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Chapter 65: Sunday Shoppers

Nathanial finished tidying up from lunch, and walked over to the intercom, "Hey, guys, I'm ready to go." He quickly wiped down the counters and got the kitchen scraps and garbage ready. Nicholas and Micah came upstairs, Nathanial raised a paw to stop them, "Micah, take the compost out and, Nick, the garbage, please."

Micah's nose wrinkled, but he grabbed the green box, "Eww, coffee stinks when it's old."

Nicholas muttered and rolled his eyes as he grabbed the garbage, "Hey, at least it's not the garbage, this stuff stinks and it's heavy. Why do I have to bring out the garbage?"

Nathanial clapped his paws together, "Hey, come on, get going. We have a busy afternoon. You have to bring out the garbage because Micah did it last time. He's bringing out the compost now even though it's your turn. You'll be bringing it out after I clean up from supper, or would you rather I bring it out and you clean up?"

Garret came in, "I could bring it out if it's too heavy."

Nick went to pass it over, but Nathanial stepped between them, "No, it's not too heavy, Nicholas is just whining. It's his chore, he will do it. You pay the bills, it's the least he can do."

Garret's eyes widened and he stepped back, "Sorry, Dad." He exchanged glances with Nick. Nathanial glared at him, "Hey, I was joking. I'll be quiet and wait by the car."

Nathanial shook his head and watched Micah head out to the patio toward the back, Nicholas went with Garret toward the garage. "Dad, don't take the garbage when you go around the corner, I'm watching. Nick, wash your paws before getting into the car."

"Yes, Dad." Nathanial could hear the eye roll in Garret's voice and the laughter.

Nathanial pulled out his new phone, practically purring in happiness as he rubbed his paw over it. He typed in his password and checked his calendar. 'Hmm, I need to send out my grocery list, soon, that means I better plan out this weeks meals. Got all my homework done, good, but I better review the French lessons. Maybe I should try speaking to Dad in French. I think he said he can speak it. Cleaning service is good, pool maintenance...' He lost himself in the weeks schedule for a minute until he heard the patio door rolling open and Micah skipped in with the empty container. "Thanks, Micah. Put it away and wash your paws. Dad and Nicholas are by the car."

"'Kay!" Micah quickly washed his paws off.

"Around the claws, too. Use the brush, I noticed they weren't entirely clean. You don't want to make yourself sick, or make Nick sick, either."

"All right..." There was a slightly pouty tone in his voice, but he pulled out the brush and scrubbed around the base of his claws, thoroughly. He held out his dripping paws for inspection, "Good?" Nathanial nodded, facing the other direction as he checked the inventory of food in the kitchen, uploading it from the small kitchen computer into his phone as he went. "You didn't even look!"

Nathanial chuckled, "Yes, I did, Sprite. I also watched you wash, and I see you dripping all over the floor I just cleaned. I have figurative eyes in the back of my head, remember." He turned off the computer, "Dry them off and let's go." He rubbed Micah's ears and licked his brother's muzzle as he ushered Micah to the garage, grabbing his school uniform on the way. Micah leaned against him for a second before dashing ahead, Nathanial ran after him, trying to keep his steps light like Liam seemed to be able to. He could still hear his paws thudding as he ran. 'How does he do that?' He could also hear Micah's claws clicking on the floor, "I need to check your claws when we get home. They sound like they're getting long."

They got to the car and climbed in, Nicholas and Micah were in the back, again. Garret started the car and backed out onto the driveway, "Are you ready to take the test for your learner's yet, Nathanial?"

He shook his head, "No, I didn't think about it at all. I actually used to figure I wouldn't be getting a licence until I moved out and last month, well, I had other things on my mind."

Nick snorted, "Yeah, Geoff's thing." Micah burst out laughing.

Garret's ears flipped back as Nathanial blushed. Garret chided him, "Nicholas, that's not appropriate. It might be accurate but not appropriate."

Nathanial's jaw dropped and Nick started laughing, too. Nathanial made his voice as reproachful and hurt as he could, "Dad! Please don't encourage him!"

