Coffeeshop Change
Dane blinked. There was a bright eyed bluebird behind the counter instead of the usual dead eyed college girl he could have sympathized heavily with a few years back. She chirped a tune as she wrote a name on the cup of her latest customer.
"Cory!" she called. "Chai Frappuccino with lemon and extra sugar for Cory!"
The bluebird put the cup on the counter and turned to Dane. She leaned forward, her dark eyes twinkling, and smiled as best she could with that beak of hers.
"Hey there," she said. "What can I get you?"
"Um..." Dane blinked again, and then realized he had been staring at her. He shook his head and smiled apologetically. "An espresso as well."
"Coming right up!" The bluebird practically sang, turning away.
"Er, wait," Dane said and the bluebird stopped. "You're not new, are you?"
"Oh no," the bluebird laughed. "I just went through my Change. It's the best thing that;s ever happened to me!"
Dane nodded and smiled, but said no more. The bluebird went back to preparing his coffee. He would have kept on watching her had someone not bumped into him.
"Excuse me."
He turned and found himself face to face with another young man slightly taller than him. Dane smiled, grabbed the cup on the counter, and thrust it towards him.
"I believe this is yours, Cory," Dane said.
"Thanks for holding onto that for me, pal, had to hit the head." Cory said, taking the cup. He nodded towards a table in the back corner of the coffee shop. "Meet you there?"
Dane nodded and his friend left. He glanced back towards the bluebird just in time to hear her squawk and swear as the espresso sputtered. A few seconds, he heard her squawk again as the machine emitted an unpleasant series of sharp beeps.
"Damn it!" the bluebird exclaimed. "CausDek crap..."
She turned towards and now it was her turn to smile apologetically.
"I'm sorry, sir, give me another minute and--"
"Don't worry about it," Dane said, reaching down and plucking some fruity bottled drink from the convenience tray. "It's kind of late for coffee anyhow."
"Are you sure?" she said.
"Yeah," Dane said. "I could use a change."
The bluebird rang him up and he paid without another word between the two. Afterwards, he took his drink and receipt and headed towards the table where Cory was seated, waiting.
"No coffee, huh?" Cory said as Dane took the seat across from him.
"It's never been about coffee," Dane replied. He raised an eyebrow and nodded towards Cory's drink. "Chai Frappuccino though?"
"What?" Cory said, taking a sip. "It's just something...I don't know, something I've been craving." He waved his hand. "Hey, but we're not here to talk about coffee, right? We're here to talk about, uh...what exactly?"
Dane shrugged and sat back in his chair. He turned his eyes and his eyes wandered around the shop. There were few people around, no more than a dozen or so and most of the people were Changed. Dane remembered when he had first started coming here a few years back when that hadn't been the case, when it had been rare to see a Changed on the street. Now there were so many and yet-
"Seriously?" Cory said. "You thinking it about it again?"
Dane looked back to Cory and shrugged again. He began to unscrew the cap on his bottle with little success..
"Why wouldn't I? This is the biggest thing that's ever happened to us."
"Nah, man," Cory said with a sip of his drink. "That was more than fifty years ago. This is just it catching up to us all."
Dane grimaced and twisted and turned the cap. It still wasn't coming loose.
"I know that, but why? Why is this happening to us?"
Cory groaned and rolled his eyes. "Really? Are we really talking about this again?" He put down his cup. "You really have been thinking about it, haven't you?"
Dane scowled. "Of course I have. It's--"
"All you think about," Cory said.
"No--"
"Hey, it's ok." Cory raised both his hands up. "I don't blame you. It's your stuff and..." He sighed and then smiled. "Fine, let's hear it. What's your latest and greatest theory?"
"Theories."
"Theories, whatever. Let's hear 'em. Tell me something the papers haven't." He winced. "Actually, give me a moment. Got to piss again. Something with my bladder..."
