Catburglar’s Cradle
By Paul Calhoun
The final installment of Catburglar. Kelly takes care of loose ends, Ned comes to terms with his forthcoming death of personality and Mike lets the nanites loose on Kelly.
Contains foreshadowing for an Allie story that is forthcoming this week which in turn is foreshadowing for the Unplanned Adventures.
Reg woke up when a cold breeze blew over his face. He’d closed the window and his bedroom door, so the draught was as unexpected as the visitor it heralded. By the time he opened his eyes and had woken up enough to process what was happening, the shadowy and extremely curvy figure had closed and locked the window. Silent despite the three inch heeled boots that threw her black lycra covered legs and rear into even starker relief, the Starling crossed to the foot of Reg’s bed and turned on a dim lamp. “Oh, good,” she purred. “You’re already up.” In a more normal voice, Kelly said, “Good reflexes, by the way. If you ever had a real burglar try to break in this way you might actually stand a chance.”
“Do home invasions usually start on the second floor?”
“They do the way I do them,” the Starling said, falling back into her mellifluous flirt. “Especially when the target is such a strong, handsome man.” She climbed up onto the bed and knelt over him. Reg had been to Kelly’s practice runs, but he was still thrilled by how much older and more dangerous she looked in a catsuit and a mask which let the hair that had given her her name flow out behind her. In the dramatic makeup and that expression of barely controlled lust, Kelly looked every inch the femme fatale she’d become in the news. Hanging over him so that her hair brushed his cheeks and their eyes couldn’t help but meet, the Starling massaged Reg’s bare chest. Reg shivered at the touch of Kelly’s leather gloves on his flesh. “Now don’t try to escape or call for help or I’ll have to get rough.” She leaned down closer and nibbled his ear. She whispered, “I don’t know if you wanted to try that kind of thing, so I brought some rope and a gag just in case.”
Reg smiled and made a halfhearted attempt to get out from under the seductive criminal who had him pinned to his bed. The Starling let her full weight fall on him and quested under the bed. Kelly had stored a few things there while Reg wasn’t looking and faster than Reg thought was possible, his arms were tied to the bed and the Starling was crawling down to do the same to his legs, rubbing her body against him every inch of the way. “It’s a shame,” she said as she secured his legs with a practiced air. “I was hoping you’d be free to join in.” She returned to her perch almost nose to nose with Reg. “Don’t worry,” she whispered, “I’ll let you have a nice grope later on. You know,” she continued in the Starling’s tone, “I usually don’t go after such small targets and I never,” she started kissing him, “let anyone have more than a taste, but,” she pushed his underpants down to his ankles, “you get me so hot I just,” kiss, “can’t,” a brush of leather over his crotch that had his hips bucking as she stretched one of the animal print condoms onto him, “resist.” She ended with a torrid kiss and wrapping his erection between her lycra clad thighs. He was breathing hard and his breath caught when he felt the zipper running along her crotch. That was new! “I wore a special outfit to come see you.” He was treated to another brush of leather as she pulled the zipper along its track and guided him into her.
“But maybe I should put my work before having fun,” the Starling pulled back from their kiss with a pout. “I have to steal something.” She went to his underwear drawer, being sure he got a good view of her cleft cheeks and the fact that she hadn’t closed the zipper. He whimpered at having been brought so close and then left unable to even touch himself. The Starling laughed softly and then opened the drawer. “Maybe just a memento. Something nice and intimate to remember you by.”
“Uh, you don’t want to look in there,” Reg said, gulping to find his voice.
Thinking he was still playing, the Starling said, “Oh, surely you could part with a single pair of shorts for a night with me!” She started ostentatiously rummaging in the drawer.
“Kelly! You really really really don’t want to look in there!” Reg said, looking panicked. For the first time in their role play, he was struggling against the ropes intentionally. Kelly saw that he had gone completely flaccid again.
“What’s wrong, sweetie. It’s just play, I’d give it — oh,” her fingers closed against something hard. Something small. Something … box shaped. Even through the leather, she could tell it was covered in velvet. She closed the drawer slowly, and turned around. The bashful note in her voice and the shame in her posture brought back the Kelly Reg knew best. “Oh, god, honey. I’m so sorry! Really, I am so absolutely sorry! I didn’t know you — I knew we discussed it but I thought we’d wait — how did you even find the money —“ Kelly took a deep breath. “I’m just going to pretend I didn’t see that. It’ll still be a surprise when you give it to me and I knew you’d want to eventually.”
