"Can you make me older?"
The old man smirked and said "Good ol' Father Time does that to you every day"
"I guess... But I feel like everyone around me is bigger, more developed, more manly." Max replied, shuffling his feet. It was embarrassing to admit it out loud."Isn't there something that could speed things up?"
Tugging on his moustache in thought, the man mused "Ah, you want to grow up faster? Twist the hands of time in a hurry to be more of a man? I suppose many a boy wishes that at some point. To fertilise the roots of life and bloom into adulthood. To-"
"Stop teasing the boy." The old lady said with a playful slap on his wrist. "What he's trying to say, dear, is that of course we can help you. How old were you thinking?"
Max failed to answer. He didn't think he'd get this far, all things considered. "Uhm... Well... You see..."
The old man chuckled "This is a harsh-free zone, buddy. 100% mellow yellow. We totally get if you want to be an old fogey. Me and my pussycat still get up to plenty of fun these days." He threw a wink to his wife, who purred and pawed at the air in return.
Max shuddered slightly. "It's not that, I just don't have a particular age I want to be. Only a general desire to grow up"
"Cool, cool, I dig that." the man said with a warm smile. "We have some slow burners somewhere around here..." He went back behind the beaded curtain that led to the storage room while his wife absentmindedly hummed a peculiar tune. Moments later, he came back with a bottle of a pale purple liquid shimmering with speckled red glitter. "Here we go. My patented organic maturity elixir. Every sip will make you, like, a tiny bit older so you can ride those waves as long as you please." He placed the bottle on the counter and added with a wink "I also slipped in a scoop of masculinity powder, you know, to give you a power boost."
Max took the potion and eyeballed it. It looked magical at the very least. But could it really make him older? The old lady cooed "Why don't you give it a little taster to see what it could do?"
Max took a swig from the bottle. He expected a foul, medicinal taste, and was pleasantly surprised by its minty yet coconutty taste. Even before he put the bottle back on the counter, he felt something bubbling up inside of him.
Max trembled as growing pains exploded throughout his body. His legs sprouted, his arms lengthened, his torso stretched upwards, all giving him a much needed growth spurt that left him six foot even. Meanwhile, his muscles worked themselves into overdrive, burning away his baby fat and replacing it with lean, athletic musculature. He gripped onto the counter and kicked off his shoes before his feet could bust through the seams. His socks weren't so lucky, reduced to scraps surrounding his ankles.
All that built-up testosterone led to plenty of hair growth. The existing, pale hairs on his arms and legs were joined by a welcome addition of darker hairs. His armpits tickled as long hairs sprouted out, leaving two noticeable bushes underneath. Golden brown, curly chest hairs bristled across his flat pecs while a thin trail led down to lightly dust his newly cut abs. Not to be left out, his head shape subtly changed as his chubby cheeks slimmed down, and his round jawline became more angular. His already shaggy hair grew ever so slightly shaggier. A sparse dusting of brown stubble, heavier on the chin, ensured he could grow a full, if thin, beard in the near future.
As Max stared dumbfounded at the changes that befell him, his taut clothes gaining small tears with every movement, the old lady tutted and pulled her husband to the side. "I think you may have added too much masculinity to the mix..." she whispered into his ear, throwing a knowing glance at the new man's crotch. He'd grown so much, his cock had escaped its cotton confines, the tip of its perky pink head peeping out from the left leg of his shrunken shorts.
The old man whistled quietly. "That's, like, one snake that doesn't want to be contained..."
Luckily, Max was too engrossed in his own body to hear the old couple marvelling over his hefty endowment. He managed to avert his gaze long enough to ask "Hey, how old you reckon I am now?"
The old man tugged on his 'stache. "Hard to tell... Honey, could you fetch one of the snappy bands from behind the counter?"
The old lady popped open a metal tin and pulled out a slim, bold red slap bracelet. "Slap this on and ask your question" she explained, "then slip it off and you'll have your answer!".
Max did as he was told, slapping the plastic strip onto his wrist. "Uh... How old am I?" he asked out loud. Nothing happened. He pulled the bracelet off and put it back on the counter, about to question the couple, when the band unravelled and remoulded itself into the number 19. "I'm actually nineteen?" he mumbled in awe. "Wait, that thing can answer anything?"
"Not anything. Only the easy things, and only short answers. Good for math equations, terrible for history essays." Max passed it back to the old lady, who smiled and slid it back to him. "No honey, you keep it. It'll guide you on your upcoming journey."
"Speaking of journey..." Max started to say before gesturing to his ill-fitting clothes. "I can't exactly leave looking like this..."
"Don't worry former little man, I've gotcha covered!" the old man grinned. He slipped back behind the beaded curtains while the old lady moved to the cash register.
10 minutes later, and Max left the shop with a wave and a smile. Sure, he was wearing the old man's weird-smelling vintage clothing, but he had an actual maturity elixir in hand. One that had already made him a few years older. The old couple didn't specify how long the effects would last so he knew he had to get his moneys worth while he could! The only question was how.