(M to Seal, Brief F to Seal)

It had to be a trap. Keith knew that there was no way Brianna would ever just sit there, smiling sweetly, while he was ready to dig into his appetizer.

“Are you sure you don’t want any?” He asked for what felt like the dozenth time. Something was seriously wrong. It was even calamari, Brianna’s favorite.

“It’s part of tonight’s surprise,” she said warmly. There was a look in her eyes, the kind of look that normally led to fun in the bedroom. It was the kind of look that was never meant for public, which only added to Keith’s unease.

He wondered if he was dreaming. Subtly, under the table, he curled his bare toes against the carpet. It was unfamiliar to him, which certainly didn’t help things. If only this dumb place had let him keep his boots on, he was sure that their tight leather would give him some feeling of security.

And what was with the private room anyways? He’d been to a fondue place where they’d had something similar, but for a sushi restaurant?

“I’ll be joining you soon. But first, I really want you to just let yourself go.” If Brianna had meant for that to be reassuring, it was a poor attempt.

Keith ran through a quick list. He’d done the dishes, it was her week to do laundry, and he’d paid their bills. She probably wasn’t angry for anything like that. And her birthday was also their anniversary, which was last week. So…

He quickly popped a piece of fried squid into his mouth, crunching down on it and expecting some kind of prank. Instead of spice or sour, he was greeted with the most delicious flavor in his life, a salty and almost creamy seafood that spread along his tongue.

His hands moved almost of their own accord, and in seconds he was looking at a cleared plate, stunned to silence. He hadn’t even dipped a piece in marinara. He looked up to Brianna to find a wide smile on her face, and her eyes locked on his nose.

Keith blushed, rubbing at his face self-consciously. To his surprise, there was a faint rubberiness to his nose, like he’d gotten some oil on it. It was entirely possible, given how quickly he’d scarfed down the food. “Uh, sorry.”

“Why would you be?” Brianna chuckled, eyes flitting to the doorway as their server emerged with Keith’s sushi rolls. “Ooh, there’s your next course. Hurry up, I can’t wait to see what happens next.”

Keith’s stomach rumbled, and he took his chopsticks in trembling fingers. He had no idea what she was talking about, but if the next course was as good as the first…

He looked back to Brianna. “Are you sure-”

“Positive.” She beamed. It was like looking at a kid on Christmas, ready to receive some kind of gift.

He took a piece in his chopsticks, noting absently that there wasn’t any wasabi or ginger on the plate. Still, the roll seemed perfectly wrapped. He squeezed it a little, and when it didn’t fall apart, he quickly popped it into his mouth.

Keith’s eyes widened. Somehow it was even better than the calamari. The next few pieces went down easily, but made his fingers start to twitch. Rather than stopping to worry about why, he instead dropped the chopsticks and started shoveling the morsels into his mouth with both hands.

Keith’s fingers shook less when they were together, so he half-scooped the last few pieces into his mouth, gulping them down and groaning at how full he felt. It was only the second course, and he could swear his belly was full. A glance down towards his shirt confirmed he’d somehow succeeded in getting rice over himself, without a hint of spilled fish.

He’d also swollen.

There was no real other word for it. His shirt was stretched over a belly that was far bigger than he’d had earlier. He’d never been exactly fit, but at least he’d been able to tuck in a t-shirt. He looked up to Brianna, panic clear in his eyes, only to find her hungrily watching the server bring in a fresh plate. Instead of rolls, this time the fish was gingerly laid atop small beds of rice.

“Still hungry, baby?” She giggled, turning her blushing face towards him.

“Brianna.” He gestured to his stomach.

She slid around their booth, moving to his side with that look in her eyes.

“Brianna!” He shouted this time.

She took his hand, holding it up, rubbing her thumbs against it. Where his fingers should have been was a stretched fin, grey and rubbery. There were small freckles of black on the fin, but more importantly it absolutely should not have been attached to his wrist.

Keith started to hyperventilate, aware for the first time that long and sensitive whiskers had sprouted from the sides of his face. They wobbled a little with each sharp breath he took, adding another confusing layer to the strange sensations gripping his body.

“Keith, I might have a confession to make.” Brianna poured a small bit of sauce into a dish as she spoke. She dipped some of the sushi into it gingerly, looking up to Keith with that smile she’d given him on their first date.

“You think!?” He managed, before she popped the morsel into his mouth. To his surprise, it wasn’t just soy sauce. There was a small bite to it, like a kick of alcohol. His head started to swim, and he swayed. “Uhh… Whuzzat?”

“Seal sauce, but I’ll get to that in a second. You see, Keith, I have a fantasy that I’ve never shared with anyone." She kept feeding him as she kept talking, her slow words at odds with the quick and deft motions of her hands.

