"I don't quite know where you expect to find me any clothes around here," Kory playfully protested as you did your best to pull him by the hand towards the parking lot where your car was parked. "I always have to order mine through the mail. I thought you knew that."
You realized that he was right. There weren't any clothing stores around campus that would have anything that would come close to fitting Kory now. The only place you could think of that would come close would be the Big & Tall store at the mall, and even that would be a stretch -- figuratively and literally.
After pondering this problem for a few minutes, an idea struck. "C'mon, we'll head downtown to the old market district. The dad of one of my old high school friends runs a tailor shop down there."
"You're going to have something custom-made for me?" Kory's eyes lit up, and he wrapped an arm around you, pulling you closer. "Awww, how sweet of you, Ashton. But won't that be expensive?"
You waved that concern off with your paw. "Don't worry about it. It won't be a problem." You still had a good deal of savings leftover from your parents, and you had some odd jobs that you did around campus and the neighborhood every now and then that brought in some money, so you should be able to swing at least two or three outfits. A thought began to trouble you, however: just how big would Kory get? It had only been a day since you first noticed him growing like this, and he was already taller than anyone you had ever seen before in your life. What if this kept up? Would you still try to clothe him if he grew to be fifteen feet tall? Thirty? Fifty? The thought of being with someone that large was intriguing but also presented a whole bunch of logistical problems. Shaking your head, you decided to not worry about that for now, and to wait and see what would happen.
As you got to your car, though, a new, more immediate problem started to arise. "Ash, honey, did you forget something?"
"What?" You glanced up at Kory, who looked down at you, laughing softly.
"Do you remember the last time I tried to fit in your car?" He pointed a finger, and you gasped as you saw that on the passenger side of your car, the roof had a fairly noticeable dent sticking out of it... just about the size and shape of Kory's head.
"My car!" You cried. "When did that happen?!"
A concerned look in his eye, Kory placed his large paw on your forehead, covering almost the entire top of your head. "Are you feeling alright, hon? That's been there for a month."
Turning your head back and forth between the car and Kory, you realized after a moment that your mouth was hanging open, still in shock. You shut it, but still couldn't disguise your bewilderment. Kory patted you on the back as gently as he could. ”Don’t worry, Ash. Why don't we take the bus, like we usually do when we're traveling together?"
You walked to the bus stop, still slightly upset but trying to put on your most neutral expression, for Kory's sake. Your boyfriend seemed so optimistic and enthusiastic about everything, even though he was now walking around public virtually nude, that you didn't want to do anything that would bring him down. Thankfully, you didn't have to stand and stew in your worries for very long, as a bus pulled up within a minute of the two of you arriving.
Kory ducked his head and climbed onto the bus first. You saw the driver look up for a moment as the mammoth panda boarded his bus, then immediately shrug and turn his face back to the road with the gruff expression remaining on his face. As Kory walked down the aisle of the bus, having to crouch to do so, a couple of other passengers jumped back in fright, and you could feel the bus rock from side to side with each step he took. Heading to the back row, he sat down, his legs sprawled out in front of him, leaving a little room for you to join him to his right.
The bus trip downtown from the college was relatively short, and luckily the stop was almost directly in front of the tailor shop. You headed in, seeing your friend's father, a middle-aged black jaguar with greying hair and whiskers, turn around as he heard the door open and the bell above it ring. "Welcome! What can I do for-- Goodness!" You didn't even have to guess anymore what was causing his shock.
"Hey, Mr. Higgins," you began, "I don't know if you remember me, but--"
"Ashton, of course!" The jaguar's eyes lit up as he began to smile. "I remember all of my children's friends. But who's this you have with you?" he asks, indicating Kory.
"This is my, um--" you hesitate for only a moment, before continuing, "--my boyfriend, Kory. He's having a bit of a … uh, clothing emergency, I guess you could say."
Kory stepped forward, his ears brushing against the ceiling as he did, and stuck out his paw, without a hint of modesty. "Pleased to meet you, Mr. Higgins. Ash tells me you can work wonders with fabric and needles."
"Kory, yes," Mr. Higgins grabbed Kory's paw and shook it firmly. "I'm pretty sure I've heard of you. Unless there are any other nine foot tall red pandas hanging around the college?"
Grinning, Kory shook his head. "Nope, not that I've noticed. And, believe me, we'd be pretty noticeable."
It took a few minutes for you, Kory, and Mr. Higgins to decide what kind of clothes would work best: a simple navy button-up shirt with khaki pants, and a form-fitting t-shirt with shorts. The panther took his measurements, then you had to wait for about an hour as he worked on the clothes, finally returning with one outfit ready to wear, which Kory slipped on, and one outfit in a brown paper package for later. After paying for the order, you thanked him and headed out.
"So, now, hon," Kory says, smiling down at you, looking really nice (and a lot more presentable) in his new shirt and pants, "Is there anything else you want to do while we're down here?"
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