from a store like this tended to be expensive from what he was told by one of his friends from back home. It didn't stop him though. He had a good idea in mind, and was aiming to see if he could get it done. He had no idea how long this punishment was going to last either, so if it went on for some time he could save up the little bit of leftovers from his employment checks and maybe buy what he wanted anyway. His resolve steeled by his bullheadedness to get what he wanted, Vic pulled open the door which rang some silver bells on the inside handle and stepped into the shop.
The place was rather small and cramped for a clothing store, more deep than wide. It also seemed a bit unkempt for being called a fine goods store. The floor was scuffed in some places and covered in dust in others. It reeked of a mix of must, cologne, and the smell of leather. Despite the shop being open, it was on its last legs like much of the rest of the town. A heavyset old man with a ring of silver hair around a bald dome of a head looked up from a newspaper at the young man for a moment before going back to it and turning a page with nary a sound. Vic knew what he wanted and walked right up to the man at the counter. He leaned on it and waited till the old man looked and straightened up to meet him eye to eye. "Here for shoe sole repair or to pick up a bridle?" Those services were the only thing keeping the little shop alive. Boots were expensive, and this was the only place to fix the soles without having to buy a whole new pair, and a couple of the farming families that still worked the surrounding area trusted the shop's leather-work for some of their animal equipment.
"Actually I want that jacket in the window and an embossing job on the back," Vic replied with a proud smirk as he pointed at the window with his thumb. "Got fifty bucks to spend, and I aim to get it!" he said with pride.
The old man looked at him before cracking into a smile. "Son, if you want that jacket and some work done on it, you need a whole lot more than fifty dollars. That'll get you half a pair of new boots or two belts hanging up on the rack." The old man shook his head and went back to his newspaper. "Kids like you have no idea how the real world works. Glad my kid knows how to work hard to get what he wants."
"Hey... I really want that jacket," Vic replied. "I'll save as much as I can to get it. Heck, it's the first thing I've found in this town actually worth the money I might have to spend on it, so how much?"
"For the jacket and the work on its back... Well, $150 for the coat and anywhere from $25 to $50 for the embossing depending on what you want and how long it might take. Most everything here is handmade son. Lots of work goes into this sort of thing. Time and effort too." The man caught sight of the emblem on Vic's shirt, and he let out a chuckle. "Lot harder and takes more skill than stuffing groceries in a bag. It might still be honest work itself, but you obviously don't have pride in it. Just in how ya look and what other people think of you."
That made the blond haired man's eyes narrow. What did this guy know about skill and hard work? The grocery might indeed be dull and thoughtless, but his real job was far from easy. It did take skill and lots of training. It was what gave him his nice lean physique. "Hey old man! I might have to take offense to that..." He grabbed the edge of the man's newspaper and yanked which provided a satisfying sound of tearing paper. The next thing he felt was a sharp pain on his shoulder and collarbone before backing away from the counter and the ornate cane the old man had used to cause the pain. "Agh! Fuck! That hurts! Fuckin' old man!"
"Serves ya right, kiddo! Want another whack?"
"Pap... Please... Don't drive away potential customers..." came a voice from the doorway leading to the back of the store. It was man in maybe his late twenties wearing an apron and work gloves. He seemed a bit thick in the body in a well fed sort of way and wore a neatly trimmed beard and mustache combination all a nice black matching his hair. "We're short on business as it is. The only reason we've stayed open is cause we own the lot, and I'm doing odd jobs on the side. You know I'd rather have you at home resting instead of manning the counter."
"Serves him right for being a dumb-ass," the old man said back. "I don't take that from anyone, customers included. As for sitting at home all day, I'm not the sort lie around and watch the store go under. If it does, I want it to on my terms."
Considering the angry old man, Vic was considering leaving, but something kept him there. It might have been his desire to still get that jacket even after being hit on the shoulder, but the other possibility was the comforting smile and handshake the dark haired man gave him before dusting off the blond's shoulder. "Sorry about all this... Now, what brings you here?" he asked as his father gave a grumble, newspaper being crumpled before it landed in a wastebasket.
"Ugg... I saw that jacket in the window and wanted to buy it and have a design put on the back. I got fifty bucks to spend, and the old man found it funny. Bitter old fart..." he added under his breath.
"Hmm... Well, I'm pretty sure he told you how much it costs, and yeah, $50 isn't anywhere near enough for all that." The man lightly tugged on his beard in a moment of thought. "However, maybe you can pay for it a different way," he added while having a look around the shop. "With just me and my pa, it's hard to keep this place clean, and it needed a good cleaning for quite a while." The dark haired man looked towards his father and asked, "How about he works here to man the counter and clean up the shop, Pap? You do need to take a few days off once in a while, and at your age scrubbing the floor and cleaning the window while I'm in back doing the hard stuff is kinda dangerous. In fact, if it was snowy or icy I'd be worried about you even coming here, Pap."
The old man grumbled and tapped his cane against the counter as he began to fiddle with a radio to try and get a station's reception. He knew his son was just being protective and that in many ways his son was right. He was getting a bit old to continue working in the store, and being bitter about it was the only way he knew to make it feel better. "Feh... Guess as long as he works from when the doors open to when they close for the night for say... A full week... That might be enough with the fifty bucks to cover the cost. Gives you plenty of time to get the work on the jacket done too."
