BINDINGS

Part 1: People Watching

This story features: Beri, Leo

Leather night at Beri's local queer bar, Lights, had always been more of a curiosity for him than anything else. Really it was the aesthetic that appealed to him the most. At five-foot three-inches the short and stocky brown bear wasn't exactly tailor made as the ideal leather Dom, but he felt confident that his broad physique and his age being his late fifties gave him at least the appearance of someone skilled at making people suffer. At the very least the regulars as his strip show seemed to think so.

Most of the boys where he worked, a club called The Apollo which was housed in an aging building just off the main street of the gay village, tended to "retire" at about thirty- five or so. The kind of clientele it attracted liked their cuts of beef young and fresh it seemed. Beri, thankfully, had found a niche with folks apparently eager to see an aging short-stack flaunt his stuff. Every weekend and Friday evening he'd see the same cohort of familiar faces in the crowd chanting his name and buying dances from him. They tipped well and he was content to grind his ass and pelvis against whoever. Still, the nagging feeling of being a novelty act ate at him. He liked his regulars just fine - James was a sweetheart and Leo, a badger a full foot taller than him, had essentially become a close friend with just how often he came to see him. But it had just been the regulars for a long time. No one new sat at the tables to see the short-satured bear with the post-operative pussy. Hell, there was hardly anyone even under the age of forty there who remembered his stage name. He still liked the job though... maybe, he thought, it was about time he moved online. His regulars said they'd subscribe, and Leo seemed particularly enthusiastic about it. Beri had an interested audience already, what was stopping him?

The take home pay was probably a lot more anyway.

Still, it was a big change that needed a lot of thought put into it. For now, Beri minded his surroundings at Lights. Apparently named in honor of a science-fiction novel the owner of the joint read as a teenager, the normally busy establishment was absolutely packed with men drinking and talking with eachother. The bi-weekly leather nights didn't change the regular decor of the building, not that it would have looked out of place even if it did. A veritable throwback to '70s and '80s queerness, the walls of the interior carried paintings of butch men and of movie stars from a era before most of their patrons were likely born. The actual bar within Lights was a dark plywood island surrounded by booths and tables for two. The booths at the front of the interior sat right behind the tall windows looking onto the main street of the queer village Lights called home. At night the street lamps and glowing signs from the street made for a nice view, but Beri's preferred seating was up the stairs to the second level where the pinball machines and pool tables were.

Perhaps the most noteworthy piece in the bar's art collection was the wood carving of an erect penis which hung from the ceiling by heavy chains. Lights never seemed to attract the gentrification that afflicted the other gay bars on the street. The heterosexual yuppies seemed fine to leave the place well enough alone once the wood carving was installed. Beri could scarcely imagine why.

There was a flogging demonstration being performed at the rear of the building, adjacent to the dance floor which had been shifted around to accomodate the tables and clothing racks of the gear swap. A lion in black chaps had a gator strapped to a X-shaped cross, the reptile having the time of his life having his back and ass whipped by the feline. The graffitti-covered exposed brick walls on either side of the performers bolstered the raw, masculine energy of the scene. Beri, unsurprised, felt himself moisten at the sight and sounds of the gators moans and cries of ecstasy at the warmth the pain gave his body. Two years after his vaginoplasty Beri could get plenty damp all on his own, barely needing even a squirt of KY Jelly to get prepped and ready to fuck. What the demonstration did for him was as arousing as it was affirming. But ultimately, it wasn't the shows that brought him to the leather night tonight; it was the gear swap.

Leather played great to the clientele of his strip club, and not just to his regulars. Hiding a harness under a regular outfit was a great way to keep folks attention on him as he stripped things off, but getting in and out them was not quite something Beri was adept at yet. Hopefully in addition to a new vest or two he could find a harness without so many damn buckles? As he scanned the tables and reached the final batch of merchandise he realized his luck in that department hadn't panned out, but right at the end of the last table was something that really caught his attention.

