Chapter 3 Jae #2
“Can you partial shift?” Hollis asked curiously. “Like could you grow fur on only your arms? I bet that would be amazing in the winter.”
“I can only really shift my claws and teeth,” Koda admitted.
“I’m about the same. I can only shift my hair and then claws for mating,” Jae said, and Koda glanced down at him.
“I didn’t know ducks had claws or that that’s how duck shifters mate. For bears, it's the rather standard mate bite.”
Jae had to stop himself from going up on tiptoes to butt his head against Koda’s chin.
It was something his duck loved to do to friends and loved ones.
He couldn’t count the number of times he’d headbutted Hollis on his couch or when snuggling in bed.
Unlike most mammal shifters who had scent glands on their necks, Jae’s duck had a scent gland down by their tail that only manifested in their duck form.
When Jae was ready to mate with Koda, the claws that appeared on his duck’s webbed feet would come out of Jae's fingers, and he’d use those to mark Koda’s scent gland.
Koda, it seemed, would just have to bite Jae’s neck to return the mate mark.
And yes, Jae did notice that he was now thinking when not if.
Jae explained a little about duck mating practices.
His duck honked at him, and he made sure to add that many duck shifters also prepared a dance for their mate.
His duck began to demonstrate the dance he would do for Koda, and Jae’s cheeks warmed despite the cold air. It was quite an adorable dance…
Koda made a noise, deep in their chest, somewhere between a huff and a growl. It made Jae’s duck stop dancing and lie down, tilting his head to the side in submission.
Oh gods, now was really not the time for that.
He tried to catch Koda’s eyes, but the glare from the streetlight made it hard to tell what they were thinking. That is, until a soft smile spread across their lips. “You can also shift your eyes.”
“Oh,” Jae breathed, unaware that his eyes had shifted. That was usually something that happened when his duck was very close to the surface, and he didn’t do that around just anyone. Right now the list was his parents, Hollis, and, apparently, Koda.
“My eyes shift all the time,” Hollis chimed in, and Jae was grateful for the distraction–and the reminder that they were very much not alone right now.
“You can also do your ears and paws,” Jae said.
“Uh-huh! And my tail, plus my teeth for mating.”
Koda turned to look at Hollis, giving Jae a much needed reprieve to try and get himself and his duck back under control. “That’s very impressive, little one.”
Hollis whined softly, a sound Jae had heard many times, usually accompanied by demands for head pets. “Thank you,” Hollis said softly.
“You’re welcome,” Koda said, the usual sincerity they spoke with dialed up a few notches.
Hollis cleared their throat. “I mean, I am quite multi-talented. I appreciate you noticing.”
Jae spun out of Koda’s grasp to step around behind him and pull Hollis into a rough side hug. Hollis squealed and tried to climb on top of Koda to get away, but Jae refused to be denied petting his best friend, who was somehow the most absurd and yet loveable person Jae had ever met.
Koda took all this in stride, shifting their arm to rest across Hollis’s shoulder so their hand could press into the middle of Jae’s back, continuing to guide them both the final block toward the bar.
The second they walked into the heated building, Koda let out a snort. It seemed to be a relatively run-of-the-mill pub, but the entire bar area was decked out in red streamers proclaiming this to be the Red Flags bar.
“Oh baby, you know I love me some good red flags,” Hollis crowed, charging ahead to get in the short line for drinks.
Koda cast Jae a curious glance. “Does he have bad taste in partners?”
Jae tipped his head back and forth, silently reveling in the fact that Koda had kept their hand on his back as they followed after Hollis. “Hollis doesn't really date. He hooks up with a lot of, uh, interesting folks, though.”
Koda nodded their head slowly. “To each their own, I guess.”
When they got to the bar, Hollis thrust his hand out at Jae. “I ordered four of the same cocktail, because the second cocktail is a ‘Black Hearted’ absinthe drink.”
Koda scrunched up their nose and Jae mimed gagging. “Good call.”
Hollis handed over their tickets but raised both their eyebrows when they received four different pieces of red paper in return.
“They’re questions meant to suss out what you and your friends' red flags are,” the woman said, snapping her cherry red gum as she moved on to taking tickets from other shifters along the bar.
They took their fuschia “Is the Flag Red or Only Pink” drinks to sit at a sticky table on the other side of the crowded bar.