Cory mumbled something else so low that Dane couldn't hear it. As his friend wandered off to the restroom, he clenched his teeth and tried to twist the cap again and was once more met with failure. He growled and pushed the bottle away. With nothing else to distract him, his attention again went to the shop and its human and non-human inhabitants. He couldn't help but stare at the bluebird and it took her staring back for him to retreat back into himself. He dug his phone out of his pocket, pulled up the news, and searched under the Changed tag. He quickly scrolled down what was offered, skipping the latest headlines about what celebrity had Changed into what, what the new species of the week was (Dragote? Some sort of dragon goat?), glossing over the usual tripe about someone claiming to have Changed not once but twice, until he found a rather interesting article about a SWAT squad enduring a Change into rabbits just as their hostage taking adversaries underwent the same Change. The only ones not to have Changed were the hostages themselves.
"Whatcha looking at?" Cory asked.
"This," Dane said, holding up his phone. "Look at this. How can this be coincidental?"
"What, some cops and robbers turning into busty bunny bimbos? So? It's all random."
"It just happened to happen that they all became the same thing?"
"Not all the same," Cory said, peering closer at the phone's screen. "I mean, one of them got really big boobs. Like, big."
Dane rolled his eyes and pulled his phone away.
"Is that all you think about?" he asked.
"Don't you? I mean, that'd be a hell of a change. Those things must be heavy!" He rubbed his fingers together. "I wonder if I could even hold them."
Dane stared pointedly at Cory. The other man huffed and went back to sipping his drink, a small smile on his face.
"I'm just saying, that's too specific to be random."
Cory snorted. "So what, you're saying something or someone or some things are specifically choosing how we Change?"
"Exactly," Dane said. "Well, that's theory one. This is all planned. We're all becoming something for a reason."
"I could see why you like that theory."
Dane frowned.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Oh, nothing." Cory waved his hand. "Listen pal, random is random. There's nothing dictating what we become or why. I mean, you might get lucky nowadays and find the cause behind it all, but this ain't the 80s no more. Ain't no hyena witch that's going to turn you into a newt. No, it's just going to happen one day and you won't know why. You'll just be parking your car or eating lunch or sitting in the office and then-" He snapped. "Just like that you'll be something else. It's all eventual."
"You really think so?"
"Think so?" Cory guffawed, leaning forward. "I know so! Haven't you seen the projections? No, I know you've seen it and the chart that says by a certain year there won't be humans anymore and instead we'll all be animal people or..." He shivered. "Close enough. Did you see that squeaky snake thing? It was like, living latex! All squeaky and shiny!" He sighed and stared into the distance. "She did have some nice hips for a snake..."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Oh, you wouldn't. It's on one of those sites. Kinda lewd."
He winked and laughed as a flush rose to Dane's cheeks. Dane sighed.
"I don't know what you're talking about with that snake...thing but you did mention something about charts and projections, hmm? And some set date. I don't know about you, but that sounds like a plan."
"Fine, you got me. Maybe it's all planned. Maybe some being or god or something out there is choosing what each of us becomes. Still doesn't matter! Not like we're going to talk with it or something. You're just going to be hanging out one day and then--" He snapped. "Boom! You'll be a short little ratman."
Dane folded his arms across his chest. "Thanks."
"Fine. You'll be a short little ratwoman. Or a...cat man who can't help but lick himself?" Cory laughed, then took a sip of his drink only to suck up air. He frowned and slammed the cup down. "Damn, that went down fast." He stood. "I'm gonna get more." He looked down at Dane's yet unopened drink. "You want me to get you something? I'm sure the machine is working now."
Dane shook his head.
"'K." Cory scratched his chin. "Hey, you think they have something with pickles in it?"
"Pickles?"
"Yeah, they just sound really good right now. Like really good..." Cory's gaze went distant. He shrugged and glanced back to Cory. "Whatever, I'll see."
Cory walked away and Dane went back to his phone. He scrolled through a few more articles before settling on one just as his friend returned.
"Hey," he said, looking up and holding out his phone. "Did you see they're making Fractured Friction into a movie?"
"Duh," Cory said, settling into his chair with a rather creamy looking drink in his hand. "I've already seen the casting. It's going to suck. The Kovac they got has too small boobs."
