Least Favorite Cousin (Patreon)

Even though he knew that families always had favorite children no matter what they said, Joshua struggled with the understanding that he was the runt of the lot. While he was the only child of his parents, they had no less than eight nieces and nephews, all of whom had been charming little kids and had grown into respectable young adults. The youngest of his generation, Joshua was a mere afterthought to seemingly his whole family, especially when compared to the cousin closest to him in age, Kieran.

For as long as Joshua could remember, he had resented Kieran. There was nothing Joshua could do that his cousin hadn't previously achieved and been more successful at to boot. His parents had never once described him as a disappointment but Joshua could see it in their eyes, especially at family gatherings where he stuck out like a sore thumb. He didn't seem to have anything in common with his cousins, all of whom had been athletes or valedictorians at high school. Joshua was decidedly average in a family that didn't do average and he suffered for it continuously.

As if hoping that some of Kieran's charm, talent or luck would rub off on their son, Joshua's parents were consistently welcoming of their nephew and would often try to get him to hang out with their son. Kieran was a good sport about it and actually attempted to befriend Joshua but the two simply had nothing in common and it threw a wall up between them that only fostered the negative attitude growing inside the younger man.

There was a small whisper in Joshua's mind that gradually made him believe that Kieran had deliberately chosen to go to college just a half hour away, meaning he could visit and get showered with praise by Joshua's parents every weekend. He would never admit to it but Joshua was sure that Kieran enjoyed stealing the attention away from him, as if it wasn't enough that he was already unfairly gorgeous and muscular, not to mention popular with both guys and girls. Kieran had a perfect life and Joshua was wallowing away in his shadow.

One of Joshua's parents' brilliant ideas to have their son bond with their favorite nephew was to force him to accompany Kieran to the gym on a guest pass. Joshua had only ever seen the inside of a gym once or twice before and nerves had always got the best of him, forcing him to flee after the measliest amounts of cardio. The amount of gorgeous guys with big muscles parading around certainly hadn't helped his nerves all that much either, especially as he was still closeted.

Kieran was lucky enough to never look out of place or out of his comfort zone no matter where he was but he was a true natural in the gym. His visits had become so regular that he was friendly with many of the personal trainers and other occupants - all of whom had totally looked past Joshua and merely mumbled a greeting when Kieran introduced them. For the next hour Joshua watched as Kieran excelled at everything he did while he was stuck on the lightest weights with bad form and a desperate urge to run out of there as fast as he could.

With the rivalry between cousins (unknowingly one-sided) at boiling point, Joshua knew he couldn't stand it anymore. He hated being second best to Kieran in every way and envied everything his cousin had. Seeing his popularity and strength in the gym was the tipping point and Joshua was prepared to go extreme to make sure his cousin got a taste of how it felt to live life as an afterthought to his own family.

All it took to begin turning the tide in Joshua's favor was one little curse. Black magic came with consequences, everybody knew that, but Joshua was desperate and he was prepared to face whatever the consequences were. His need to 'one-up' Kieran was unrivaled and through the use of magic he had the perfect solution to finally feel some much-needed peace within himself.

The curse began taking effect just the very next morning. Kieran had left the house early to hit the gym as he always did and for once Joshua was wide awake in the early hours, anticipating the moment that was to come. The clock had barely ticked past eight when the warmth began to spread through the young man's muscles, catching him off guard and prompting a soft moan to escape his lips.

For the next hour Joshua was parked in front of his mirror, watching his naked body as it began to grow and expand with muscle. Within half an hour it looked as if Joshua had been prepping for a marathon. Another thirty minutes and anybody would have been forgiven for presuming that he played any number of sports at school and was on the fast-track to being signed by a major league team.

The source of his sudden transformation? Kieran, who had been toiling away in the gym without any benefits becoming apparent. Indeed, the more the minutes passed, the weaker he began to feel until eventually deciding to call it quits an hour into what was usually his two-hour Sunday morning session. He felt off and he wasn't quite sure why. 

Trapped in his own thoughts, Kieran failed to notice the physical transformation taking hold of him during his walk home. His impressive muscles dwindled, leaving him with the appearance of somebody who was clearly a complete stranger to the gym. All of his hard-earned muscles had been robbed of him, although he wouldn't even realize until he reached his aunt and uncle's home and was confronted by the sight of his dorky younger cousin Joshua.

Needless to say, this wasn't the Joshua he had dragged to the gym with him the day before. His facial features were the same but nothing else about him was at all recognizable. His slender frame had been replaced by the body of a college jock, with meaty pecs and clearly defined abs. Boulder-like shoulders and pumped-up arms were complimented by thick thighs and strong calves, completing the image of somebody who treated their body like a temple. 

This wasn't the timid introverted Joshua he knew. This was a new man and he was more than happy to take Kieran's place in every way possible. Their facial features were similar enough that Joshua could get away with slipping into his cousin's life without any major issues - even his own parents didn't seem to notice that their son and their nephew had swapped places. No amount of crying from Kieran would convince them either because who would believe such a mad tale?

As he got into his car and waved goodbye to his old life, the new Kieran felt confident that he wasn't going to be living in anybody's shadow anymore. This was his life to live and finally there wouldn't be any unsavory comparisons to his cousin who was now nothing more than an anti-social dork who was very clearly jealous of him.

There was only one thing left that Kieran held his breath over and that was the consequence that would surely follow as a result of using black magic. Whatever it was though, he was prepared to take it in stride...