Garret chuckled, "Sorry, but I bet it is true."

Nathanial squirmed in his seat, opening the gate for them, "Well, some, but there was tons of other stuff, too."

Nick's eyes gleamed mischievously, "Other than his dick, there's his balls, his cum, his abs, his ass, his..."

Nathanial cut him off, "Fine, Geoff is totally hot and I think about him and his... equipment, but I don't need a list. I also had Lily to think about, seeing her get shot in front of me and dying, her funeral, the Hunters, the Investigators, you getting Tainted and beating up Micah..."

Nick winced, ears folding back in pain, "Okay! I was joking, I know we had a rough month, I was trying to keep things happy!"

"Yeah, sorry," Nathanial sighed, "Just... well, I was being serious and I didn't like getting teased like that. I shouldn't have said what I did, I'm sorry."

Garret put his paw on Nathanial's shoulder, squeezing it lightly, "Sorry for teasing you, Son, but that was overreacting a bit."

Nathanial arched his eyebrow, his voice was a little sarcastic, "I know, that's why I apologized." He reached up with his far paw and squeezed his father's paw briefly, then lowered his paw back down. Garret moved his paw back on the steering wheel as he turned onto the feeder route leading to the highway toward central Halifax. "Where first?" Nathanial pulled his phone back out and started working on the grocery order, "Oh, I made an appointment for you to get the tires changed at a shop a few blocks from your office later this month. I put it on your schedule. Also, I've gathered up some off your suits that need dry cleaning. Until I can figure out that spell Ella used I can't clean them, so putting them in the laundry won't do much." He paused, "There's a dry cleaner en-route to Nick's school, I may just send them off with him one day, but you'd have to pick them up."

Nick sat up in surprise, "What? I can't go lugging laundry around the neighbourhood! That's so embarrassing!"

Garret nodded, "He's right, I can drop them off one morning; I may as well drive him to school that day, too."

Nathanial checked his calendar as he nodded, "Okay, Tuesday morning. Nicholas has to be in early that morning so it works out well."

Garret smiled, "Perhaps I should get my secretary to coordinate my schedule with you."

Nathanial smiled back, "What makes you think we're not already? You have the video conference with Abarame-san at seven in the morning on Wednesday. I'll make breakfast for you before I go over to Geoff's that morning."

Garret was quiet for a second, "You are talking to Lisa?"

Nathanial laughed, "No, I'm not, actually. I should, but I don't have her number and I'm not about to invade your privacy like that. Unless you want me to help you with scheduling. I heard you talking to her the other day."

"Oh." He sounded confused, "Uh, okay. I'll send her a text with your e-mail and you two can work it out." Garret snorted in amusement, "I really should've been around more and divorced Lily. You're the perfect stereotypical fifties housewife."

Nick rolled his eyes, "Yeah, he even gives you head from the sound of it."

Garret cringed and the car shook, barely staying in its lane. Nathanial steadied the car quickly, "Nicholas Arthur Marks! That is enough. That was going way too far." Nicholas lowered his head submissively, whimpering. "Do you need to stop the car for a bit, Dad?" Garret shook his head, quietly, and kept driving.

"I'm sorry, Dad. I didn't mean to hurt you." Garret cringed slightly at the echo of his apology to Nathanial. "Any of us would be willing to help you that way, if you let us. I'd love to, actually, and the rougher the better." His apology really wasn't helping.

Nathanial growled, "You're making things worse, Nicholas. Just say 'sorry' and leave it alone. Dad's straight and being rough is what he's regretting. He just has to remember that I forgive him, and it's over and done with." He couldn't help but add in, "You're right, though. Dad is really hot, and helping him wouldn't be a trial."

Nicholas and Micah grinned widely; Garret snapped his head over to stare in surprise, "Nathanial!"

"Eyes on the road, Dad." Garret turned his head forward, but kept glancing over at Nathanial in disbelief. "Relax, we won't try to seduce you, but you already know you're good looking. We won't, will we?"