"Uh huh. Anyways, that looks healthy," Dane said, motioning to Cory's drink.
"What, you worried about my weight?" Cory said. "I'll lose it all by the time I see you next month. Besides, I'm drinking for two."
"What?"
"Yeah. You haven't had a thing."
"I'm not hungry." Dane paused. "Or thirsty."
"Well, I am." Cory took a couple packaged cookies out of his hoodie and spread them
out on the table. "So hungry...come on, have one."
"Not hungry."
"Huh," Cory grunted. "You really aren't? What's up, man? Something wrong? Still moody about your theories? Alright, alright, I'll hear another. What is it?"
"We're not real," Dane said. "Nothing is."
"What?" Cory burst out laughing. "Really, that's what you think? What is this, the Matrix? We're all a simulation?"
"Yeah. If nothing is really real, then we can be whatever. There's nothing that can what's happening to us. We're just code in a machine."
"Whatever, man. Now that's nonsense. Come on, I thought you had something interesting to say. You're just rehashing theories at this point. I thought you got something new."
"No," Dane said, looking down at the table. "It's same old, same old."
Cory frowned and ceased eating and drinking. He leaned forward and poked at Dane's shoulder.
"Come on, man, what's going on? You've always been sort of depressing but never this down. Talk to me, pal. That's why we meet."
"Is it? I thought you just liked to talk about boobs."
"Oh come on, don't deflect and don't you dare make me mother you!"
Dane smiled despite himself and looked up to his friend. Cory smiled back.
"You'd be a terrible mother," Dane said.
"On the contrary, I think I'd be a wonderful mother." Cory sat back in his chair. "Now come on, man, talk. Tell me what ails you."
Dane gulped and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and then opened them, unable to meet Cory's gaze.
"It's just that--" he began.
"Wait." Cory said. "It's happening."
"What is?"
"The Change."
Dane's eyes widened and he felt his heart pound. Could it be? He looked down at his hands but they were the same and he felt pretty normal, no itchiness or pain or sudden twinges. He took another deep breath as he felt the back of his neck. He frowned and returned his gaze to Cory and it was then that his eyes widened again.
"These are new," Cory said, holding up his hands which weren't really his hands anymore, for they were covered with white fur and had dark black pads upon their palms and fingers. Cory's hands shook as his fingers shrank slightly and white claws pushed out of the tips of his digits. The man turned his hands over and smiled as he watched the fur spread from his wrists and up his arms.
"Ah, man!" he exclaimed. "This is awesome!"
Cory might have said more, but then his face contorted in pain. He gasped and panted, placing his new paws upon his cheeks as white fur spread over his neck, his Adam's apple dwindling away. Then the man let out what sounded like a bark followed by a whine as his face pushed out, mouth and nose joining together into a canine snout. His ears shifted up, lengthening out into triangular shapes as black fur covered it and the top of his head. Afterwards, he opened his new muzzle and a tongue lolled out, pink and panting, while the teeth above and below it lengthened into sharper canines. Staring down cross eyed at his new muzzle, Cory would have kept on staring had his eyes not been forced shut. He whined again, eyelids twitching and fluttering and growing a nice sets of lashes before they opened up, his once blue eyes now a warm brown. Blinking several times a second, he reached up and touched his big black wet nose and ended up sneezing.
"B-bless you," Dane stuttered, unsure what else to say.
"Thanks, man," Cory said in a tone high pitched and perky, then shut his snout with the help of his paws. His eyes widened and he slowly removed his paws. "Oh man, is that me? I sound like a girl!" His eyes somehow widened even further. "Oh no."
Cory sprang up, knocking his chair to the floor. Dane stood up too and saw that this latest bit of noise had definitely drawn everyone's attention to the Changing man.
"Ahhh..." Cory groaned, scratching at his hoodie with his paws. "Hot, so hot, I'm too hot!"
