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Luster & Celyn in

The Heladian Sun: Conflicted Attractions

© 2024 Bruno Hirschkoff, for Luster Unicorn

*

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Chapter 2

Day 2 - Morning

*

Dinner, and then the evening's entertainment on the first night at the Heladian Aquatics Outreach program, at the Imperial Athonian College in Vinegress, had been a very relaxed and easygoing affair. Dozens of program attendees and staff mingled and made friends, but Luster the unicorn could not shake his anxious mind away from how close he'd come to being caught in a very compromising situation by Celyn, his roommate at the Outreach camp. The black-tailed stag said nothing about it. Not a word. But Luster knew that Celyn knew, and Celyn clearly knew Luster knew he knew. It was a churning maelstrom of thoughts that buzzed around inside the unicorn's head like wasps in a jar. Celyn was just so nonchalant about the whole thing. That seemed almost to be a prevailing theme at the Outreach program; nudity, casual displays of sexuality and curiosity seemed to pervade the whole event. All day on that first day, Luster had found himself surrounded by often very open displays of body-confidence, and it was completely outside of the shy Equid's experience.

He and Celyn had eaten, and then tagged along to a theatre room with Zain the wolf, Vossler the otter, and a cochort of others who Luster had not met. The cosiness and comfort of the theatre room, dimly lit and filled with couches, armchairs and beanbags, had lulled the unicorn into a very appealing sense of safety.

But now, later on, the unicorn lay awake in his narrow bunk, staring at the ceiling in the darkened room he shared with Celyn. Sleep seemed out of reach. On the opposite wall, Celyn's breathing was deep and steady. The stag was clearly asleep. The idea of finishing what he'd started occurred to Luster. The unicorn had been right on the brink of spilling his seed, not once but twice, and being forced to abort his attempt had caused a dull ache in his lower abdomen that bugged him.

No, he reminded himself. That's what I said last time, too, and look how that turned out. I'll only end up making a noise. I'll wake Celyn up. What will I clean up with? What if he's not really asleep?

The unicorn dragged his hands over his face and sighed deeply. He needed a few minutes of solitude, that's all it would take. Laying in bed four feet away from Celyn was not the right moment.

At some stage, Luster must have drifted into restless sleep, because the next thing he was aware of was a shaft of sunlight lancing through the curtains on the tiny dorm room window, directly onto his face.

The unicorn groaned softly and rolled away from the offending light.

The familiar weight of a morning erection was even more noticeable than it usually was, crusted to his belly and boxers with precum as it was. The dull ache in the unicorn's balls radiated up into his shaft, and the most subtle flex caused his tip to flare, straining against its cotton confines and oozing fresh liquid. He had to make it go down before Celyn woke up.

When Celyn stirred some minutes later, the black-tailed stag rolled onto his back and turned his head towards Luster, blinking sleepily.

“Mmph… you're awake early," the stag mumbled. “It's barely seven…"

Luster was propped up against the wall on his bed, blankets gathered around his midsection, reading a Doregallian Geographic magazine he'd brought with him.

“Yeah, I… the sunlight woke me."

“Mm. Oh, yeah. Did you sleep alright?"

Luster shrugged. “I guess."

“Do you wanna swap bunks or anything? I can sleep through an earthquake, a little morning sun isn't going to bother me," Celyn said, knuckling his eyes and sitting up.

The stag's sheets fell down to his hips. Neither of them were wearing tops; it was hot in Heladia, and even more so in the west-facing dorm they shared. Celyn's body caught Luster's attention. He was slender and toned, and his pelt markings seemed to invite a viewer's eye, guiding it over the soft rises and valleys of muscle beneath velvety fur. Luster forced himself to look away out of respect for his roommate. Celyn, it seemed, had no compunctions about being observed.

Luster's ear dished towards his roommate when Celyn kicked off his sheets and rolled his hooves out of bed onto the narrow piece of floor between them. The stag's only garment was his boxers. Luster's heart leapt in his chest when Celyn stood up and stretched, with not a care in the world. The morning sunlight danced along the sensual, masculine curves of his thighs and back. There was something about Celyn that struck chords in Luster's mind that he'd never heard before.

“Mm. What's wrong?" Celyn mumbled self-indulgently.

“You… your… n-nothing, nothing. It's fine."

Luster stared doggedly at the pages of his Doregallian Geographic, desperately willing his hormones to stay under control. Celyn scratched himself and shrugged, and then moved about their tiny shared room, collecting his shorts and shrugging into a button-up shirt, which he didn't button up. He shouldered the tote bag containing his swimsuit, flippers and towel and turned back to glance at Luster.

“Are you coming?"

“Wh-where?"

“Breakfast!"

“Oh! Um… yeah, I…"

Gods, just act normal. Don't make it weird!

“Well come on then! Unless you need a moment…?"

