I Heard You Kept the Old Couch (Patreon)

“It’s just not fair.  The guy goes out of his way to help everyone, but he’s still stuck working doubles at that crappy restaurant?”  Ben sighed and shook his head as he finished putting the cushions and throw pillows back on Alan’s worn couch.  He paused and ran his hand along the top, remembering the weeks he’d spent sleeping on it after his parents had kicked him out.  He’d just turned eighteen, which marked the point at which his homophobic family considered their obligations fulfilled.  Ben had been given the boot a month before his high school graduation, and Alan’s kindness was the only reason he’d been able to finish at all.  At the time he barely even knew the older man, which made his willingness to help all the more remarkable.  Ben still didn’t know how word of his circumstances had made it to Alan in the first place, but after only a few days of couch surfing at various friends’ houses he found himself with an open invitation.  If Ben was putting in the effort to get back on his feet he was allowed to stay as long as he needed to, and even then Alan didn’t push.  He’d been through his own rough patch and knew what it felt like to be so carelessly jettisoned, and he was determined to be the kind of person he wished he’d had when he needed someone.

Even eight years later, Ben could still remember his feeling of excitement the first time he’d stepped through Alan’s door.  The small, one-bedroom apartment might as well have been a castle, the mature, handsome hunk it’s king.  Now that he’d just crossed over into the back half of his twenties, Ben laughed at how he used to think of Alan as being so much older.  The other man was only a year or two into his third decade when they’d first met, but at the time he seemed so wise and experienced.  Ben was smitten immediately.  He’d already been prepared to repay his new friend’s kindness with the only currency he had access to, but that quickly turned into a genuine desire.  Alan wouldn’t have it, though.  Despite Ben’s lean, athletic frame and boy-next-door face, the older man refused to even entertain the idea.  He wasn’t letting Ben stay there so he could take advantage of him, he’d insisted.  His kindness didn’t come with strings attached, and he told Ben that, whether he realized it or not, the younger man wasn’t thinking clearly.

Looking back on it now, Ben realized how right Alan had been.  He still found the older man’s burly, hairy frame incredibly attractive, especially now that his dark hair was taking on a salt-and-pepper speckle, but naive infatuation had played a big part in his feelings.  He wouldn’t have regretted a second of it if they’d ever fooled around, but as he’d grown into his own person, Ben appreciated Alan’s restraint more than ever.  Their relationship was that of a Big Brother, and instead of using the younger man’s tight, muscled frame for his own pleasure, the older man had introduced him to another wayward stray he’d recently helped out.

Like Ben, Graham had found himself in a similar situation, alone in the city with nowhere to go.  He’d actually approached Alan at a bar, hoping for nothing more than to continue his cycle of hookups so he’d have a place to stay that night.  Much to the young blonde’s surprise, though, the charming older man opened his doors and let them stay that way.  Despite Graham’s many attempts no hooking up ever actually happened, even after he’d found a steady job and had a place of his own.  Months later, when Alan reached out saying he had someone he wanted Graham to meet, it had been love at first sight.  The two younger men were only a few months apart in age and Alan knew them both well enough to be certain of the outcome before they’d even met.  And like the older man predicted, Ben was hooked the second he saw Graham’s dimpled smile, just as the bashful blonde was taken by the wiry brunette.  They’d been together ever since, growing into a pair of fit, handsome men who, thanks to Alan’s kindness, had a chance to build their lives together.  Ben currently worked a series of part time jobs while he pursued his dream of being on stage, and Graham was only biding his time at the coffee shop until a spot opened up at the fire department.  It wasn’t a luxurious existence, but it was a start, which is more than they would have had on their own.

