Chapter Text
Wednesday, June 15 2072
Chelsea hadn’t intended to push it. She wasn’t even going to set up the lunch meeting today, or at least that was what she told herself. But then, when she checked Sunny’s schedule just in case, she discovered that the whole day had been blocked off, and so was the rest of the week, all of it on floor 17. Friday and late Thursday made sense, that would be the operation and recovery, but they were only supposed to go for the meeting with Campbell today. Said meeting was there, too, so it wasn’t like the surgery was moved up. Something didn’t add together.
Warden hadn’t told her anything, so she either didn’t know, or decided that Chelsea didn’t need to. She leaned towards the former, it tracked with her pawning off the recent interpersonal responsibilities, but the possibility of the latter was worth investigating. The possibility that something went wrong, that Sunny had to get taken into the hospital, was troubling. She probably would’ve been told if it was that, but the matter was still open. She settled on pressing the issue from both sides. Hit Warden at her most vulnerable and try to get Sunny to open up with a softer touch. She posted the lunch meeting just before Campbell was due to visit – she’d meet them in the hospital room if need be. Warden was easier, she’d call her in herself, and would be in a suggestible headspace afterwards.
Sunny opened their eyes and, for a brief moment, was overcome with a sting of panic, because wherever they were it wasn’t their apartment. Only after a few moments did the realization settle in and they remembered what happened the day before. This was the hospital room, then, their home for, at least, the rest of the week. At least the place was nice, better than their first stint up here. There was even a bit of a space for visits, or work, set up on the other side of a roll-out curtain from the bed, consisting of a couple chairs and a couch set out around a coffee table. The arrangement was like a sized-down version of one of the conference rooms, which made them ponder what kind of person was the more regular occupant of this room. Both of the division heads had their operations down here, didn’t they?
Despite what Casey had said, it did at times feel more like a hotel, and of the sort that Sunny had only recently been able to afford, if one was to ignore the decidedly different sort of bed. And many of their best clothes were here, thanks to some titanic effort managing to get everything into an auto cab. As far as short leashes went, this one was at least comfortable. But while their clothes would have the day yet, for the moment Sunny needed something to jump start their brain rather than a boost in confidence.
They picked up their phone and, on autopilot, drifted to the company app. There was something to think about in this being their first choice of entertainment, but it could be left for another day, preferably one after they’re done being cut up for the foreseeable future. Yes, going to check messages in the resource group was definitely a step too far into corporate life, not like letting the company do basically whatever it wanted with their body. Sunny sighed and shook their head. Where were they? Right, expanding their horizons. Not so much as to look outside of the enby resource group Casey had invited them to, but at least switching over from the androgyny subsection. They felt they didn’t have much to offer elsewhere, but at the moment they weren’t really up to contributing regardless, so they were content to sit back and read up. The section that looked most promising at the moment was the one for official support. They’d gotten a bit of that already, but there was always more to squeeze out of the company as far as they were concerned, so it was worth a look.
Pinned: Legal name update fast-track update (update)
Started by Izzy Quinn (she/her, here for work), March 25 2072
Repeating from title: This is for legal name changes. Your public-facing name used within the company, such as this app and work management tools, are not tied to it. That can get changed by sending a request to HR, at any time within reason.
For hopefully obvious reasons, your contract, payments and everything else legally binding still requires the same name as your ID. This we can’t change unilaterally, but in addition to regular assistance we’re launching a fast-track procedure starting in April, using the recently passed priority update system (more about interacting with that in the letter).
All full-time non-probationary employees have one priority update covered by the company. Send in the usual application, then a request with its number to HR. The process should be done within the week.
If you’ve already used yours and want to change something again, you only qualify for regular assistance, like the process we’ve done previously. That will involve either waiting out their backlog or paying out of pocket for priority. So don’t rush your request for assisted fast-track unless you’re fully sure, it’s not going anywhere.
It went on from there, including an explanation of what ‘within reason’ meant in response to someone changing their in-company name back and forth several times a week, but Sunny was only half reading by then. Again it turned out they weren’t quite special, but it made sense. They’d suspected there was a system already established, considering just how quickly Ms. Warden managed to pull it off.
Even then, though, Sunny wasn’t quite sure if they were full-time or non-probationary, but they definitely hadn’t even been an employee when the offer was first made. So she went beyond the usual practice, pulling out all the stops to get them to sign up. What did Dr. Vasquez say? “She’s not exactly spoiled for choice”? It was starting to sound like an understatement. Probably a good sign for them. Still, it also meant there wasn’t much else to fish for, now that their own documents were all in order. Sunny made a note about some other support applications and moved on.
Chelsea piped up, noticing a notification from the assistants’ chat. That was strange, usually she was the one riling people up in there rather than the other way around. An even more surprising part was the author – Izzy hadn’t been around much these days.
Glizzy Queen:
@ms cheerleader Is the Sunny situation something I need to know about?
More to the point, is it something the HR department needs to know about?
Well, that was quicker than expected. She thought she’d at least actually get somewhere before she needed to get a report up.
ms cheerleader:
we’re not even really friends if you hear them say it
they joked about it but so did, like, martin
Man In Finance:
Hey now
I mean true but also hey
Glizzy Queen:
But you’re planning on something else?
Dipping down to the hospital, for one thing.
ms cheerleader:
maybe, maybe not
i wanna support them whether it leads to anything or not
since when are we reporting intentions anyway
if you wanna see someone who’s actually done shit with them go bother fairweather
tell me how that works out
Glizzy Queen:
What.
Man In Finance:
She’s expanding her harem, haven’t you heard
ms cheerleader:
that’s one theory anyway
scroll up to yesterday morning-ish
they’ve gone to 128 on monday and not even adri knows what’s up with that
figure that out oh dear human resource officer of mine
Glizzy Queen:
Assistant.
@HBIC That true?
HBIC:
Yes.
I don’t know what’s up with that. And I’d like to keep it that way.
If you want to get into it, be my guest.
Glizzy Queen:
This is way above my fucking pay grade
Chelsea sighed. Yeah, she was probably right about that.
ms cheerleader:
yeah
join the club
She closed the window and let out a deep breath. Since people already wanted to get up in her business, it would at least be nice if there was any to get up in. She didn’t know for certain what to do about Sunny just yet, but whatever form it took it would start with today’s lunch. Now if only she could come down already prepared.
The intercom on her desk came to life. “Chelsea, could you please come into the office?” She smiled, hearing the distinct click as she got up.
Rifling through the threads, Sunny had discovered worlds of concerns that they hadn’t been aware of, much less bothered with, by the virtue of avoiding regular work they’d only recently slipped into. Needing only to be looked at, and even that within rigid structures, had let a lot of things pass them by.