Nicholas and Micah were obviously unhappy as they said, "No, sir, we won't."

"Now, you didn't say where we're going, Dad."

Garret relaxed a bit, "Park Lane Mall, we'll get your uniform altered, if we can. We should probably get another one made for you, too. A little bigger than this one; it looks like you're starting another growth spurt and you'll probably be putting on more muscle mass, too." He glanced at Nicholas in the mirror, "I'll be putting an application in to the school for you this week if you want to go to Nathanial's school next year, Nicholas."

Nicholas perked up, happily, "Sure! That'd be cool." He relaxed and resumed staring out of the window, looking moody, but Nathanial could see his tail wagging slightly despite his efforts to keep it still. Nathanial hid his smile, noticing Garret was smiling slightly, too. Micah watched the tail for a second, entranced, before grabbing it with both paws. Nicholas jumped and yanked his tail from Micah's paws, "Hey!"

Nathanial sighed, "No shouting in the car, please. I don't want to get in an accident. Micah, try not to startle your brother like that, please."

Micah pouted, "Sorry, but it's boring in here."

Nathanial tried to come up with something quickly before Micah became too restless, "Then ask Dad how his day was in French."

"Huh?"

"'Pardon', not 'huh'. In French. You should know enough to be able to ask some simple questions and understand simple answers. I could use the practice, too, and the best way to learn a language is to use it. I should probably make sure you know French, first, Dad."

Garret answered in French, "But of course."

They spent the rest of the drive trying to conduct very basic conversations in French.

Garret drove into the underground parking lot for the mall. It was a slightly higher end mall on the Spring Garden Road, a popular and trendy shopping area in downtown Halifax. The mall was a block away from the Public Gardens, where Micah fought Gordon Ahjee and saw Lara May get killed before she finished Turning. They took the elevator up to the second floor and walked down the hall to 'Daniel's Tailor Shop'. Inside, Nathanial passed the bag containing his school uniform over to the attendant, a young male boar, "Hi, I'm looking to get my school uniform adjusted, please."

The boar quickly looked Nathanial and his family over and sniffed slightly, "Very well. Let me see if the tailor has time for you." The boar glanced in the bag but left it on the counter and slipped into the back room, closing the door behind him. He addressed a middle aged cat, a Persian with a docked tail, who was sewing up a pair of pants. "We have a pack of mangy dogs out front who want you to adjust a school uniform. Should I run them off?"

The light grey cat grimaced, "Ugh. Don't be too hasty, do they look like the have money at least? We could use the work."

Garret poked Nathanial in the side, "Why are you growling?"

The boar answered, "I guess, they were dressed quite well. The uniform looked to be for Dalhousie Collegiate."

Nathanial answered his father, having a little trouble keeping the two conversations separate in his head, "It sounds like these two don't like canids, they called us 'a pack of mangy dogs'. They're trying to decide whether they should run us off." Garret growled, too.

In the other room the cat grimaced, "They have money, and probably connections. Those mutts are really getting too far above their station, but we can't afford the potential fallout. If we treat them well we might even get more business out of this."

Garret grimaced, unknowingly mimicking the cat, "Daniel is supposed to be the best tailor in town, but this is the last time I'll be coming here."

The boar nodded, "You're right, Ben. I'll see if they'll pay more to get squeezed in."

"I better pretend to be busy, I just finished the pants." He was folding them up but stopped and started to examine the stitching. "Go on, Peter."

Before the boar came out, Nathanial muttered to his dad, "Neither of them are Daniel. The tailor is Ben, the boar is Peter. They'll try to charge you more to squeeze us in, but they just finished the last of the work they have for today."

The door opened and the boar stepped out, an unctuous smile on his face, "We're very busy today, but..."

Garret held up a paw as he snorted, "When is Daniel in? He'll want to hear about this. 'Mangy dogs' have better hearing than you think. I also know you don't have any more work today." The smile vanished, replaced by fear. Garret leaned in, growling, "If you did try to run me off I'd have made sure the media and the Fur Rights Commission heard about this. You can't refuse services based on species, nor can you charge us more."

