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It was harder to get away during the holidays than Shawn was expecting. After so many problems and so much drama, Shawn’s parents decided they were going to have a real Christmas as a family – even Stacy and Eddie were invited, though neither actually opted to show up. Stacy claimed she was too busy with school and that she couldn’t afford the travel expense, Eddie just never answered.
Regardless though, Shawn’s parents were trying really hard to make this a happy Hunter family Christmas, with or without his two half siblings. No one even brought up the possibility of inviting Jack, and for that Shawn was thankful.
If his mom was upset that her older children weren’t there, she didn’t show it. There wouldn’t have been time to dwell anyway, given how busy their Christmas schedule was.
They had to go carolling, then pick out a tree, decorate the trailer, watch It’s A Wonderful Life, watch Miracle on 34th Street (his mom’s favourite), drink cider, visit other trailers to spread Christmas cheer. Every moment was planned and most of the plan seemed to be drawn from one of his mother’s magazines. Shawn wasn’t going to complain though, he rarely ever received this much attention from his parents.
This year, Shawn was even able to afford gifts. With his delivery job and his work with the B&B, he actually scrapped together enough money to buy his parents each a gift, and his friends each a gift, unlike most years where he would usually just re-gift wherever possible.
For his dad, he bought a universal remote so that the TV, stereo, and VCR would all be accessible from the same controller and he wouldn’t be juggling so many all the time. For his mom, he got a set of embroidered bedding. It was from the thrift store, but the package hadn’t even been opened and he just knew that his mom would love it.
There was a masquerade ball being put on by the museum downtown. The tickets were a little on the steeper side, but not completely unattainable and Shawn knew that it was right up his friends’ alleys, so he got two tickets for Cory and Topanga.
The one that he got stuck on, though, was Minkus. Shawn wasn’t sure what to get for him, or even if he should be getting the other boy a gift at all. It’s not like he could ask anyone about the protocol in this case. He could just picture the look on Jon’s face if Shawn asked ‘So…is it proper to get a Christmas gift for someone that you’re screwing regularly but ignoring in public?’ Yeah, that would go over well.
He did end up getting Minkus a small gift. It was a new black ball for Minkus’ pool table. Shawn had never seen the old one. It was missing long before Shawn entered the picture and he thought it was odd that in an otherwise immaculate pool set, that Minkus would leave the ball un-replaced for so long.
Afraid to make a big deal out of it, Shawn had simply left the gift on Minkus’ desk their last morning together before heading home to find himself engulfed in Christmas everything. He still didn’t know what Minkus thought of the gift…if he thought of it at all.
Once Christmas was over and Shawn was back to his regular life of benign neglect, he was able to sneak away without anyone giving it a second thought. The Sunday before school was to start back up, Shawn made his way over to Minkus’ house. It was still during his typical Friday to Monday, so Shawn figured it was likely fine.
When he arrived at the house, Minkus’ parents’ car was in the driveway and, in front of the house, Minkus was shovelling snow off the sidewalk.
Making his way over, Shawn raised a skeptical eyebrow. “…What are you doing?” He asked, casting an eye across the half-finished sidewalk. As far as Shawn was aware, Minkus had never picked up a shovel before. In fact, during the last snow storm, Shawn saw Minkus pay a kid down the street to take care of it for him. Shawn had tried to shut down the jealous stirrings in his gut as he saw Minkus just giving away money. Shawn could have done the work easily, but his pride kept him from asking and Minkus had never offered.
Letting out a huff, Minkus flopped down onto a snow bank. “My father thinks that it would do me some good to take care of the snow myself. Teach me responsibility or some shit.” There was considerably more bitterness than usual, mixed in with the usual snark.
Nodding, Shawn picked up the shovel and started to work. He knew exactly what it was like to have irresponsible people try to teach about responsibility.
Minkus let himself fall backwards so he was laying in the snow and staring up at the sky. “You don’t have to do that, you know.” He said softly, though he didn’t really make any move to actually stop Shawn.
“I know.” Shawn continued working, it was nearly done anyway. “Consider it a novelty to me, I don’t have a sidewalk at home.”
Shrugging, Minkus stayed in the snow. It was as though the life had been sucked out of him.
With one last shovel-full, Shawn stabbed the shovel into the snow bank and sat next to Minkus. Not knowing what to say, Shawn sat in silence for a long moment.
Finally, the silence was broken by Minkus. “Sam took the ball with him when he left.”
The statement laid between them, Shawn letting Minkus continue if he wanted.