One particularly fascinating example was honorifics, a subject of just about the longest-running thread in its subsection. Sunny had been vaguely aware of being referred to as ‘Mx. Benton’ but hadn’t given much thought to its implications, or pronunciation for that matter. Not so with their new coworkers, who apparently needed to be talked about rather than merely to quite a lot more often. The discussion was lively, lengthy, and only occasionally interrupted by a prolific poster suggesting ‘Dr.’ and, when told it didn’t apply to everyone, replying with ‘skill issue’. Sunny checked their profile and almost spat when they read said doctor’s job title. Division head. The division in question was Material Science, so Sunny wasn’t due to meet them, which felt like a bit of a shame. They seemed fun.
Then again, so did the pair they were set to meet, judging by Ms. Warden’s descriptions. Relatedly, their names came up more than once in the Salmacian threads, more often than not followed up by a firm reminder not to speculate about others’ identities. Sunny wouldn’t bother anyway – not only did they have way too little to go off of, but they were a lot more interested in the physical aspect, the same that lay in their future. More questions for Campbell than for Trentford, but plenty to go around for both.
“Thank you, Chelsea,” Ms. Warden called out, still ever-so-slightly out of breath but already on her feet and straightening out her ruffled skirt. “I needed that.”
Chelsea, splayed out in her boss’s chair, had too late realized the flaw in her plan. Ms. Warden was definitely more amenable just after their escapades, but she was also much quicker to recover from them than Chelsea herself. If she wanted to push, she’d need to get herself together quickly. “Hng… y’welcome… ma’am…” Not a great start, try again. She shook herself alert and stood up, trying to concentrate in the time Warden took to retrieve her cage.
“There we go, all snug.” There was the other kind of click, and Chelsea’s time was running out fast.
“Ma’am?” she managed. Now to assemble her plausibly deniable question.
“Yes?”
Fuck it, no time, go straight for it. “Do you know why Sunny Benton is already back at the hospital?”
“On the orders of Dr. Vasquez. Apparently they have not been diligent enough in observing post-operation care, and she wanted to be sure this risk factor was eliminated before the second one.”
Oh. “Is that going to be a problem?”
“From what I gathered, the timeline is unlikely to be affected, but… we’ll find out. Just in case, I’ve decided not to completely close the vacancy.”
Well, that was… probably good as far as Warden’s, and thus Chelsea’s, careers were concerned, but… “I’m sure they’ll manage, ma’am.”
“I hope so. And, to that end, I understand you two have been getting close? What with those lunch appointments?”
Not this again. She’d had enough talk about reporting to HR for something that hadn’t even begun happening. Chelsea blushed and drew her eyes away – which, yes, she fully realized was ridiculous after what they’d just done, but she couldn’t avoid it. “I wouldn’t say close, ma’am, but I’d like to consider them my friend.” And, hopefully, she might someday, without it all crashing down around them.
“I see. Well, I’m sure I don’t need to tell you this, but keep it up, it would probably benefit us all.”
Chelsea nodded. It wasn’t like she needed any more reasons.
“And, if you’re interested in closeness of a… different nature… that can be arranged, if all are willing,” Warden added, demonstratively placing her key in a desk drawer.
Chelsea’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. She wasn’t that obvious, was she?
“What?” Warden asked with a smile. “I’m not completely unobservant, you know. But that discussion is best left for later, when the situation is more clear and I’m not two minutes out from a meeting.”
“Uh, yes, ma’am, thank you, I’ll consider it.” Catching the hint, Chelsea darted out from behind the desk, straightened out her clothes, and walked out of the office.
The upcoming visitors – a pair from the design team – were already there waiting, and soon enough Ms. Warden invited them in, leaving Chelsea alone with her thoughts.
It was nice to know she had the explicit blessing for intimacy with Sunny, but while it made sense that Warden’s imagining of it took a particular shape, Chelsea’s own didn’t. When her mind wandered towards it, which happened more than she would’ve liked to admit, the direction it took wasn’t one that required unlocking her cage. That had been Warden’s preference, not her own, even before all this. It was fine, nothing to complain about, fun enough with the right person, but not something she sought out if she had the choice. The parts she had limited the other options somewhat, enough that she’d looked into altering the situation. When she had, though, she found enough compromises and complications around those that sticking with what she had, ideal or not, seemed like the better idea. But now, with all the talk of biotech vaginas going around… it was enough to make a girl think. Perhaps, though, thoughts best left for a later time, preferably after she’d have given Sunny’s a try. For now there was a department to keep going and a lunch to get ready for.
Sunny closed the app, deciding they were temporarily done learning about their fellow workers. With the day’s meetings still ahead of them and approaching fast, it was the time to get their looks in order after all. While there was a limited selection from home, the decision still took some time. After a bit of staring into the hospital room’s – smaller but probably a lot more sturdy – wardrobe, they settled on something like a toned down version of the outfit they wore the very first time they came into the building. The jacket didn’t have much of a purpose since they were stuck inside, so on went the slacks and the dark-tone blouse. A splash of eyeliner matched the feel they were going for and was quick enough for them to be done just in time to hear the voices outside their door.
One of them was Chelsea’s and, damn, maybe Sunny should take some pointers from her, because she was just about yelling yet her pitch didn’t suffer one bit. Sunny couldn’t quite swing that. The words weren’t all clear, though, so they got up and over to the door.
“…aware it’s a hospital room, but I also know why they’re in there, and it’s not like they’re out cold. And I know they’re allowed visits, and I set up a meeting. So unless you’re saying my canteen lunch is contraband, I don’t see why-”
“It’s not that, Ms. Sloan,” the other voice, unknown to Sunny, interrupted, “we aren’t certain of their condition.”
“So go and check! Why are we going on about this?”
That felt like their cue. Sunny opened the door and looked the quarrel up and down. “I’m fine. Thanks for your concern, but I can handle lunch.”
Chelsea smiled, first triumphantly at the nurse she’d been arguing with, then a little less broadly but warmer at Sunny.
“Alright, then. If you keep in mind your instructions, I see no harm. I’ll bring yours around too, then, while we’re at it,” the nurse acquiesced.
Sunny nodded with thanks and stepped back, holding the door open for Chelsea, who giddily almost skipped in.
“Know why I’m in here, do you?” Sunny asked dryly.
Chelsea’s expression soured a little. “Ah, heard that? Well, I had to, I saw you booked in the room and I was worried something happened! I don’t have details, just enough to know you weren’t bedbound or anything.”
“Oh,” Sunny let out. Someone was worried about them. This was encouraging. “I… thank you.”
“You can tell me about what happened. If you want. No judgment either way.”
“You might not want to commit to that, if I’m honest.”
“Commit to what?” she said, lowering herself onto the couch and her bag on the table.
“The ‘no judgment’ thing.”
Chelsea giggled. “Sunny, I’ve seen people get up to some shit, like when-” She looked to be going somewhere with this, but cut herself off. “Don’t think I should share that, actually,” she muttered, before continuing, “point is, no judgment. But, again, up to you.” She shrugged.
“Alright, I’ll think about it. In the meantime, I’d… well, I don’t know what I’d rather do, honestly. Just kinda hang out, would be nice.”
“Sure,” Chelsea replied, then looked around briefly before returning to Sunny with a coy smile. “I like what you’ve done with the place.”