Luster snorted and set aside his magazine. In a rush of forced confidence, the unicorn stood—albeit with his back to Celyn—and pulled on his pants and shirt.

*

“Zain, you really have to calm down a little," Vossler said. “You're going to pull a muscle in your neck with how hard your head swivels to stare at everyone."

The wolf grunted and focused on Vossler. “Do you think so?"

“Yes. The way you stare makes people uncomfortable. Not all of us are used to people being as forward as you are."

“But I mean no harm. I am only excited."

“As we've all seen," Vossler said. “Look, I was talking to Celyn yesterday…"

“The stag? The unicorn's friend?"

“Yes. Listen, he said that Luster is really, really shy. He comes from a place where people don't hang around naked…"

“Neither do I!" Zain interjected.

“But not everyone is like you, Zain. Luster is… well, he's the only stallion here, and that alone makes him nervous, Celyn told me. Not everyone is an exhibitionist like you!"

“Exhibition?"

“Not everyone enjoys showing off and being stared at."

Comprehension seemed to dawn on the wolf, and he nodded over his breakfast.

“Do I make you feel not comfortable?" Zain asked.

Vossler paused. Zain's eyes dropped and he sighed deeply.

“I am sorry, Vossler. I have never been anywhere like this before," the wolf said, with none of his usual cockiness. “I think it is just excitement. Where I come from I am very… uh… excited, yes. But I shall try to contain my feelings, especially near to Luster."

“I'm glad to hear it. What are you going to do today?"

Zain grinned. “After masturbating again with you this morning, I believe I am calm and will not make the unicorn feel not comfortable. Perhaps we should see if Luster and Celyn want to join us?"

“I don't think either of them are interested in the competitive events, though?" Vossler said, squirming slightly at Zain's casual reference to their sleepy, early morning session.

“Then perhaps we should join them!"

*

Luster didn't have time or privacy enough to put on his farcically tiny swimsuit in the dorm room before going to breakfast and then proceeding to the pool complex, and its changing facilities. At least, not without making Celyn wait for him and being even more awkward than he was anyway. The logical part of the unicorn's mind told him to just return to the dorm room to change, but the anxious part convinced him that would make him a coward in Celyn's eyes. After all, he reasoned, Celyn had not put on his own swimsuit before breakfast, which meant the stag was intending to go past the changing room on his way to the pool. The stag chatted amicably while they ate, but somehow the fact that he was so at-ease only made Luster feel even more like an imposter, the weight of his indiscretions, and his filthy thoughts plaguing him.

It was some time before Luster realised Celyn had finished eating and was waiting for him. He stammered an apology, tripping over his words in a rush of embarrassment.

Celyn just chuckled, and rested his chin on his hand, elbow on the breakfast table. “Don't sweat it, Luster. I'm enjoying talking to you, and I'm in no hurry to rush out to the pool. We're here for a whole week. Besides, it's not good to get in the water too quickly after eating."

“Oh. Why?"

“Why what?" Celyn said, a flicker of a frown crossing his delicate features.

“I mean uhm…" why do you keep telling me you enjoy my company? “Why uh… why is it bad to swim after eating?"

“Oh. Something about having a full stomach can give you the hiccoughs and interrupt your breathing, I think."

“Ah."

The conversation paused for a moment, and Celyn seemed to be formulating a question. Luster ate slowly and mechanically.

“So uh… I don't want to make you uncomfortable but… do you have… you know, a girlfriend?" Celyn asked, slowly.

Luster shook his head and shrank downward slightly.

“Or a boyfriend?"

Did Celyn know he was bisexual? Luster supposed it must be obvious, especially if Celyn was, as well. Then again Luster himself wasn't entirely sure what his own sexuality was, anyway. He figured he must be bisexual, at least, because he so routinely watched videos that featured males.

“No, I've never…" Luster mumbled, gesticulating with his hands awkwardly.

“Ahh. Same here. No boyfriend," Celyn confirmed.

Luster's ears must have pricked at the stag's oblique reference to his sexuality, because Celyn's muzzle split into a broad grin and he reached across to pat Luster's arm companionably.

“It's alright not to know, Luster," Celyn said. “You're a handsome guy, that's probably partly why people here are so uh… interested in you. Plus you know, the whole… being a unicorn thing."

“Ugh, I'm nothing special."

“If you say so," Celyn shrugged.

The stag's hand rested on the table between them, a few inches from Luster's arm. Luster caught himself imagining how it would feel if Celyn were to touch him more than just a sympathetic pat. A slower, more deliberate touch. Fingertips on his arm, caressing his dappled pelt and entwining with his own digits. A flush of warmth bloomed in the unicorn's chest and he felt his muzzle burning. Was he attracted to Celyn? In that way? Luster didn't know, and he suppressed any thoughts down those lines by withdrawing his arm and staring into his breakfast dishes until he was finished eating. Then the two of them stood, shouldered their bags, and made their way towards the pool complex.