Vic looked a bit confused as he glanced between the now much calmer old man and the much more pleasant son. "So, I can pay for it by working here? But I have a job at the grocery already. How am I supposed to be in two places at once?"
"Well, whatever days you have off you can spend here manning the store. Just make sure you drop in the day before so my pap knows he can stay home the next day." The bulkier man gave the thinner one a smile and stuck out his hand after taking it out of the work glove. "Deal?"
Vic looked down at the hand and then towards the jacket in the window before shaking. "Deal."
"Then it's settled. Now, before you go, just tell me exactly what you wanted embossed on the back of it.
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Vic had to admit that working at Mountain Lion Fine Goods was a nice change of pace from the grocery store. The wooden floors and green painted walls seemed much more natural and closer to home for him than the bright white tile and metal shelving of the food mart.
Cleaning the place was a big pain though. At least the old man's son was there to help when he wasn't busy in the back working on shoes or bridles or the jacket Vic so desired. It turned out the bearded man's name was Lian, and that he actually liked having his father out of the store. The old man would often interrupt Lian as he worked, always checking in to have a look. He had worked and learned under his father for the past 12 years, since he was 16, and the first four of those were to learn the trade. The old man had to start trusting him to take over the business at some point. He did wonder if some of the worry from his father was Lian's seeming disinterest in starting a family.
It wasn't that he didn't want to have one. He just thought that with the lack of frequent business, it wasn't a good time to start looking. He also didn't think his father would approve of the sort of family life he wanted. In fact he was almost certain his pap wouldn't approve.
"Hey, Lian... Duck!" Vic said as they carried a box of trash outside. The bearded man barely moved his head out of the way of a vent pipe sticking out of the side of the building in the alley behind the store. He had been lost in thought and nearly walked his nose right into the side of it. "Heh heh... Something bounding around in that head of yours?" the slightly shorter blond asked, even though they were both around the average height for a full grown man. Vic seemed to have a skill for navigation around obstacles even if he wasn't paying any attention at all. He had ducked under the pipe without even looking.
Lian chuckled as they set the box of trash down. "Yeah.. Guess I've been a bit distracted." He had been since the second day Vic worked in the shop when he caught a look of the blond stretching with his hands behind his head. Today was day five. Though the lithe male seemed to be a bit of a wise ass at times, it was a nice change of pace from spending all day in the shop with his pap.
"Well, just keep up that work on my jacket. What you showed me earlier to day is great." Vic had asked for an image of a buck reindeer standing proudly at night on a frozen hilltop. "It's almost done, right?"
Lian didn't want to say so, but it could have been considered done as it was. The man simply wanted to add more embellishments to the scene to truly make it worth the time Vic was spending with helping out at the store... And with keeping him company. "No... I still have quite a bit more work to do, but don't worry. If you think it's almost done now, I can tell you that it won't disappoint you when it's done." He smiled warmly as they walked back into the shop together. They had finished cleaning the old junk out of the back of the shop which gave more room for Lian to work. "So... I guess you had better start out front now that back here is all clean for the first time in a few years." He stroked his beard and added, "Start with the window if you would. It could use a good cleaning. And besides, it needs something up there to attract customers now that the jacket was bought." He gave the blond a wink and a laugh before heading to the workbench. "After that, go ahead and start on the floor."
"Yeah yeah, you got it, Boss," Vic replied a bit sarcastically with a lazy sort of thumbs up and a silly sort of grin before heading out front to continue cleaning. He stepped into front of the store and took a deep breath. The smell of cologne and leather was still there, but much of the musty odor was gone now that it was being cleaned up. He could also pick up the faint scent of the wooden counter and something he couldn't directly identify yet. Whatever it was though, it was an interesting scent. It was like the warm richness of his actual home and something more. He almost would rather quit his job at the grocery store, leave his apartment, and sleep in the shop if there was something on which he could sleep besides the floor.
Vic managed to find a rag and some glass cleaner behind the counter before starting his work in the sales portion of the store. He needed the chair behind the counter to reach all the way to the top of the plate glass window. At the grocery, he would have just sprayed the window down and sort of lazily wiped to hurry and get it done. Here though, he took a bit more care. It was strange. Normally, even with the boss that sent him here, he would have just got it done as quick as he could since he though cleaning to be a waste of his natural talents. Here though, he was happy to take his time and make sure everything from the window to the list of services standing on the shelf along with the currently empty display was cleaned and properly set up as the shop had been in the heyday of the town.
He didn't know why either. It might have been the sense of it being an equal trade of labor for the coat he so wished to have. It might have been the first time he had taken pride in doing something well for the first time even though he might not enjoy it. For all he knew, he might have just thought that Lian was one deserving of all the hard work and help he could offer. Still, he made sure the window was glossy and all the cobwebs and dust cleared from the display. He had a look around and found another leather coat, one more fitting for the winter, and placed it on the stand for the world to see.