Sunny chuckled and rolled their eyes. “Yes, this is my dream living. Nothing like a bed you can be strapped into-” They stopped, immediately realizing their mistake by way of Chelsea’s changed expression.
“Don’t knock it till you try it,” she let out through giggles.
“Have you tried it?” Sunny asked, suddenly curious.
“No. ‘s why I’m not knocking it.” She shrugged. “I’ll admit it wouldn’t be the most fitting atmosphere.”
Sunny chuckled. “Yeah. But that aside, it’s… alright. Almost makes it tolerable that I’m stuck here for almost a week.”
“And the company helps, right?” Chelsea prodded with a smile.
“Yes.” They weren’t sure where they were at with Chelsea, and there was still the possibility they were going to let her down – in addition to all the other potential ways they’d be able to let her down, that is – but time with her was, generally, pleasurably spent. “That, and I can be reasonably certain nothing will fall apart on me.”
Chelsea looked over in disbelief, which a split second later turned into shock. “Are you telling me that’s, like, an actual concern you have? On top of yesterday’s stuff?”
“It’s not a concern, it’s a clear and present danger. I forgot I hadn’t told you, actually – remember how I was so dressed up on Monday?”
She nodded, and added “and then dressed down” with a wink.
“And that. Well, that wasn’t my plan. Either of those. Yesterday was what I initially wanted for Monday, but in the morning…”
They were interrupted by a knock on the door. Sunny called out that there was nothing untoward and the door opened to reveal the nurse with a tray of food. Unlike the earlier breakfast, this was reminiscent of their previous stay, in size and direction both.
“What’s the occasion?” Sunny asked with a dry laugh.
“It’s your last meal for a while, so better make use of it. Nothing but water after four today.”
The amount made a lot more sense in light of that. “Oh. Okay, right, thanks.”
The nurse nodded and left, and while he walked off Chelsea looked increasingly giddy.
“What?” Sunny asked, watching her fail to contain herself.
“Well, you know, if you want it to be an occasion, we can still…”
Sunny chuckled. “Is that really what you’re thinking of right now?”
“Yeah? I don’t mean it in, like, a sexual way. Just, y’know, having a good time, marking the arrival of your new- okay, fine, I hear it, but it’s really not like that.” She distracted herself by opening up her bag and starting on her actual lunch. “It’s just that it wouldn’t be the first time I celebrated someone’s upcoming pussy, you know.”
“What do you… oh, right. Sorry, of course. Keeps slipping my mind.” Sunny really did keep forgetting that about Chelsea, which was either good for her or really shit of them. Probably both? In reality, as they were again reminded, of the two, Sunny was by far less involved with others like them, because… Because they weren’t involved with people in general, they thought to themself before another part of them could pipe up with less charitable explanations. Again. “I guess it makes sense that it’s something to celebrate.”
“Of course, are you kidding? Years of work and even more of bullshit in some cases. And that’s gotten better.” She sighed, then turned to Sunny and smiled, switching gears. “But for the record, I do want to see it sometime, and not because- not just because of that.”
“Why then?” In the silence afterwards, Sunny’s mind came up with a realization, but not the question of whether voicing it was appropriate. “Is that something you want for yourself?”
Chelsea looked away, then after a brief moment shrugged, pulled visibly together, and turned to Sunny again. “I don’t know. Maybe. I decided I didn’t want the, uh, reconfiguration, but this is different, supposed to be a lot better, so maybe I do? It’s one reason I’m curious about yours.”
“I’ll make sure to give you an extensive review,” Sunny promised with a smile. “And the other reason?”
“Oh I’m sure you know all about that, you tease.” Chelsea giggled. “Like what was up with that yesterday, seriously?”
“Shit, right, I was getting to that before the nurse came in.”
“And I’ve been sitting on it since then, so get on with it!” Chelsea punctuated her point with a waving fork.
“Alright, fine. It’s not a complicated story…”
Sunny retold their wardrobe encounters, both the heroic save before their interview and the more tragic ending from earlier in the week. Chelsea nodded along, catching up on her lunch time and occasionally chiming in with one-word encouragements. In particular, a realization seemed to hit when Sunny brought up the look from the day before. But, as they were wrapping up, curiosity steadily rose on her face.
“Wait, so that explains the tube top and hot pants, which, still crazy and still stupidly hot, by the way, but where does the fancy dress come into it? I’d noticed you were really careful with it, was it like the only one you managed to save?”
Where did the dress come into it? It was a good question, and one Sunny had asked themself a few times, though not in the way Chelsea meant it. It could be a simple gesture of goodwill, Ms. Fairweather sure could afford it, but it could be a bunch of other things too, some of which Sunny probably couldn’t even think of. The answer would have to wait, though. For now they wondered if they should tell the truth. Chelsea had already offered them an easy out with her own suggestion, but… well, fuck it, if Magdalene wanted them to keep secrets, she should’ve damn well said so.
“No, it’s not mine… well, it wasn’t,” Sunny responded, breaking the short silence. “It was a gift. From Ms. Fairweather.”
“Well… huh. The meeting was to give you a dress?”
“You knew about the meeting?”
“Just that you went up to see Ms. Fairweather. I saw your schedule, and there’s not many options on 128.”
“Yeah, I noticed that much.”
“Oh, and Adrienne – you know her? – told me she’d seen you.”
Sunny couldn’t rake their memories clearly and quickly enough to tell if they were supposed to know her, but between her friendship with Flo and their trip upstairs there was enough plausible deniability. They nodded. “Huh, did she?”
“Kind of by accident, if that makes it better.”
It did, probably. “She didn’t say anything else?”
“Said she didn’t know anything else.”
“Good.” Sunny smirked.
“Oh come on, are you really going to leave me hanging like this? Like, what was the dress even about? Just like, here, get into this random piece?”
“She’d said my own outfit wasn’t… ‘fitting’? I think, or ‘appropriate’, or something, for the tour. Though she also said she liked it, so I don’t know what to make of that.”
“She has good taste, that’s what,” Chelsea replied with a wink.
“Well, that, I guess. I asked if she was letting me have it for the day, and she said it was mine. Something about it not fitting her and gathering dust.” Chelsea’s face was appropriately expectant, so Sunny left a coy silence before continuing. “And that it fits me because it’s one of Florence Monroe’s.”
“As in, right off of the runway?”
“It’s been a while since then, but yes, it’s the original.” The pride in Sunny’s voice surprised themself most of all, but they let it slide. They mostly felt that just owning something wasn’t an accomplishment, but as possessions went this one was pretty exciting.
“Ooh, I wouldn’t have guessed. I’m still not sure why she did it but, hey, neat.”
“Neither am I, but yeah, I’m not asking questions about getting expensive gifts. Haven’t had many.”
“Fair.” Chelsea shrugged. “And it does suit you well, even if I ribbed you a bit about it. Nothing like her later work, though.” She smiled coyly.
“You’ve looked up me wearing the green dress, haven’t you?” Sunny chuckled.
“Guilty. And damn. I’m sorry, but all the suffering you went through for it? Worth it.”