*

“Luster! Celyn! There you are!" called Zain, flashing the stag and the unicorn a characteristically wolfish grin as they entered the changeroom.

The wolf was naked. That was predictable enough, Luster supposed. How could he be such an exhibitionist?

Every head within twenty feet turned toward Luster and Celyn, and Luster fought back the urge to turn around and walk out. He already felt like every pair of eyes lingered on him as he walked by, and Zain calling even more attention to him was not helping!

“Hey, Zain!" Celyn called back, tenuously returning the wolf's slightly-too-friendly arm around the shoulders when it came.

Zain looked as if he was about to hug Luster as well, but the look the unicorn gave him stopped him in his tracks. He scratched at the nape of his neck awkwardly for a split second, then the grin returned.

“Do not worry so much, Luster! You will get used to it. Even enjoy it, I am certain, if you only embrace it!"

“Get used to what?" Luster said.

Zain gestured to his own nudity, and that of a dozen or so other Outreach attendees around the changeroom.

“There is nothing you must be shy about, especially an Equid like yourself!"

Easy for you to say, no one stares at you unless you want them to! They all watch me and if I don't measure up to what they want to see, they'll gossip and laugh behind my back…

Outwardly, Luster just snorted and walked stiff-legged towards the stalls at the back of the change room. He was going to wait for one, today, and save himself the indignity of being perved on by Zain and a dozen others, who he was convinced were all expecting to see some kind of Equid porn star, and not… him. Zain looked crestfallen.

“Nice work," Vossler said to the wolf, sarcastically.

The queue to the stalls was a little shorter than it had been the previous day, but there was still a wait. A glance back showed Celyn had already stripped naked with Zain, Vossler and Braxton, and the four of them were chatting amicably. Luster felt a surge of awkward jealousy. Zain had been right, on a level—he wanted nothing more than to fit in with this relaxed, comfortable group of new friends, but his anxiety was like a filter on everything that went through his mind, forcing him to curate his every thought and word. Eyes downcast, Luster waited for his turn in one of the stalls.

“Hey."

Luster flicked an ear.

“Hey. Luster."

The unicorn looked up. It was Braxton.

“Um. I saw you were… struggling… yesterday with that little swimsuit, and you're obviously not comfortable with something so revealing. Uh… you know, since you're an Equid and all… here. I'll swap you. You need them more than I do. I don't care if people stare at me, so much."

Luster turned slowly back towards the bull, who was holding out his trunks. They were at least a little more modest than the tiny suit Luster had ended up with. His ears flicked back and forth, as if assessing Braxton's intentions. The bull waited patiently, and offered a small smile.

Ugh, what am I doing? Just accept it, he's being friendly!

“Really? I… th-thanks… I appreciate it," Luster mumbled.

He rummaged around in his tote bag and produced the tiny scrap of white fabric he'd been about to attempt to stuff himself into. Braxton took it, and unfolded it.

“Gods, it's tiny! How'd you even fit into it? What happens if you got hard in 'em?"

Luster squirmed.

“Th-thanks," he mumbled again, as a stall finally became available.

“Hey, no probl…"

The unicorn darted in and locked the door even before Braxton had finished his sentence.

Privacy. Even just for a moment, it was at a severe premium at the Aquatics Outreach Program. Luster sat on the closed lid of the lavatory and took a few slow, deep breaths to calm his hammering heart. His head swum with tiredness after his poor night's sleep, and he seriously contemplated heading back to the dormitory for some more sleep instead of heading out into the pool.

Maybe later. People will notice if I'm not there now. Celyn will assume I'm jerking off. He'll probably come to check. I'll certainly make it weird again.

The trunk-cut swimsuit from Braxton was like a blessing for Luster. It was still tight and didn't leave as much to the imagination as Luster would have liked. But it was a lot better than wearing something he was at constant risk of falling out of. He stepped out of the stall with more confidence than he'd yet felt at the Outreach Program, and cast his eye around the changeroom to seek out Braxton, intending to thank him properly.

The bull, however, was nowhere to be seen. Nor were Zain or Vossler, but Celyn was there. He appeared to have been waiting for Luster. The stag leaned nonchalantly on his locker, wearing his own tiny pouch-cut swimsuit. Luster's mind flashed back to the video. The video he'd watched dozens of times, of a stag very similarly built to Celyn, masturbating in a swimsuit in a public locker room.

His heart fluttered, and blood surged into the unicorn's groin. His sheath filled out, and flesh spilled forth from it into his new trunk-cut suit with a flag of his tail. It was the quickest erection Luster could remember getting, and Celyn saw it before Luster could turn away or cover it. Hurriedly, he hunched over and held his tote bag over his groin.

“I uh… wow, are you really that excited to see me?" Celyn said softly.

