[Veronica]

[plantfood]

It's taken the better part of the morning, but Mathias is showered and dressed, his hair brushed and tied back in a ponytail that feels strange when it brushes against his back as he walks. None of his clothes fit, so he's found a shirt of Stacy's to wear, a tank top that only serves to remind him that he officially has breasts. At first he'd tried to wear a pair of her shorts as well, but Stacy likes her clothes a little shorter than Mathias is comfortable with and when paired with the fact that he's still nearly a foot taller than she is, he'd decided against borrowing too much from her. The box in the basement had given him a pair of jeans and he's tugged them on, even if it feels strange how tight they are through the hips and thighs.

As he walks, he stops to shuffle now and then, trying to adjust to his new body. It's uncomfortable and he's a little nervous to begin with, not sure what he's going to say to Veronica once he reaches her place. He knows he has to explain about Stacy, but this feels like a ridiculous time to say anything at all. Still, he doesn't want her to get the wrong idea if she finds out about it in another way.

"Veronica?" he calls when he nears her hut, clearing his throat awkwardly. His accent is still present, but his voice is lighter and softer. Smoothing his hands down the front of the tank top, pulling it into place, he reaches the door and knocks lightly. Maybe she isn't home. Maybe if he runs now, he still has time to escape.

But Mathias just stands there and waits, expressionless and yet very nervous.

Comments

[neptune-sleuth.livejournal.com]

Technically, really, Veronica knew she should have been in the Council office, helping tend to the flood of panicked people, all dealing with sudden and unwanted sex changes. She should have been. The others had it under control for the moment, though, and there was nothing she could do to make the changes go away. She'd never been good at calming people or soothing their fears. As long as it wasn't her again, she had no qualms about what had happened.

There was a knock at the door and the sound of her name, and though she wasn't expecting company, it was hardly out of the ordinary, so she rolled to her feet and went to open the door. Change still had a way of showing up in her life, unannounced. "Hi," she said, blinking up at the unfamiliar girl in her doorway. "Can I help you?"

[plantfood]

"It's me," Mathias answers with a sigh, then realizes that saying that explains absolutely nothing when he looks like this. For a moment, he's reluctant to say anything further, but he's come this far already.

"Mathias," he admits grudgingly, mouth twisting into some kind of expression that isn't quite a frown. "I woke up like this and how is it that I turn into a woman and am still so tall?" It's a silly thing to be bothered by, but he feels like a giant this way, still standing so tall over Veronica and Stacy both, with longer legs than he remembers having as a man.

[neptune-sleuth.livejournal.com]

"Okay, that's... intensely unfair," Veronica said after a moment, unable to help staring a little. She never did expect it to happen to anyone she knew - stupid, she guessed, when she knew half the island. That it was Mathias seemed stranger still, although at least it wasn't quite as bad as when Sam had been a girl, back when they were still together. "I think you're actually prettier than me. I might have to kick you out for that. I'm not really sure my delicate ego can handle this."

[plantfood]

"Not possible," he answers, shaking his head with a faint smile. "I may be cute, but there's no way I'm prettier than you." He's seen himself in the mirror, he feels that he's qualified to make this statement whether or not Veronica agrees.

Reaching up, he tucks some hair behind his ear, still feeling a little strange. Without explaining anything, he holds out his palms, displaying the scars. "Still there. So strange how this works. Everything changes, but it doesn't. My scars, my tattoos." The black and red eagle looks too large for his slim forearm now, but it's still where it should be.

[neptune-sleuth.livejournal.com]

If she'd doubted before that it was him, she was certain now. The accent gave him away and the scars, the marks, were only further proof. That, at least, assuaged the weirdness of it a little, the twinge of bewilderment that rose up when she realized just how pleased she was by what he'd said. Underneath the girl, it was still Mathias, after all. That made it alright. Even if it makes me a sap at the same time.

Tentative, she reached out, brushing her fingers over his palms with a small, involuntary shiver. "Three years here," she said, "and you'd think I'd start to understand this place. I still don't." She paused, drew her hands back, looked up. "You want to come in? Sit down before I get a neckache?"

[plantfood]

With a soft laugh, Mathias nods, closing his hand around Veronica's for a brief moment. Then he remembers he isn't himself and expects that Veronica might find it a little strange to be holding hands with another girl, so he forces himself to let go.

"Yeah," he agrees. "I have to tell you something anyway." This is still probably the most inappropriate time to be doing it, but he has no idea how long he'll stay like this. And the longer he puts off telling her about Stacy, the more it will seem like he's been trying to hide her.

