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This Week's Writing Challenge: Staring into the mirror, it wasn't a reflection that gazed back.

It had been an incredibly long week that followed several other incredibly long weeks and Chera was more than ready to be done with it all. He had been worked near to the bone and all he wanted now was to throw himself in his bed and sleep for a month. Unfortunately, the chirping from his phone declared it wasn't to be.

Message after message popped up from his chat group as people started getting off work or waking up if they were from the other side of the globe. Unless he silenced his phone, he'd get no sleep while the messages kept coming in thick and fast. He wasn't usually in the habit of silencing his phone.

With a groan, Chera rolled over and picked up the offending device and scrolled through the newest messages. Someone saw a cute picture that they had to share, someone else made a meal that was to die for, another person had a new idea for a game they want to spitball with someone... On and on it went for several very long moments before, as expected, there was a lull.

It never failed that, after a short while, the conversations petered out and everything went still again. Chera smiled as he threw his phone back on his bed and rested his arms over his head. Sleep called to him, but at the same time, he knew he should go take a shower and wash the day's grime off. He's busted his hump all day and the congealed sweat on his hide confirmed it. A shower or a good soak in the tub was just what he needed to start feeling refreshed.

With an almighty groan, Chera hefted himself out of bed and shuffled off towards the bathroom, dropping items of clothing as he went. By the time he made it in to the room, he was down to his hide, nothing on to obscure his slightly defined muscles and placid maleness. He stretched his arms this way and that, ending with side and back bends to work out some of the kinks gathered from his extra-long shift.

Once he was back upright, Chera looked in the mirror to see just how tired he appeared. It, therefore, came as quite the shock to him when it was not his own reflection he saw in the mirror. Standing before him in all his equine glory was none other than Orrie, the head charge nurse at his hospital. The draft stallion stood tall and proud in the mirror, rippling muscles on display, mane flaring out behind him and nothing at all left to the imagination.

Chera thought he was going to choke on his tongue, staring at the image as he was. He had to be dreaming or something, as there is no way there'd be an image of his boss –for all intents and purposes—in his mirror in any other circumstance. But he didn't recall actually falling asleep when he was laying in bed earlier. He was certain he'd stayed awake to go into the bathroom for that shower. How then could he be hallucinating such an enticing image?

He moved closer to the mirror to get a closer look. He could see every hair on Orrie's hide, each vein ridge, even a glistening of sweat. It was unreal how real everything looks, as if he could reach out and touch Orrie and feel flesh. The thought prompted action, and Chera did just that. He slowly reached out a lightly shaking hand and softly laid it across Orrie's pectoral muscle. He nearly shrieked when it was, indeed, flesh he felt under his fingertips and not the cold glass of the mirror.

On the other side, Orrie reacted nearly identically. He gasped and moved back and their connection was broken. The look on his face showed Chera that he had not expected what had happened at all, and he even wondered what Orrie had been thinking right before he had made contact. Did he see Chera coming to terms with the view he was granted? Did he watch as Chera moved slowly closer, shaking hand reaching out? Was he afraid of what he saw? Chera had so many questions, but was so surprised, frightened, and confused there was no way he was going to be able to ask any of them.

Part of Chera expected that, now that the connection was broken, the view in the mirror would disappear and his own visage would return. That did not happen. Orrie was still there in the mirror, looking just as befuddled, shaking his equine head back and forth as if trying to jog his brain into seeing what it was supposed to.

Feeling some of his courage return, Chera whispered, “O-Orrie, is that really you?”

The stallion snapped his head up and locked eyes with Chera, a look of surprised confusion on his face. “Chera? What...what is going on? How are you in my bathroom mirror?”

Chera couldn't help but let out a nervous chuckle. This whole situation was just beyond anything he could fathom. His previous stress and exhaustion had been replaced with confusion and adrenaline. Running a hand through his short-cropped curls, he took a moment to process.

“I have no idea what is going on here. I was getting ready to come in here and take a shower, I looked up, and here you are in my bathroom mirror. I thought you were a weird vision at first, but it all looked so real, I had to reach out and touch and see if it felt as real as it looked. Obviously, it did...you did.”