The same could be said for Todd, the newest member of their impromptu family.  Unlike Ben and Graham, the former jock had been kicked out of college after quitting the baseball team.  He’d been caught on campus with another guy, and the relentless ribbing from his teammates was more than he could handle.  Unfortunately he’d only made it into school on a sports scholarship in the first place, so he didn’t last long once he had to rely on his brains instead of his body.  Since going back home to his conservative family wasn’t an option, like his two friends, Todd found himself on Alan’s couch while he regrouped.  Where the other two failed, perhaps because he was in his early twenties and in college, he’d actually managed to find a crack in the older man’s armor.  But after one blissful night together he’d said he felt too guilty to do it again, despite Todd’s insistence that he didn’t feel taken advantage of.  Now, a few years later, with a place of his own and a job as a personal trainer, the ripped, raven-haired hunk was still trying.

Throughout it all, while his growing pack of strays moved out and moved on, Alan kept working the same grueling schedule, making sure everyone else was taken care of.  Just because the guys didn’t live with him anymore didn’t mean he wasn’t still involved or invested in their well being, doing whatever he could to help out if needed.  And it wasn’t as if he didn’t have dreams of his own.  Alan was an incredibly talented painter and talked about how he wished he had the time to devote to being a successful artist, but he always put other people first.  Even when he didn’t have someone crashing at his apartment he volunteered his time, and while the people around him partnered off, he always said he was “too busy” to try and land a relationship.

Todd dropped down onto the couch, his pecs bouncing against his draping muscle shirt with the impact.  He rested a sculpted arm against the top, his meaty thighs straining his small nylon shorts as he sat.  “It’s crazy to think how many hours we all spent on this thing.  I can’t believe he hasn’t gotten a new one yet.”

“I wish we could get it for him,” Graham said, putting away the last of the cleaning supplies.  “I wish we could afford to do anything other than make him dinner and clean up his place.”

Ben laughed and tousled Todd’s short hair for messing up his carefully arranged pillows.  “He wouldn’t even let us do this if he knew we were doing it,” he said, motioning for the muscled hunk to get up.

Todd climbed to his feet and walked over to start helping Graham with the food.  “He’s too considerate for his own good,” he sighed.  “You know he still says me and him are off limits?”

Graham shrugged.  “He’s always been like that.”

“Yeah, but you two were kids when you got here,” Todd started before Ben cut him off.

“We were eighteen.  Like twenty one is so much better,” the lean brunette said, rolling his eyes.

“I’m just sayin’…I was an adult who crashed on another adult’s couch.  I respect him not wanting to do anything at the time, but he knows how I still feel.  One time I even got him to admit that he wants to…” Todd trailed off.  “So.  Frustrating.”

Graham put a hand on the other man’s shoulder and squeezed.  “If it makes you feel better we’ve tried to talk him into it.  But hey, who knows?  Maybe that’ll change now that Ben had his big break.  I heard he’s one of the most popular wrestlers on the circuit now.”  Graham’s eyes went wide as soon as he finished speaking, a stunned expression on his face.

His partner seemed equally confused.  Ben had joked about looking into professional wrestling as a way of scratching his performance itch and getting his foot in the door as a performer, but he could never bulk up enough for it.  He raised an eyebrow as he looked at Graham’s shocked face.  “What did you just say?  Babe, are you okaaaaaaAAHHHH!”

It happened so fast that no one had time to do anything other than blink in response.  One second Ben was the same lean, wiry brunette he’d always been, and the next he’d somehow inflated into a nearly-naked wall of muscle.  His shaggy brown hair had receded to a tight buzz cut, his boy-next-door face filling out into a sharp, intimidating mask.  The once-slender neck was nowhere to be seen as it was swallowed by the now-lumpy muscles of his upper back while they wedged between his cannonball shoulders.  The broad slopes gave way to a set of meaty, chiseled pistons larger than his thighs had previously been, and his formerly modest pecs had ballooned into a bulging, granite shelf that rested on a prominent muscle gut.  Ben’s lower half had filled out to an equal degree, a fact that was clearly visible as he was now clad only in what looked like a speedo with a sequined flame print sewn into it.  The small garment accentuated the meaty new globes of the ample rear that had replaced his firm little bubble, as well as the hefty bulge nestled between his tree-trunk thighs.