After the window it was on to the floors. Normally getting on his hands and knees to take a brush to scrub months or maybe years of grime and scuff marks from the floor would have been beneath him, but all the same Vic found a bucket and some cleaner and began to go through the tedious task of renewing the floor of the shop to its former glory. He had to stop to move some racks on occasion and even once to help a customer who was there to pick up a pair of boots. He grinned with a different sort of pride when both the customer and Lian complemented him on how nice the place was looking. "Heh... Hasn't looked this good in nearly three years," the bearded man said as he clapped Vic on the shoulder. "Keep at it, and all you might have to do for your last two days is sit behind the counter and help whoever stops here to buy or pick something up."
"Thanks, man... I don't know why, but... I just feel good about seeing how this place would look all cleaned up. Heh... Maybe your old man won't be such a grump either." the blond replied to the black haired and bearded man.
"Well, I don't know about that. Pap has been a grump for years, and I don't think a cleaner shop is going to change that. He's been like that since my mother left us. Actually longer than that, but before then, he wasn't as bad with the customers. Now he's only here because he's afraid that I can't handle the shop myself and because he complains that sitting at home where he can get his mind off this place is worse than sitting here and worrying about the shop all the time."
"Yeah, I can see that... He's like my boss in some ways. Well my other older boss anyway. Worrying about this that and the other thing... At least he has his wife for support though. I guess your dad doesn't have that to help if your mom left."
Lian nodded and said, "She does call once or twice a year. In fact she called a few days before Christmas. It's why he was so upset when you walked into the shop. He's usually extra grouchy for about a month since it brings up some memories for him." The bearded man sighed and rubbed his work gloves along his brow.
Vic crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned back against the counter. "Why did she leave?" he asked out of simple curiosity.
"Hmm... How about we stop by the bar after your done with the floor so we can have some drinks and talk there? Maybe about more than just your question too, right?" Lian held out his hand, and when Vic gripped it, the taller and bulkier man pulled the blond into a friendly embrace, his free hand patting the other on the shoulder a couple of times before the parted.
Vic took a deep breath as Lian embraced him and felt a tingle run down his back, though it was stopped when he felt the other's hand clap on his shoulder. "Alright, sure. But for now, back to work, right?" he asked with another goofy thumbs up before they split up to get back to their duties for the day.
The lithe blond only finished about half the floor by the end of the day. Scrubbing with a brush by hand was hard work, but he wasn't too tired. Endurance was one of his natural talents. He could finish scrubbing the next time he was there to work. He was a bit upset that Lian was really adamant about keeping his word and refused to head to the bar to answer his question and maybe talk a bit outside of the boss-employee situation of the shop. It seemed that Vic would just have to wait for that.
On the bright side, he had figured out what the lovely developing scent in the shop was now that the musty odor of dust and garbage wasn't obscuring everything. It was Lian. He figured that out during their friendly manly embrace earlier. He wasn't sure if it was something flighty or deep, but as he entered the dullness of his apartment and flopped down on the bed, he hoped he would find out.
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It was strange to have Friday and Saturday off from the grocery store. The last five days off had been rather randomly interspersed through the last couple of weeks, but these two were thanks to the weather. On Thursday afternoon, the snow had begun, and the forecast was for plenty of it overnight. The grocery decided to close for the next day, and Saturday had been his scheduled day off anyway. He had stopped by Mountain Lion Fine Goods to tell Lian that if the shop was open, he could be there the next day.
Sure enough, the next day when Vic turned up at the shop in his usual clothes, despite the cooler weather and the snow, Lian was outside with a shovel clearing snow. Together they cleared out the snow in the alley behind the business and had to do the sidewalk twice thanks to a rather overzealous plow truck driver. It took all morning, but it was good to be open on such a day. The snow was a refreshing change of pace from the brown and gray of the strangely warm January, and Vic had to take a few moments every once in a while to just stand in the snow and think about some things until Lian caught his attention. Then it was back to work.
Once the snow was cleared, Vic was back to work at finishing up the floors. He worked the rest of the wood into a nice shine as he had with the window and the half of the floor he had finished last time in had been in the shop. Lian was kind enough to give him some money to pick up food from the bar down the street once the floors were clean. He brought it back to have a nice quick lunch with the other man before the bearded man got back to work in the back of the store. Vic busied himself with cleaning the counter and the racks to make everything shine as bright as it could.
When Vic was done, he stood in the middle of the shop and gazed at the renewed sights it had to offer. He closed his eyes and deeply inhaled the scents that such a place should have lingering about it. He wasn't excited or boastful or proud as he might have been with say showing his prowess to his normal coworkers, but instead he was quietly pleased and satisfied. He felt very content and fulfilled with the work he had done and effort he placed into making the small quiet shop look as it did when the town would have been busy with people walking past the windows and peering in for a look at the merchandise.
With a sigh, he walked around the counter and had a seat at the chair to wait for customer's or closing. His cheek was on his palm. His eyes ended up closed as he had some dreams pass through his head. He remained that way for the rest of the day. No customers entered, but the closing of the door to the back roused him. "Looks like you finished up everything. So, want to head to the bar for that drink?" Lian asked as he grabbed his coat off of a hook behind the counter. He had a box under his arm as well.
"Sure. What's the box for though?" Vic asked in kind as he got ready to head out.
"Something for you to open. Not here though. At the bar."