[neptune-sleuth.livejournal.com]

Veronica ushered him inside. If there was one time her father would hear about her being alone in her hut with Mathias and not immediately suspect conclusions Veronica had no intention of jumping to, then it was now, when Mathias was a girl. She moved to take a seat at one of the two chairs she'd got, closing her laptop.

Even though there was nothing in Mathias' tone to suggest something had gone wrong, she doubted she'd like what he had to say. Words like that rarely meant anything good. "We're finally getting the internet here and I can check my email?" she guessed. "I must have so much spam by now."

[plantfood]

Sinking into the other chair, he has to struggle with his tank top for a moment, feeling dangerously close to being indecent. It's never something he's felt before and he doesn't like it now and he wishes, just for a moment, that he'd found a better shirt than this.

"Probably lots of ads for cialis," Mathias agrees when he's comfortable, crossing his legs in a way that feels foreign and yet appropriate at the same time. It's as unsettling as the rest of this. "It's nothing bad," he promises. "Someone I knew from Mexico arrived not very long ago, she was with me and the others at the ruins."

[neptune-sleuth.livejournal.com]

Arms draped across the table, Veronica leaned her weight on them, brow arching at him. "That's good, right?" she asked, hating this uncharacteristic hesitation, this not knowing. "At least she's safe here." It wasn't safe as most might have thought of it, but it was safer than Neptune and safer than crazy evil vines. With what she knew of what had happened, the island had to be better than that. It was one thing she felt no urge to make into a joke, and still it seemed like there was a catch around the corner, something that would mar things for her even if it was all swell and dandy for him. There always was.

[plantfood]

"She is," Mathias agrees, nodding again. More hair slips out from behind his ears and he has to push it back again, feeling frustrated with his state, feeling as if it's somehow hindering him. He can't blame it on being a woman, though, and he knows this.

"She's very... she's scared," he explains, knowing that makes it sound like he's been doing something wrong. "She's been staying with me. In my room, but I wanted to tell you that she was there before... before someone else did. Then it would make it seem like I was hiding something."

[neptune-sleuth.livejournal.com]

Maybe it wasn't right and maybe she knew that, but the openness of it, that sense that he should tell her this, only made her all the more closed off in return. The fear that he'd be seen as hiding something could only come from having something to hide. With her father living on the same floor, though, it was only a matter of time before she'd found out one way or another. She took a moment to remind herself that he'd told her of his own free will, that staying with him might be every bit as innocuous as it was meant to sound, that it was good of him to look after a frightened friend. It was kind, it was loyal, and she valued these traits. And then she nodded, smiling a little.

"You don't owe me any explanation," she said, glancing briefly away, wanting explanations anyway. "Having a familiar face when you get here - it helps."

[plantfood]

Mathias has never been particularly good trying to explain anything to do with his emotions or his intentions. That had always been Henrich, always finding the perfect words for the perfect women, always discovering the next big love of his life and only because he was able to say something. Mathias has never had that talent and for a moment, he just shakes his head, not sure which words are the right ones.

Finally, he says, "I do. I know this is probably the very worst time to be telling you things, but I... like being around you. And I don't want you to think something is happening with Stacy because... of that reason."

He barely knows Stacy, which is strange to realize. They're strangers on some levels, brought together through death and blood and violence. He doesn't even know where she's from or what she did back home.

[neptune-sleuth.livejournal.com]

Veronica was sure she could have thought of worse times if she'd put her mind to it, but there was no denying that it was strange to hear now in that incontestably female voice. The meaning of it, though, was worth hearing. Even as she was sure it was all a bad idea, that the only way to be safe was to stay clear of anything that had anything even remotely to do with feelings, she liked hearing it.

She also liked knowing the girl's name. Stacy. There weren't many of those around, if any. She couldn't help wanting to get a look at her, whatever Mathias said.

Brushing her hair back from her face, she blinked and took a deep breath, looking down at her hands stretched flat before her. "I... I'm sorry," she said carefully, not fully concealing a hint of playfulness, the beginning of a smirk, "I'm just - I don't like girls that way." But oh, god help her, she liked him.

[plantfood]

With a laugh, Mathias feels a little wave of relief rolling through him and his shoulders relax, his hands uncurling from the tight fists he'd been holding them in. He knows he's still terrible at this, he knows that somewhere, Henrich is laughing at him, but at least Veronica doesn't seem ready to forget about him completely.

