You let Asher take you deeper into his new home. Your nose twitched as he led you by hand to his room. The badger hadn't really unpacked, and there were cardboard boxes everywhere all taped up. There was a bedframe already set up, and a mattress was leaning against the wall.
"Let's get you out of those clothes, my friend," chuckled the badger. He looked at you with a gentle smile, and you smiled back as his words bounced around inside your head. He kneeled and started to cut open one of the boxes with his naturally sharp claws. As he got to work on getting some clothes out, you swayed from side to side. Your mind and body was feeling fuzzy. The dampness of your tea-soaked clothes was pressing against familiar-feeling fur.
After a while, your thoughts felt a bit more clear. A part of you felt embarrassed for putting your new neighbour on the spot like this. You had to apologise. You were raised to be upright and forthright. "I'm terribly sorry for spilling that cuppa all over myself...my friend," you said in your posh Received Pronunciation accent.
"Think nothing of it, Benji," soothed Asher as he started pulling out some clothes for you. He made a little smalltalk as he continued to work. "Say, my friend, are you a fan of football?"
"I hope you're not talking about that ghastly Yank handegg," you muttered as new memories of following your favorite...favourite football clubs formed inside your mind.
“Oh Benji, you know I’d never take the mickey with you,” the badger stated reassuringly as he started to unfold your clothes. He laid them against the bedframe. "Right, let's get you out of that damp outfit and get you looking proper, hmm?"
Proper. You liked the sound of that. You paw at your clothes, and then realize something. "Might I have some privacy, please?"
"What for?"
You blushed. A part of you wanted to say how weird it was to be stripping in front of a stranger, but something else took precedence. "I'll be indecent."
"You mean naked?"
You nodded and opened your mouth to say more, but Asher put a clawed hand on your muzzle, on your dark badger lips, and shushed you again. “Trust me, it’s nothing that I haven’t already seen before, my friend,” he said in his charming accent.
Blinking your dark eyes, you realized that Asher was right. He’s already seen you naked plenty of times before. “I’m sorry for being such a fusspot,” you said as stripped in front of him. Exposing your thick pelt of fur and wide tail to the air conditioning’s gentle breeze. Your coat was mostly black on the front, with a blend of whites, blacks, and greys on your sides and back.
“Oh, it’s nothing, my friend.” Asher tilted his head and saw the AC blowing against your fur. “That’s one of the great things about these Yank houses, isn’t it? Standard-issue air conditioning, hmm?”
You give a posh chuckle as you slowly dressed yourself. Starting with plain white underwear. “Of course, I was never lacking for air conditioning at boarding school, but I understand the sentiment. That’s one thing we can learn from them, right?”
“Right,” said Asher as he helped you into a pair of slacks. The shape of your body was changing as you slipped into your clothes. Shoulders were getting broader. Your body was getting shorter, stronger, and stockier. There was a strength in you that belied your size.
Buttoning up your silver, button-up dress shirt was a little hard with your claws, but you managed. You had done this thousands of times before, after all. “There. Much better than steeping in tea-soaked clothes.” You bowed your head and sniffed your new clothes. They had a pleasant, perfumed smell mixed in with alluring hints of musk.
“Wait, you forgot something,” said Asher as he handed you your blazer. You almost facepalmed. How could you have forgotten? You shuddered at the thought of walking around with an incomplete ensemble. You didn’t know what you’d do without him.
“Sorry. I’m being a bit thick today, aren’t I?”
Asher tapped his chin as he studied you. “Not at all. I know that today’s been a big day for us.”
“Us?” You echoed.
“No, the Archbishop of Canterbury…Of course I mean you!” Laughed Asher he leaned in and gave you a peck on the cheek.
Your heart fluttered and as you tried to reorganize your feelings, Asher stepped closer and picked at your hair. “Oh, I forgot something, Benjamin. I can see some plaster in there.”
Asher pulled out a comb and started to gently run it through your thick hair. Each pass of the comb changed it a little. Around the sides and back, strands of hair were getting shorter. Leaving you with a fuzzy, tidy look. Contrasting against the hair on top of your head, which remained longer, even as he combed it backwards. Soon, your hair was back to its normal self. A proper, chic fade. The sides were dark, contrasting against how your back and top were an ivory-white col...colour. The line demarcating this difference in length and hue was so precise it looked like the line had been guided by a ruler.
“Wonderful,” you said as you took yourself in. Nodding in approval. Everything was spick and span. Everything was as it should be. Your boyfriend always did know the best way to style your hair. You may be an upper-class badger, but Asher made you feel like royalty.
“You’re a right proper badger, aren’t you, Benjamin?” Asked Asher as he put an arm around your waist.
“Mmm, you’re such a flatterer.” You returned the gesture, putting your arm around his waist. Drawing him closer to you.
“Well, when the badger in question is so handsome and dapper, so spiffy, I can’t help myself,” said Asher as he fawned over you. Adoration and admiration were written all over his face. He nuzzled his snout against your neck, his scent mixing with yours before he looked at you straight in the eyes. You looked deeply into his. They sparkled like onyxes.
You leaned forward and kissed him tenderly on the lips. He melted in your embrace and you held him closer. His warmth and his body was comforting and familiar.
When you and your boyfriend finally broke off from the kiss, he smirked at you. “Say, Benajamin, I wanted to thank you again for helping me out today. I know you spilled your cuppa, but would you like a glass of lemonade?”
You smirked back at him. “Is it that flat Yankee juice, or proper English lemonade?”
“Benjamin, you know I’d only pack the finest S Blacks lemonade. Nice and fizzy. Just the way we like it.”
You felt relieved and took his hand in yours as the two of you walked back to the kitchen. Maybe you'd have a few more of those tasty sweet biscuits, too.