“I really wanted to spring it on you when-“ Reg was cut off by the Starling jumping on top of him and pressing her lips against his.
“Not another word, handsome. That’s for your girlfriend and I would never take something that valuable.” The Starling started kissing and fondling Reg again. She tried a few more positions but the bucking bronco and love seat really wasn’t doing anything for her with Reg tied up now that she knew what he was planning. The energetic sexuality that had characterized the role play had drained out of her when she saw what he’d hidden. She wanted him completely involved so she untied him and let him run his hands all over her body, enjoying his hands on her as much as he enjoyed feeling her in the catsuit. His first move was to get a good double handful of her rear, holding her steady against him so she wouldn’t have to work as hard. He squeezed and massaged the faux flesh covered in a layer of tight lycra. Kelly let out a rumbling contented sound as he pushed her back and forth along his shaft. They climaxed as quietly as they could and Kelly fell forward onto his chest. He peeled her mask off so he could touch her cheek and after that it went into familiar territory for both of them. Kelly had been willing to play through the fantasy all the way, but when she saw what he had hidden, all thoughts of making his into a light role play had left her. What she wanted to do now was hold him and make love rather than fool around. “I love you,” she said. “But I wish I hadn’t seen that.”
“Me too. It was just starting to get fun.”
Kelly kissed his nose. “I won’t even pretend to misunderstand that, I’m so happy.”
“Wow,” Reg said. “I’ve shocked you into being nice.”
“I’ll show you nice!” Kelly rolled them over, forgetting they were in Reg’s bed, which was a double instead of a queen. With a startled yelp, she fell to the floor with him on top of her. They heard his parents’ bedroom door open. “Oops.” She giggled. “Time for the Starling to make her escape.” She secured her modesty first by doing up the zipper between her legs, then pulled on the mask. “Have a nice night. Sorry we had to cut it short. I love you!” She called as she descended the side of the house.
“I love you too.” Reg called down before closing the window.
“What was that?” Miriam asked, knocking at Reg’s door.
“Must have been a bird or some wild animal.” Reg said, pulling on a loose T-shirt and opening the door.
“Some wild animal,” Miriam said.
Reg didn’t get a chance to see Kelly again until the next afternoon when he joined her for the weekend.
“I hear you had an exciting night,” Kelly said.
“Very, though it didn’t last nearly long enough.” Reg replied, kissing her hello.
Kelly smiled secretly. “I’m sure you’ll have a more fulfilling night soon.” She hit him in the arm. “You derp! Why didn’t you tell me not to look in there?”
“I did! Don’t try to lay the blame on me if you were bent on stealing my unmentionables. I told you twice to get your thieving mitts out of there.”
Kelly kissed him on the forehead. “Yeah, I know. I sort of thought it was part of the game. Sorry. Again.”
“It’s OK. I bet you’ll still squeal like a preteen at a boy band concert when I give it to you.”
“I’ll make sure to take a deep breath every time you go for your pocket.” Kelly pulled Reg down so he was laying with his head in her lap.
“You’d better.” He said, smiling up at her. He yawned and closed his eyes. “You’re so comfortable.”
“Aw. I kept you up late last night. I hope you didn’t miss too much school.”
“No, it was fine.”
“Maybe I’d better not do that on school nights.” Kelly stroked his hair. She seemed about to say something, but Reg looked so peaceful and content that she didn’t have the heart to tell him that his bedroom was not the last stop for the Starling that night.
It was the night before and the hot passion mixed with warm love that had filled Kelly was draining fast. The Starling was standing outside the home of an FBI agent named Henderson. The Starling didn’t trust the promises of strange wizardly men with semi-trans daughters, so she was going in to make sure that if Fantoccini’s influence wasn’t enough to get Henderson off the trail, there’d be enough blackmail material to stop him. Ned had met cops like Henderson before. Too professional, too dedicated to the idea that no one was above the law. Admirable, but a real pain in Kelly’s behind. Thinking about it, Kelly added spanking to the list of things she wanted to try before she was changed. It was cheating, but she wanted to see if Reg enjoyed it before it became something that would actually sting rather than hitting a silicone filled bag covered by artificial skin.