After the short trip across the street, they were sitting at one of the few tables in the more or less otherwise empty watering hole. They had their drinks and a snack and were talking quietly in the dim glow of the lights, the afternoon light of the sun gone by that time of day. "Well, going to share the box now?" Vic asked before having a sip of his drink.
"Did you forget? You wanted to know why my mother left my pap and me. You asked about it, and... Well it would be nice to tell someone after ten years. You see, my parents married when they were pretty up there in years. They had me and a younger brother, and that was it for kids. Things went pretty well. Back then my pap could handle the shop by himself. My brother and I went through school and all that, and eventually I ended up workin' at the shop too to learn how to take it over one day like my pap did from his pap." Lian paused for a gulp of his drink before continuing with his tale. "Anyway, as I said, things went pretty well. Till my brother started high school. He was a bit stubborn and apt to start fights. He was trouble all through school, and by the time he got there, I was helping with the store. All I could do was keep him out of trouble for two years as best I could before I graduated and all."
"After that, my brother was on his own. He continued causing trouble of course, but seemed to mellow out a bit in senior year. He managed to make a few friends that were a bit better influence on him instead of driving them away. I suppose being on the football team gave him an outlet. One in particular really helped him a lot from what he told me."
"One day though, he came home in a rage. My mother called the shop, and I only heard about what happened after the fact since Pap told me to man the counter. He went and found out what was going on at home. I didn't think it was a good idea, but he's my pap and the owner of the shop, so I had to do as he said." The man took a breath before adding, "Mother told me my brother was all riled about his friend. Ya see, he went and told his own pap about what they were doing together and got sent off to a camp that straightens people out... Or tries to anyway."
Lian let out a sigh and rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand before taking another drink. "Anyway, he went and ran his mouth off about it when Pap got home and then got it back from Pap for it. My brother stormed out of the house, and my mother and Pap started arguing too. He ended up taking the car and driving off. It was rainin' and with him being so angry between his friend and Pap, yelling... He ended up sliding off the road and into a tree. The car was found later that night. Mother stopped at the shop later that night and told me all that happened. When she found out my brother had crashed the car... Well, that was enough for her to split. She left the next night."
Vic was silent as he stared into his glass. Lian's reason behind his mother's departure was indeed quite sad and unfortunate. What made it even worse was when the bearded male added, "The weirdest thing is... I had the same sort of relationship with someone... The elder brother of my brother's friend in fact. Unlike them though, we never told anyone, and he moved on with his life like I did." He finished off his drink before setting it aside to take a few pieces of food from the shared snack. "Sorry if that wasn't exactly what you wanted to hear. To tell you the truth, you're the first person I've trusted to tell that I had the same kinda relation with someone that my brother did... Besides my mother the night she left."
"Well, I figured the reason would be pretty depressing... I guess I paid for my curiosity," Vic replied as he stared into his cup. "I'm... I'm sorry if I brought up bad memories." He didn't much feel like drinking or eating now anymore. "But... You can trust me. I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to. I can understand that lots of people in small places like this aren't friendly to guys that like other guys." he said quietly. "I can keep that secret though. I like guys myself too, but I'm open about it. Always have been. Most of my real coworkers are the same way actually. Well, I mean, living and working here is just kind of a punishment from my real boss. But meeting you... I'd say it was worth it." He smiled slightly and gave Lian a nod before picking up his cup to drink down what was in it in one go.
"Here." The dark haired one slid the box over to Vic. "Take it. As a thanks for all you've done." He had a look at the clock before adding. "And if you want to get there early tomorrow. You might want to head home and get some rest. I'll be staying a bit longer. Not often I visit, but sometimes it's a good change of pace."
Vic nodded and his smile turned into a bit of a grin as he opened up the box. Inside, folded up with the back showing, was his jacket. The design on the back was wondrous. The reindeer with a proud set of horns was indeed standing on a snowy peak lined with trees. The moon was above. It was all worked into the skin of the leather, the imagery pressed into it forming ridges and valleys. Some areas were stained dark or green or white matching what the embossing formed. He stared at it for a few seconds before slipping off his coat. He carefully picked up the leather jacket from its box and his arms into the sleeves before settling it onto his shoulders. It was a bit loose, but comfortable. "Thanks... Thanks again for this," Vic said as his fingers traced over the front of the coat. "It means a lot."
"You earned it, Vic." Lian replied. "Your work in the shop really helped refresh the place. You heard what some of the customers said. They said it hadn't looked as good as you made it in a long time. Even Pap said that... Or at least grumbled it."
"This... This is great! Hey..." the blond reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He fished out some money and tossed the wallet onto the table before saying, "Here. This is for the drinks and tip. This..." his fingers gripped the ends of the sleeves before looking into Lian's eyes. "This is... Man... Thanks, Lian. See you tomorrow!" Vic nodded towards him, wide grin still plastered on his face before he happily headed outside and off to his apartment. Along the way, he couldn't help but hold his forearms up to his face to inhale the scent of the leather and of the man that worked it these past weeks into the amazing article of clothing it now was.
