The Redchester Family Christmas: The Gift of Karma (Patreon)

Hey folks, this 1,650 word inanimate story is going to be the final entry in the Redchester Family Christmas series! I hope you've enjoyed the ride - I don't think I can say the same for the family in question! The family matriarch and Lila have managed to escape the transformation spree unscathed, but if there's interest that could always be changed next year...

Heading back to the family home for Christmas was one of Gregory Redchester’s favourite holiday traditions. Sure, like any other family the Redchesters had their differences and there was usually an alcohol-fuelled argument over a game of Monopoly, but Greg loved his family dearly and he was thrilled that the tradition had continued even after all three sons of Darren and Julia Redchester had formally moved out to become homeowners themselves. The family was only growing larger too: Jonas’ girlfriend Emilia had been a regular attendee since they had started dating back in high school, and Ben always brought along a different girl each year, although they all seemed to share the same basic bimbo characteristics. Greg never had to attend on his own either, as his husband of two years was always right there by his side.

Kevin was everything Greg could have possibly wanted from a guy. He was confident and charming, strong and sincere, attentive and authentic. At thirty-eight he was a fair amount of years older than the twenty-six year old Greg, but Kevin had won over the Redchester parents at a previous Christmas gathering some four years previously, and he’d been a regular during family events ever since. Even just looking at his husband took Greg’s breath away at times. Kevin was powerfully built without having to spend hours slaving away in the gym to achieve such a frame, and his dark hair was beginning to be peppered with silver at both the sides and in his beard, making the handsome man look even more distinguished. There was no mistaking who was the alpha between them either, Greg hung onto Kevin’s every word in the bedroom and obeyed every order without question. Their needs perfectly complemented each other’s.

While their marriage was perfect most of the time, there were a few things that caused some strife between them. These ranged from the minor, such as Kevin’s hatred for musical films (otherwise known as Greg’s favourite film genre), to more major. By far the thing that prompted the most disagreements between them though was how they spent their money. Greg had always been notoriously terrible at managing his finances and partook in retail therapy perhaps a little too frequently for a man only earning a teacher’s wage. Kevin meanwhile worked at a pharmaceutical company, but recent economic struggles had forced him to take a paycut, just as their car had been sent to the garage for financing and their dog required surgery, and as a result the pair of husbands were operating on a much tighter budget than they were used to. The last thing they wanted to do was to confess their financial struggles to the rest of the family, but Kevin assured the nervous Greg that by the end of the holiday period all of their troubles would be a thing of the past.

Hearing his husband’s plan for how they were to escape their debt issues though caused Greg’s anxieties to skyrocket. “You want to steal from my brother?” he hissed, after Kevin had led him away from the table where the whole family were having a casual Christmas Eve lunch. “I get it, Ben’s a total jackass, but theft is a little extreme, isn’t it?” Their discussion revolved around a box at the bottom of the wardrobe in Ben’s childhood room, where he kept a number of expensive items such as watches and cufflinks. He’d always remarked that they were his ‘seasonal favourites’, hence why they were kept at the family house rather than at the swanky apartment he rented in the city. Compared to Greg and Jonas, Ben had always had something of a more ostentatious style and taste.

“I know a guy who’d pay a couple hundred bucks, if not a thousand, for some of those pieces,” Kevin replied firmly. “We could pay off the car with that money, then when I’m back at my full wage, we’ll just replace the items. Don’t think of it as stealing, we’re just going to be borrowing.” Doubt continued to show on Greg’s face, prompting his husband to catch his wrist in a steely grip. “Don’t forget we’re only in this mess because you’re unable to keep your purse shut. You got us into this mess, I’m getting us out.” His voice had taken on a deep and rumbling tone, one that went right through Greg and caused parts of him to jolt in delight and made him feel weak at the knees. He’d never been able to resist his husband’s ‘take charge’ attitude.

They had intended to sneak into Ben’s room and steal the items before the eldest Redchester brother settled down to sleep that evening, but they had almost been thwarted by the sound of approaching footsteps. The pair dove into the wardrobe closet right as the door to the room opened and Ben’s latest squeeze, a busty girl named Lila, entered the room and began to undress. Kevin placed his hand over Greg’s mouth while he kept watch through a thin crack in the door, all while terror clawed at the brain of the mild-mannered Redchester son. He felt totally out of his depth, but just like always, Kevin kept his cool and the last thing Greg wanted to do was disappoint his husband.

While they waited for a sign that they could proceed with their plan - their crime - Greg pointed down towards his feet. Kevin followed his gaze and the corners of his lips curled up into a smirk when he saw the box between them. There was a number pad lock on it though, something Greg had failed to mention when he’d first brought it up. When he glanced back up to fix his husband with a steely glare though, Greg mouthed a simple confirmation: “I know the code.” Finally, after what felt like years, Lila finally began to lightly snore from her place in the middle of the king-sized bed. Kevin carefully switched positions with Greg, doing his best to keep their movements slow and soft. After taking a moment to compose himself, Greg slowly descended into a crouching position - that, of course, put him at the level of his husband’s crotch - he began to key in the code. There was no denying that Ben had an okay brain for business, but he certainly wasn’t the best with common sense, so it had been an easy combination to guess; it was just the jersey number he’d worn back as a high school lacrosse player, twice over.

Following his husband’s guidance, Greg plucked out a glimmering silver watch and a pair of glistening cufflinks before closing and locking the box once more. Then, with a great deal of care, the pair opened up the wardrobe doors and tiptoed out. They had only taken a single step out of the wardrobe when their bodies locked up, leaving them frozen at the end of the bed. Should the sleeping woman even stir for the briefest moment, she would absolutely see them, but she mercifully continued to snore while hugging the pillow close to her, looking for warmth that Ben wasn’t there to provide.

Both men struggled with all of their might to raise their feet from the ground but hard as they tried, it was a seemingly impossible task. They were completely paralysed! All they could do was stare at each other in absolute terror, but what they saw only caused their horror to escalate. Their clothes faded away into oblivion, leaving them completely naked in the middle of Greg’s older brother’s room. If anybody was to walk in, they’d think the pair of them were perverts! Soon not even that was a worry though, as things took an even sharper turn into the supernatural: they were beginning to shrink!

With each inch that they came closer to the floor, their pale tones started to redden and their flesh warped to become a delicate fabric texture. Greg watched in panic as his beloved husband’s torso and limbs twisted and contorted in grotesque fashion, removing any resemblance of the human body over the space of his transformation, until he had finally taken on a new shape: a red lace bra, that then dropped into the gift box that had somehow appeared below them. He would only have to go mere moments without his husband though, as seconds later Greg’s own body endured the same fate, writhing and deforming and ripping away both his masculinity and humanity. The experience made Greg want to scream or vomit, but neither was possible when he was in the grasp of the unseen magics that recycled him into nothing more than a pair of lace pantiesHis new inanimate body hung in the air for a moment before dropping into the box to form a perfectly matching pair with the bra that had once been his husband.

Darkness soon overcame the two former men as a lid was placed on top of the gift box, and the blackout produced a cloudiness in their minds, forcing them to reconsider if they had ever actually been anything other than a matching set of lace underwear that was to be gifted to the very lucky Lila. With every passing moment their memories seemed further and further away, leaving them only with the reality of what they were. Why else would they have been in the bedroom, if not to be given as a gift? Their only desire was to be worn!

The gift box shook for a moment as a heavy hand placed a card upon it - To Lila, from Santa - and then all within the room fell silent and still until Christmas Morning came. Indeed, the watch and cufflinks that the pair had attempted to steal now rest on the floor surrounding the box, the only sign that anyone other than Lila had been in the room that night.