Jake squeezed his hands into fists, imagining himself in his usual body.
He was desperate to please Vars, who kept looking at him with so much hope, but no matter how much Jake twisted his thoughts into images of the black skin going back to liquid form so that he could shed it, nothing happened.
Vars looked imposing with his mature face and body, despite being so much smaller than Jake’s gargoyle form. With the collar locked around his neck, Jake felt like a giant dog rolled over to his back to get belly rubs from his master.
Vars chewed on his lip. “I put the collar on you. Maybe if I tell you to change... you will?”
Panic was a living presence inside Jake at this point. “But only that. Nothing else.”
Understanding flashed in Vars’s gaze, and he leaned forward, stroking the back of his hand along Jake’s monstrous face, as if he wasn’t scared of it at all. “I know we’ve had our differences, but you can trust me. I won’t abuse this. I won’t ask you to do things you don’t want. This is for your safety. Okay?”
Two tears trailed down Jake’s cheeks only to evaporate from his hot skin halfway, but he gave a curt nod.
He trusted Vars. The man had risked his life throughout the whole ordeal, and he’d kept his word about not telling anyone of Jake’s secret, too. There was no reason to doubt his intentions now, and that made Jake’s own transgression against Vars all the worse.
Slowly, locking his gaze with Jake’s, Vars spoke. “Go to sleep, gargoyle. Become human again, Jake.”
Change came abruptly, as if Jake had been touched by a magic wand. He could physically sense the creature within him close its eyes, and the layers of skin and muscle that had felt solid as rock moments before began to liquify.
His gaze clouded with a gray veil as the goo spiraled back in through his eyes, but Vars was there, leaning over Jake and gently keeping his head up even as the retreating beast made Jake twitch.
Jake wasn’t sure how long the whole process took, but when he opened his eyes, he was once again smaller than the massive man straddling his chest, and he lay in a puddle of melted snow. He touched his face in panic but sighed in relief when his fingers met soft skin, not hideous ridges.
Vars grinned at him and pulled Jake into a very cold and wet hug. “Jesus, kid. Welcome back.”
Jake clutched at Vars, wrapping his arms around the man’s waist and placing his face between the meaty pecs. Being back in his own skin felt so good he would have wept if he were alone.
“I thought I’d stay like that forever.” He could barely breathe, trembling in the embrace. He pulled one of his hands away and touched the collar, which seemed to have shrunk along with his neck and still fit him perfectly. A sleek piece of cool metal around his neck, it made him shiver with what it announced to the world.
He was now owned.
“We’ll tell them you lost a bet to me,” Vars said, as if already anticipating Jake’s question. He ruffled Jake’s hair and smiled at him, still shaking from the cold. The house was at least a fifteen-minute walk away, and if they were not to freeze, it was high time to start moving.
Vars got up, but when Jake followed him, he clung to Vars once more, eager to offer some of his unnatural warmth to Vars who wasn’t some inhuman freak like him and actually needed it.
“I don’t wanna be a loser all the time,” Jake groaned, even though he understood it was the best option he had if he wanted to keep the collar on. Definitely better than for example telling others Jake was now Vars’s slave, servant, submissive, or whatever the term would have been.
Vars picked up his clothes. “I can lose at cards next time.”
Jake’s body only got hotter at the implication, so he pulled away and changed the topic. “Maybe you can take my clothes. Yours will dry faster on me,” he said, already taking off his jacket. Sure, Vars was much bigger, but the jacket was a loose fit on Jake, so it should do for the duration of the walk. He briefly stalled, realizing he was wearing a jockstrap but with his jeans so narrow, the swap only involved tops and jackets.
Vars didn’t argue. They exchanged most of their clothes fast, and while Jake didn’t exactly enjoy the way the outfit soaked with icy water clung to his body, he was relieved that Vars would be that bit warmer. Stealing a quick glance at Vars’s half-naked body wasn’t so bad either.
“I’m sorry you ended up in the water. I ugh… underestimated the weight issue.” Jake cleared his throat.