UnBirthday Present

Fact:  Shifters exist. Werewolves don't. Fact: If you're lucky, a shifter will pass by, read you with a touch, a glance, and when he comes back he'll be in the shape of the man of your dreams...or maybe even a dream you didn't know you had. Is your fantasy a massive man, massive in every way, bearded and burly, who'll roughly use you in the alley behind the city's most popular bar? That will be his change-shape.
Is it a man who is sleek, and slender and elegant, and a bit of a slut with superb oral skills? Done. Is it an ordinary man, not all that in shape, a bit of balding, even, but someone to cuddle with afterwards? Done and done. And when the great sex is also done, he's gone. Question: Do shifters, nearly immortal since their real shape ages slowly, and their change-shapes not at all, have it made?. Possibly, if you want an almost-eternity of one-night stands.
But what if you want something more? Someone to share all that time with. Except...there's no sign or signal or symbol or scent to say, "He's a shifter, too." Just confession. So do you confess...and take the chance that he's not a shifter, after all, and you get to watch the man you love slowly die? Confess...and perhaps wind up as a government experiment, if you loved neither wisely nor well?How much are you willing to risk for love?Richard and Steven have to decide.***14, 497 words of actual text.