He felt that tingle down his spine and he headed up to his room. He felt like doing something he hadn't done in some time. In fact, he felt like he needed it. Once inside he pulled off the jacket, but only for a moment. The rest of his clothes soon followed, but then the leather was back on his body. He lifted his arm and inhaled deeply again, a moan ringing out that turned into a short bellow. Two brown fur covered protrusions were forming in the young man's blond hair. Though a bit loose at first, the young man's lithe and well formed muscles swelled slightly, expanding and filling the coat before his stature grew slightly to match.
"Ah... Fuck... Me..." he said softly before letting out a second bellowing moan as he fell to his knees. His hands slid down over his chest through the open front of the jacket and then down over his abs before one gripped the rod of flesh coming out of his groin, the other moving to cup the nicely hung sack underneath. "Haa... Lian... Fuck me.."
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Lian had another drink and finished off the snack the he and Vic had been sharing before the other left. He stood to leave, and it was only then that he noticed the lithe blond had left the coat he had worn when he came to the store along with his wallet. He smacked himself in the head for not realizing it and, after making a check of the time, realized that he still had time to return it. After that, he thought he should probably stay at the shop overnight to clear up a little backlog on boot resoling. It was the bread and butter of the shop as it stood right now. He headed back and called up his father to tell him he would be sleeping at the shop to finish up some orders before going back across the street to Vic's apartment.
The place was pretty quiet. It seemed that apart from the manager there was only Vic and one other tenant. He asked the manager which room his friend was staying in and then headed off to the right door. He heard some faint sounds through the door as he approached and called out, "Vic?" while giving a knock on the door. It turned out the door hadn't quite been shut all the way, and the knock opened to a rather strange sight that made him back against the other side of the hallway with a thud.
With the light from the hallway and from a table lamp in a corner of the room, Lian gazed upon two legs with cream colored inner thighs, the rest of them colored a nice light brown save for what looked like a twisted set of toes with the nails thick and black. A heavy looking set of balls hung between them, furry and the same creamy white as the thighs. There was a snort as a head peered up. Two rounded furry antlers rose from feathery blond hair, the rest of the face covered in brown fur. The nose was wide and black, stretched forward slightly into a short sort of muzzle with a long tongue and bit of drool hanging from it. The creature seemed to be wearing only one thing, and it was the jacket he had given Vic earlier. He had spent long enough working the design on the back to recognize it instantly.
"Ooooh... Haa... Lian..." the creature said in a familiar voice though slightly deeper than the young man remembered. "Fuck... It's me... Vic." The creature's feet finished reforming into solid hooves, and with a turn, the thing flipped around to face Lian before standing up. The white fur covered everything up from where it started on his inner thighs to his throat save for a pair of black nipples poking out at times from the behind the tanned hide of the jacket and an equally black cock with molted splotches of pink that seemed to look like a cross between something belonging to a human and something more fitting of a horse. It rose from the white fur which seemed bunched up around its base and from the creature's hand currently about halfway up the length. Whatever it was, it was obviously male, and even though it was covered in a coat of fine fur, Lian could make out firm tones muscles, even under the jacket. The material stretched a bit as the male creature that called itself Vic motioned for him to enter the apartment. The scent that wafted out of the room and the fact that he knew there was no way Vic would part with that jacket without a fight were the only things that gave Lian enough courage to enter the room.
"You... You are Vic?" Lian asked as he cautiously entered and closed the door most of the way behind him. He watched as the creature's cock twitched and flexed, the manhood stretching and thickening even though it was fully erect. It was loosing the remainder of the human features such as the rounded head and quickly looked very animalistic. One of his hands also seemed to be occupied either the small tail flicking about above a round butt or with probing something between his cheeks to keep some desires sated enough to speak for now.
The antlered thing let out a short deep groaning sort of cry before shaking his whole body a bit as if he was working out some kinks. "Yeah... Well, actually Vixen. Best way to put it is that I'm not a human. Actually, I'm a reindeer. One of a team in fact, and I ended up here because I like to show off and nearly put the team at risk. Just because you can see Christmas decorations on a roof doesn't mean you can see the wires, especially after a nice coating of snow." The deer-man seemed to grin and stomped the floor with a hoof. "I was sent here because I thought we could make record time in landing and takeoff. My dumb suggestion and desire to beat the night's record nearly sent everyone and the whole bag of gifts off the roof and onto a parked car." A long ear flicked around as the thing calling itself Vic sheepishly looked at the ceiling even though he still had the grin on his now rather black and brown lips.
The voice, the jacket, and now the grin finally confirmed in Lian's mind that this was indeed the person who walked into his father's store to demand that jacket on his back and got a blow from a cane for his trouble. He still wasn't sure what to make of the situation, particularly since what the guy had said kind of implied him to be a reindeer working for Santa Claus. "Vixen? Gifts? Santa Claus?" was all he managed to ask.
"Yeah. The old fart takes his work pretty seriously. He's my real boss. The one I keep mentioning. I'm supposed to keep it secret, but... Well, this is supposed to be a secret too. Guess that kinda fucks everything up." The reindeer stomped his foot again and leaned in closer to Lian. His nostrils flared as he took a deep breath and then moaned. "If it's any consolation... You're the reason, man... You smell amazing to me... Maybe because... You're an amazing friend. Only one I've got here, and maybe the only one I've had in a long time."
"Vic..."
"Vixen. You can call me that."