Minkus sat up, but stared down at the sidewalk rather than looking at Shawn. “It was the only thing he took with him and he grabbed it on his way out the door. I haven’t seen either of them since.”
Wrapping his arms around his knees, Shawn looked over at Minkus – trying to coax the other boy to look back at him. “Why did he leave?”
Shawn could see the muscles on Minkus’ back tense up. He turned and looked back towards the house, doing a quick scan on the windows. “He was gay, so my parents threw him out.”
Without missing a beat, Minkus stood up and grabbed the shovel. “Maybe this isn’t the best time for a visit,” he said, not looking Shawn in the eye. “Merry Christmas.”
And then Minkus was gone, leaving Shawn sitting in a puddle of melting snow.
Come Monday, Shawn was back at school. It was business as usual, but when he reached his first class there was a beautiful leather-bound book sitting on top of his usual desk. Picking it up, Shawn flipped through it. It was completely blank. There wasn’t a word in the entire book, just empty lines. Finally, he stopped flipping and opened it to the very front. There was no note, no message, just ‘Poetry by Shawn Hunter’ written in what appeared to be a fountain pen.
Without a word, Shawn slipped the book into his backpack. He never mentioned it to Minkus, and Minkus never asked.
They didn't see each other at school. Not very often, anyway. Aside from the Claire incident, Minkus never bothered to look for Shawn in the halls, and Shawn told himself that he was glad for it. It made things easier that way. He didn't have to explain Minkus' presence to the people that made up his real life. That's how he saw it anyway: his life with his dad and with Cory and Topanga, that was his real life. Whatever he had with Minkus was an escape, a fantasy. Whatever it was, it wasn't real...and he couldn't imagine trying to explain that to Cory.
It was easy, though. So easy. He could slip away for a night or two with just a note left for his dad. The more he did it, the less his dad questioned it. And if his dad assumed all these sleep-overs were with Cory, well that wasn't Shawn's fault, now was it?
As he walked through the hallways in a bright red skirt, Shawn had never been happier to know that Minkus probably wouldn't see him. He would never hear the end of it.
Still, he rounded corners and made his way through halls with the stealth of a prey animal. Peeking meekly ahead of him, in constant fear that people might recognize him Shawn couldn't help but wonder how he let himself get talked into this.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he spotted Cory at their normal spot by their lockers. As he made his way over, the morning announcements started from the speakers above him. Long used to ignoring them, he quickly tuned out Feeny's voice, until something caught his attention.
"...we would all like to wish Stuart Minkus a happy birthday."
That stopped Shawn dead in his tracks. It was Minkus' birthday? Why hadn't he said anything?
Pushing the thought out of his mind, Shawn focused on getting through the day.
An alarming number of teachers didn’t really react to Shawn’s transformation. Most of them carried on as though they had random new students in their class every day, and that this was just par for the course.
Jon raised an eyebrow though, and cautiously asked ‘Veronica’ to stay after class.
Once everyone was out of the room, Shawn just blurted out everything before Jon even had a chance to ask. “Cory’s doing an article for the paper on what it’s like to be a girl, and this is just research.” Shawn wasn’t really sure what he was so afraid of, but he couldn’t let Jon think that this was anything other than strictly professional.
After a few false starts and pauses to mull over the situation, finally Jon said, “All right.”
“It’s nothing weird,” Shawn protested.
“I didn’t say it was weird.” Jon paused again and seemed to be trying very hard to find the right words. “I mean, it’s okay to try new things sometimes… It’s okay to explore possibilities…you know?”
Shawn didn’t know, but still he answered. “Yeah, obviously.”
Giving Shawn a pat on the shoulder, Jon gestured to the door. “Now get outta here, you’re going to be late for your next class.”
Shawn threw a quick wave over his shoulder as he hurried to escape to the safety of the corridor.
As he passed into the nearly empty hall, he locked eyes with Minkus who was making his way down the small staircase.
In an instant, Minkus’ eyes were as big as saucer’s and he was gaping like a fish. Shawn shouldered past him and fled without a word.
Shawn stayed late to do his homework in Jon’s classroom, as always. Though, this time, Jon was notably trying not to look in Shawn’s direction. This lasted about 45 minutes before Shawn excused himself and went to the washroom to change back into his usual clothes. He had wanted to wait until he was absolutely sure no one would spot him going in to the bathroom. The last thing he needed was to blow his cover over something stupid, or worse.
It might have been Shawn’s imagination, but Jon seemed to breathe a sigh of relief when Shawn came back to the room looking more like his typical self. Jon asked if he needed any help with his work, and they carried on as though the rest of the day hadn’t happened.