The boar was visibly sweating as the fluffy grey cat slipped into the room. His movements seemed to indicate he was very slender under all that carefully groomed fur. He daintily picked up the bag, "I'm sure you heard incorrectly, sir. We were discussing how slow it was and how we'd be delighted to work for you at a reduced rate just to have something to do. Please, come into the back so I can measure you...?" He glanced at Nathanial and Nicholas, unsure who's uniform it was. Nathanial lifted his paw nervously. He'd never heard such blatant speciesism. Sure he'd heard about it on the news and saw it in movies and stuff, but he'd never had it directed at him. Ben smiled, a similarly ingratiating smile to Peter's, and delicately grabbed Nathanial's elbow, "This way, please. Having another growth spurt, are we? You look like you'll be a very large and strong man when you're fully grown." Nathanial glanced back at his father, a little scared at the sudden turn of events.

Garret was looking at the cat with narrowed eyes, growling softly, but he seemed to make up his mind and passed Nicholas a ten, "Nicholas, Micah, you can go to Sweet Retreat and buy some candy. Be responsible about it. Once you're done meet us in P'lovers, we'll find you there. Don't break anything." Micah's face lit up in excitement, his tail wagged furiously as he grabbed Nick's paw and dragged him out. Even Nick looked a little happy.

Nathanial stopped in his tracks and called out, "Don't eat it all, Mike!" He glared at Garret as his father stepped closer, "I don't let them eat that much candy; that'll be more than they've had in over half a year." Ben was looking a little impatient under his fake smile.

Garret just shrugged, "Then they deserve a treat." The cat gently pulled on his elbow and Nathanial let himself be drawn along.

In the back rooms Ben put the bag down on the table, released Nathanial's elbow, and pulled out the uniform. "Hmm, shirt, vest, coat, and pants. Do you think it will all need to be altered or just the pants?"

Garret sat down in one of the seats, "Measure him and find out. I'm also looking to have another uniform made. He's started working out three weeks ago, I think, and I believe he's growing, too. I want a slightly larger uniform for the inevitable increase in size."

Ben's eyes glittered but he smiled and bowed his head, "Very good, sir. A wise decision if I may say so." He gestured at a change room, "Then please remove your clothing, young sir, and let me know when you're ready."

Nathanial squirmed a little, as he blushed, "D-do you want me to remove all of it?" Garret rolled his eyes, amused. Nathanial could almost see him suppressing a snort of amusement.

Ben grinned a little, his first honest smile, "If you're wearing boxers, yes, anything else, no. Don't be embarrassed, kit, you don't have anything I haven't seen. I do a lot of fittings."

Nathanial blushed even more, he had put his black silk boxers on this morning. He walked into the change room, terribly self conscious as he felt Garret and Ben's eyes on him. Ben's eyes were a little lower than his father's. He stripped down, folding his clothes neatly on the small shelf, taking care not to trip over the small pedestal in the centre of the room. He gulped and pulled his boxers down, adding them to the pile. He took a deep breath and opened the curtain, paws over his genitals, "I-I'm ready."

Ben had a note pad, pen, and measuring tape. His eyes widened in surprise, "You can keep the curtain closed, kit, the rooms are designed to ensure we have enough room for fittings and measurements."

Garret answered before Nathanial could, "That's all right, I'll be there to ensure we receive the proper service."

Ben's eyes narrowed angrily before the unctuous smile returned, "Very good, sir. A wise precaution. I merely didn't want to cause the kit undue discomfort."

"We workout together, we've seen each other in the showers. It isn't my presence he's uncomfortable with." Garret followed Ben into the room, he closed the curtain behind him and stood by the door, out of the way. Ben motioned Nathanial onto the pedestal and as soon as he was in place he quickly began measuring, jotting the numbers down after every five or so. As he moved to the waist and inseam he looked at Nathanial's sheath, his expression seemed a mix of curiosity, disgust, and surprise. Garret's voice was dry, "Perhaps he does have something you haven't seen. You don't do fittings for many canids?"