“What’s yours say?” Hollis asked around his straw.
“Mmmm,” Jae hummed as he took a sip of the outrageously sweet drink and opened his red paper. “Name one of your own red flags and someone else’s at your table.”
Koda snorted again, a sound Jae thought might be coming from their bear. “I thought the questions were to help us figure out the red flags.”
“I guess there’s no better way to figure them out than to make your friends tell you,” Hollis said with a disbelieving laugh. “These two say: ‘What is the worst red flag you’ve ever overlooked?’ and ‘What is a red flag for someone else but a beige or green flag for you?’”
“Mine’s a repeat of having your friends tell you your red flags,” Koda said, laying their sheet down on top of Jae’s.
“Should we start there, then?” Hollis asked. “Although, I think you may have to do two for yourself, Koda. I for sure haven’t noticed any of your red flags yet–except maybe that you seem a little too perfect.”
Koda’s lips twitched up in a small smile. “I appreciate that, but I know I have some.”
“Well, we’re all ears if you want to share,” Hollis said, taking a long sip of his drink.
Koda glanced once at Jae before looking down at the papers. While they were sitting right next to each other, they were no longer touching, and Jae wondered if he could subtly scoot his chair closer without drawing attention to himself.
“I guess the first would be that I’ve only been in one relationship as an adult.
” Koda ran their thumb over the top edge of the paper before looking up at Jae.
“It took me a long time to find myself, and once I did, it took even longer to love myself. I wasn’t in the right head space to date for a long time, but I think I have finally gotten there. ”
Jae pursed his lips. “Waiting to date until you’re ready is absolutely not a red flag, and having a sparse dating history in general isn’t a red flag, for me at least. I feel like that’s more beige.”
“Good job answering the next question,” Hollis said, tapping his finger lightly on the second piece of paper.
“I agree, though. Selfishly, perhaps, since I’ve also never been in a relationship as an adult.
I had quite enough puppy love—pun intended—in high school and college to know I don’t want to mess around with casual dating. ”
Jae nodded. “Can confirm, that’s what I would say is your biggest red flag. I think you fall hard and fast.”
“Like how I knew we were going to be best friends within ten minutes of meeting you, because I’d already fallen madly in love with you,” Hollis said, tipping sideways in his chair to rest his head on Jae’s shoulder.
The move was so natural, Jae’s arm went around his shoulders without thought.
His duck shimmied his hips back and forth happily.
It was, of course, not the same as touching their fated mate, but it still made their heart glow like the garish red fairy lights strung up around the seating area.
At Koda’s curious look, Jae explained how he and Hollis met at a stuffy fundraising event, and Hollis had struck up a conversation with Jae at the bar.
Apparently, it had been so interesting that he’d felt the need to follow Jae into the bathroom, which had been gender neutral with only stalls, and Hollis had continued the conversation under the stalls.
After they washed their hands, Hollis had tipped his head against Jae’s shoulder and declared they were going to be best friends for life.
“I think talking under the stalls at each other is a red flag for both of you,” Koda said, smirking at Hollis when he threw a cocktail napkin at them.
Jae wasn’t sure if it was the ease at which Koda and Hollis were slotting together as friends, or if it was the sickly sweet drink making his tongue feel loose, but he decided to offer up one of the thoughts that had been floating around his head all night.
“I think my red flag might be that I’ve always had a plan for my life: graduate, get a job, make friends, meet a nice partner, and settle down.
When that plan didn’t come to fruition in my twenties, I think…
” he trailed off at the sad look Hollis was giving him.
“When that didn’t come to fruition, I think you settled for the first man who seemed to want to fit into that plan—even when in the end, he sort of hijacked your plan for his own gain until it no longer benefited him.”
Jae bit his lip and stared down at the scarred table top.
Hollis had said a lot about Robert the past few months, mostly featuring creative curse words and witty insults, but this was the first time he’d really captured Jae’s role in the relationship.
Because while he hadn’t been the one to originally pursue Robert, he’d been an active participant, and, even when the signs were there that maybe things weren’t perfect, Jae had ignored them.
“Yeah…” Jae said, bowing his head as his duck curled his own under his wing. “I think I see that now.”
A hand grabbed his, and Jae looked up to see Hollis smiling softly at him.