“Ugh… What a night…” Eric moaned as he opened his eyes the next morning, looking around and seeing their hotel room in complete disarray. The sheets were tossed all around, there were hoof marks on the walls, and a there was a light coating of fur on most of the furniture. As had become their tradition most evenings, him and Clyde had gone at it for hours, only finally passing out a few hours after midnight. In fact, Clyde still had his half-hard cock firmly planted beneath Eric’s tail, and Eric was a little worried about waking his fiancé by trying to extricate himself. Or, maybe he just wanted to enjoy the feeling a little longer.
Either way, he lay back and cuddled with Clyde with the bright morning sun shining on them through the window. Their bracelets were sitting on the nightstand, letting them relax in their true forms for a bit before having to switch over to humans for the rest of the day. Eric still felt a little strange thinking of his reindeer body as his ‘true form’, but he knew there was no denying. Deep down, he had felt a special connection to his hooves, his fur, and especially to his antlers ever since he’d first slipped on that magical collar.
And sitting right next to their form-lock bracelets was the velvet box that Eric had given Clyde the night before, its top ajar and displaying a golden bracelet, big enough to fit comfortable around Clyde’s wrist no matter what form he was in without any fear of slipping off. A delicate bracelet, thinner than the form-locks but far more intricately decorated, etched with crosses and fine knots over its entire length and set with a single red garnet. The night before they had left on the trip, Eric had went to Bix and asked what a reindeer engagement present would consist of, and without a word his new ïsa went into another room for a minute before returning with the beautiful piece of jewelry.
“My mate’s,” Bix had said quietly, turning it over a few times in his hooves. “…She had big arms, so don’t worry about it not fitting. And these sorts of things are fairly unisex, so I’m sure Clyde won’t have any problems with it…”
And Clyde didn’t. The moment he saw the bracelet, his eyes had lit up and his tears began to flow even harder than they had when Eric had popped the question. And that passion had lasted all the way back to the hotel and for hours after that, with their lovemaking getting so intense that they had gotten a very awkward call from the front desk after too many noise complaints.
But, all that was last night, and today they were going to enjoy their visit to New York City as much as they possibly could before having to return home. And, since it was the day after Thanksgiving, that meant scouring the Black Friday sales and getting presents for all their friends and family members at the North Pole. After all, they couldn’t depend on Santa to give out all the gifts that year, could they?
----------------------------------
Meanwhile, back at the North Pole, Michael had awoken early and glanced out the window. He was still getting used to the uncanny experience of waking up at mid-morning and having it still be dark outside, but dark or not he was starving and needed to get some breakfast. He quickly got dressed in a sweater before pulling on his parka, then he headed toward the cabin’s front door. On the way out, he passed by Theresa’s room and saw her gloomily drinking a cup of coffee and staring out the window.
“Tess? You can’t mope around all day,” Michael said softly. He and his ex-wife may not have been on the best of terms, but seeing her so upset when they were supposed to be enjoying themselves on vacation with their sons still hurt him. “I know you’re worried about them, but the people up here aren’t bad at all. And they are people, even if they aren’t exactly human. And just because our sons aren’t entirely human anymore doesn’t make them any less of people, either.”
“We don’t know for sure that anything’s happened to Eric,” Theresa shot back, though her words lacked their usual force. She was definitely in a deep funk, and even bickering with her ex wasn’t enough to snap her out of it. “And don’t you talk like you even know anything about our sons.”
“I messed up raising them, I get that,” Michael responded. “But, I’m going to do my best to make up for it now that I’ve got the chance. I’m meeting with Tom and Lars this afternoon for a tour of the resort. If you want to join us and can tolerate my company, I’m sure they’d be happy to have you. And try to find something fun to do while you’re here, okay?”
Deep down, he’d never really hated her, or even disliked her that much. They were just too different, and sometimes opposites just don’t attract. But they both cared for their sons, so he was willing to let bygones be bygones for their sakes.
After getting a noncommittal grunt from Theresa in response, Michael headed out into the cold morning air and started looking for a bite to eat.