Looking back at it, she was probably right. And fitting. “A lot of that going around,” Sunny said, waving around the room and towards the cot in particular.
“Oh, uh, sore spot?”
“No, I mean it. Being stuck here isn’t much fun, but like then, it’ll be worth it. I’m looking forward to new parts, to showing myself off. And the money doesn’t hurt.”
“Hah, well, I’m looking forward to your new parts too,” Chelsea giggled. “I hear you.”
Then, a thought came to Sunny, and they wondered if it was a good call. On one hand, it seemed more personal than they’d prefer, but on the other when it came to the physical, the number of things Chelsea didn’t know about them was declining rapidly already. There was the matter of it being a subject shared with Ms. Fairweather, but again, she hadn’t told them anything about secrecy. Hell, maybe Chelsea already knew through Ms. Warden and was just playing coy. So to hell with it, they’d show off the other result of the meeting, too.
“Hey Chelsea, how long do you have until you need to get back?”
Chelsea cocked her head questioningly. “Uh, twenty minutes or so. We’ve gone on a bit. Why?”
“It’s enough, I figure. I wanna show you the other thing Ms. Fairweather gave me.”
“Ooh, alright then. I thought that wasn’t everything!”
“This’ll need a bit of set-up though, so turn away for a sec.”
Chelsea did, and so Sunny got over to the wardrobe, retrieved a box from one of its shells, and quickly pulled out its contents. Forgoing subtlety, they pulled their slacks down together with the underwear and pressed the device up against their skin. The effect took a moment to kick in, but once it did, the simulated shaft hardened to half-size without much effort.
“Alright, you can look.”
Chelsea turned to them and blinked several times. “Uh, what? I thought you got… oh. Oh. Well, that’s cool, I didn’t know we still had any of these lying around.”
“Know what this is?”
“I think I do, at least. Detachable, right? There’s a campaign for it on Marketing’s docket, due to get properly started in a bit… one that’s going to involve you, I’m pretty sure now that I think of it.” That wasn’t the point right now, and thankfully Chelsea seemed to realize it. “That’s, uhm, a nice cock.”
That was better. Sunny let out a satisfied laugh. “Thank you, Chelsea.”
She blushed. “Well it’s true.” Then, another spark of realization on her face. “Oh! You asked me about my situation when you were in the hospital. Was that how you fixed it?”
Sunny nodded. “I asked about following your advice, but it turned out that it wouldn’t do much when I don’t have anything on the inside either.”
“Oh, damn, I didn’t realize they meant, like, everything everything.”
“I hadn’t until then, either. But this helped, thankfully.”
“That’s good, I’m glad you… found a way.” Chelsea was responding, but the rate was getting slower and slower, and her gaze was locked to Sunny’s crotch.
“You keep staring at it,” Sunny noted with a chuckle, “would you like to try it out?”
“Uh…” she finally managed, pulling her eyes away, “I mean it’s cool, but I’m not sure how it would fit on… oh, you don’t mean for myself, do you? I… well… if you’re okay with it.”
“I wouldn’t be asking if I wasn’t.”
“Then sure!” It was too quick to tell with certainty, but Sunny could swear Chelsea licked her lips just then.
Fuck yes, go Chelsea, resounding (if qualified) success on all fronts. Her inner cheerleader was spelling out her name in dance moves.
Look into what went on with Sunny and Fairweather: check, and even though she wasn’t sure she fully understood Magdalene’s intentions, it seemed that Sunny themself was going off guesswork, so they were on even ground there, and that wasn’t too unusual from Magdalene.
Find out why they were in the hospital: check, a little vague, but she didn’t need the details. Sunny would only get in trouble if they continued doing what landed them here, and that was unlikely because –
Get in close with them: check, check, check. Sunny opened up, trusting her with most of the above, the two of them had bonded over The Experience, right up to talking about both of their potential vaginas, and, oh yeah, she was reaching out for their temporary cock at right this moment.
And what a cock, too, Chelsea’s compliment wasn’t just to be nice. It didn’t quite look like the real thing, far off enough that it seemed deliberately ‘other’ rather than off-putting, but the way it felt was a whole other matter. The texture, the warmth… She’d heard about Project Aphrodite in a little too much detail after Adrienne got hers, but hadn’t had a chance to check it out before. She didn’t know Dr. Trentford closely enough to come up and ask for it, and Adrienne had offered her a go but hadn’t yet delivered, for one reason or another. Now that she did, though, it felt like all that was promised and more.
When Sunny gasped in response to her touch, it took a lot of mental effort to not reach in and hold them, kiss them, whatever else she could do to get closer. The effort she made turned out not to be enough, because while she did stop herself, it wasn’t in time. She jolted and stopped, leaned over, before quickly pulling back into place and letting go of her grasp.
“What’s going on?” Sunny asked, leaning back but not yet moving away. It wasn’t accusatory, like Chelsea had feared, more concerned, which made it all the more embarrassing.
“Uh, nothing really, it’s dumb…” She looked away, feeling the heat in her cheeks. It wasn’t exactly a lie, but it felt like enough of one for her to be uncomfortable with it. “I, well, I wanted to reach in. It’s what I’m used to when… doing something like this. Your reaction set it off, I guess. But this isn’t like what I’m used to, because we’re not-” She rattled off her explanation but swallowed the last word in her mouth, unwilling to hear herself say it.
“Chelsea,” Sunny reached out, placing their hand under her chin and gently lifting it up until they were looking into each other’s eyes. “We’re friends. I know what I said yesterday, but we are. Yes, I still don’t know that much about you, but it’s fine, we’ve got time for that. I know enough.”
Chelsea nodded and smiled with relief, which had a lot to do with Sunny’s admission and a little bit with the way their hand still held up her head.
“Now,” they continued with a smile, pulling their hand away, “I don’t know if you’ve jerked off any of your friends, but if this is fine then so is getting closer in.”
“Not many,” Chelsea replied with one of her own, “but some.”
“Well then.” Sunny waved down.
Their simulated erection had faded a little over the talk, but there was enough to grab onto. Chelsea eagerly did just that, but not before she stepped closer, falling in behind them and reaching around. She started slow, but quickly picked up the pace, putting all her practice, recently lacking as it was, to good use. Feeling the tech under her fingers was still fascinating, but the subject of her wonder quickly moved from that to Sunny themself. Each time they moaned, twitched, lifted on their heels in pleasure was a moment of transcendence. Each time Chelsea felt them getting closer, in more ways than one, as she pressed into their back. As Sunny’s pleasure picked up she could hear them begin to say something between the moans, but stop themself, several times. Chelsea wanted to ask, to know, but she’d pushed enough for the day. She could always know them better, and maybe she’d always want to, but whatever it was could stay as their exciting mystery for now.