"Alright... Vixen..." Lian replied with a smile and a shake of his head. "This is just... So weird. It's hard to understand."
"Well, magic always is for humans. I'm a magic reindeer. How else do you expect me to fly and look like this and look human and all everything else?" The reindeer moved and took Lian's hand with his unoccupied one. "Trust me, magic exists. It's usually just very hard to see. Of course, I will admit you showed me that hard work that would be easy to get around with magic has a lot of worth too." Vixen leaned in and placed his head on Lian's shoulder. "But... There is one thing magic I could show you... If you're willing. And if you feel the same way about me as I do about you right now."
Lian turned his head slightly, the unease melting away now that he saw that Vixen was not only still the easy going and somewhat sassy man he knew, but also showing the feelings that Lian himself felt about the other somewhere deep inside himself. The bearded man leaned his head in against the reindeer's shoulder to take a deep breath of Vixen's musk. He let out a deep breath before saying, "I'm willing... Show me what you want to show me."
After giving the other man a tender lick, Vixen backed off a bit and said, "Alright. First you'll have to take off those clothes. They might end up ruined." He looked at the leather covering his arm and had another deep inhale of it before taking off his jacket, though he shuddered when he slid his fingers out of his rear to take it off. "Ahh!... Mnn... I had better take this off too... As much as I like wearing it, I don't want it ruined either."
Lian's eyes looked up and down Vixen's now nude form. He had to admit that despite being a bipedal reindeer with hands and fingers ending in thick black nails, he was extremely attractive. In fact, lithe well shaped muscle was a bonus for the thicker and rather rounder bearded man. As he stripped out of his clothing, Lian saw the reindeer move around the other side of the couch occupying much of the small apartment living room, give a wink, and crouched down low to vanish from view.
The bearded man took a moment to gaze down at himself. He felt a bit of envy as he ran his hands over his belly and then down over his stiffening need. He knew he was pretty out of shape compared to Vixen, particularly now, and a bit inferior in everything except for their now about equal height minus the other's horns. He wondered if he would be able to keep up with the other as he walked around the couch to see what was going on with the reindeer. He was a bit surprised by what he saw in a good way.
Vixen was bent over, chest against the bottom of the couch with his tail up and ass exposed. His hole flexed a bit, gaping and closing as if it was begging for something to fill it. "Fuck me, Lian... Hard... Fill me... Fuck... I'm such a slut..." the magical creature said as he buried his face in the back of the couch for an embarrassing moment to pass. "I'll be yours from now on though... The only time I really want to take the lead is on my birthday... Or to show off, but right now, it's just you and me... And my birthday isn't for a few months." He gave the human a wink before grabbing the back of the couch with his hands. "Just stick it in.. No lube required. You'll make you're own soon enough.
Lian listened and eyed the strange and amazingly beautiful form of Vixen before carefully moving into place. The reindeer was indeed quite loose and slick, but then if the other reindeer on the team were as hung as he was, the human's cock wasn't a match. Just the same, it slid in, the hole flexing and kneading with skill. The bearded man's thick arms circled around Vixen's chest as his belly began rubbing over the furry back. Soon his hips were moving to start the show.
The brown furred deer let out a sweet resounding moan followed by a small bellow as he felt Lian begin taking command. There was one thing he had to do as they started though, and that was let his own magic wash over the human. Soon the other's short thrusts began growing slower and longer as Vixen felt it the manhood inside him start teasing deeper and deeper. Knowing things were on the way, he just started enjoying himself, moaning and biting into the back cushion of the couch whenever he felt himself getting too loud.
Lian felt tingly as his skin ran over his friend and newfound lover's fur. He could feel himself slowing and something seemed to be growing. It put him into a haze at first, but after a few moments, he released his cock had lengthened and swelled to a greater tool. He didn't bother asking why. He was using it to claim the ass of a humanoid reindeer, so what was the point?
He let out a groan as he felt the sack between his legs begin to churn with life too. What had started out as modestly average was now ample. He let out some panting breath over the back of Vixen's neck as his hands groped the other's lithe and muscular chest. The muscles were firm under the covering of fur. He was topping a new love, and a beautiful, lithe, well built, and now submissive one at that. The bearded man was rather enjoying it. Sweat poured down from his body as his legs and hips moved to ram his cock into Vixen over and over again. The tingling through his skin eventually stopped, and that was when a rush of sensation surged through Lian's groin. He let out cry as he felt something at the head of his cock warp before his balls pumped more cum than they ever had in his life into the now trembling reindeer.
It took a few seconds before the black haired man's strong workman's arms released Vixen so he could back off and pull out to see what exactly had happened. His cock slid out of the reindeer with a gush of cum, the whole length a deep pink color. It had grown significantly since it had gone into the reindeer, and the head was nice and fat along with the length. It also had a collection of soft sorts of spines around the edge of the head, ringing it along the ridge between it and the shaft. A touch, and he found them particularly sensitive.
Vixen rolled over onto his back with a moan as cum dribbled out of his entrance and over the floor. His hoof stomped the floor as he managed to settle himself, but a hand on the base of his shaft had prevented him from fully climaxing yet. He eyed the initial change in Lian's body and his muzzle formed a genuine smile. "Haa.. Haa... Fuck... That felt great..." he said, though he squeezed the base of his need to keep himself from going off just yet. "Haa... Now... Lian... Do you like... Having that?" he asked with a nod towards the other's changed maleness. "And... Do you trust me? If I finish off this, things might change for you a lot."