Henderson’s home security was much better than the norm — as expected. On the other hand, Ned and the Starling had dealt with much harder in the course of their mutual career, so it wasn’t difficult for her to spoof a connection over one window and quietly enter his abode. Then came the hardest part. She only had an hour or two to look around and she didn’t know how carefully the agent behaved at home. She’d have pegged him for a real stickler but there was no way of being sure.
An hour later, Kelly was getting really worried. She’d found nothing and it was getting deeper into the small hours. The catsuit, heels and gloves were also wonderful for being a vamp and distracting people, but the sitting for ages in one place or looking through a cabinet left her feeling the scratchiness of the fabric even through the false skin and the gloves were uncomfortably hot to say nothing of all that time in high heeled boots making her feet ache. Annoyed and wishing she could get the annoying loops of fabric that served as a stylized mask off her face, Kelly saw lights in the drive way. Looking out the window, she saw a woman coming up the walk. That gave her an idea!
As fast as she could, she raced up the stairs and found Henderson’s bedroom — he was alone! He too had good reflexes, but she jabbed him with a sedative before he could fully wake up, making it unlikely he’d remember being awake at all. She unzipped her bodysuit and unrolled it down to her knees. With only a minute or two to work, Kelly set up a camera on a table and had it start taking pictures continuously as she posed with him, his hands in various places on her body — always sure to keep his closed eyes from showing in a shot - and then flipping him over, crawing underneath him and pretending to have him mount her. Kelly wished she’d had another mask or even a wig, but there wouldn’t have been enough time to slip into them anyway.
She heard the woman she assumed to be his wife coming up the stairs and scooped up the camera. Pausing only to zip herself up again, Kelly jumped out the window, hoping Henderson’s wife hadn’t turned the alarm back on yet. She hadn’t. Compromsing information would have been better, but she was pretty sure he’d cave if she had to use the photos. She doubted his wife would believe he had been asleep the entire time.
Kelly had felt a little dirty after doing that, even though she hadn’t actually done anything with Henderson other than stage some photographs that suggested something more explicit had happened. With Reg’s head on her lap and his breathing confirming that he trusted her so much that he could sleep on her, she couldn’t feel bad. She’d have done much more if it meant being able to spend the rest of her life with the man whose hair she stroked. He was murmuring in his sleep and she bent down to hear what he was saying. “Kelly, will you — Kelly, please — Kelly, it would be my honor — marry …” He kept repeating the phrase in different combinations of words. Kelly didn’t know when she started crying, but she’d finished and cleaned herself up before he awoke. “Are you ready for dinner,” he said, yawning.
“Yeah, love. I’m ready.” Kelly said.
The next time the Starling appeared, Reg was actually in Kelly’s bed. “We really have to stop meeting like this, handsome,” she purred as she secured his wrists.
“Especially since you’re visiting me in my girlfriend’s bedroom.” Reg agreed, finding that somehow she’d managed to put the Christmas birth control on him while he was asleep. “What did you do with Kelly, anyway?”
“Don’t worry, stud,” the Starling said as she wrapped her legs around his hips. “She’s fine. Having the time of her life, I’d say,” she added as she turned around and pushed him into her. “Now,” she said as she lay back, him inside her and her hair forming a layer between his face and her hood, “what are we going to do with you now?”
This time everything went smoothly and both of them had a ball with Kelly starting out by fucking him as hard as she could with him bound and then him somehow escaping and chasing her around the house. When he finally caught her, she convinced him to try spanking, which neither of them really enjoyed. “I’d much rather do this,” he said, rubbing the area gently. “And this,” he kissed her rump.
“Having fun back there?” Kelly asked.
“Not nearly as much fun as I would if I were here,” he moved on to her lips.
She woke up the next morning to find Andrea trying on her catsuit. “Hey! Where’s my boyfriend?”