It kept building up, and Sunny pushed back into them harder and harder. They were a bit taller, but them being shoeless in the room and Chelsea donning her work-time medium heels meant that they lined up just perfectly to rub their firm ass enticingly against the front of her skirt. Okay, so maybe she would like a chance to get inside them after all, it was too inviting not to. She was pretty sure she’d be pitching the skirt up if it wasn’t for her cage, even so soon after her ‘responsibility’ with Warden. File that one away for the future, then. For now, she did her best by keeping her pace steady and driving Sunny ever closer to the edge. They rose higher and higher in tune with the pressure, rubbing against Chelsea as they shook and shuddered on tiptoes, until they couldn’t hold on anymore. A stifled moan came through their closed mouth, they planted their feet hard on the floor, and leaned over on Chelsea for support. Thankfully for her back, she didn’t need to provide it for long. Sunny let out a deep breath and moved carefully over to the couch.
“Whew… that was a first.” They smiled, satisfied, spreading out on the cushions. “And it feels just wonderful.”
Chelsea smiled back, finding pleasure in helping her friend, even if she’d need some care herself now. Something didn’t make sense, though. “First? I thought you’d already used it.”
“I did. And it helped… but it wasn’t like this.” Sunny did that thing again, when they seemingly wanted to say something but stopped – with a wink this time rather than a moan. “I’ll tell you about it… sometime.”
So Ms. Fairweather had given them something more? Something that Sunny wanted to ask her to do, but stopped themself. Her imagination took a long run-up before crashing into a wall. It was hard to think of Magdalene being on the taking side, it just didn’t fit together. But nothing else came to mind, so it would have to stay a mystery. She should’ve been careful with what she wished for, because she knew it would constantly be on their mind now. “Fine,” she replied with a smirk. “Then I’ll do you one better than that” – she made a stroking motion – “sometime.”
“Now that’s some proper encouragement,” Sunny let out with a laugh.
A knock came on the door before their mutual teasing could roll into round two. Chelsea thankfully needed no adjustments, and Sunny, jolted alert, pulled their slacks over to be decent, then invited them in.
It turned out to be the same nurse that brought in their lunch, and he looked first at them both, then at the still half-full tray, and tried hard to look like he wasn’t coming to any conclusions. “Remember, finish up with this before four o’clock. Nothing after that. Your meeting with Dr. Campbell is in ten minutes, too, so if you need anything for that…”
Shit! Ten minutes until their meeting meant five minutes before Chelsea had to be back at 103. Thankfully, again, she didn’t need to gather anything. That could’ve been embarrassing.
“Thank you, and yes, I remember.” Sunny nodded and he went back out, closing the door behind him.
“That sounds like my cue.” Chelsea started off to the door but stopped midway through the room, went up to the couch, and leaned over for an embrace. Sunny returned it, in a friendly way rather than more, but it was more than enough. The two said their goodbyes and Chelsea was off into the hospital’s corridors. She felt giddy all over despite the rush. She got through to Sunny, today, in a way she’d be happy about a couple of weeks from now. This was going somewhere, and fast!
As she stepped onto the elevator and the sensation of touching Sunny’s temporary piece gradually faded from Chelsea’s mind, the part of it that was quicker to return into working mode wondered just how they were planning to sell that thing. Like, with help from Sunny or whatever new model they got, obviously, but so far the only actual use case she could see was Sunny, and just this week. Maybe the next too if they were feeling spicy. Surely someone who felt they needed a penis, for whatever reason, would go for something permanent? Dr. Trentford apparently did, hence her upgrade. In Adrienne’s hands it had been downgraded from a statement to a sex toy – admittedly, just about the perfect one – and Chelsea had seen the projections. Its intended price was way out of line with even the top offerings from Delicate Desires, where many of Dr. Trentford’s other personal projects ended up selling.
Maybe a detachable could fit someone with a more fluid identity, in a day by day kind of deal. Yes, one’s physical parts aren’t the same thing as their self, Chelsea of all people knew that, but sometimes they damn well help, which Chelsea was starting to realize now too. She should probably ask around about it sometime. Warden? Trentford? Maybe this Casey person from the hospital or someone they knew from the enby group? Maybe she was completely wrong and the tech wasn’t about those organs in the first place, but she hadn’t yet seen a piece the company made that hadn’t been of use somewhere. There were a lot of maybes, but now, she realized, she was definitely looking into doing more than her job. The campaign was barely starting to spin up, and she wasn’t even paid for market research in the first place. It could be a point in her favor if she cracked it herself, but that should come after handling her actual duties. And then probably thinking about Sunny some more.
Sunny was left with a strange sensation as the door closed behind Chelsea. Feeling her touch was wonderful, and not just physically, but the connection they made felt uncomfortable in the aftermath. They told Chelsea they were friends, and they saw her face light up in response. While it wasn’t an outright lie, in their mind it was… aspirational, at best. They wanted to be her friend, and maybe more beyond, but were they? Was it enough for both of them to want it? Maybe the problem was that Chelsea shouldn’t have. Sunny had attracted admirers before, but those were only interested in their body. Chelsea, though certainly appreciative of it, was looking for something more, which was bound to end in disappointment. There wasn’t anything to find.
They shouldn’t have led her on. To them the little maneuver with holding her head up was a way to play with her arousal, to deflect back onto the surface what could’ve been a deeper conversation, but of course it only added to her infatuation. They should’ve let her be. Should’ve been the detached, cold, unavailable model, with everyone, and not just when it’s convenient. Now they’d tricked her into caring for them. Got her hopes up. If they walked it back now, it would hurt her even more, and if they kept going, then Chelsea would eventually see right through them, find that there’s nothing worthy under the skin. Then she’d go away and they’d be left alone, again, like they were supposed to be. Or she’d keep trying to find something and get frustrated until it blew up in both of their faces. Or maybe you’ll stop indulgently wallowing in self-pity for once in your goddamn life and appreciate a good thing coming.
Sunny shook their head, shocked at the thought. It was… one option. Who knew if it was true? Certainly not Sunny themself. But, looking over it all, the only thing that could work, now that they’d got themself into it, was to push through. Chelsea seemed to, for the most part, have her shit together, so whatever it was she saw might have been real, and if so maybe Sunny would eventually see it for themself. It didn’t feel like them to be so reliant on another person, but doing things that were like them had hardly been a perfect strategy.
A knock on the door pulled them out of their thoughts. The meeting with Dr. Campbell! The questions they had were scattered around their mind, and they were still wearing the damn detachable! That’s what thinking got them. “One second!” they yelled out. Quickly, they removed the part, threw it into one of the drawers, and pulled their slacks up to propriety. “Come in!”
The man who stepped through the door wasn’t quite like what Sunny was expecting. They’d seen the official picture during Ms. Warden’s explanation of their future, but they had sort of expected it was a consequence of good light and set-up. But, no, he was just as good, and young, looking in life. Either he kept really well, or Dr. Vasquez limiting the use of her own technology in favor of allowing signs of age was the exception in this place rather than the rule. It seemed obvious in retrospect – he’d designed a full-on second set of genitals for himself, he probably wouldn’t be repelled by some cosmetic adjustment here and there if those came in handy.