“N-no, I… shit, shit shit…I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

Celyn patted Luster's shoulder and chuckled. “Hey, don't worry, I'm not going to make fun of you. It happens. Uh. Do you mind if I wait with you while… uh…"

Celyn sat on one of the benches near the lockers and hurriedly, Luster did so too. It was more comfortable and made covering his erection easier. The unicorn couldn't help but notice that Celyn's hands were clasped in his lap, and the stag was squirming slightly. Luster let his eyes linger on Celyn's body subtly, enjoying the softness of his fur, the subtle rise and fall of his chest and the gentleness of his eyes.

“Braxton seems to be enjoying your suit," Celyn noted quietly, after a moment's silence between them.

His head was turned away from Luster, and the unicorn followed his glance. Outside, on the edge of the pool, Braxton was standing with his hands on his hips, crotch thrust forward, while several other attendees howled in laughter. The suit was tiny, even more so on the solidly-built Braxton than it had been on Luster.

“At least he's not shy," Luster murmured.

“Mm. Shyness isn't always a bad thing, you know. It helps you work out who your friends are, and who just wants to be horny over you."

Luster processed that slowly. He realised in that moment that he felt comfortable sitting beside Celyn. There was no overtly sexual tension between them. No pressure to behave a certain way, or to prove anything. He turned to face the stag, and Celyn met his gaze with a soft smile.

“Do you want to go get in the pool, or stay out here?"

Luster flattened his ears. “Uh. Sure, give me a minute."

Celyn nodded and stood up. He lingered a moment. The unicorn gazed over the stag's slender, pretty body. Somewhere deep inside his anxious mind, Luster allowed himself to indulge the thought that perhaps, maybe, Celyn wasn't just tolerating him. That maybe there was something else there. Friendship. Maybe even…

…no, he's just being nice because you're so awkward. It's sympathy, nothing more.

Luster released a breath he hadn't fully realised he'd been holding. The stag was walking slowly out towards the pool, and after shooting one last lingering glance over his shoulder at Luster, disappeared from view.

*

“Is your room-friend not coming to join us?" Zain asked Celyn, when the stag slid into the water nearby.

“He'll be out in a minute, he's just uh… gathering his thoughts."

“He is very shy, no?"

“I think he's just not used to being in a place like this where people are so… open. Be gentle with him, would you?"

Zain grinned. “You like him?"

“I… I guess," Celyn shrugged, suddenly defensive. “Not like that, but… yeah, I suppose. We only just met yesterday."

“Zain, you need to cool down," Vossler chuckled. “You're going to scare the unicorn away. Not everyone's as horny as you, or as comfortable with it, remember?"

The wolf snorted. “I apologise. I cannot help it! I am not horny, not right now! Where I am from, there are no Equids at all. I am only… interested."

“You want to see what he's packing, you mean?" Braxton interjected.

“Packing?"

“In his swimsuit."

“Oh! Of course, do you not wish to see such a thing?" Zain laughed.

“I have my eye on other things, Zain!" Braxton said with a roll of his eyes.

“Like that dainty little rabbit girl? You'd split her in half, Brax!" Celyn laughed.

Celyn glanced towards the entrance of the change rooms. There was still no sign of Luster. The stag felt a pang of sympathy for him. It was obvious how much the unicorn was struggling to control his anxiety, and that he was used to a measure of privacy. Celyn hoped that he wasn't coming on too strong.

“I need to piss," Vossler announced, abruptly.

The otter hoisted himself up to sit on the edge of the pool.

“Have fun," Celyn chuckled. “Hey, let me know if Luster's still there, would you?"

“Can do," Vossler affirmed.

“Wait, you are meant to leave the pool to urinate?" Zain said.

With synchronised howls of disgust, everyone moved away from Zain as if he'd just caught fire.

*

The unicorn exhaled. He lifted his tote bag from his lap. There was a large wet stain near his left hip. He was just about to stand and venture out to the pool when suddenly, Vossler appeared alongside him. The otter was on his way to the bathroom, trailing water behind him. He chirped at the unicorn, and paused beside him.

“Hey, how are you doing?" the otter asked. “We haven't really had a chance to talk yet, Zain tends to dominate the conversation when he's around."

Luster nodded and shrugged.

“Celyn asked me to see if you were alright and if you wanted to join us? Zain's there with us, just for fair warning, but he's trying to calm down a little."

“C-calm down?" Luster asked. Celyn is worried if I'm alright?

“Yeah. Look, it's clear that he makes you uncomfortable with how uh… you know, curious, he is. Celyn and I were talking about it a bit yesterday."

Celyn has been talking to Vossler about me?! Luster sucked in a sharp breath.

“Hey, it's okay, nothing bad. He likes you, you know."

Luster's nostrils flared. Is he…? Has he been flirting with me and I haven't noticed? Am I the only one who hasn't noticed? What did I even miss? Should I react? How?

Luster began to stammer another question to Vossler, but the otter was already walking onward towards the bathroom stalls.