------------------------------------------
Michael eventually found his way to a small café just around the corner from the cabins, already smelling of freshly roasted coffee and spices. He peeked his head inside and already saw a spread of fresh-made baked goods on display, so he immediately headed inside and ordered a cup of black coffee and cardamom rolls before sitting down by the fireplace.
After a few bites of his breakfast, there was a jingle as the door to the café opened up and Doctor Otso entered, wearing a cozy wool sweater and lacking any pants as usual. The wolf glanced around the room nonchalantly and spied Michael, then gave a subtle nod in his direction before ordering some food and walking over.
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were stalking me, doctor,” Michael said with a smirk, watching as Otso took a few delicate bites from the sausages he had ordered.
“You’re the one that showed up at my favorite café, Mr. Laine. Perhaps it is you that’s stalking me?” Otso replied wryly, never letting his guard slip as usual. “But, whichever of us is stalking the other, I’d say we are both rather bad at it, wouldn’t you?”
They both shared a short chuckle at that, and by now Michael was sure that the good doctor was trying to hit on him. He certainly didn’t mind the attention, and to be honest he thought Otso wasn’t a bad-looking man. Or wolf. Those werefoxes that were running around the resort were cute, but Michael was a grown man and wasn’t interested in ‘cute’ at his age.
…Not that he was really looking for companionship on this trip, male or female. He was here for his sons, and that was it.
The two men chatted easily as they enjoyed their food, with the usual small talk soon progressing to more intimate matters. Otso regaled Michael with a few stories from his medical practice down in Helsinki a few years prior, where he’d posed as an ordinary human for quite a while.
“There were close calls, certainly. I once performed an entire surgery with my tail revealed, but luckily for me surgeons tend to be quite focused on their work, so none of the surgical team noticed,” Otso said with a quiet laugh. “Or, if they did they didn’t want to admit it. The anesthetist was giving me some odd looks for a few weeks after that, so maybe they had noticed?”
Michael let out a good-hearted laugh and drained his third cup of coffee that morning. While the cold weather this far north didn’t exactly agree with him, he had to admit that the people here had learned to brew a great cup of coffee. And the beer and cider weren’t half-bad, either. If he didn’t ever have to go outside, he just might be able to get used to this.
Otso seemed to detect that Michael was starting to relax a bit, so his finely-honed predator instincts kicked in and told him to make his move. “So, Michael? You and your wife… ex-wife, I mean. Did something happen there, or…?” He let the question trail off, as if he were simply talking about the weather or another equally meaningless subject.
“Hmm? No, I guess not,” Michael sighed, falling for Otso’s trap without even realizing it. “Nothing happened, really. Just… nothing. After we had Eric, things just slowed down between us, and neither of us really seemed to interested in making it work. Rather, neither of us wanted to admit that we weren’t interested, so instead we just started bickering all the time and avoiding each other. I have a feeling it was never really going to work between us…”
The werewolf doctor listened eagerly, his whipping tail betraying the calm attitude he was trying to project. He leaned in a bit closer and gently put a paw on Michael’s shoulder, getting so close he could smell the coffee on the other man’s breath.
“There’s nothing wrong with that, Michael. If it wasn’t meant to be, at least you realized that before it went on for too long,” the doctor said, starting to rub his fingers slowly across Michael’s shoulder. On some level, he knew he was taking advantage of a sad, stressed-out man, but something about Michael just made it so he couldn't stop himself. “…Listen, I know I said I wasn’t going to mention anything about my appointments with Eric, but this might concern you too, so I think I should say something.”
Lars had already explained to the doctor the nature of Eric and Tom’s ‘blessing’ that they had inherited, which made it so they were capable of spontaneously transforming into members of the North Pole’s various tribes. That blessing had been inherited from one of their parents, or possibly from both in the unlikely event that Theresa and Michael shared at least one common ancestor within the past 800 years. So, there was a good chance that Michael could be susceptible to the same changes that effected his sons, and as a doctor Otso felt it prudent to let him know that. Purely in his role as a doctor, of course.
…Yeah, I’m not sure even I believe that, the wolf thought to himself as he began to tell Michael the old story that Lars had relayed to him, wondering how his new friend was going to take it.