His expression, on the other hand, looked decidedly different from the picture. In it, he’d looked like Sunny expected someone in his position to – vaguely dignified, somewhat tired, possibly bored of things beneath his station. This Dr. Campbell looked as excited as Chelsea at her best. Either that, or under the influence of too much caffeine, judging by his movements. Possibly both.
“Good afternoon, Mx. Benton, it’s a pleasure to finally meet,” he announced with a chipper tone as he stepped through the doorway, before looking around for a place to sit.
“Just ‘Sunny’ is fine,” Sunny announced on autopilot, and made a mental note to dip back into that thread in the resource group. Now that they heard it for themself, and were probably due for more, the word was, while not exactly grating, still due for an evaluation. They waved to a chair opposite them – beside them on the couch was probably not the most appropriate.
“Sunny it is, then! And a pleasure in any case.” He sat down and placed his tablet onto the table, setting it up so they both could see the screen. “Now, I’m sure you have a lot of questions. While I believe a lot of them will be answered by what I’ve prepared today, and we’ll have the time afterwards for any that come up, if something feels like it can’t wait, we can start off with that.”
Sunny did have a lot of questions, but that fact made it difficult to pick the ones that were most important. They could probably get through the doctor’s presentation without knowing the answer to any particular one. “There’s a lot I want to know, but I’m fine with seeing what you have first and leaving questions for later.”
“Excellent, excellent. I’m not sure if you’ll have less or more by the time we’re there, but there’s only one way to find out, right?” He smiled and swiped on the screen.
The presentation turned out to be pretty brief and mostly freshman anatomy-ish, except for the final part. That one went into how the organs were actually made, which went at least a couple degrees above that and so was hopelessly out of Sunny’s liberal arts dropout wheelhouse. They got the gist of the relevant stuff, namely what effect it would have on their body, but the more the doctor explained it the more vague it sounded. Intentionally so, not because Sunny was out of their depth. They hoped, at least – which is why it was the question off their lips as soon as Dr. Campbell wrapped up.
“Ah,” he noted, “good observation. Yes, the exact effects are… let’s say, a bit up in the air for now.” The confusion must have shown on Sunny’s face, because he quickly added, “Not because it’s unpredictable! Kind of the opposite, actually. I’m sure you’re aware of what each set of sexual hormones does, right? Biologically.”
Sunny nodded. The ones given to them had apparently not been that hard working, but still had their ups (height, broad shoulders, firm muscles) and downs (just about everything else; carefully mitigated, violently undone, uselessly thrashed against or pointedly ignored in roughly equal measure for the last several years).
“Right. So, because what you are getting is not merely cosmetic but a fully functional organ, if we simply put it in and not do anything else, you will be affected by the hormones that it produces.”
It made sense intellectually, so clearly that Sunny chastised themself for not getting it earlier, but the practical effects still took their sweet time to form into a coherent image in their mind.
“You’d essentially be on feminine hormones, just with a different manner of delivery,” the doctor helpfully clarified.
Right. Well. Hm. It was an interesting proposition. They’d known a few people who received a similar deal, barring the manner of delivery, from the generously defined modeling community, but their mind instantly went to Chelsea. This must have been another reason she was considering it. She’d filled out nicely on her – there it was again, the shame for not taking a closer interest, they didn’t know what she used, or even for how long, and weren’t even sure if she hadn’t told or they weren’t paying enough attention – on whatever she used, but having your own body make the chemicals you needed was surely more convenient, on top of the other benefits. Whether it suited them, though, was another matter. Sunny tried to imagine themself filling out in the same way, and their thoughts were… uncertain.
Dr. Campbell let Sunny wade through them in silence for a couple of seconds before either seeing something on their face or naturally stumbling into perfect timing. “Now, you obviously have an interest in… curating your appearance, for your profession if nothing else, so if that is not something you wish to happen, it can be mitigated.”
Sunny nodded, indicating understanding, a couple of seconds before their mind actually achieved it. While Dr. Campbell’s look was a bit more androgynous than what they’d imagined as a standard-issue man, they wouldn’t know about any extra hormones floating through there if it wasn’t for their briefing on him. So whatever he was offering he must’ve already done to himself. Well, whatever else he was offering. They knew he’d done the other thing.
The silence was starting to drag on again, but this time he was in no hurry to break it. Sunny elected to instead, with the first thought that came to their mind. “So… is it an all or nothing kind of deal? I’ve not really looked into this kind of stuff, and what I did was about the other side of it.”
He nodded and paused for a moment as the answer taking its shape was visible on his face. “Right, about that. For your regular regimen, yes, it is, arguably more so than not having the organ in the first place. But we aren’t likely to go that route. As, uhm,” – another build-up of thought followed – “As your original hormone production is now out of the picture, something is going to have to make up for it. Going with none at all is inadvisable, it causes some medical issues.”
“Haven’t I gone without already?” Sunny spoke up, memories washing over them at the realization of what he meant by ‘out of the picture’.
“Yes. In the short term, like the week between your operations, it is not too worrisome. But from there, blocking them off will be a problem.”
Well, someone could’ve told them that earlier. “So what’s the plan then?”
“There’s a few. One is to let your new body do its thing. It will start slowly changing, but no pharmaceutical assistance will be required.” He paused there, even though he didn’t look finished. Slowly, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath before resuming. “I have been informed… that it would be the preferred approach by Ms. Warden. Showing your changes is supposed to demonstrate that the Biotech organs are fully identical to natural ones.”
“Why am I given a choice, then?” Sunny wondered aloud. They were pretty sure they’d signed over that ability. Warden had asked them for preference about which road to go down first, but that came before they were chopped up and left with a flat crotch, which tended to change one’s perspective.
“Dr. Vasquez and I presented an alternative, although this is a little more experimental.”
A lot of that going around, Sunny thought, glancing over at the box that contained their temporary parts. “And that is?”
“Medical has, for a while now, been developing targeted hormone replacement. You would be on blockers for your ‘natural’ estrogen and taking a new cocktail.”
“Couldn’t I get put on replacement testosterone more easily, then?”
Dr. Campbell paused, leaned away and cocked his head in confusion. “Would you… want that?”
They wouldn’t, Sunny thought now that their mind caught up with their mouth, but how did he know that? Aside from the… well, most things about them. Hardly baseless as assumptions go, but an assumption nonetheless. Then, picking up slowly but getting there, they remembered the operation. Sunny wanted them to think they were happy to be rid of testosterone, because the alternative was much less explicable. In addition to it being partially true, anyway. ‘Them’, back then, meaning Dr. Vasquez, but of course their coterie of handlers must’ve shared notes.
“No, uh, probably not,” they offered. “At least not more than I’d dealt with before. I guess I’m just a bit concerned about the experimental of it all – the pitch I’d originally accepted was strictly ‘fully tested’ and ‘ready for market’.” Good save.
“Ah. Well, that is something better directed to Dr. Vasquez, that is her division’s work we’re talking about, but as far as I understand the specific combinations are proven to be safe before they’re applied to anyone. The still-unsolved matter is about being able to figure it out more widely and quicker.”