The bearded man looked at both his cock and the reindeer before him for only a moment before nodding, "I trust you... Not only that, I... I love you, Vixen." He leaned down over the other, their cocks grazing over each other as the bearded one gave his indeed strange but still amazing lover a kiss.
Vixen cried out after the kiss ended and said, "Back up... I need... Ahh... To see this!" The blunt flat head of his cock began oozing and then spraying cum up into the air. It ended up coating Lian's stomach, chest, and crotch as the other backed off. The eager reindeer aimed and made sure to soak as much of the man as he could before the flow worked out to a halt.
Lian's skin then his whole body began to tingle again. This time, it reached to his core. His arms began to bulge a bit, his hard working spirit driving their bulk to new levels. The same happened with his chest, his pectorals firming up and shaping. Even his abs and legs grew stronger and thicker, but they were kept hidden under a layer of warm soft bulk. He let out a groan then a growl as he rose onto the balls of his feet, bones and ligaments shifting to a different stance much like that of his lover.
Soft leathery black pads began to emerge from the skin on his palms, fingers, feet, and toes, and he let out second growl as his spine shifted and lengthened, his height continuing to grow, easily now as tall as Vixen including the fuzz covered antlers that nearly scraped the ceiling. Thick warm fur, white on his belly chest, a light tan brown everywhere else, began sprouting where the cum had fallen. It slowly spread to cover and take the place of human skin. Some of Lian's skin bunched up at the base of his need, pulling it a bit closer to his stomach before forming a thick coating of white fur in the place of bushy black pubes. His cock now drooped down from a meaty sheathe.
A tail snapped and worked it way out from just above the changing human's butt, the light brown hair quickly spread over it to form a tail before moving downward. His hole gaped and expanded a bit as the tail helped spread his cheeks slightly. It was an inviting pink like his cock and the pair of thick fat nipples that shone out on his chest. The new appendage whipped back and forth a bit as his hands and feet were covered in his ever expanding coat of fur. Black claws sprouted from each digit before sinking back safely into individual.
"Vi... Vixen... This feels... Hot..." Liam managed to say before throwing back his head with a lustful moan as the changes spread up to his head. Black fur seemed to grow out from the underside of his neck to mesh with the beard on his chin as his nose flattened out into something distinctly feline. His mustache warped into long black whiskers that hung down on each side of his face, some sticking out quite a ways, others short and seeming to fit in with the black beard around his changing lips. He bent over and gripped the top of the sofa's back, claws digging in for purchase as a rough pink tongue hung from his mouth, teeth growing into those of fine hunter. The fur meshed with his hair to make it seem rougher and thicker. Lian tense as the last of his changes settled into place. He was about to let out a deep roar of a cougar before Vixen moved to give his lover a hot tongue sharing kiss.
Moving on lust, instinct, and the desire to show each other what they were really capable of in bed, Lian's large arms gripped Vixen's legs and pulled them upward to expose the loving reindeer's hole which was still coated in the former human's seed. The sluttish and lithely muscular reindeer moaned through a continued drool dripping kiss as the cougar began hammering his cock into the cum lubricated hole, spines dragging and making both of them sharply breath in a hiss of breath before they really started.
A crescendo of grunts, growls, bellows, and soft roars rang out through the room as they began to mate as full lovers. The couch ended up on its back from Lian's hard movements, and soon cum was filling the reindeer who now had his legs in the air and back on the ground thanks to how the couch was lying. It wasn't enough though. The bearded cougar moved to nibble on one of Vixen's antlers with a deep moaning growl while using the other as a handhold to continue claiming.
Cum was soon raining down on Vixen's chest and face thanks to both his large shaft's pumping of seed to empty his balls and from Liam's cum being driven out of his tail-hole thanks to the continued hard mating he was giving. Their loving lasted late into the night before they were completely spent and both a cum covered mess. It didn't matter though, They pulled the fallen seat cushions of the couch together to sleep in each other's embrace on the floor. Their urges were sated, and their companionship and love sealed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When morning came, both Vixen and Lian had returned to their human forms, even though for Vixen, now asking to be called Vic again in public at least, it wasn't exactly his natural one. The room was a mess, but thankfully the apartment had a shower where they could quickly clean up. Also thankfully the cum hadn't ruined Lian's clothing.
They had also overslept, so they were in a bit of a hurry. The shop was already supposed to have been open by now, and Lian knew that he was way behind in the work that needed to be done. He might not have had any regret about discovering the love he shared with Vic, or his amazing ability to change their forms, but he was still now way behind in the repair orders. Once they were both clean and dressed, with Vic wearing the jacket he received the previous night, they headed across the street together to open up the shop.
"Where the hell have you been?" Pap's voice came from behind the counter. He had his cane in his hand and was rather angry to have come to the shop to find that his son hadn't opened on time. Not only that, but he could tell from experience that he hadn't done much work the last night. "The shop might be clean, but if we don't get those boots resoled, we don't make anything!"