Keith was surprised at how calm he was getting. Maybe it had to do with her trusting him? He definitely trusted her, even if he’d just mutated into some kind of… Thing.

“All my life, I’ve wanted to turn into a big, fat animal with my date…” Brianna blushed. She popped the last bit of sushi into his mouth, then leaned against him. Her hands wandered across his stomach, which had stretched further. His shirt was literally tearing from how fat he’d gotten.

“‘N thenwha?” Keith slurred. His mouth felt funny, almost sore. He flexed it, and an oddly pleasurably pop rang through his jaw as something clicked. He lifted a fin to it and found that his face had started to stretch into a short muzzle.

“Then… Once we’re both sexy round seals that have burst from our clothes,” Brianna was near hyperventilating now. She pulled herself around Keith, squeezing his softer body in her arms. “We let nature take its course.”

Absently, Keith realized why Brianna had insisted they wear cheap clothes, and why the room’s floor was so padded. As if to reward his deduction, the waiter brought in another plate, this time of sashimi. They had a small knowing smile on their face, and didn’t comment on the fact that Brianna was cuddling her date closely. As they left, they clicked a button on the wall.

To Keith’s surprise, the booth and table started to lower into the floor. Brianna shifted her legs, pausing a moment as she looked at Keith’s. Her smile widened, and she took his calved in her hands, tugging them from beneath the table’s surface as its descent slowed.

They were now as close to the ground as if they were lying on a futon, and the table was at ankle-height. “It’s cool, right? The kind of date I bet you’ve never had before?”

Keith was too busy staring at his feet to answer. He didn’t even feel them turn into flippers, but now he clearly sported a fat, chubby tail. It was the kind that belonged on a seal, and was clearly one of the things Brianna had been looking forward to.

He’d never taken her as having a thing for feet. Now he was surprised to feel the soft warmth of her tongue against his new tailfin, a quick kiss that left his heart racing. He tried to curl where his toes would have been, lightly flicking it against her nose.

Brianna giggled. “You know, now that I’m so close to you, I’ve got to be honest. You kind of reek.”

Keith blinked, caught off-guard. “Suh-sorry?” His nose twitched, and he lifted a fin to give his underarm a curious sniff.

“Not like that! I mean, like a seal. It’s a good thing.” She slipped a little closer to him, pressing her nose against some of his newfound blubber. “Mmm… It’s like… almost like saltwater and leather. I don’t think I’ve ever smelled anything like it before.”

Her being so close was making Keith’s heart race. He fidgeted a little, an instinctive rumble slipping from his throat.

Brianna beamed. “Oh? Is my water puppy hungry?”

Keith wasn’t trying to tell her that, but if she was offering… His belly rumbled too, and he nodded. It was so surreal to be this large and soft, to feel her squish against him. Still, ‘surreal’ didn’t mean ‘bad’ in any sense.

“Then roll onto your belly, baby. I want to feel you swell.”

Keith did as asked, and was rewarded by the heavy warmth of Brianna’s body on his back. Whether by luck or design, she’d settled perfectly on the small of his back, her soft thighs hugging his sides. She wiggled her backside gently, and Keith moaned.

Brianna used the opportunity to pop a bite of sashimi into his mouth. His eyes widened, then rolled with pleasure. A deep rumble built in Keith’s stomach, and a shudder started at his tailfin, traveling up his body.

He felt his legs press together. There was a brief discomfort as the fabric of his shorts found itself pinched between two seallike thighs. Then the clothes tore free, and his skin fused together as though he’d never had legs to begin with.

“Baby, I felt that,” Brianna moaned. She pressed her soft breasts against Keith’s blubbery back, stroking his face, feeding him further. “You’re getting so big, you’re really turning into my big, sexy seal…”

“Muuwarbbl oourrf…” Keith drooled dopily around the treats she’d fed him. His palate was devolving with the rest of him, and he was losing the rich flavor of the fish. At the same time, his tongue stretched to sample more of the texture, to feel the slick and delicious food squish in his mouth.

Brianna popped the last bite into his mouth, hopping up off him and patting his side. “Wait, roll over.”

Keith did as asked, expecting a belly rub. He didn’t expect her hands to wrap around the sides of his face, stretching his new muzzle open, squeezing his fat fleshy cheeks.

“Did I miss it? Can you still talk? I really wanted to hear you say,”

“Oourrawnaa, thhhtawwp!” Half of his words sounded like he was trying to talk through a mucus bubble. They came out deep and slurred, in a voice that was completely unfamiliar to him. Fortunately, it looked like this was exactly what Brianna wanted.

She paused her assault on his mouth, tilting her head and slipping her fingers towards his throat, rubbing it gently. “Say ‘Brianna.’”

“Ouurrawnaa.” Keith did his best.

Brianna beamed. “Say ‘I love you.’”

“Ort! Houff ouuu.”