The words made sense but weren’t all that reassuring without some deeper knowledge, which they were probably going to be lost in. Sunny nodded uncertainly.
“One thing I’ll tell you is that you’d be far from the first to take that approach,” Dr. Campbell offered.
“Have you?” The thought was on Sunny’s mind for a while, but it made it to their mouth this time before they’d built any sort of filter around it.
“Yes,” he answered simply, either not sharing their awkwardness or masking it well. “I won’t go into details, but it helped achieve the… combination of effects I felt were best.”
“Well, that’s reassuring.” And probably expected. But still not entirely convincing. “Do I have to choose now?”
“It would be preferable, but you’d be starting on the schedule some time after your operation, so you have until then. Either way, the effects are reversible, so you wouldn’t have to stick with what you get.”
Now that was convincing, and also apparently a running theme. There was still the contract stipulation they’d be able to go back to their previous self, even if it was increasingly unlikely they’d want to, so anything he said would be reversible probably was. “I’d rather think about it, then.”
“Alright then. And, I’m not sure if that helps, but you don’t have to worry about it being part of the job. Ms. Warden prefers the first option, like I said, but if you make use of Medical’s offering, well, that will eventually be marketed too. So either way you’re not missing out.”
Of course. They wouldn’t be missing out, but more to the point neither would the company. They weren’t sure if they preferred Dr. Campbell’s indirect approach compared to Ms. Warden’s – he seemed to be genuinely sharing part of himself and excited about it, but she’d been honest about their expectations. Sunny was under no illusion that they wouldn’t be used as marketing material on every turn, but it was now clear that their every choice was part of it too. Well, at least they had any.
“Good to know,” they answered, unsure if they were genuine. “I’ll think about it.” That was for him and for themself in about equal parts.
The intensity made him lean back for a moment, but he recovered quickly. “Okay. So, with that out of the way, do you have any other questions?”
Sunny did, but the explanation and subsequent choice had taken up enough space in their thoughts for the next while, and the ones relating more personally to the doctor felt like they were a bit too early to go for. Maybe they’d be able to get him in later with some more shared experience, or lure some details out of Chelsea or something. For now the big question was one they needed to ask themself. They shook their head. “No. Thank you, though, it has been… a lot, but helpful. I think.”
Dr. Campbell nodded and moved to stand up. “I’ll see you after this, then.”
The two said their goodbyes and, alone again in the room, Sunny settled into thinking, picking off one bit of leftover lunch or the other in between. Other than for the money, they’d signed up for a promise of an eventual dream body, but the concept was, in large parts, as nebulous now as it had been back then. Sure, they’d barely had anything done yet, only enough to know that their dream body had some genitals (probably), but here was another choice. What they actually wanted to end up with was still an open question, but hadn’t they already decided that what they wanted to try out was… as much as they could get away with? With some limits, obviously – going in a more masculine direction than their recent baseline had been considered and discarded long ago – but in general… if they really could undo a choice they’d make, then why not bring all the changes and see what sticks?
Still, probably best to have them prepare the hormone thing just in case. It seemed useful to have as backup, and it wasn’t like it would come out of their paycheck.
They finished off the last of their massive lunch shortly before four, exchanged the empty tray for a couple of water bottles from the nurse, and settled in for the long evening. With no more meetings for the day and no new messages on either the company app or their regular socials, Sunny was once again in their most precarious yet comfortable state – alone. While the hospital room, by design, had no available destructive temptations, it didn’t feel like a good idea to prod themself towards any. To that end, no more thinking. There had been too much today already, and due to be more tomorrow. Sunny tucked in on the sofa and looked for something to watch.
Chelsea couldn’t quite remember when the department sent out for campaign designs. Possibly it was from before her time, or possibly the various studios had suddenly decided their skills would be invaluable to Fairweather Industries of their own volition, but either way there were a lot of them. Sorting through their applications was somehow both stressful and boring, so when a notification popped up in the corner she was glad for the distraction.
HBIC:
@ms cheerleader Any news from floor 17?
She decided she’d been glad too early. With a deep sigh, she opened the chat.
ms cheerleader:
thought you weren’t going into it
HBIC:
Flo asked.
ms cheerleader:
thought she only knew them professionally
HBIC:
You think too much.
Anyway, that doesn’t mean she can’t care about them.
She told me that if this fucks them up then we’ll have trouble.
As friends
So I’d prefer for that not to happen
ms cheerleader:
weeellllll
define fucks them up
HBIC:
Chel.
ms cheerleader:
i mean
they’re not more fucked up than they were before this i think
still worried about, like
money and shit
and the whole no bottom parts situation affected them but they fixed it
plus, y’know
that’s changing tomorrow
Man In Finance:
wdym ‘fixed it’?
HBIC:
Fixed it how?
Man In Finance:
Jinx
HBIC:
Don’t you have work to do, with it being end of Q2 and all?
Man In Finance:
Oh
yeah
@ms cheerleader @Glizzy Queen I need Marketing and HR’s Q3 expense projections
Tell your people this or whatever
Job done
HBIC:
Just these two?
Man In Finance:
Nice try but everyone else already sent theirs in
Except Security but theirs comes on the 20th at 3PM on the goddamn dot
Or the Friday before then
And it also doesn’t change much
Because Security have their shit together
Don’t you @Eric Dallas
Now spill it Chelsea
Well, she’d hoped to get away using the bickering as cover, but alas. She was on the spot now. Of course she could tell them to back off, and they would, though not without complaints. But should she? Sunny revealing their gift felt private, like something just for the two of them… but it wasn’t, if she thought about it. They’d gotten the piece from Magdalene, who had then apparently used it, so she was involved in it at the very least. Probably more than just her – didn’t Trentford sign off on all the prototypes? And if it was supposed to be a secret, then, well… Chelsea hurt to admit it, but what they didn’t know couldn’t hurt them. The only people that could get gossip out of the assistants were the other assistants.
Besides, while she got an in with Sunny on a personal level, she was still not entirely sure about their feelings for the job. Who better than them to help with that? Adrienne especially, since she had a stake. Plus, just maybe, she’d float some ideas about the project. Yes, okay, she’d tell them.
ms cheerleader:
magdalene gave them one of the aphrodites
that’s what the meeting was about
Eric Dallas:
Yes, we do, because you all are fucked otherwise.
Wait, what?
Man In Finance:
Wait what
Jinx
Eric Dallas:
Shut up
So Adrienne who’s got all her parts in order, and the model who’d just lost theirs for a week, get the detachable
But when I asked around I got told to pound sand
Which, y’know, I can’t
HBIC:
I wasn’t involved with that decision fwiw
Aren’t you scheduled for a full time cybernetic though?
Eric Dallas:
I mean yeah but it’d be nice while I wait
Would actually help me, not just as a toy
It’s like a month out
Chelsea made a note of that. Helping out while waiting for surgery for the permanent addition. Maybe before one can fully commit to it, too.
HBIC:
It’s not an official thing yet so it’s kinda who you know.