Orrie sighed himself and scratched the back of his head, the motion calling Chera's attention to his boss's bare chest. Chera blushed and darted his eyes away. Now that he knew this wasn't just some vision and actually a person he knew, he didn't feel right looking at the nearly-naked body of his boss. He didn't spare a thought to his own state of undress.

“I haven't got any better explanation than you, Chera. This is terribly unexpected and I really...don't know what to do with this information.” Orrie stopped talking for a moment and had a pensive look on his face. “I wonder...” he whispered to himself, before picking up something off his bathroom counter and lightly tossing it through the mirror. Out of reflex, Chera caught it. Looking down, he saw that it was a tube of toothpaste.

“What was that?”

“I just figured that, if you could touch me, perhaps things could travel through the mirror. I don't have a lot to hand, but that was something that wouldn't have hurt much if it rebounded and hit me, or I missed and it hit you.”

“Okay, I suppose,” Chera started hesitantly. “I suppose I see your point. But, now that you know that, what are you going to do with that information?”

“Hmm,” Orrie hummed. “I'm not really sure. It was just a question that popped up in my head, and I felt it needed testing. Unfortunately these mirrors, while big, aren't really of a size that would let either of us through... Sort of stymies one of the thoughts I had...”

“O-one of the thoughts you had?! What were you thinking about?” Chera sputtered, his mind gone in a very lewd direction, owing to the fact that Orrie was still bare before him.

Orrie chuckled, the sound doing things to Chera he really didn't want to examine at the moment. “Oh, don't worry about that. Can't do it anyway.”

Chera blushed hotly, feeling like he might not have been far off the mark with his thoughts. That chuckle was not one of innocent amusement, but one of masculine amusement when thinking dirty thoughts.

“Oh, Chera... Don't worry so much. I'm not going to pounce on you.”

That comment did not help Chera curb his blushing. He could now think of nothing but Orrie pouncing on him, bending him over the nearest flat surface and hiking his tail to get at his hidden depths. He hoped fervently that Orrie could not see the lewd desires flashing through his mind. He wasn't supposed to think such thoughts about his boss.

A hand gently tipping his head up broke Chera out of his musings. “Chera, dear, don't fret so much. Whatever you're thinking, it's not the end of the world. Whatever is worrying you, we can figure it out together.”

Chera shuddered, both at the words and the touch. He didn't realize he had been so transparent. He also hadn't realized that Orrie felt so kindly towards him as to use such a tender term of endearment. It caused his heart to do flips in his chest. He tried to tell himself not to get ahead of himself. Many people use terms of endearment without really meaning them. He'd never known Orrie to do it before, but this was a unique situation. There was no reason to think it meant anything special. He was his boss. He could not be thinking such thoughts about him.

“Chera! You are tying yourself up in knots, I can see it. Dear, please, just calm down. Do I need to leave you alone with your thoughts? Do you need me to come over? What can I do to help?” The genuine concern in Orrie's voice warmed Chera's wriggling heart and helped him calm some.

“I'm sorry. I just... I shouldn't be thinking such things. You're my boss. You definitely don't want me picturing... Anyway...I'm sorry.”

“Don't worry about it, dear. You can think whatever thoughts you want to, about me or anyone else. I am standing naked in your bathroom mirror. I think I'd be rather offended if you weren't imagining anything. And I hope you aren't offended that I am definitely thinking less-than-work-appropriate thoughts about you right now. After all, you are standing naked in my bathroom mirror...”

Chera squeaked and blushed, shifting from side to side, debating with himself on whether to try and cover up or not. If he was attempting to remain as professional as possible, he long since should have covered himself. But if he were honest with himself, he'd love to be spread naked in front of Orrie, letting the stallion look –and touch– his fill.

“I... am not offended.” Peeking up through his long lashes, Chera saw the large grin on Orrie's muzzle. Clearing his through, Chera attempted to speak again. “W-what do you...want to...do...about this...connection?”

Orrie gave that deep masculine chuckle again, the one that sent shivers of sensation straight down to Chera's sheath. “I was going to have you come a bit closer to this mirror, but I think I've changed my mind. Give me five, maybe ten minutes, and I'll be right over. With the thoughts crossing my mind right now, I think I'll need to be there in person. Don't go anywhere, love, and don't get dressed...” With that said, Orrie disappeared from the mirror and Chera was left staring at an unfamiliar bathroom.