Brianna beamed and pressed her cheek against Keith’s, rubbing her smooth face against the rubbery blubber of his. It was at this moment that their server decided to re-enter the room, with a bucket instead of a plate. They set it down, with a curious smile at Brianna.

“Yes, now you can please get my calamari started,” said Brianna with a smile. “I’m gonna eat it after my big, sexy blubber pillow is fully changed.”

Keith pondered that for a moment. She was talking about making him completely into a seal, into a heavy and fat animal. On the other hand, she was also considering doing the same thing to herself. Actually, would it be ‘on the other fin’ now? He didn’t know.

“Ready to open up?” Brianna scooted the bucket closer, and Keith could smell the delicious raw fish chunks inside.

He had to ask first, though. Just to be safe. “Ouurawwna. Puh… Guhrrrmmnuhnt?”

“Purr… Munn… Permanent?” Brianna tilted her head, smiling as Keith nodded. “No, it’s not. Our brains are going to go out the window, but we’re supposed to be able to remember everything we did as animals. Together. How’s that sound?”

Keith had been expecting her to ask ‘so what if it is?’ And, in truth, he’d been afraid of what his answer might have been. Being like this felt good. More than good, it felt right. He wriggled under her appreciatively, clapping his fins against his belly.

To his surprise, he jiggled. The motion sent literal ripples of motion along his fat body that jiggled from his chin to where her thighs clamped down around him. “Ort!” He barked for good measure, the sound surprisingly natural.

Brianna giggled excitedly, lowering piece after piece of cool, slimy fish into his mouth with her right hand. Her left hand picked up that bottle of sauce she’d used earlier. “They’ll bring a second one of these for me. Who knows? I might chug it first, and let you enjoy watching me messily press my face against my plate…”

Brianna trailed off, feeling Keith stir beneath her. “You really like that?”

Keith nodded, a little embarrassed. He wasn’t sure if it was the right answer or not, but he really did. He opened his mouth for good measure, eyes flitting towards the bottle in her hand.

It was all the hint she needed. Brianna tipped the bottle towards Keith, and he chugged it down hungrily, tongue flicking out to catch the few droplets that had splashed on his nose instead of in his mouth. He didn’t know if they were… needed… for…

His vision unfocussed. “Ort! Houff… Ouuuu!” He babbled out, forgetting what the sounds meant but knowing he wanted to say them. “Ort! Ourt! Hhuhoouff… Ouark!”

His everything felt funny. Good-funny, though. Things his brain had been worried about faded, along with the very concept of worrying itself. He wanted to feel good, wanted to feel safe. And he did feel good and safe beneath this human.

She giggled and placed her lips against his. Her tongue felt small against his mouth, but he liked the way she rubbed it against his gums. He tried to lick her back and accidentally filled her mouth with his fishsy tongue.

She pulled back in shock, a trail of slime connecting their mouths. Then she laughed, wiping at her lips. The bottle in her hands fell from her fingers, and she picked up another from the new human in the room. That human left, and the cute one quickly guzzled from the new bottle.

He didn’t know why but it made him happy, especially when she hiccupped and made a sound like “Dduuhhhoark ort ort!” It wasn’t quite a real bark, but something about her made him feel like it soon would be.

Much to his surprise, she started to act like him. She dropped onto her belly, her hands out at her sides like fins. Her slender legs pressed tight against one another, and she started to thump them as though she had a tail. Best of all, more hungry barks spilled from her mouth, along with a small trail of drool, as she noticed the appetizer before her.

She fell face-first into the first plate of food, then the second, then the third. And each time, a miracle happened. Her body started to become perfect. The slim frame she’d had bulged, to the point where she could no longer stand again. More than once, her heavy body fell against his. Each time, she’d give him a whiskery kiss before turning back to her meal.

The seal watched the human change into something more like him. He nibbled at her toes as they flattened, webbing between them connecting them into flippers that would let her easily swim. She hadn’t been using her legs or arms for a while now, hopping up and down on her increasingly rotund belly.

By the time the last bucket had come out, he’d stopped thinking of her as a stranger. She was his mate, his one and only. If his brain was able to comprehend heaven, he’d think this was it. Instead, he enjoyed the moment for what it was, pressing his blubbery form against hers.

She chuffed faintly, her whiskered lips twitching. She smelled just like he did, and he bumped his nose against hers. A thought, a memory of his life, flickered into his mind. He pressed his snout to hers, tongue slipping into her mouth, tasting a hint of the delicious treat she’d just finished.

It felt funny to do, but left his heart racing. And, judging from her reaction, she felt the same. His mate hopped clumsily on her belly, turning her tailfin towards him, waving it invitingly. He bounced atop her, pressing against her, feeling her warmth, basking in her presence.

Together, the two let the rest of the world melt away/