Thoughts of how Celyn must be thinking of him and talking about him buzzed inside the unicorn's head. He felt his heart flutter again as it had over the breakfast table, and made a conscious effort to push those thoughts down. Surely there was nothing in them. But the unicorn couldn't help but be buoyed by the thought that Celyn genuinely wanted to be his friend.

By the time Vossler returned, Luster was calm enough to venture out into the pool with him. It didn't matter so much, the unicorn supposed, if he got erections under the water. Especially in the trunk-cut swimsuit, at least it could be contained. The more modest swimsuit was a double-edged sword, though—unlike the tiny scrap of cloth he'd endured on the first day, Luster was quite capable of getting fully erect in Braxton's with very little to constrain him. But he felt less exposed, and that helped.

He slid into the water as surreptitiously as he could after strapping on his hoof-flippers, and made his way with slow, languid strokes towards Celyn, Braxton and Zain. Vossler drew some attention away from him, at least, by taking a run-up and launching himself into the pool right beside his friends.

“Hey! Glad you came out, Luster," the stag said, once Vossler had been duly berated for his cannonball.

Luster's ears flicked back and forth and he glanced around the group, all of whom were staring at him. He stammered a response, bobbing lower in the water. The unicorn fought back his urge to hide, to retreat. They were trying to include him, and all he could think about were the worse-case scenarios his anxious mind thrust into his consciousness.

Aggressively suppressing his thoughts, Luster waded forward until he completed the circle; Celyn at his left, Zain at his right, Braxton and Vossler opposite. Their conversation continued unabated, and while they made an effort to include him now and then, Luster did not feel like he was the centre of their attention. For the first time, he felt… almost comfortable. He could not help but notice, however, how often Celyn's eyes were on him. Vossler's casual observation kept returning to his mind, but Luster was unsure of how to process it.

*

As the day progressed, and subliminally leaning on Celyn for some measure of emotional support, Luster participated in some of the more structured activities on offer by the Outreach program. If nothing else, the unicorn found that it gave him something to focus on, such that he wasn't entirely consumed by his own internal monologue. He swam timed laps, casually competing with Celyn, Zain and Vossler. Of course, his brain told him, the otter and wolf were slowing down so he wouldn't feel so bad about how slow he was. Particularly Vossler, with his webbed feet and rudder-tail.

The pool complex seemed a little quieter than it had the previous day by mid-afternoon, and Luster mentioned it to Celyn.

The stag shrugged. “I don't know… Zain? You were over here yesterday, what's happening?"

The wolf, who was on the opposite side of the pool, dove beneath the surface and swum like a dolphin towards the unicorn and stag. Luster tensed and instinctively guarded his groin with his hands. Zain broke the surface right beside him. Luster could feel wafts of water through his pelt from the wolf's motion. Zain shook water out of his ears.

“Many people, the best swimmers, have gone to the ocean. There they shall be learning to save lives from the water, to swim out and bring in less capable swimmers," he said.

“Like us," Luster said immediately, without thinking.

Zain gave him a quizzical look and laid a friendly arm around Luster's shoulders. The unicorn flinched. “You are a good swimmer, Luster! You are as good as I, and better than Celyn."

Luster flattened his ears to his skull and glanced at the stag, who kicked back in the water to float on his back nearby, keeping himself afloat with languid kicks of his flippers. “It's true," Celyn said. “Ungulates aren't natural swimmers, but you're doing well."

Zain's golden eyes were fixed on the stag, and he released Luster to dive beneath the water once again. He came up beneath Celyn, flipping the stag and playfully wrestling him. Celyn bleated and kicked and spluttered, and Luster shrank back from them to lean on the edge of the pool until they were done. Abruptly, Zain broke the surface of the water with a triumphant cry, holding Celyn's swimsuit aloft.

A young female Cervid—an elk doe—on the edge of the pool on a sun-lounge whooped in encouragement. Zain waded into waist-deep water and bowed to her before flinging Celyn's swimsuit in her direction. Then he disappeared in a flurry of limbs and antlers. Several moments of adolescent howling ensued, turning the pool into a foaming mass of white water. Then Celyn erupted forth from the water, with Zain's swimsuit hanging from an antler tine. He plucked it off, and hurled it out of the pool towards the elk doe, who had gained a small group of observers in the meantime.

Celyn said something to Zain. Luster saw the wolf's eyes widen and his ears flatten back. What had the stag said? It must have been particularly daring, to elicit what looked like shock from Zain! Luster's mind grappled with the idea of Celyn being equally as forward as Zain. Was the stag deliberately toning himself down for Luster's benefit?

The wolf hesitated for a long moment, and glanced back and forth between the smirking Celyn and the elk doe on her lounge, who had since collected both of the boys' swimsuits. Luster was somewhat surprised to see Zain actually hesitating—it was clear that Celyn had dared him to go and collect their swimsuits. In a way, Zain's momentary reluctance made Luster feel a tiny spark of confidence within himself. It was affirming, the unicorn reasoned, to realise that Zain wasn't entirely defined by his apparent brashness and lack of inhibitions.