"I thought you said I was prettier than you," he points out, tipping his head to the side. "You wouldn't even make an exception for that?" He's teasing as well, he can't fathom the idea of kissing her for the first time while in this body, but he knows now that he will. It's just a matter of when.

[neptune-sleuth.livejournal.com]

Veronica laughed, brow raising higher, a touch disbelieving. "Aesthetically speaking," she protested, holding up a hand. "You have the overwhelming advantage of long legs." Not that her own weren't long, but they didn't exactly have as far up to go.

In any case, joke or no joke, she'd hardly make an exception for Sam and she wasn't the least bit tempted to start. Later, though, when he was back to normal, later... For the first time in a long time, things like that seemed possible. Maybe she'd regret them later - almost certainly she would - but right now, she was bizarrely optimistic. I really never do learn.

[plantfood]

"Ah, I understand," Mathias answers with a nod, his gaze flickering down briefly to his legs. They've always been long, but he's never been a woman before and it's only now that he's noticing just how long.

"It makes sense. I would hardly be willing to make an exception if I'd come here today as normal and you were a boy," he continues with a small grin. That's not entirely true either, he thinks he would have kissed her anyway, had it been right, but he's never been particularly interested in men.

[neptune-sleuth.livejournal.com]

Veronica's brow furrowed, expression dramatically pained. "Not something I ever intend on going through again," she said, though it wasn't like she had any say in the matter. That was probably what she hated most about these ordeals - she had no control over them or, consequently, her own body. She'd been tampered with enough without some island getting into the act. "Way back, not long after I first got here, I spent a couple days looking like Paul Bettany. Not one of my finer moments." It wasn't something she mentioned often either, one of those things she usually chose to pretend had never happened.

[plantfood]

Tipping his head a little, as if trying to see Paul Bettany when he looks at Veronica, he nods, agreeing. It's a strange thing to think, but he can almost picture it.

"Were you still very short or were you much taller?" he asks with a small smile, unable to stop himself from taking that little dig at her. He doesn't think she'll mind, though, not when she's brought up her height before.

[neptune-sleuth.livejournal.com]

Veronica arched an eyebrow, kicking at him, but mostly in play. "Much taller," she said, playfully reluctant. "It was like being a giant. I don't know how all of you do it, I thought I was gonna tear down Tokyo." She'd kind of liked it, though, for a little while, just as a chance she'd never get to have any other way. It was about the only part of the experience that hadn't been so bad.

[plantfood]

"I do often worry about the state of Tokyo," Mathias agrees seriously, keeping a completely straight face. Like this, it's easy to forget that he's not himself, that he has long hair and breasts and that his voice sounds so different.

"Now and then I even find myself concerned with Hong Kong, but it comes as a bit of an afterthought," he adds. "Careless of me, really."

[neptune-sleuth.livejournal.com]

Clucking her tongue in disbelief, Veronica shook her head. "Next you'll tell me you don't even think of Paris," she said, chiding a little. "Really, it's all downhill from there." In a way, this part was even stranger somehow, even with as sure as she was that this was Mathias. Getting along with other girls didn't come so easily anymore, not like when she'd been little and running around with Lilly. Maybe the only way for her to deal so well as this was for the girls to really be boys.

[plantfood]

"I never think of France," Mathias answers sadly, shaking his head. "It's a wonder the Eiffel Tower is still standing."

It's brief, but he misses home, then. He misses being able to hop on a train and be in France within mere hours, in Paris by the end of the day. "I stood up there for the first time when I was seven," he says, remembering that trip with a faint smile. "My parents took us to Lyon on a business trip and then decided at the last minute to keep going to Paris."

[neptune-sleuth.livejournal.com]

There was a flicker of envy in her expression as she shook her head. "I always wanted to go," she said. "I wanted... to see things. Paris and London and New York. But I got here first." It was one of the few things she really regretted about the island - not the loss of the life she'd never get to live, but all the things she'd never done and seen. Something had kept her anchored in California, and there was a pull that state had, a magnetic hold on her. She'd never got a chance to resist.

[plantfood]

"We took it for granted. It's easy to travel in Europe and my parents... well, they were never wanting for anything," Mathias admits, thinking back to how they'd bought him his first apartment, the flat he'd lived in until going to Mexico and arriving on the island. Being a tourist had always been easy for him, it had been a way of life and he misses that. "Traveling is one of those things in life that I think everyone should be able to do, regardless of money. I loved it."