Ben kept his tone moderate, "Not many, no. Your k... kindred rarely use our services. The few who did were female. There was a female who had markings much like yours, but paler. Lily Marks; a relative, perhaps?"

Nathanial nodded, answering before his growling father did, "Y-yes, my mother."

Ben's paw went to nudge Nathanial's sheath and scrotum out of the way to get a good measure of the inseam, "I see, well you may wish to remind her the dress she was getting made is finished but for the final fitting. It's been here for a few weeks and she has some late charges building up."

Garret cleared his throat, "I... she died on the seventh."

Ben froze, staring forward blankly. Nathanial was feeling very uncomfortable about the turn of events, not so much about the subject but the location of the cat's paw and his gaze. He had just finished the measurement and his paw was still pressed into Nathanial's groin and his eyes were looking at the tape measure resting behind Nathanial's balls. Ben shook himself and removed his paw, "I-I'm sorry, I didn't know. I'll pass the word on to Daniel, but I can't say what he'll want to do with the dress. There are few women of her size and coloration, so I'm not sure... Well, that's for the boss to decide. I can say with certainty that the late charges will be waived, being very extenuating circumstances." Ben finished off the last few measures and wrote them down. He stood up, "There you go, kit. Not so difficult was it?"

Nathanial stepped down and blushed as he shook his head; he rapidly began dressing. "U-um, how soon will you know if you can finish the uniform today? If you can't I'll need it back, even if you can just do the jacket that'll be an improvement."

"Six hours? I can't see a problem finishing them, but let me see how big a change we're talking about." Ben seemed almost amiable, now. It was amazing how a mixture of horror and embarrassment could alter a person's behaviour. Ben picked up the jacket and looked it over, shaking his head, "No, you've already got an extra inch and a half (four centimetres) across the shoulders. I'd need to add extra panels, and if you are growing and working out, that'll very quickly be insufficient. A complete waste of money for an obvious bit of work." He tossed the jacket and shirt back into the bag with disgust, "The vest can be salvaged, minor work on that." Nathanial pulled out the jacket and shirt to fold them. Ben picked up the pants, "Impressive, kit." He tapped Nathanial's shoulders with his fingers, "I'll be taking the waist in two sizes, but the legs can be altered only the once. After this there won't be enough fabric to lengthen them. This is just from the start of the school year?" He shook his head, "Fabulous! I'll need to get information on your diet and exercise routine. I have so many people who'd die to get results like ~that~!" He almost sang the last word.

Nathanial was tempted to say something snarky but held his tongue. He could tell Garret was also struggling to keep quiet and trying to not roll his eyes. Garret did say, "I was going to take my pups to see a movie. Do you need Nathanial any more, or can we just stop by afterwards?"

Ben picked up the de-stitcher and shook his head, "No, you can go. I'll need to do a fitting after making these adjustments before sewing everything up, but that'll be later. Shoo." He waved them off. Nathanial followed Garret out of the room and could see Ben practically go limp in relief as the door closed. Peter was sitting at the counter, back stiff, but smiled thinly at them as they left; he slipped into the back room as they rounded the corner. Ben looked up from the pants at the boar, "We're in luck, Petey, they're Lily's family. She's dead and we won't have to deal with her, again, but..." He shook his head, "I almost feel sorry for them."

Peter sat on one of the stools, "They're mutts, Ben, don't worry about it. I'm so happy we won't have to deal with that bitch, again. Damn, what a pain she was, her family seems to be of the same breeding." He paused, "Did you see him? Do they really have fur all over their dicks?"

Ben nodded, "Yeah. It was gross, but he was almost cute. The way he stood there with his paws over his groin, so timid and shy. The fur was extremely soft, but I can't imagine how disgusting that'd feel inside someone. I'd love to spend hours just rubbing those fuzzy balls, though."