Celyn floated languidly on his back in the water away from Zain, seemingly in no hurry to reclaim the slip of fabric that would keep him decent. Luster shrank down in the water in his corner of the pool, thoughts of Celyn's nudity buzzing around inside his head. One of the Camp instructors—the otter who had given Luster his tiny brief-cut swimsuit the previous day—walked past along the edge of the pool. Once he had passed by with a few sidelong glances toward Celyn and Zain, the wolf swam naked to the edge of the pool and propped his elbows up upon it, near to where the Cervid girl was. Luster did not hear what he said to her, but he definitely saw the 'come here' gesture she made towards him, while holding up one of the two dripping swimsuits in her other hand.

Zain's ears flattened and he glanced over his shoulder towards Celyn. The stag shrugged. Luster looked back to the wolf, just as he braced his hands on the edge of the pool and hauled his body up and out of the water. He glanced around furtively. Luster assumed it was to ensure that none of the camp instructors were within sight. Then he rose to his feet, covered himself with one hand and took three steps towards the Cervid girl. A collective squeal of delight came from the small group around the doe when Zain's nudity entered their view. The doe herself stared openly until Zain relented and removed his hand. Zain was standing side-on to Luster's view, and the unicorn could clearly see that the wolf was not flaccid. Nor was he erect, but it seemed to satisfy the Cervid girl, who handed him the two swimsuits she held.

Zain grinned and took two flying steps, launching himself back into the pool with a splash.

The open display was equal parts fascinating and terrifying, to Luster. The same conflict that had plagued his mind since his arrival played out yet again; he wished he had the confidence and the bravery to just do things like that, to fit in with his friends. But the thought of actually doing anything like that filled him with such trepidation that his heart felt as if it would turn inside-out.

Surreptitiously, the unicorn squeezed the erection the display had given him, through the lycra of his swimsuit. He didn't recall precisely when it had arrived, but he was very aware of its sensitivity. It was already the longest time he'd gone without relieving himself since he'd first discovered how to, and it felt heavy and sensitive.

Zain and Celyn fumbled back into their swimsuits—although Zain was in no hurry now that he was back in the water, and even swum a few laps of the pool naked first, while his swimsuit hung from Celyn's antler once again. Luster hung back, hiding in the corner of the pool. Once Celyn had insisted that Zain put his swimsuit back on again, the stag swum languidly over to join Luster.

“Hey, you alright?" he asked.

“Uhm, yeah, fine, are you?"

Celyn shrugged. “I'm great! Hey, just thinking about the changerooms, if half the attendees have gone down to the coast, should we go and shower and change before they all come back? It'll get crowded when they return."

*

Luster and Celyn decided to exit the pool before the Outreach Program staff drew the structured program activities to a close for the day, to avoid a rush of attendees moving through the showers and changerooms before dinner.

“Do you want me to go get you a towel, to cover up with?" Celyn smirked, casting his eyes downward.

“N-no it's fine, I don't ha… I mean… okay. Thanks, though."

“No problem. You seem to be starting to get a little more comfortable. It's nice to see."

Luster huffed quietly and averted his eyes from Celyn's buttocks when the stag clambered up out of the pool right in front of him. He followed, furtively tweaking and adjusting his trunk-cut swimsuit to be as modest as he could possibly make it—which was not very modest at all. The white lycra, even the double-layered pouch, clung to the much darker skin of his sheath and balls. The warm evening air settled on Luster's pelt as pool water sheeted off of him. The unicorn shook out his mane and flicked water from each limb in turn, stumbling after Celyn into the changeroom.

Celyn paused at his locker to retrieve his towel, and flashed a smile to Luster. “I'm going to wash out the chlorine down here and go straight to dinner, do you… want to join me here? Or do you want to head up to the room to take care of things?"

Was that a deliberate euphemism? Does he mean…?

Luster stammered.

Would he have the confidence to use a communal shower, even if it was mostly empty?

His mind flicked back to Zain and Vossler masturbating openly in the shared space yesterday, while he'd watched on from a bathroom stall. It was a very short segue from that, to the unicorn's favourite video. Just for kicks, his mind projected Celyn into the role, and Luster wrestled with the mental picture of Celyn pumping himself through his swimsuit…

Oh gods, I'm staring at his crotch. Look away!

His ears burned, and Celyn had a curious little half-smile on his muzzle. He didn't seem fazed, not in the slightest.

“I uh… need to use the bathroom, I'll… I might come into the shower. I'll meet you there," Luster managed.

“Okay, only if you're comfortable with it though. I won't hold it against you if you need privacy."

Luster snorted and escaped to the bathroom even as he hardened yet again, the weight of two ruined orgasms still heavy in his groin late into the following day. By the time he locked himself into a stall it was fully erect, stretching out the semi-translucent, wet lycra of his borrowed swimsuit. While it was still wet, the fabric clung to his equipment tightly enough that he could see every feature of his member through it.

