“What if I want you in my life?”
Otso’s question hung in the air for a few tense seconds that felt like hours. They both knew what they wanted and they both knew they could have it. But at his heart, Michael was still more like Tom than Eric. He needed time to think, but he hoped it wouldn’t take seven years to decide like it had for his son.
“I love you, Otso. I really do. But…” he hesitated. “This is a lot. I know I want to keep on seeing you, but moving halfway around the world is… I’m just not sure. I could try living here for part of the year, just to try it out…?”
“Of course, whatever you like, Michael. But, whatever am I to do with my broken heart when you are not here?” Otso sighed dramatically, with a smirk on his face that told Michael he was (mostly) joking. “Take all the time you need, love. I trust you.”
Michael slowly began to get dressed again after finding his shirt and pants, but just as Otso had warned he soon found his legs feeling unbearably hot. He considered going pantsless, like the doctor had suggested, but he just couldn’t bring himself to try it. Not this soon, and especially not when he was planning on heading back to Bix’s house.
Sensing Michael’s unease, Otso stood and walked over to his closet and began rifling through it for something, then he returned with a coat and held it up for Michael to see. It was long, so long that it would easily reach his knees, and made of a light brown fabric that seemed to match perfectly with the grey and brown of the fur on Michael’s legs and tail.
“Camel hair, very warm and very fine. A bit old-fashioned looking, I’m afraid. I liked to wear it while I was doing my residency at medical school, but I don’t know it I have much use for it these days…” Otso said off-handedly as he pushed the coat into Michael’s paws. “It’s rather long, so if you still feel… ‘exposed’, it might make a good compromise?”
“It’s wonderful. Exactly what I need. I’ll try not to get it dirty before I give it back,” Michael replied, leaning in and planting a kiss on the side of Otso’s muzzle. The kisses the two of them shared still felt like they were lacking something. Michael found himself wishing he had a handsome wolf muzzle of his own to let him give the man he loved the same deep, passionate kisses that the doctor was able to give him.
“It’s yours, no need to return it,” Otso said as he flashed a charming smile. He returned Michael’s kiss and added a couple licks across his cheek. Blushing, Michael took off the pants he had just put on, then he pulled on the coat that Otso had given him, pulling the belt tight and looking the mirror. “Hmm… The coat’s nice, but I worry I look a bit too much like a flasher?”
“Well, we will have to get the rest of you fixed up and looking nice, in that case,” Otso said playfully, pressing his cold nose against Michael’s neck one last time. “You look very handsome, though. It suits you well, Michael.”
With Michael dressed for the weather, the two of them slowly walked to the door and shared one last hug and promised to meet the next day before Michael headed out onto the street. While his cheeks were immediately turning red in the cold, his legs and feet were feeling as warm as could be thanks to their coating of fur.
It really will be nice when I’m finished changing, won’t it? Michael idly thought to himself as he confidently walked down the street, feeling the snow crunching between his clawed toes as he made his way back to Bix’s house…
--------------------------------------------
“Well, how does it look?” Theresa asked shyly as she showed off the dress that Bix had given her.
“Mom… I’m really not too interested in the dress right now,” Eric said, rolling his eyes. Bix had called him and Clyde into the living room, and to say that he was a little surprised to see his mother standing there as a reindeer doe would be an understatement. “Why are you doing this?”
“Why did you do it? Because you thought it would be fun, right?” Theresa shot right back. “So, how do I look, really?”
“You look lovely, anoppi,” Clyde assured her, giving Eric a look that just screamed ‘just let her have fun’. “Are you comfortable? No problems with balance, getting used to the hooves? Some of my other students fall over their first time walking.”
“No problems as all. Banged my head on the doorframe getting out of the bathroom though,” Theresa admired, cradling her right antler.
“Wish I could say you get used to it, but it happens to all of us at times…” Bix began to said, gazing at Theresa’s reindeer form with great interest. The dress had belonged to Bix’s mate, so it was nice to have a chance to see it being put to use once more after so long, and (to Bix, at least) Theresa looked just as lovely as she had wearing it.