Ben gasped, his enlarged hands shaking as he held them up and prodded his expanded frame.  He looked over at his two friends, gradually realizing he viewed them from a higher perspective.  Instead of his usual 5’10”, he’d somehow shot up nearly half a foot to a towering 6’3”.  “What…what just happened…” he stammered, his voice a deep rumble.  He clutched the back of the couch as he suddenly stumbled, the room spinning around him from a rush of new memories.  Everything up until the moment he left Alan’s was the same, but Ben felt like he was watching a movie as a very different sequence of events unfolded afterwards.  He’d still fallen for Graham, but instead of the theater and part-time jobs he spent nearly all of his time at the gym.  Hour after hour of lifting and grunting and pushing his body to the limit gradually turned into auditions, then training camps, and then the spotlight.  He wasn’t just Ben anymore, he was The Inferno, one of the star members of the campy World Wrestling Association.

“Be…Ben?  Hon?  Are you…oh fuck this is weird…” Graham stammered, his eyes flickering between surprise and hunger as he reached out and placed a hand on his lover’s beefy new chest.  He felt like he was falling as his memories raced to catch up with the altered reality.  “How…how did this happen?  Why do I remember you…” he trailed off and shook his head, already having to fight to acknowledge that anything had happened at all.  “You’re bigger than Todd!”

The dark-haired jock’s stunned expression softened into a grin as he gawked at the altered giant now towering over Graham.  “Yeah, well, I heard it’s a good thing The Inferno’s got a brave fireman who’s always ready to use his big ‘ol hose to put the blaze out,” Todd shrugged before gasping a moment later.  Like Graham, he hadn’t intended to say any of it.  He’d heard the words leaving his mouth with his voice, but some other force had put them there.

As with Ben, there wasn’t time to question anything before the changes happened.  At first, Graham’s alterations appeared more subtle.  The fit blonde filled out, a thicker, burly torso now straining against his thin t-shirt, and a set of powerful legs stretching his jeans near to bursting.  He hadn’t become a muscled monster like Ben, but had sprouted the kind of body that came from regular workouts followed by hours spent hauling many pounds of heavy equipment through burning buildings.  It was the kind of beefy, functional muscle that perfectly complemented his rugged, lantern-jawed new features.  There was a moment of silence as Graham blinked at his calloused palms before he let out a sharp gasp and a yelp of pain.  “Owww!  Fuck!  What the fuck is…oooowwww…” he cried, his hands desperately fumbling with the waist of his tight denim.  They all saw the outline against the straining fabric, but no one was prepared for the fat monster that sprung free as soon as Graham had his pants open.  Instead of an average package, the blonde’s meaty frame now sported an eleven inch club, complete with a set of massive, churning balls.  The rigid organ was already leaking, and Graham blushed at the swirling tide of memories.  He’d felt a swell of pride just moments before as he saw himself working his way through the ranks of the fire department, but now that was accompanied by a stab of embarrassment at the awkward situations his eager monster put him in.  There was a reason he was known as The Hose around the fire house.  “Oh…oh god…” Graham gasped, his humiliation slowly giving way to pride once more as he saw himself strutting around the locker room and the showers with his swaying pendulum.  Ben may have gotten paid to put his body on display, but the formerly modest Graham was now happy to do it for free.  He couldn’t hide his eager beast, and he’d learned over the years that it was better to lean into it.

“Oh my,” Ben laughed, reaching down to wrap a hand around Graham’s throbbing monster.  His own average, though comparatively tiny, cock twitched in his sparkly trunks as he gave the pulsing club a few tugs.  He knew Todd was watching, and that Alan could walk in at any moment, but something about the attention just felt right.