How am I going to be able to shower in the communal space? Does Celyn expect me to be naked? Does it even make any difference?

He sat down, and focused his mind on calming his buzzing thoughts.

He could hear Celyn conversing with the other people who remained in the showers. Zain's thick accent was among them, unsurprisingly, and the wolf seemed to be making a scene, based on the raucous laughter that echoed around the tiled space. Luster could feel his arousal weighing on his body like a warm stone; but more than just a physical sensation it was beginning to infiltrate his mind as well. A small but silky voice in the depths of his consciousness was urging the unicorn to face down his insecurity and walk out into the communal shower. He knew all eyes would be on him, staring, judging. It caused his heart to flutter and his nerves to jangle. But everyone else seemed so comfortable in their bodies, in their shared near-nudity. Or in Zain's case, balls-out exhibitionism. And besides, it was only going to be Celyn, Zain, Vossler and perhaps Braxton in there, right?

Minutes passed, and the noise from the showers diminished. Soon, Luster could only hear Zain and Celyn, with the occasional quiet input from Vossler.

The unicorn stood up. Joining Celyn seemed to be a necessary hurdle for him to leap. The stag had been nothing but accommodating and friendly to him and while Luster did not feel obliged to step into the communal shower, he also recognised how difficult the rest of the week was going to be if he continued to avoid these kinds of situations that were, to most of the other people present, perfectly normal.

He took a deep breath, and unlatched the stall door.

The main changeroom area was deserted, still. Most of the Program attendees had not returned from their day-trip yet, and those who'd remained on the campus were still in the pool. Luster equivocated for a long moment, standing just out of view.

“Zain, come on, are you done yet?" came Vossler's voice from the far end of the shower block.

Luster's ears swivelled. The otter was drying his fur on a towel, clearly waiting for the wolf. Luster peeked around the edge of the wall that separated the rows of lockers from the shower block. Zain was lingering in the showers. The wolf was naked, erect and thoroughly enjoying being so, judging from the way his penis was jutting rigidly upward out of his crotch. The unicorn's nostrils flared and he hurriedly looked away. The only other person remaining in the shower block was Celyn, and… he wasn't showering?

The stag was leaning against the tiled wall opposite where Zain had been. His shower was shut off, almost as if he was waiting for someone…

He's been waiting for me, oh gods…

Luster felt a peculiar rush of feelings in that moment. Anxiety, certainly, but tempered by a warm thrill of excitement.

Silently, once Zain had taken his seemingly permanent erection and sauntered off after Vossler, Luster stepped into the shower block. Celyn's ears dished forward sharply, and a smile split the stag's face. Luster's hands automatically fell to cover his groin.

“Hey, there you are! You alright?"

Luster nodded.

“Good. I thought I'd wait for you, since uh… I dunno, it just seemed the right thing to do," the stag pushed off from the wall and turned to face Luster.

The unicorn moved to a showerhead on the end wall of the block and turned it on. Water sputtered and hissed forth, and Luster waited until it was steaming before he stepped under it. Celyn had moved to a showerhead on the side wall adjacent to Luster's, at ninety degrees to the unicorn's. The flow plastered Celyn's fur to his skin instantly, and he sighed happily at the sensation. The pressure in the communal showers was even better than in the dormitory, and Luster couldn't help but echo Celyn's sigh, facing the wall. The stag chuckled softly from behind him and Luster glanced over his right shoulder at him. With his head tilted back, eyes shut and his back to the wall, Celyn showed no self-consciousness whatsoever. Luster allowed his eye to linger, wandering over the glistening form of Celyn's near-naked form. The stag raised his hands to scrub out his hair, and turned around beneath the strong stream of water. Luster's eye was drawn to the taut, sensual curve of his buttocks in his tight swimsuit, and the cute little flag of his tail above them.

“Pressure's nice, huh?" Celyn mumbled.

“Nice to have some space," Luster managed, thinking of the tiny, cramped shower cubicle in their room.

“Yeah, that little shower up there is seriously tiny. This is better, even if it's kinda public."

The unicorn fell silent once again, torn between washing himself and surreptitiously watching Celyn over his shoulder. The stag scrubbed at his fur while Luster cast furtive glances at him, his heart racing with excitement and trepidation at the possibility of being caught. When he reached his midsection, Celyn tugged out the waistband of his speedos and rummaged around within it, rinsing the chlorine out of his crotch. Then he turned around slowly, arching his spine and running his hands back up along his torso. The white lycra, soaked with shower water, clung to those parts of Celyn's anatomy it purported to conceal, and Luster could see a blush of pink through the fabric. He risked a longer, protracted stare. The video of the stag and his swimsuit flashed back into Luster's mind yet again, and his nostrils flared.