Laying flat and largely ignored was a leather leather pup hood. It was black with white and electric blue fabric on the muzzle and ears. It looked like the previous owner had somehow splattered pink and yellow paint on the left side of the black leather, seemingly on accident as there was no pattern to the streaks of colour. The whole ensemble looked as if Jackson Pollock threw printer ink at kinky leather. Beri figured it was why the previous owner was trying to sell it - and why he absolutely needed to have it. It was garish, it called attention to itself, it was perfect. Pup play didn't resonate with his audience at his strip club, but it would be a perfect addition to his personal collection. As he reached to grab it, another hand shot for it as well, grazing the fur on the back of his hand. Both withdrew their hands in surprise, and Beri looked up at who he had touched.

His raised his eyebrows after recognizing the well-sculpted badger in front of him as Leo. It made Beri feel better that Leo apparently did not expect to see him there either.

"Oh! Hey! Destin yea?" Leo stated, awkwardly stammering his greeting. "Wait, that's probably a stage name..." His scratched the back of his neck, nervous but not breaking eye contact with the bear. "Sorry, it must be strange to hear that outside the club. Is there something else you'd prefer to be called?"

Beri chuckled. "My real name works fine - It's Beri. I don't think I've seen you here before, do you come to these events often?"

"Ehhh not as often as I would like, but I try to make it out every other week or so. It's the first time I've checked out the gear swap tables though. I suppose this is where you do most of your costume shopping yeah?" Leo laughed, teasing Beri like they'd been friends for years.

"Heh, for the most part." Beri smiled at the badger's interest in him, the man across from him speaking as kindly here as he did in the audience of Beri's shows. "It's either this or thrift shops and flea markets, but the stuff here is in better shape."

"I just bet." Leo replied. "It's a great look on you either way! Black is definitely your colour."

Beri blushed, the heat from his cheeks escaping his dense fur. He'd grinded on top of Leo at the strip club several times, felt an erection as thick as a beer bottle poke up against his ass from the badger's lap, and he paid Beri to do it. Why was his praise embarrassing him?

Beri thanked Leo and swiftly redirected the conversation. "So, uh, you were reaching for the same pup hood that I was. I didn't peg you as someone who'd be into that."

"It's something I'm curious about for sure! I think the aesthetic is fabulous and I was thinking about picking some gear for potential, ahem, playmates to wear for me." He glanced down at the hood, the item still largely ignored by the other patrons of the gear swap. "Although honestly, I'll leave it for you to pick up. Pink and yellow aren't my favorite colours, and besides I'm pretty sure you went to grab it first. Finders keepers, right?" He smiled at Beri. Beri blushed again.

As he grabbed the pup hood from the table his mind focused on Leo's motivation for buying the it. "For you?" he asked. "You're more of a handler than a pup I assume then?"

"Mmmmm, yeah, you could say something like that. I'm interested in exploring a change of lifestyle similar to that." He glanced around the bar, apparently assessing the volume of the crowd inside. "I think we have a pretty ok vibe with eachother, if you're interested why don't we meet for coffee tomorrow and chat about it? It's a little loud to carry a conversation in here and I'd love to get your take on what I'm wanting to explore"

"Sure, honestly that sounds like fun." Beri replied, his stub of a tail wagging back at fort. "Where did you have in mind?"

"Well about a block from the subway station on Cornwell Street there's a really gre..." Leo paused, thought for a moment, then suddenly changed his tone as though he were a schoolboy excited to show a friend the rare Pokemon they'd caught. "Wait wait wait, better idea! I'm taking you to Slice of Heaven! It's a sit down pizza joint by the rec center and they have a brie and pear pizza you have got to try!"

"Brie and what!?" Beri exclaimed, absolutely flabbergasted.

"Dude trust me, I promise it's amazing!" He reached into his back pocket and produced a pen and a small notepad, then scribbled something down to hand to Beri. "Here's my cell number and the address of the restaurant. Why don't you text me tomorrow and we can figure out a time that works?"

"Uh... yeah! Sure, that sounds good." Beri took the note, feeling silly for not expecting Leo to exchange contact information with him "I'll reach out tomorrow."

Leo clapped, his excitement still not abated. "Good shit! I'm really looking forward to seeing you tomorrow."

They shook hands before Leo left the bar for the night. Beri paid for the pup hood and left shortly thereafter as well. He cheeks were still flushed by the time he reached his subway station.

~~~

To Beri's shock and horror, the pizza was incredible.