"I wouldn't..." Dane said, but it was too late. The husky-headed man tore off his hoodie and rubbed at his fur covered arms. His legs shook and there was an audible pop as his hips widened considerably. He staggered and caught himself on the table, leaning forward onto its surface as his waist thinned and something pressed out at the lowest reaches of his shirt, just above his rear.
"I can feel it," Cory panted. "It's...it's..."
The husky whined as he reached back and pulled up his shirt, sighing in relief as a fluffy protrusion wagged free, waving this way and that as it stretched out. Dane cheeks went flush as his friend wiggled his rear while it filled out, becoming plumper and plumper so that it pressed up enticingly against his jeans.
"What's...what's going on?" Cory asked, staring up at Dane. "I wanna see, but...but my feet, my feet...gotta stand--"
"N-no--" Dane started but the husky stood anyways, his too loose jeans beginning to fall off his widened hips. Cory panted and groaned, letting out a yelp each time his bones popped and scraped with alteration. He brought up one foot and tossed away its shoe, revealing the padded paw foot within. He placed the foot down and wobbled a little from the uncertainty of standing on his toes, before bringing up the other foot and removing its shoe too. Freed of footwear, the still changing man caught his jeans just before they actually slipped off.
"Phew," he said. "That would have been--" He froze and his ears pressed forward. "Oh god. Oh no."
With one paw holding up his jeans, the other went to his crotch. Dane meant to ask what was happening, but it soon became obvious enough as the bulge in his friend's constrained jeans began to dwindle.
"No, no, no..." Cory whined, his voice rising even higher in pitch.
Shaking, Dane had to force himself to look away. He found that while some of the coffee shop's clientele still stared at the changing man, most had went back to their own devices. The bluebird was actually smiling at the sight. Dane looked back to Cory and felt something rise up in him that he had to quickly stuff down.
"No, no, no..." Cory said again, the bulge now obviously absent. He glanced over his shoulder, then put his paw down his pants. "Where is it? Where's my dick?"
"Gone, sweetie," the bluebird sang from across the shop. "Gone for good."
"Now that's not cool..." Cory said. He pulled his paw out and froze, though he kept panting at a mile a minute. "My chest, it's..."
Where something had shrank below before, now two things were growing above. Cory brought his paw up and rubbed at his chest. He let out an involuntary moan and pulled away, panting and bending over slightly while spherical shapes formed on his chest, swelling larger and larger with each pant the husky took, his enlarged nipples clearly poking out through his shirt. It was a good half a minute before they stopped swelling at a size Dane would know Cory would appreciate and so he did.
"Oh, tits!" he said, standing up and straightening out his back. He poked one of his breasts with a paw and giggled as it jiggled. "I've got tits and man, they're big. Oof," he grunted. "They are heavy." He rubbed at his back. "This might get being used to and I'm..." He blinked. "I'm a girl." She blinked again. "Hey Dane, I'm a girl!"
Dane nodded as he looked over his friend. Cory was indeed a girl, a young husky woman with quite the figure and a nice set of assets both above and below. She was even the same height as before, her legs longer and thinner though her torso was shorter. Dane felt that same feeling rise and it was much harder to suppress it this time.
"Hey," Cory said, putting both her hands on her widened hips. "That Change wasn't so bad, kind of nice actually. Man, what an experience!" She paused and her ears lowered, if only momentarily. "...losing little Cory was kind of uncomfortable but I'm kind of sexy now! I can't believe this, the sights, the smells, this is amazing! I thought I would be unhappier but if this is what I'm going to be..." She shrugged and turned to Dane, her tail wagging happily behind her and her ears in their neutral position. "Sorry about that, kind of interrupted our coffee outing. I should probably head to a Change Center soon so--" She paused and frowned, one of her paws going to her stomach. "What was that?"
"What was what?" Dane asked.
"That sound, that feeling, that urghhh..." Cory moaned and this time Dane heard it: a gurgling, liquid stretching sound only a little louder than Cory's groans as her hips pulled further apart. Slowly Cory's stomach started to swell, pushing away her hand.
"Wha..." Cory whimpered, her eyes closed and her ears laid back. "What's happening?"
"Uh," Dane said. "You may have been eating for two."