Even Graham felt the same.  Instead of pulling away he slipped a hand up under his straining t-shirt to stroke his newly-muscled stomach while Ben tugged.  “This is wild…” he gasped, a confused look on his face as he gawked back and forth between them.  “Is this…right?  Are we supposed to be doing this?  What…what were we just doing?”

“It’s fine,” Ben rumbled, his deepened voice both calm and commanding as he looked over at their unchanged friend.  “I heard nerdy little Todd wanted us to come over and see the fancy new house he just bought for him and Alan with his latest windfall.”

Todd’s gasp was swallowed by a loud rushing sound, the small apartment blurring around them.  For a moment the trio was the only thing in focus as the world went fuzzy before quickly resettling in an entirely new manner.  Instead of standing in a cramped one-bedroom apartment they found themselves in a spacious, open room, looking out through a wall of windows at a broad lake surrounded by lush forest.  There were no other houses in sight, though the one in which they stood seemed large enough to account for several.  Everything from the polished floors to the recessed lighting to the expensive furniture reeked of modern opulence, though their attention was pulled from the impressive surroundings to the stunned, slender figure where the muscled jock should have been.

“Gu…guys…what just…ha…happened…” Todd stuttered in a softened voice.  His dark-hair was the only recognizable feature, his shredded body having no longer existed in the first place.  In a reverse of Ben’s changes, not only had the former hunk lost most of his muscle, he’d shrunk in height as well, now standing closer to 5’6” than his previous 6’ stature.  His newly-compact frame was still lean and solid, sporting an impressive level of toned definition, but his sculpted bulk had vanished entirely.  The muscle shirt that once clung to his prominent pecs now hung loose against his flat chest, threatening to slip over a bony shoulder as it draped like a gown.  Todd prodded his lithe new frame with shrunken, shaking hands, blushing as he lifted the shirt to discover that he was now naked underneath.  The former jock felt a rush of dread at the sight of his toned, tiny thighs, but it was mitigated by the sight of his thick, unchanged package dangling between them.  On his smaller frame it looked larger than ever, and as he stared, Todd’s racing heart started to slow.  He focused on the impressive abs and the small-but-perky bubble, his relief growing as the new memories settled.  No longer a dumb jock, Todd now remembered the countless hours he’d spent with his nose buried in a book.  His once-limited attention span had flipped to limitless instead, his brain becoming the powerhouse that his body once had been.  He learned with almost preternatural speed, acquiring new information as easily as his formerly athletic frame used to acquire muscle.  The horror he’d felt at his diminished muscle turned on its head, the memories of himself as a slow-witted jock seeming much more terrible by comparison.  “Oh.  Oh wow,” Todd said, his wide eyes blinking rapidly.  He ran a hand through his messy hair, the shaggy mop nothing like his previously-styled mane.  It fit the way his features had sharpened as they’d thinned, softening the harsh edges that had replaced his square-jawed face.  “Guys...I’m smart.  Really smart,” he laughed.  “And...rich?”

Graham gestured around the massive house.  “Obviously if you could afford this place.  I heard all that money let Alan quit his day job so he can focus on his art now.  Really let him loosen up, too.  I heard he’s never been happier since you two made it official.”

A commotion erupted from behind a door on the far side of the room as soon as the now-hung fireman stopped talking.  The group heard a surprised cry, followed by the sound of frantic, padding feet before the door burst open to reveal a shocked Alan.  The older man was clad only in a pair of small nylon shorts, leaving his brawny frame mostly exposed.  A few streaks and splatters of paint mingled with the salt-and-pepper carpet on his burly torso, and various canvases could be seen through the door behind him, scattered about what was clearly his studio.