I helped Trentford test it out and I think Magdalene has a thing for Sunny.
Man In Finance:
Callllllllled it
Glizzy Queen:
For the record, “it’s kinda who you know” is not the official position of HR.
And neither is “Magdalene has a thing for Sunny”.
Speaking of that
Anything I need to know now, @ms cheerleader?
Specifically in regards to how you know about it?
Now this was private. While she and Sunny finally did some of what she was looking forward to, and it technically rose above the level where HR had to be notified, the moment felt too precious to become part of the assistants’ gossip mill. Maybe if she felt particularly rule-abiding tomorrow she’d write to Izzy in private, but not here. Besides, whatever it was that Sunny did with Magdalene must have been more interesting.
ms cheerleader:
when there’s something you need to know, i’ll damn well tell you
again if you want the juicy stuff try to come at fairweather
see how that works out for you
Glizzy Queen:
I don’t want the juicy stuff, I want to know what happened.
ms cheerleader:
they showed it to me
like in its box
Man In Finance:
Does that count as flashing
What’s the official HR position on that
Glizzy Queen:
We’ll probably need to write one sometime.
But okay. Fine. I’ll trust you Chel
ms cheerleader:
glad someone does
anyway that’s kind of all of it
and coming back to the whole fucks them up situation
on a personal level they’re like
fine
but idk if they’re into the job all that much
Man In Finance:
Want me to try to push something through in your budget?
ms cheerleader:
thanks martin but idk if that’s the main thing
they even said they’re okay on money
i’ll think about something
feel free to pitch in but don’t like make it your whole thing, this isn’t a The Incident situation
HBIC:
I’ll see if I can get something out of Magdalene
No promises.
Man In Finance:
We will remember you fondly
The whole talk could’ve gone better, but a lot worse too. Chelsea had cast a few lines about helping out Sunny and had an idea for her little sub-project. She made another note, to ask Eric in particular about what he’d want out of the piece. Maybe not at the moment, though, she thought looking back at the chat. He seemed busy.
HBIC:
If I die I bequeath my Aphrodite to @Eric Dallas
But also seriously, you can take it for a spin until your thing
Eric Dallas:
I’ll think about it. Thanks
Man In Finance:
Hey quick q how come you’re still using your real name in here
Eric Dallas:
Because I chose it and I like it
Man In Finance:
Yeah so did Chelsea and she’s still fun about it
Anyway that’s the thing though Eric is cool but the Dallas sounds like you’re trying too hard y’know
Imagine being a place
Oh hi I’m Minnie, short for Minneapolis
Eric Dallas:
What are you on about
I didn’t pick that one, anyway
Isabella Quinn:
Martin I’m going to need you to reread your last messages carefully
Man In Finance:
oh not you too Izzy
Hold up, what do you mean?
Oop
Uh
Sorry Chelsea, forget I said anything
Anyway @Isabella Quinn how are those expense projections doing
Chelsea let out a quick laugh before closing the window and returning to work, busying herself with routine – grinding as it was, someone had to do it.
Those took up most of the remaining work time and so, by the time everything was finished and she packed up to go, she was strolling through a mostly empty floor 103.
She dipped into the bathrooms and all was well, but as she came back over to the sinks she froze at her first look in the mirror. Something that Sunny had said, obscured by the joy of getting on with them at the time but, apparently, rolling around somewhere in the back of her mind, suddenly jumped to the front at the sight.
“Keeps slipping my mind,” she quoted under her breath. It wasn’t the first time Sunny had said something along those lines. Not ‘I’d never know’, that weaksauce, enough so to be insulting, compliment she’d heard dozens of times. It wasn’t a compliment at all, it sounded like a genuine excuse. Sunny did know, and they… never thought about it? Not a day went by when Chelsea didn’t think about it, like now, catching a stray look at her frame, and that was an improvement compared to before. The reminders weren’t always bad, but they were always there. And Sunny just didn’t see any? How? Did it have something to do with who they were?
Maybe, having left the two neat-seeming boxes behind, they had stopped playing spot the difference between them.
Maybe, being a model, they were used to tall women and unconventional proportions.
Maybe, content with noting she looked good, they didn’t pay close enough attention.
Maybe, feeling pity for the girl that wanted connection, they chose to say something nice.
Chelsea’s eyes briefly went wide, but then, remembering advice from her last session with the therapist, she quickly closed them and took a deep breath.
Maybe they just weren’t her, and so didn’t hang onto every inch of her body looking for faults.
When Chelsea slowly opened her eyes again, the woman in the mirror was softly smiling. She made a note to bring it up at the next session. And another one, to damn well ask Sunny about it, because, self-castigation aside, it was probably also one of the other things, and she was still curious about it. About anything to do with how they thought, really, but most of all with how they thought of her.
Sunny shuffled in their seat, pushing themself alert after having half-watched several episodes of whatever the show was in a row. The clock told them it was after work hours, but still pretty far from what they saw as proper bed time. Not that any of their sleep had been ‘proper’ since at least their first operation – and they were due for more soon, scheduled for knock-out around four. The ambitious lunch and deliberate numbing had left them feeling the evening, too, so it was probably as good a time as any. They finished off a half-done water bottle, swapped their clothes out for the hospital gown, and were about to go to the bathroom to wash up when their phone came up with a notification.
c.sloan:
hey
mind if we talk a bit
This was it. She’d found them out, she saw past her arousal and decided there was nothing else of worth to them. They should admit it, they should break it off, they should get over yourself already, for fuck’s sake.
Okay so maybe they shouldn’t tell Chelsea they’re an empty – if pretty – shell of a person even if they thought so on occasion, they’d heard that type of thing tended to be self-fulfilling.
s.benton:
Anything wrong?
c.sloan:
no
well i mean
no
i get that it’s not telling you much but
it’s just some of my bullshit that i wanted your take on
now that we’re friends and all
See? Sunny sighed with relief. Okay, yes, they were friends. ‘And all’.
s.benton:
Sure, okay
Here or in person? Feels like an in person kind of thing but either’s fine by me.
c.sloan:
hm
i don’t think they’re gonna let me in after hours just like that
but you’re right. guess it can wait until tomorrow
It didn’t sit quite right by Sunny. Now that they were friends, and all, it felt like they were letting her down.
s.benton:
You sure?
If you need something now, we can talk here
c.sloan:
no
i mean yea
i’m sure
it’s not like urgent, tomorrow’s okay
s.benton:
Alright then. Somewhere around noon?
Just don’t bring your lunch, I think I might be tempted to snatch it by then
c.sloan:
ha okay
it’s a date then
Soon enough, a ‘not lunch’ appeared on their schedule for tomorrow. It felt good to be wrong about Chelsea, but… she was asking them to help with ‘her bullshit’? Either Sunny had made the altogether wrong impression of someone well put together, or the uncomfortably correct one of someone with enough shit of their own to be an expert. Considering that she knew the reason they’d ended up here a day early, they leaned towards the latter. Well, if that was the case, they could at least use some of that time for good.