Shawn didn’t even bother going home that night. His dad had told him in the morning that he would be out of town for the weekend and that Shawn should find alternate arrangements. Though he was a little nervous because of their earlier meet up, Shawn made his way to Minkus’ house.
The door was unlocked, and Shawn slipped in as quietly as he could. He didn’t know why he was so nervous, Minkus was so unflappable that he probably wouldn’t even mention it.
Shawn listened carefully, to try and figure out which part of the house Minkus was in. He was definitely home. Minkus always locked the door when he wasn’t home, always.
After a quick sweep of the bottom floor, Shawn made his way up the stairs.
Minkus’ door was open and the boy in question was lying on his bed starring at the ceiling. There was no way that Minkus hadn’t heard Shawn making his way up the stairs, so he stepped into the room and waited a moment to see if Minkus would look at him.
Minkus didn’t, but he did move his leg over slightly which Shawn took as a silent invitation to have a seat.
Not really sure what to say, Shawn just sat on the bed in silence for a moment before laying back so that his head rested on Minkus’ shin. He was lying perpendicular to the other boy and stared at the ceiling in solidarity.
It could have been hours or it could have been minutes, but eventually Minkus broke the silence. “It’s my birthday today,” he said flatly, eyes remaining glued to the ceiling.
Shawn nodded, knowing Minkus could feel it even if he couldn’t see it. “I know… it was on the announcements.”
Minkus nodded slightly in acknowledgement, but otherwise stayed lost in his own thoughts. “My parents have moved out.” His voice cracked a little. “They said that I’m old enough that I can stay here on my own now.”
Shawn rolled over so that he could actually look at Minkus’ face, only now noticing the tear streaks that were trailing from him eyes to the pillows. “…Can they do that?”
Minkus shrugged. “They said that they would keep paying the bills until I graduate, and if I do well in school, they’ll pay for college. I’m going to get a stipend to live off of….” He trailed off and Shawn noticed Minkus’ eyes growing moist again. “I don’t know why I’m even surprised… it’s not like I actually liked them, or thought they loved me… I just… I never thought…” Minkus went back to staring at the ceiling.
Shawn pushed himself up and made his way to the end of the bed so that he was lying beside Minkus. Without a word, he wrapped his arms around the other boy. There wasn’t anything to say, Shawn just stayed there and let Minkus cry.
The next morning, Shawn woke up in Minkus’ bed. It was early, the sun was just starting to peek over the houses across the street. Shawn stayed for a long time and just watched Minkus sleep. When he felt Minkus start to stir, Shawn slipped away and hurried out of the house. He had to get to Topanga’s house to get ready for his date. She promised him that she had the perfect dress.
It was actually really nice spending the morning with Topanga. She pulled out all her best make up, they curled Shawn’s wig, made up his face. Opening her closet, Topanga pulled out three options for Shawn to choose from. One was a blue pantsuit. It was nice enough, but it didn’t feel right. When Shawn put it on, he just felt like same old Shawn. He passed on that one very quickly.
The next one was green and short. When Shawn tried it on, it made him want to twirl. It was exactly the kind of dress he would love to see on a Saturday date night and it made him feel special inside.
The last dress was long and wispy. It had spaghetti straps and embroidery. Shawn couldn’t even bring himself to try it on because it was too beautiful for someone like him. He settled on the green dress. It was the right dress for the date.
Later that evening, after what turned out to be the worst date in the world, the three of them made their way back to Topanga’s house so that they could get changed. Cory changed quickly and then rushed home to start on his article. Shawn stayed behind and stared at the other dress again.
Topanga walked over to see what he was looking at in her closet.
Feeling his chance starting to slip away, Shawn asked to try it on.
Topanga smiled and took it off the hanger.
Looking at himself in the full-length mirror, Shawn couldn’t even recognize himself. He looked like a princess from one of those shows his mother used to always watch. Suddenly knowing what he wanted to do, Shawn nodded to his reflection and quietly asked Topanga if he could use her phone to make a call.
Shawn told Minkus to call a cab and come pick him up at the corner of Topanga’s street. He appreciated that Topanga didn’t ask about why he wanted to wear the dress tonight. Shawn knew that if there was anyone he could trust to be circumspect about it, it would be her.
Minkus pulled up looking very confused, but dressed nicely like Shawn asked. He opened the door to let Shawn into the taxi with him.
“This your girlfriend?” the driver asked smirking at them.
Seeming completely at a loss, Minkus just shrugged.
Smiling sweetly, Shawn nodded. “Yeah, I’m his girlfriend, Veronica.” He leaned on Minkus’ shoulder and giggled.