“Vittu!”
A sudden yelp of pain followed by what Theresa assumed was profanity came from the front door, where Tag was finally getting back after his evening of drinking and glaring at the door frame while rubbing his antlers.
“Typerys, we have guests! Watch that mouth!” Bix shouted, glaring at his son. “And Santa is right up the road! Do you want to get on the naughty list on your last year?”
“Sorry, isä, I was-“ Tag started to slur drunkenly, but then he locked his eyes on Theresa, wearing his mother’s dress and looking to his blurry vision almost exactly like his long-dead mother. “O-oh… w-what is… äiti, I…”
His eyes misted over a bit and he would have fallen over had Clyde not rushed forward to support him. “Whoa there, Tag… I think you’ve had enough for tonight, ei?” Clyde murmured, understanding immediately what was so upsetting to the younger buck. “Let’s get you into bed…”
With Tag still moaning for his äiti, Clyde swiftly moved him up to the bedroom and out of sight of their guest, while Bix apologized profusely for his son’s behavior.
“Forgive him, rouva. It’s the time of year… Too many joulu parties for him to handle. I’ll speak to him later about this…”
“It’s fine… Boys his age need to spread their wings a bit, right?” she said, giving Eric a wink. She wasn’t sure if she really believed it, but she knew that her usual suffocating way of parenting was only going to push her sons away, so she was willing to try to give them as much space as they needed, at least while she was staying here at the resort. “But… Well, I don’t know the full story here, but I believe you said your wife is… she’s gone, I take it?”
Bix grunted and nodded, sitting down in an armchair and motioning Theresa to take a seat nearby. “Joo, that is true. Five years ago, fox flu. Most of the time, it’s just an annoyance, but it was a bad year for flu and we didn’t realize how serious it was until…”
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry…” Theresa murmured, putting her hoofed hand against Bix’s. As a nurse, she knew that even the most common of ailments could go bad in a blink of an eye. She’d seen it happen, and she’d always done her best to make things turn out for the best, but nobody could save everyone.
“Otso, I think he could have helped her,” Bix said sadly. “But, he was out of the office, dealing with a fox flu outbreak at a reindeer village on the other side of the mountains. I don’t blame him for not being there, but I just wish we weren’t so… isolated up here. Need more doctors, more skilled young people. Less old men just getting older like me. That resort, it’s a step in the right direction, but not enough.”
Theresa had no clue what to say, so she could only continue to pat Bix’s hoof. From the sound of his voice, she could tell he’d come to terms with everything years ago and wasn’t one to get depressed, but it clearly still hurt for him to bring up.
“I think you’re right. This resort, it’s bringing so many people together, and I-“
The sound of the front door opening and the wind blowing into the house interrupted her, and both her and Bix looked up to see Michael coming inside. He hung up his new coat, still feeling a bit odd walking around without any pants on, then he noticed them looking at him.
“Oh, hey there Bix. Didn’t know you had a lady-friend coming over tonight,” Michael said good-naturedly. “I’ll give you two some privacy…”
Then, Michael realized immediately who Bix’s ‘lady-friend’ was, simply from the icy glare the reindeer doe was giving him at the moment.
“Oh… Tess? Y-you’re looking… looking good tonight,” he stammered, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. He started to put two-and-two together, then he raised an eyebrow. “So… If you’re a reindeer now… Well, I suppose you and Bix are really hitting it off, then? Good for you! Eric might like having a few more like him in the family, after all…”
“Dad, jesus…” Eric groaned, grabbing his ears and plugging them to avoid hearing another second of this.
Tess continued to maintain her furious glare at Michael, then she pointed toward the open front door. “If you say another word, you’ll be sleeping outside like any other dog. Is that clear, Michael?”
“C-Crystal, Tess. Again, you look lovely-“
“I said not another word!”