"What?" Cory shrieked, opening her eyes. She stared down at her abdomen, her eyes wide and mouth panting almost in time with the swelling of her stomach. She shivered as her stomach sounded with glorps and glugs, her shirt pulled up and showing the white furred expanse of her stomach.
"Uh, yeah."
"Yeah?" Cory said. "Yeah? Not only am I a husky bitch, I'm going to be a...going to be a..." She rubbed at her swollen and swelling stomach. "I'm going to be a mother! Man, what a pleasant surprise!"
"You're...happy about that?"
"Of course! Who wouldn't want to foster new life, man?" Cory shrugged, then giggled as her breasts bounced. "Oh, that's going to take getting used to and look! They're getting bigger!"
The husky shivered and smiled as her breasts ballooned out another size, her erect nipples now impossible not to notice poking through her shirt. With one last gurgling glorp, Cory's stomach stopped swelling at a size that promised it would not be long before labor. Cory looked down at her stomach and smiled, rubbing at it tenderly.
"I think..." the husky breathed. "I think it's over. No, wait--" She gritted her teeth and then laughed. "Oh man, it's just my breasts. See, they're leaking!"
Cory motioned towards the darkened spots on her shirt. She laughed again at Dane's sheepish expression.
"Oh come on, man, it's just me," she said. "Though I'd better get to a Change Center pronto. I would say Mom and Dad would be freaked but when it's Dad and Mom now..." she shrugged and looked over her shoulder to the bluebird. "Sorry about that! Didn't mean to cause a scene."
"No problem!" the bluebird called back. "My Change was much more embarrassing."
Cory grinned and turned her head. Catching sight of the fallen chair, she grunted as she lowered herself and lifted the chair, panting audibly as she brought it back up on its feet.
"Oh man," she said. "I'm heavy but...but it's all worth it! I was never looking forward to this but that was awesome! It hurt a little, yeah, but you know what, Dane?"
"What?" Dane said.
"You were right! I think this must have been planned. I mean, I was having to go to the bathroom all the time, I wanted pickles, I said that one thing...either that or the universe has a sense of humor." She scratched at her neck and her ears laid back. "Or maybe it's just some really fucked up mind."
"Yeah." Dane said quietly.
"Yeah?" Cory tilted her head. "Are you alright, man?" She smirked and patted her swollen stomach. "You can tell me whatever, I'm qualified to mother now."
Dane was silent.
"Come on man, what's the big deal?"
"Are you alright?" Dane asked.
Cory tilted her head. "Of course, man. I may have fur now and a baby on board, but it's still me, Cory! I even kept the sexy figure! What am I supposed to do, get upset? I knew a Change was coming, I was ready for anything. Well..." She rubbed at her stomach. "Maybe not that, but it's a bonus. I'm fine, man, don't worry about me!" She paused. "Thank you though, I appreciate your concern!"
"Right." Dane nodded. "I'm happy to hear that."
"You don't sound it. Come on, man, lighten up! I'm fine, really! No need to worry! I'm just gonna go to the Change Center--hey, you want to tag along? I promise you'll be the first to see my new ID...and ultrasound!"
Dane shook his head. "No. No, that's fine. I'll stay here."
"Uh, ok, up to you, man! See you next month, then? I promise I'll send pics!" She looked over herself. "This is great, man, I'm glad you were here for it. For me."
"Sure."
"See ya!"
With that, Cory gathered up her stuff and waddled out, grunting and sometimes giggling at the bounce of her breasts or the milk they dripped. It was only a few moments before Dane was alone in his corner, the coffee shop mostly silent save for minor murmurings and an occasional note or two from the bluebird. He tried to open the bottle again, and again he could not succeed. He was going to ask someone for help until he noticed that all the rest in the shop were Changed. Sighing, he pushed the bottle away, uncaring as it rolled off onto the floor. He sat back and folded his arms and waited.
And waited...
And waited...
And waited...
And waited until it was time for the shop to close. He sighed a deep sigh and left the same as he had entered.
Maybe next month.