Luster cautiously allowed his mind to wander towards how it would feel to touch him. To feel his slender, toned body pressed against his own, just enjoying their shared space. To feel his toned muscles through his pelt, and to have his own felt in return. To touch and squeeze each other through their swimsuits… Luster hurriedly snapped his gaze to the wall in front of him when Celyn's eyes opened, focusing diligently on scrubbing out his mane.

He fantasised about what it would be like to tell the stag how attractive he was. Even to just show him, without words. But he couldn't. The mere thought of it turned his hooves to lead and his lips to seal over as if they were carved from marble. There was no way he'd ever have that sort of confidence, and he loathed himself for being such a coward… Celyn clearly wasn't just tolerating him, nor did he feel sorry for the unicorn. He wanted to be a friend, and Luster's maelstrom of anxiety and self-doubt was shutting him out.

Luster dared to sneak another glance, disguised as reaching behind himself to scrub his tail. Celyn had his back to the wall and was looking in his direction. Straight at him. There was a telltale ridge in the front of the stag's speedo, and Luster's heart did a somersault. He hurriedly looked away and mumbled an apology.

*

Celyn did his best to maintain a veneer of calm around Luster. They'd been in a similar state of dress around each other for the whole day in the pool, yet somehow being in the shower block with the unicorn was a different feeling. The very fact that Luster had mastered his anxiety to the point of being there in the shower with him was a big deal. Celyn knew that. So as he gazed over the Equid's dappled silvery pelt, the tightness of his swimsuit clinging to the globes of his buttocks, the way the hot steamy water caressed his long, flowing mane ran in silvery rivulets between his shoulder blades and down his spine, Celyn did his best not to be too obvious in his observation.

He turned around under his shower. He'd chosen this showerhead deliberately; there was another on his opposite wall that would have put the doorway between them, but Celyn wanted to be as close to Luster as he could get without scaring the nervous creature away. As it was, they stood only a couple of feet apart. Close enough that overspray from the water cascading over Luster's body hit Celyn's, and vice versa. The first time Celyn noticed Luster staring, his heart nearly leapt out of his throat. He decided to try and facilitate the unicorn's interest, as silently as he could.

Celyn tugged out the waistband of his swimsuit and rolled back his foreskin to wash the chlorine from beneath it, without exposing himself. He swelled a little at the simple touch, his body reminding him that it had been a few days since he had a chance to relieve his sexual urges. He supposed Luster was in the same position.

Abruptly, images from the previous night and that morning flashed into Celyn's mind. Luster staring at him. The flurry of blankets and the straining, soaked bulge of his boxers when Celyn had stepped out of the shower in their room. The soft, grassy scent of the unicorn's morning arousal. The erection he'd gotten in the changeroom that morning, which Celyn's body had mirrored instantly, such that they'd had to sit together on the changeroom bench while they calmed down. All of them unspoken events, barely acknowledged. But Celyn had taken careful note of them all. With anyone else, those things may have been openly acknowledged, or even acted upon with the vulgar forwardness of youth in such a hormonally-driven environment. Not so with Luster. It was clear to Celyn that the unicorn was interested – very much so – but his anxiety suffocated any thoughts he might have of voicing that, let alone acting on it. If he'd been overtly dismissive, and obviously not interested, Celyn would have accepted that. But this was different. Celyn would have to lead him as gently as he could. And Celyn knew what anxiety felt like – he was far from immune from it, himself, although Luster definitely had it a lot worse than him.

Subtly, the stag showed off to his nervous friend. Front, back, front again. He was getting an erection and he knew it, and did not attempt to hide it. He wondered if Luster had one, too. If only the unicorn would turn, even just a little… He was diligently staring at the wall, though. Until he wasn't.

Celyn's and Luster's eyes met momentarily, after the unicorn had cast what he thought was a subtle glance at the stag's tented swimsuit. He stammered a shaky apology and looked away.

“It's alright, Luster," Celyn said, quietly. “I don't mind."

*

By the time the two of them had thoroughly finished showering—twenty minutes was long enough that it was obvious they were both waiting for an erection to go down—Celyn finally shut off his showerhead.

“Do you want me to fetch your towel for you?" Celyn asked, pointedly.

Luster half-turned. Celyn's eyes dropped momentarily. He's hard…

The unicorn agreed, this time. Celyn flashed him a grin and patted his shoulder, then trotted out of the shower block. Luster watched him go, and was still watching when he returned with a towel in each hand. His swimsuit was still somewhat distended, and the way he walked, the way his thighs slid one over the other, caused his bulge to roll over his quads, side to side. Luster shakily accepted the towel. He'd shaken out his pelt in the meantime, and now wrapped his towel around his waist.

By that time, a few more of the program's attendees were beginning to drift into the changerooms, so Celyn and Luster moved to adjacent bathroom stalls to dry off, strip out of their swimsuits and dress in dry clothes for the evening.

#