Brian was definitely a few inches taller, a little better muscled, and his skin had darkened a few shades. There was a pattern on it, too... if he squinted, he could make out an abundance of small hairs which he was sure hadn't been there before. But stranger than any of that were the two small horns that projected out from the sides of his head, silhouetted against the light. They reminded John of the dream satyr.
Brian grinned at him. It looked wrong, somehow, like his mouth wasn't the right shape.
"Hey, having trouble recognising me with the lights on? C'mon, Mister Magoo, I'll lead you to the shower."
"Uh, thanks. Sorry, I'm just having a bit of trouble. Also, you sound far too perky," he added with forced levity. "If you turn out to be a morning person, I might have to rethink our relationship."
Brian snorted, crooked a finger to beckon him, and started walking towards the bathroom. John followed a few paces behind, staring at Brian's feet. They looked strange, elongated, and bulged out in the wrong places. He felt sick. What's happening to him, he wondered. Did I do it?
John pushed the door shut behind them in the bathroom while Brian fiddled with the shower. The room already felt cramped; showering together had seemed like a great idea but now he wasn't sure how they were both going to fit in the tub. Brian bent over to turn the taps on and given him a great view of his butt, probably deliberately. Except there was something wrong with it: something slender, reddish-brown, and perhaps a foot long had grown from the base of Brian's spine and lay curled between his cheeks. A tail? This was crazy. But it seemed real -- Brian would notice any moment, John thought. Better to tell him than let him find out the hard way.
"Brian? Hun? There's something..."
His maybe-boyfriend turned back to look at him. "Yes?"
Brian's face had changed again, even in the last few seconds. It was... bigger. His eyes were bigger, his ears were bigger, and his mouth and nose were way bigger, pushing out into a broad snout.
"Something's happening to you. You'd better take a look in the mirror."
The next thirty seconds were quite possible the worst of John's life.
He saw the confusion and worry on Brian's face, and then fear. Then he watched, helpless, as Brian turned slowly to the mirror. He saw his eyes go wide and his mouth fall open. He saw him lift his hands to his face, running them over it in disbelief, tugging at his horns -- and then looking down, staring at his hands, and then his chest. He saw him pull hard at his hairy skin, as though trying to tear it off. And then, finally, he saw the fury and betrayal as Brian turned around and faced him.
"You!" he shouted. It didn't sound like Brian at all, deep and drawn out. "You did this! You did this to me!"
Brian had launched himself at John and was pounding at him, fists thumping into his chest and stomach. He lent back and took it. He was built to withstand this kind of punishment now.
"Bastard! You said you loved me. Or is this your idea of love? Bastard!"
Brian seemed to be winding down, his rage turning to sobs. He threw a few more punches, finally seemed to realize that they weren't having much effect through John's thick muscles, and gave him a vicious kick in the crotch instead. John gasped, wincing. Brian's foot had felt like a rock.
OK, he thought, I'm done now. Enough is enough. Quickly, he threw his burly arms around Brian and held him tight, pinning his arms against his sides, then wrapped his thighs around Brian's knees. It wasn't comfortable, but it stopped the rain of blows. Score one for brute force, he thought...
... right up until Brian head-butted him sideways, smashing one of those horns into his temple. His vision blurred for a moment and then came back. Pain flared and sizzled in his forehead.
"God, would you stop that?" he begged. "Please?"
"... hate you..."
"Oh, for fuck's sake. I didn't do it, all right? I have no idea what's happening to you. Hell, I have no idea what's happening to me. I don't know what caused it, and I don't know if it can be passed on but since you're not turning into an orc I'm guessing it wasn't my fault."
"Yeah, right," said Brian in that weird, deep, resonant voice. "Pretty fucking big coincidence, then."
"Well, who knows? I don't. If I had to take a complete wild guess I'd say it was something to do with that unprotected sex we just had, but since it was your dick up my butt I don't intend to feel too guilty."
Brian got a leg free and kicked him in the shins. Well, that's progress of a sort, he thought, sighing.
"Shit, I'm tired," he said, relaxing his arms so that he was holding Brian again instead of pinning him. Brian shifted but didn't push away. "I love you, OK? It's weird and sudden but it's true. I love you and I'd never do anything like this to you. I just... I don't know what else to say. Don't go."
He felt Brian's arms slide around his waist to hold him, and a wide chin rest on his shoulder. He leaned his head against it, closed his eyes, and just listened to their breathing.
"I think you're bleeding," Brian rumbled after a while.
I think that was supposed to be a quiet voice, mused John. It's the sort of thing you'd say in a quiet voice, breaking the silence. Awkward. But he's loud anyway, can't help it. Must have a great pair of lungs. Probably make a great trombonist -- but wait, could he play with those lips? He turned his head to look at them more closely and found he was brushing up against them. Hello, lips, he thought, and kissed them.
"Are you OK?" he heard.
"Mmm-hmm." He leaned against Brian. The great thing about these feet o'mine, he thought, is the traction. Here I am, legs all slanty, on a tile floor, propped up against a minotaur, and they don't slip at all. Those pad things on the bottom are great. Everyone should have them.
"What? You're not making any sense. John, look at me." A hand tilted his head up. "Look at me."
"That's what she said! Huh, you really are a minotaur. Would you like to sleep with me?"
"No, John, you can't go to sleep. You're not supposed to. Fuck, what am I going to do?"
John relaxed and started to slip down towards the floor. Someone strong grabbed him under the arms and held him up, but he let his limbs go all floppy and slipped out of their grasp. Ha, ha, can't catch me, he thought, and closed his eyes.