Nodding, the driver started to drive again. “And where are you kids off to tonight?”
“I thought we might go out for dinner, and then some dancing?” Shawn suggested, looking at Minkus for approval. “It’s my Stuart’s birthday, after all.”
There was something dark about Minkus’ face, something unreadable. It might have been the shadows cast by the streetlights through the windows, but for a brief moment, Minkus’ expression looked so raw it was heartbreaking. Then, it was like a mask slipped into place and Minkus smiled. “Of course, darling. That sounds wonderful.” It was spoken with a confidence that Shawn remembered from their middle school days, but hadn’t seen in a long time.
Suddenly Minkus was all charm. He gave the driver an address, put his arm around Shawn’s shoulders, and carried himself as though he didn’t have a care in the world.
He even startled a laugh out of Shawn a couple times as they were driving with some sly observations of the passing night life.
When they pulled up to the restaurant, Minkus overpaid the driver and waved off any attempts to make change. He gallantly offered Shawn his arm, and ushered them into the restaurant.
They were seated immediately, and nobody asked to see ID when Minkus ordered a bottle of red for their table.
However Shawn had expected this evening to go…this wasn’t it.
They ended up skipping the dancing and heading straight back to Minkus’ house. Shawn really hadn’t known where to go, or if Minkus even knew how to dance.
Minkus unlocked the door, but then paused awkwardly on the step. “I don’t know if you’re the type of girl one invites in after a first date.” He said loosely, eyes fixed on the inside hall and not looking at Shawn at all.
Taking a moment to think about it, Shawn wrinkled his fingers through the fabric of the dress. “I don’t know either…” He shifted his eyes downward and felt his cheeks start to warm against the cold night breeze. “You could always try and see.”
Shifting his eyes back to Shawn, Minkus offered his hand. “Join me for a nightcap?” He asked with a roguish smile.
Feeling his knees melt a little, Shawn took the offered hand. “I’d love to.”
They were kissing as soon as the door closed, Minkus pushing Shawn against the wood and grinding against the soft fabric at his hip.
Clenching his hands on Minkus’ shoulders, Shawn let Minkus lift him off the ground and wrap his legs around Minkus’ waist. With the dress bunched up between their stomachs, there was nothing separating them except Shawn’s thin underwear and Minkus’ pants.
Without breaking the kiss, Minkus started carrying Shawn upstairs.
If Shawn had been thinking clearly, he might have wondered about this. Aside from their encounter in the shower, they basically never did anything like that upstairs. Upstairs was for sleeping and relaxing, hanging out with no expectation.
Shawn wasn’t thinking clearly though, so he didn’t pay it any mind when they passed through the hallway and Minkus kicked open the door that Shawn had otherwise avoided.
The master bedroom had the look of a show home. There wasn’t a single item out of place. The bed was neatly made, and there were just enough knick knacks to make the room not seem empty. But it was empty. Anyone looking closely could see that. There was no life in this room.
At least there wasn’t, until Minkus laid Shawn out on the Queen-sized bed and started sucking on his neck.
Taking a brief moment to catch his breath, Shawn took in his surroundings for the first time. “Should we be in here?” He asked, panting, as Minkus slipped a hand up his dress and slipped Shawn’s silk panties down his legs.
“Why not?” Minkus said between kisses. “It’s my house now.”
Gasping as Minkus took a strong hold of his erection and started stroking it firmly. Shawn choked out. “Won’t your parents be mad?”
At this, Minkus lifted Shawn’s dress, completely exposing him from waist down. “Fuck’em,” Minkus snarled before deep-throating Shawn in one quick motion.
Shawn lost all sense of reality as Minkus expertly sucked him off. In what could have been minutes, but could have been seconds, he felt the rush of orgasm over-take. Afterwards, he was too lethargic to care about Minkus’ parents anymore.
They laid still for a moment, Minkus looking up a Shawn with his smeared make-up and his tangled wig. Shawn would have felt self-conscious if he hadn’t been so boneless. As it was, he looked at Minkus through droopy eyes and was vaguely aware that Minkus was still hard.
“Do you want to do it?” Shawn murmured, looking around the room so he wouldn’t have to look at Minkus’ face.
“Hmm?” Minkus questioned, wiping his mouth on the hem of the dress .
Feeling his face heat again, Shawn tried not to let the embarrassment get to him. “You know… do you want to stick it in me? Make it a birthday present or something?” Shawn hated how he sounded in that moment.
Minkus was quiet long enough that Shawn eventually had to look at him again. His eyes were wide as saucers and he looked as stunned as Shawn felt. “…Do you want me to?”