“He went out to get breakfast,” Andrea said. She winked and sauntered over to the bed. “I can see why you like this, but I’d fall flat on my face if I tried to run in this outfit.” She pulled the hood off and unzipped the front. “I think I’ll go take a bath.” When Reg returned, he climbed into bed with Kelly.
“Where’s breakfast?”
“Andrea lied.”
“Sounds like her. Am I going to get a visit from a certain sexy catburglar some night?”
Reg kissed her nose. “Maybe.”
Kelly burrowed into his body. “The operation is tomorrow.”
“I know,” Reg knew her well enough to hold her close. “Do you want anything special?”
“I — I need an hour to myself. Maybe two.”
“I’ll go out and get that breakfast then. I’ll make sure to take my time.”
Kelly waited for him to leave, then hopped in the shower. When Ned emerged carrying the Kelly skin, he went to the mirror. She’d left her mark on him even now with his almost permanently narrowed waist and the way he walked. Ned looked at his reflection. “So old boy, it’s goodbye now.” He touched the mirror. “I — I’m sorry I have to do this. Sort of. I’m really scared, but I know it’s for the best. There’s nothing left for me and Kelly has a whole future ahead of her. I’m so afraid, though. Afraid of not being me.” Tears were streaming down his face. “I haven’t been me for a long time but I’m still afraid to die. I won’t really. I have a better alternative than anyone. I’ll be reborn and I’ll know it.” Kelly’s tone entered his voice. “Ned. I’ll always remember you. Remember who you were in a way that will keep you alive in a way that so few people ever experience. I know you’re afraid. I would be too. But … I don’t know how to say this politely. Your life isn’t worth as much to you as mine is and if you don’t go, I can only lead a half life. If it’s any consolation, I won’t really be me either. Not the me I am now. So much of me is made of always being a little bit aware of you inside me, of being a conduit of sensation to you rather than a real person.” Ned’s voice returned. “That’s what scares me, Kelly. That when you open your eyes, your true eyes for the first time, that you won’t feel like yourself. I am so totally starkly maddeningly frightened that you won’t be the girl you think you are.”
Ned’s male clothes felt odd on his bare flesh, but he had to get dressed. There was something that needed doing. He went out of Kelly’s room and opened the front door. It was time to tell Reg’s parents about the terminal disease he had. He had no other friends and his contacts wouldn’t care who answered the messages, but they needed to know that they would never see Ned again. He had to say goodbye at least to them. After he explained himself to them and endured their sympathy, the hardest part of all came. “Hi, Reg,” he said when he went back to his house. “Mind if I join you?”
“Uh…” Reg was almost as flustered with Ned as he’d at first been with Kelly. “Sure. It’s your house.”
“Not for much longer. I’ve gotten everything ready to transfer my assets to Kelly. I just wanted to say goodbye to you. You’re a good kid and it was an honor to know you. I’m sure that you will make Kelly a very happy woman one day. I wanted you to know that you had my blessing.”
They ate almost silently after that. Reg couldn’t think of what to say to the solemn but resolute man opposite him. Ned didn’t mind. He preferred the solitary emptiness to meaningless chatter. His mind was empty and Kelly’s was full. When he left and she emerged from her room, she hugged Reg. “I needed that,” she said quietly. “He did. Reg, I have to admit that I’m really afraid of this. What if I’m not really me when I get out of it? What if there was something about me that gets lost when I become a real woman?”
“I don’t think that’s likely,” Reg said. He poked her forehead. “It’s all up here.”
Kelly grabbed the hand and pulled Reg to her. “Thanks.”
“I’m here for you.”
“I know. You always are.”
“And I will be. Forever.”
Kelly wasn’t in the mood to do anything other than cling to Reg for the rest of the day and she continued to hold on to him even when she fell asleep. She barely let go of his hand until they entered the private ward she’d arranged for with Mike and he met her in front of a tank half full of a liquid slightly more viscous than water and lit from below. “Take off all your clothes and step in, please.”
Reg squeezed Kelly’s hand and let go. She let fall the loose fitting dress she’d pulled on and slipped out of her underclothes. There was a stepladder on the side and she ascended it before lowering herself into the tank. Mike strapped an oxygen mask to her face and closed the tank, which filled up above her head, leaving her floating, her hair fanned out behind her. Reg thought it made her look exotic and vulnerable. She put her hand to the glass and Reg pressed his palm to the opposite side. Then Mike pressed a button and Kelly’s eyes closed. Her chin touched her chest.