Peter leaned back revolted, "God, Ben, he's a dog! That's disgusting! I can't believe they actually have enough money to send their whelps to a private school, they're practically ferals. He must be a drug dealer, or some other major crook."

Ben shrugged, he was only partially listening as he worked on the pants, "That bitch seemed to be thick with some fundamentalist church. One of the really homophobic super churches around. I doubt they're crime lords, but then again she might be the bitch who was murdered earlier this month while trying to have her kits murdered. I don't know, Petey, I don't want to know. Let me get these done and hopefully we won't have to deal with them again."

Nathanial shook himself as Peter fell silent, pulling his senses back to his body . Garret glanced at him as they walked into P'lovers, "So, what did they say?" Nathanial gave him a quick run down, via telepathy. Garret growled softly, *Don't let it bother you, pup. It's their problem, not yours, but it sounds like Ben is questioning his prejudices, even if it's because he thinks you're cute and have a soft and fuzzy scrotum.* He paused, *What the fuck? You're sixteen and he wants to spend hours rubbing your balls?! I'll kill him!* He growled loudly and turned around to storm out.

Nathanial grabbed his arm, *Let it be, Dad. I won't let him, and I think he was just commenting on the soft fur, not me, as such. My balls are really soft, you'd be surprised if you rubbed them.*

Garret stopped, he obviously had no idea how to answer that. He growled again, briefly, but changed the subject, *What movie? Harry Potter? That's supposed to be a good movie.*

Nathanial shook his head, *No. That's too intense for Micah, I haven't let him see any of the movies. He's old enough that I'd let him watch the first one, now, but that's it. Since he hasn't seen any of the earlier ones, there's no point in seeing the last one. I haven't seen them, either, but I've read all the books. Captain America is showing and it's supposed to be good.* He pulled out his phone and did a quick search, *It's rated appropriate for pups his age, too.*

Garret glanced at him out of the corner of his eyes, "Will you scold me if I get them popcorn and a pop?"

Nathanial felt his back stiffen, "After they ate ten dollars worth of candy? Hells, yes. I won't scold you if you share a popcorn with me, though." They quickly found Micah and Nicholas idly poking through the variety of interesting decorations and locally made art, all of it earth friendly. The pups looked a little bored but had a few bags of candy in their paws. Nathanial was impressed to see they weren't empty bags. "If they promise not to eat any more candy before supper they can have some popcorn, too."

Nicholas' eyes widened a bit, before returning to normal. He poked at a metal fish-shaped... thing painted in bright colours, "What is this supposed to be? Who in their right mind would buy something so ugly, let alone hang it in their house?"

Nathanial was about to defend those who may hang such a thing until he looked at a few more, Gwen's bear looked more life like and tasteful and she was eight. He kept silent, but nudged Garret, prompting his father to ask, "Do you two want to go see Captain America while we wait for Nathanial's uniform? If you don't eat any more candy you can get a popcorn."

Micah stood up from looking at another display, "In the theatre?" His eyes were huge and his mouth hung open in awe and surprise. His curly tail was about to reach lift-off speeds, "And I can have a popcorn, too? You'll sit with us like those dads I see on TV and share the popcorn, and have a pop, and, and you'll put your arm around me when it's scary and everything?"

Nathanial felt tears welling up in his eyes, and saw Garret blink a few times as he pulled Micah to his chest, hugging him tightly. Garret leaned over slightly, resting his cheek on Micah's head, "Yes, Son, I will."

Nathanial saw Nicholas' tail droop slightly and look away. Nathanial sidled over to him and wrapped his arm around Nick's shoulders, "I guess I'll have a popcorn to share, Nick." He clapped his paw on Nick's back and stepped a short distance away, knowing Nick was a bit more 'image' conscious. Nick quickly gave him a shy and happy smile. They trooped down to the basement level and went into the cinema. Nathanial sent them in to pick seats while he went with his dad to get the popcorn and the drinks. He shook his head in disbelief at the prices.