[neptune-sleuth.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, well, unfortunately, cash kinda come in handy if you wanna travel," Veronica said, shaking her head. "And our family - we wanted for plenty." The island, with its lack of economy, its system that worked so well, was a paradise for her, a small but continuous proof that there was some good in the world after all. It was a promise, one she tried hard to hold to. There was so little to believe in sometimes, but this was a constant now. "It was just one of those things I was going to get to someday."

[plantfood]

Mathias has long ago grown to understand that his life had been relatively easy and he's long ago developed an underlying sense of guilt when it comes to just how much money his family has. It rears up now and he smiles very faintly, looking down at his hands.

"My father once told me that money can't buy happiness, but it makes the pursuit of it much easier," he admits and he hates that it's somewhat true. "I guess he never imagined a place like this."

[neptune-sleuth.livejournal.com]

"Well, to be fair, neither did I," Veronica said, shaking her head. Her lips twisted as she tried to hold back a laugh. "Least of all the part with you being a girl." Even in her discontent in Neptune, she hadn't actually thought of a place like this, even as vague possible utopia, with or without the weird voodoo business.

[plantfood]

"I certainly hope my father never imagined that," Mathias agrees with a smile, leaning back a little too far. His elbow slips off the edge of the table and before he can stop himself, he's slid, his new breasts running into the edge as he tries not to look like a completely graceless fool.

"I..." But then he realizes just how much that's hurt and both his hands fly to his chest. "Ow," he says, emphatically.

[neptune-sleuth.livejournal.com]

There was no helping it then, and mean though it was when he was hurt, Veronica leaned back and laughed. "Impressive," she said, fingers drumming against the table as she tried to rein herself in a bit. "Are you okay?" That had to have hurt, but she was willing to bet he was more stunned than injured.

[plantfood]

"That hurt," he answers, being careful not to rub, just leaving his hands where they are. It's a strange sort of pain, though, one he doesn't recognize and he takes his hands away a moment later. "I never realized that could hurt so much."

Maybe that's why he's stuck like this now. To learn things he's never realized about women before or to learn not to take being a man for granted.

[neptune-sleuth.livejournal.com]

"I think there's probably a lot you'll be learning about that in the next couple days," she said wryly, "or however long it lasts." There was plenty she'd figured out about being a man in her weekend, but she'd worked hard to forget it for the most part. She couldn't blame anyone else who'd want to do the same, but in the moment, some things were difficult to ignore.

[plantfood]

"I've already struggled through getting dressed," he admits, gesturing at himself in a somewhat awkward manner. "I had to find a bra and Stacy gave me shorts to wear, but she..."

He's not the type to say a cruel thing about anyone, especially not someone he considers a friend, even though they were brought together in a strange manner, so he pauses, thinking.

"She is still much shorter than I am," he says finally. "The shorts were not long enough for me to feel decent."

[neptune-sleuth.livejournal.com]

Veronica shook her head, slumping back a little. "That's what you get," she said, "for still being roughly the same height as a redwood." What it was about the tall ones, she didn't know. She never seemed to find any interest in herself for the ones that didn't exceed her by a foot.

[plantfood]

"I've been reduced from a giant monster with the ability to crush Tokyo to a tree," Mathias answers, settling back in the chair as well, making sure not to twist anything. The bra is uncomfortable and he shifts a little, trying to find a comfortable position. "I suppose that's fair. Soon enough I'll just be as tall as a regular person."

[neptune-sleuth.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, that's never happening," Veronica said, shaking her head. She smirked, leaning her head against her hand. "Well, no, the island might decide you need to be twelve again. Then we'll see."

[plantfood]

"Is had already made me a girl. It would make me twelve as well?" he asks, an eyebrow arching curiously as he thinks about that. If given a choice, he thinks he would continue on in this body, rather than turning back into a child. "I don't think I'd like that one much," he decides, shaking his head.

[neptune-sleuth.livejournal.com]

"It's happened before," Veronica said, nodding. "Believe me, seeing my dad in his mid-twenties wasn't exactly something I signed up for either." She shuddered, dramatic, though it hadn't actually been all that bad. Being nine at the time, though, that had been pretty damn annoying. Like she hadn't been short enough to begin with. "Saying things get weird here is putting it mildly."

[plantfood]

"I think I've come to realize that," Mathias agrees, looking down at himself once more, the strange, smooth curve of his thigh where there's normally a strong, hard muscle. "Between the dinosaurs and this... it can't get much worse, can it?"