“What the fuck just happened,” Alan cried, freezing when he saw the unfamiliar trio.  “Where am I?  Who the hell are you...people…” he trailed off in a gasp as he slowly approached, each stumbling step carrying him out of the old world and into the new.  “Guys?  Is that really you,” he asked, his eyes immediately drawn to the largest figure in the room.  He gave a short, shocked laugh as he looked up at Ben and over at Graham, raising an impressed eyebrow when he saw the rugged stud’s inflated girder.  “What...what happened?  One second I was at the restaurant...then everything went fuzzy and I was...here?”  He looked down at his exposed state, specifically the clearly-outlined cock pressing against the thin nylon of his shorts.  “Why am I dressed like this?  Where are...we…” the older man gave another sharp gasp and wheeled in place, the new memories punching through his initial shock.  His mouth fell open when he saw the nimble little man that used to be an athletic stud and he reached a tentative hand towards the lithe figure.  “Todd?!  Oh my god, what...I mean...look at you!  You’re...you’re…” he stepped forward on instinct, swallowing the smaller man in his meaty embrace.  There was a moment of silence, Alan’s pale, shell-shocked expression gradually turning into a smile.  “You’re adorable,” he finally said, loosening his grip.  He grinned down at Todd as the smaller man’s fingers danced through the hair on his chest, a shiver running through him.  Without stopping to think about it he bent and pressed their lips together, the image of the other man as a taller, strapping jock pushed away by the sensation of the wiry, compact frame in his arms.

“I’m glad you think so,” Todd purred, his fingers toying with the elastic of Alan’s increasingly-tented shorts.  “You’d better.”

The older man stepped back and shook his head.  Looking down at the rigid cock poking against his shorts he felt like he should be embarrassed, but that thought seemed ridiculous, especially with his current visitors.  His modest, reserved days were a thing of the past, and it wasn’t like there were any secrets between the four of them.  With Graham around, it was only a matter of time before a hard cock popped out somewhere.  He smiled at the group as he threw a heavy arm around Todd’s shoulders and pulled him close.  “What were we just talking about?  Sorry...I got distracted by someone’s cuteness,” he said, tousling Todd’s hair.

Ben nodded over at the open door.  “Did you get everything set up for our portrait?”

Alan nodded, a bashful grin on his face.  “Oh!  Right!  Fuck...don’t get old, guys.  I don’t know where my head’s at.  I wondered why you were in your work clothes,” he laughed, snapping the elastic of Ben’s trunks.  “Are we still going to go with Graham nake...yep, guess that answers that question,” he said as the burly firefighter peeled out of his t-shirt and casually stripped all the way down.  Alan shrugged and shucked his own shorts, seeming perfectly at ease with his beefy frame and rigid cock on display.  “At least with you guys I can paint the way I like, without anything on.”

“The way I like, too,” Todd grinned, giving the older man’s meaty cheeks a squeeze.

Ben folded his massive arms across his chest and pouted as he looked at his naked friends.  “Booo...for once I’m the one who’s overdressed.”

“I’ll keep mine on if it’ll make you feel better,” Todd said, nodding down at the draping muscle shirt being pushed out by his twitching cock.

“For now,” Alan winked.  “Don’t worry big guy...as soon as we’re done you can let loose.”  He grabbed the waist of Ben’s trunks and pulled the inflated giant along behind him while the others followed.  Once in the studio, Todd hopped up on a familiar, weathered couch that stood in sharp contrast to the rest of the estate’s fresh, modern furniture.  While Graham and Ben got into position, with Ben wrapping his arms around Graham from behind, the other man’s massive cock pointing the way like an arrow, Todd kicked his shortened legs and thought about how far they’d come since the days he and Alan had shared the older man’s tiny apartment.  If it wasn’t for Alan and his couch, Todd might never have sold his first startup, Ben wouldn’t have built his show-stopping body, and Graham’s hose wouldn’t be putting out fires.  The wiry little man’s cock throbbed as he watched his beefy lover adjust the canvas, fighting the urge to dart over and wrap his lips around Alan’s stout, rigid organ.  He took a deep breath and settled back instead.  There’d be plenty of time for that later.

“You guys ready,” Alan asked.  “I heard this is going to be my best work yet.”