Garret laughed at him, "Calm down, Son. It's a treat, just enjoy it." They went in and sat down with Nick and Micah. Nathanial made Nicholas move over to sit by his dad, making Nicholas smile a little. They settled in to watch the movie, quietly enjoying each others company.

After the movie they went back up to the tailor's. Nicholas and Micah went to the washroom, and got permission to wander around a bit while Nathanial and Garret went in to do the fitting. Peter smiled insincerely, "Welcome back. Ben has started making the second uniform while waiting, I'll see if he's ready for you." He knocked on the door and poked his head in, "The Marks are here."

Ben nodded, he was just about to start cutting out the patterns he'd laid out on the fabric. "I can see them." Nathanial sniffed as he examined the fabric, it was poor quality, even though it looked all right. Ben put his scissors down as they walked in, "Nice to see you again. I have the pants and vest right here, if you'll go strip down again, I'll see how they fit."

Nathanial walked over to the cloth and ran his paw over it, "This is the new uniform?"

Ben nodded, a little confused, "Yes, it will be. Why?"

Nathanial smiled slightly, "You probably had a hard time dealing with my mother, she could be a little... picky and difficult when things weren't exactly to her taste. She did teach me a lot about clothes and how to recognize a good piece of fabric." He glanced around the room and saw a different bolt of black cloth. He walked over to it, "Could you please use this one, instead? It's a much nicer material and will stand up to a bit more abuse. When the uniform is finished it'll fit and look a lot better, too."

Ben's greenish-gold eyes glittered, the unctuous smile returned, "You're the customer, young sir. It is a nice fabric, and already spoken for. It'll delay the delivery of your uniform by a few weeks as we get more of this fabric in, unless you're willing to pay for a rush delivery."

Nathanial shook his head, "Please, I'm not trying to be difficult. The tag on this bolt says it's one of three, you have two more just like it. They can't all be spoken for. I'm sure if you checked you'll find them neatly tucked away." He suppressed a shiver, pushing his point like this was making him uncomfortable. He snorted in his head at the irony of that, if this guy threatened Micah or Nick he'd have no trouble dealing with him in whatever way was necessary, but the pointless hostility he was being shown with no physical threat still made him feel weak and vulnerable.

Garret's eyes narrowed, "We've been through this, Ben. We aren't asking for anything special, just fair and equal treatment. We may be canid and not felid or a member of some other family, but we're still Furs and contributing members of society."

Ben sighed, looking a little defeated, "I'll check for the fabric, I thought that was the only bolt we had, if we have more I'll move the patterns over and start after I finish your pants and vest. Do you have a preferred thread, too?" The last was a little sarcastic.

Nathanial nodded, "Y-yes." He picked up one of two spools of black thread on the table, stretched a length of it between his paws, and looked at it for a second before plucking it with a finger. It frayed a bit and nearly broke. A very cheap thread. "I'm surprised you stock such cheap thread. Not this one." He looked around to spy a rack of threads. He walked over and looked down them until he found the right type, he checked it and it met his satisfaction. He passed it over, smiling timidly, "U-um, here. If you please."

Ben smiled a little in return, "Picky, but you have a good eye. If you know this much about sewing and clothes, why aren't you altering your own clothes and making the new uniform?" Garret stiffened up indignantly.

Nathanial just blushed and looked down at his hindpaws, "Practice. I-I, well, Mom never trusted me to make big alterations on our clothes. She thought they wouldn't look good so I never got the practice to make them look good. She wanted to make sure I could recognize a well made piece of clothing, so she taught me about fabric, threads, proper fits, and such. But, I sh-should, um, get fitted, now, I guess." He walked over to the change room and pulled the curtain shut. He quickly stripped, "Dad, you can go with Micah and Nicholas, if you want. They're probably heading toward the front exit, if you want to catch them."

Garret stood, "If you're all right here."

Nathanial folded his boxers up, "I-I'll be fine. I can call you if I need to." Garret nodded and left. "I'm ready for the fitting."