Suddenly, Shawn was regretting the offer, feeling a sting of rejection in the pit of his stomach. “You know what…forget I asked.”
“No, I want to.” Minkus said in a rush, to stop Shawn from pulling away from him. Once Shawn had settled again, Minkus started again, slower. “I want to, I do…I just want to make sure that it’s something you want, too….”
Clenching his teeth, Shawn tried to push down the vague sense of embarrassment that was threatening to overwhelm him. “I do…I mean, I think I do….”
Reaching blindly towards the bedside table, Minkus pulled a bottle of lotion out and emptied some into his hand. “If at any point you want to stop, you just need to say stop…ok?” Minkus waited for a nod before reaching down between them.
Not wanting to see what Minkus was doing, Shawn looked at the ceiling and waited to feel the pressure on his hole. He really didn’t know what to expect, he only had the vaguest idea of how this was even done.
All of a sudden, he could feel Minkus’ fingers down there. They were being really gentle, barely touching him to begin with. The moisturizer gave them a smooth and silken glide as they danced around his rim. A sigh escaped from Shawn’s lips. This felt amazing.
It seemed like forever before Minkus actually put a finger in and started feeling around, and it was as though he was looking for something. A little more lotion and a bit more searching, and Shawn nearly jumped out of his skin when the burst of pleasure hit him. It had been nice before, pleasant, enjoyable, but now Shawn was rock hard again and grinding down against Minkus’ fingers desperate for a repeat of what just happened.
Minkus laughed and tried again, reaching in to give Shawn exactly what he wanted.
Soon, Shawn was begging. He was begging for deeper, harder, faster, more.
Finally kicking off his pants completely, Minkus rubbed a healthy handful of lotion on his member before lining it up with Shawn’s hole. With one last nod from Shawn, he started to push in.
It was too much, Shawn could feel the pressure and panic overwhelmed him. All of a sudden, it felt like he had been hit with a bucket of cold water and he couldn’t breath.
Minkus stopped. He stopped everything and pulled away.
Shawn wasn’t even sure if he had actually asked him to stop, or if Minkus had just looked at him and known.
Lowering the dress, Minkus climbed back up the bed and wrapped his arms around Shawn’s torso. “It’s okay,” he whispered into Shawn’s bare shoulder. “I’m going to pull up the blankets, okay?”
Feeling so cold, Shawn accepted the warm duvet over them both.
Ghosting a kiss across Shawn’s cheek, Minkus whispered. “Let’s go to sleep.”
It sounded like such a good idea, Shawn could feel the fatigue start to overtake him. There was just the matter of the pressure he could still feel against his hip. “But you never…”
A small laugh vibrated through the air. “Funny thing about that, it does that a lot. I’m sure we’ll have more than enough time to take care of it later…right now, we need sleep.”
With that, Shawn let unconsciousness take him.
Shawn woke up slowly. There was a gentle stroking on his arm; nothing purposeful about it, just lazy and whimsical. The sun was shining through the windows, and noises from the street outside was slowly breaking through their tranquility.
“You know, you can be charming…when you want to be,” Shawn whispered, and then kicked himself. What a stupid thing to say. He cringed, waiting for Minkus’ reaction.
Surprisingly, or maybe not as surprisingly as Shawn thought, Minkus laughed. “I know. It’s a good act I can put on when the need arises…. Since we were playing make believe, I thought I should play my part.”
Blinking up at him, Shawn couldn’t help but frown. “But you could be so much more popular, have so many more friends…”
“But it wouldn’t be me, so what’s the point?” Minkus shrugged. “It would feel like I was tricking people into being my friend…if they wouldn’t stay for who I really am, they aren’t really my friends…are they?”
Shawn refused to look to closely at the swirl of emotions Minkus had stirred up inside him, refused to look at his own charm, his own masks, and ask himself how many real friends he actually had. Instead, Shawn smirked and reached for the lotion. “So, if memory serves... I owe you a little something.”
It was over in minutes, Minkus was left panting and Shawn was staring in half horror and half hilarity at the state of his dress. “Topanga is going to kill me!” He moaned through laughter.
Minkus rolled his eyes. “I’ll have it dry cleaned, it’ll be fine.” He huffed before tackling Shawn again and rolling him across the bed. Having the bigger bed really had its perks.
Shawn did try to return the dress about a week later, Topanga just wrinkled her nose and said “I don’t even want to know what you’ve been doing with that for the past week…but you can keep it.”
Accepting it with a wink and a shrug, Shawn brought it back to Minkus’ house and hung it up in his closet there.