Vic thought up an excuse to take the blame and was about to speak when Lian suddenly said, "I spent last night with Vic. I slept at his place too, Pap. I'm a grown man, and even though your my pap and you own this store, I do have to lead my own life." He grabbed the shorter blonde's arm and pulled him close. "...Even if it's with him... And especially because I like him. Like him a lot."
Pap went silent. It was a cold silence befitting a cold anger unlike the hot temper Vic had seen whenever the few times he had seen the old man. The only noise was the rumble of a motorcycle outside that rose and then suddenly ended as strange as that might have been for winter. The old man and his son stared at each other until the door of the shop opened with a ring of the silver bells on its handle.
"Good day, gentlemen," said a cheerful voice. The man who entered while taking off a long red scarf was rather tall and heavyset. He wore a helmet and pair of goggles that looked fitting for an aviator and a warm looking red leather coat with heavy black boots and simple work pants. He had a long white beard, and outside the closing shop door was a motorcycle. "Ah! Vic! I see you're doing well here. Guess you learned that work for me is not only about natural skill and talent, but also about hard work and knowing when to help others."
"B... Boss!" the blond shouted when he saw who it was. "What are you...?"
"The store's closed! Family reasons... Get out," Pap shouted to the customer while brandishing his cane.
"Well alright... I was just stopping by to check up on my helper here. He nearly gave my delivery business a whole heap of trouble and had to learn a bit of a lesson, but I think he did. Might have helped your son learn one himself too." He gave a glance towards Lian before focusing back on Pap and the store. "And it's a shame you're closed. You got some fine pieces of work here. I might run a delivery business, but I have myself what you might call a ranch too up north. Some of my work animals could use some new harnesses, and I know some other workers of mine wouldn't mind stopping in." The white bearded man walked over to a rack and picked up a thick belt to hold to his waist. "Not everyday you find as fine of a workshop as this. Why, I could probably set this place up for a year with the work I might want myself."
The prospect of a large payday seemed to soften Pap's coldness a bit, but not enough to keep him from shouting, "I don't care! It's closes because I have some words to give my son. Now get out!"
The large man nodded and said, "Well, as you'd like..." before heading towards the door. He pulled it open just in time for a large black Buick to ram into the front end of the two wheeled motorcycle. The forks were twisted off at a strange angle it came to a stop a few yards in front of the now stopped car. An old lady, the one that gave Vic a $50 tip a few weeks ago, climbed out of the driver's side with a shout of "Good heavens!" Before moving to make sure no one had been hurt.
"It's all right, Lady! I'm fine..." the bearded man said from the door of the shop. When the woman looked towards it she seemed to be rather shocked, particularly when the man went to check the damage leaving the door open.
Lian and Pap looked a bit shocked as well when the lady said, "Joseph... I... I never thought the day would come that I would see you again..." Lian quickly kept the door from closing shut as his Pap went around the counter and out then made his way outside to the old lady.
"Caroline?" the elderly man asked as he took the old lady's hand. "After all these years... You've lived nearby and never came here? You only called, and only to talk to Lian."
The old lady looked from her husband to her son before saying, "You drove our youngest son from our home. Drove him out for a reason that..."
"I drove him out for the same thing Lian just told me about himself. The same thing that drove you away!"
"Your anger was what drove me away, Joseph," the old lady said as he pulled her hand free from her former husband's grip. "And the fact that you were angry over something as foolish as who or what one of our sons might like. Lian told me the night I left that he had the same sorts of feelings. I didn't want any part of your anger again if you happened to find out. That's why I left."
The old man looked from his wife to his son and back again before lowering his head. "I... I'm sorry, Caroline... I was a fool for acting that way. I can't change the past or how my son might feel. And when I fought it, I drove you away. Now I'm an old fool who still wants to fight the times." He lowered his head before asking, "Can you forgive an old fool after all these years?..."
The old woman sighed before signaling for Lian to come over to them. "If I had told you why I left when I did, no... But I never did tell you... If you give your son your blessing to live his life the way he wants as I do... Then yes, I can forgive you."
As Lian approached, his pap turned his head and gave him a scowl at first before sighing with regret. "I really have been an old fool. You are a man now and my only son. I should have truly trusted you and your decisions long before now. If another man is what you want to spend your life with... That's your own life to make."
Lian's face slowly brightened into a smile as he moved to embrace his parents for a moment before going back to Vic to embrace him as well.
Walking back down the sidewalk towards the shop and family outside it, the large white bearded man said, "Well, looks like I'll be havin' to call in a ride to get back north. My cycle won't be going anywhere very soon. "So, maybe I could use your phone and maybe you could think about my offer to have you make some of that stuff I wanted made?"
"Talk to him," Pap said while nodding his head towards his son. "He's the owner, and he does all that work... I... I think it's time for me to retire."
Lian smiled and said, "Of course. The phone's in the back." He looked towards his parents and asked, "Are you two... Going to be alright?" After seeing his mother and father nod together before sharing a long overdue kiss before moving towards the car, the black haired and bearded man grabbed Vic's hand and led him into the back of the store after the blond's real boss. He knew his lover's boss had lots of stories to tell, and Vixen wanted Lian to hear them, if only to see his lover's eyes sparkle with things he only really knew as myth and magic.