Ben came in carrying the pieces of fabric, eyes widening as he saw Nathanial standing there naked, "You could've kept your boxers on, kit. I don't need to measure you, again."

Nathanial blushed, "Sorry. I just assumed I'd have to because I did last time. I thought the loose fabric of the boxers would push on the pants too much when you tried to see if they hung right."

Ben nodded, "They probably would." He put the vest on and pinned it together, making a few notes and adjustments before he was satisfied. He was very good when he forgot he was dealing with a dog and just focused on working.

He removed the vest as Nathanial made a snap decision, "Uh, I noticed your face when you saw my sheath." Ben nearly dropped the vest and froze. Nathanial scuffed the pedestal with his hindpaw, "I wanted to correct, um, a common misconception about dogs. We don't have fur on our penises, the sheath retracts and doesn't actually enter our partner." He put his paws on his sheath, Ben's eyes automatically following the movement, "See," He skinned back his sheath, "No fur. It sits behind my knot when I get erect and stays out of the way." He let his sheath slide forward, but a tiny bit of pink still poked out of the thicker tube.

There was no hint of disgust in Ben's expression any more, "I see, I didn't know that. Thank you." He began putting the pants on Nathanial, pinning it in place. Nathanial noticed the cat's paws rested a little longer in some places than others.

Nathanial stayed still, not wanting to get stuck with a pin, "So... you're dating Peter, or something?"

Ben shook his head, his docked tail twitched slightly, "No, just coworkers and friends. Why?"

"J-Just curious. I had come back in to ask a question and overheard you two talking, you both seemed interested in my, um, stuff." Ben was perfectly silent as he worked, obviously wrestling with several thoughts. Nathanial waited a minute before adding, "My dad isn't a crook, he's the VP of sales for PackSolutions." He could almost see Ben cursing in his head, but continued, "And Mom was the woman who was murdered in September, I-I saw it all happen. She wasn't the best person around, but she was still my mom."

Ben put his paws down, they were shaking too much to pin the cloth, "Shit, you heard everything we said, didn't you?"

"I think so. I'm sorry if you don't like being around me, but, um, you could try to forget I'm a dog and treat me like a gay teen. You probably got the same treatment I'm getting in high school over that, we have something in common that way."

"Damn it all, kit! You really want to make it impossible for me not to like you, don't you?" He glared up at Nathanial, who met his glare with a soft smile. He hissed in frustration and tossed the pants aside, "Fuck it, I can't work like this. I need to take a quick break and try to calm down." He moved to the corner of the change room and slumped to the ground, knees up against his chest. He folded his arms on his knees and rested his head on them.

"Dad wanted to beat the crap out of you over that 'spend hours just rubbing those fuzzy balls' comment." Ben's head jerked up, aghast. "I talked him out of it, my boyfriend loves the way they feel, too." Ben sighed and lowered his head, relieved and mortified.

Ben's voice was a little muffled, "You're better off than I was. I was the only 'out' teen in school, I was shunned by the other Jewish kids because of it, and my family was barely tolerated by most of the Jewish community. You think you have it rough, kit? Try being a gay Jew, there's a lot more dogs than Jews in Halifax and we're treated worse for less reason."

Nathanial paused before asking, "Why the tail? Mom said it was a covenant between your god and your people, but I don't understand why he'd make beautiful long tails and ears and then tell you to crop the ears and dock the tail."

Ben shrugged, "Beats me. I can go through the usual reasons, like cleanliness, but they're not religious reasons. You'll have to ask a rabbi." He sighed heavily and resumed work, quickly finishing. Nathanial promised to be back before closing to get his uniform and left to join his family.

Note: The stores mentioned in Park Lane Mall are actual stores in the actual mall. _ Please _ note that the people who work in Daniel's Tailor Shop are probably lovely people, very kind, and professional (I don't actually know them). They are not racist by any means. The shop is known to be one of the finest tailor shops in Metro Halifax. I used the store for its location and to highlight some points made earlier, not to cast dispersions on any business or people.