“This could take awhile,” Mike said, “and she won’t be conscious again for at least two days. You’re welcome to stay, but I can call you when she’s taken out or when she comes around.”
“Is there an extra bed?” Reg asked.
“Yes,” Mike said, smiling softly.
“I’ll stay.”
The first thing Kelly noticed was the pressure on her hand. The next thing was the gumminess around her eyes as she opened them to see Reg sitting next to her, looking down into her eyes as they opened. After that, there was a flood of sensation that left her speechless. She’d expected to feel an absence between her legs, but instead there was an awareness of something so different from anything she’d sensed before that it was actually less of a distraction than the feelings coming from her chest. Experimentally, she concentrated on the new … opening inside of her and felt the newly created muscles of her vaginal cavity contract. She met Reg’s gaze.
“Good morning,” he said, smiling.
Kelly smiled back. “Hi.” Her voice was cracked and Reg handed her a glass of water. To her relief, it didn’t taste any different than water had before the procedure. “This is so weird.” She said, feeling how her vocal cords were vibrating at a slightly different pitch, one that matched the sound that came out of her mouth.
Reg rubbed her hand. “Is it OK?”
Kelly thought about how Reg’s touch felt so good and all the new and different feelings that filled her. “No. It’s very nice.” She was blushing. Reg’s caress was causing her nipples to grow stiff and she could actually feel it. Then all arousal left when she felt the hard, constriction around one of them. “Reg?”
Her boyfriend was on one knee next to the bed. “I wondered when you’d notice. I put it on you as soon as Mike said your fingers were stable. Kelly, you’ve made me as happier than I ever thought I could be. I want to be with you for the rest of our lives, however long that is. Kelly, will you marry me?”
Kelly couldn’t jump up and down or squeal or do anything but reach over and try to pull Reg towards her. “Of course I will. So this is when you were going to spring it on me? When I’m too weak to ravish you properly? You coward.”
“I didn’t want to risk you loving me to death.” Reg said. “Now you can get used to the idea before you give me the proper reward.”
“Good, you’re awake.” Mike walked in before Kelly could ask Reg to act on the sensation that was slowly emanating from her chest and into the rest of her body. “You’ll feel a little sore and very sensitive for a couple of days. You’ll also be very weak. I don’t want you doing anything more strenuous than talking until we release you. That may be a challenge because I’m sure you want to be with your boyfriend right now. You’re tired now, but you’re going to start feeling things that will make you want to explore. Please try not to until you’re out.”
“I’ll make sure she behaves,” Reg said.
Kelly swatted him. “I can take care of myself.” She looked at Mike. “How did it go?”
Mike consulted a pad. “The nanites were surprisingly gung-ho about the whole operation. I had to rein them in a few times to keep them from going any deeper. They replaced your hip bones rather than adding hard cartilage and that was very surprising. All in all, I think you’ll find yourself as female as you could wish, barring pregnancy of course. The nanites even tried to alter your hormonal balance. I let them do a little, but I didn’t think you’d want the whole package since there’s not much point in you going through a menstrual cycle with no need for it. I don’t think. I did let them set up a sort of proto cycle in which your vaginal fluids — yes, you have them now — mix with released sperm from what’s left of your testicles.” Mike frowned. “Honestly the nanites know better than I do a lot of the time. I’ve never made it permanent before.”
“Wait, what?” Reg asked.
“I’m sorry. I thought you understood. The nanites were taken from a deep storage vault; I’d never tried them before this time.” He looked at their shocked expressions. “My grandmother did incredible things. I’ve come to trust her tools to wield themselves. I mean they kept you alive with no need for a nutrient drip or anything.” He left.
“He really is Guido Fantoccini.” Kelly said.
“Are you sure you’re OK?”
Kelly smiled and squeezed his hand. “I’m sure.” She lay back and closed her eyes. “I think I’d like to go back to sleep. Maybe when I wake up he’ll let me have some food.”
When Kelly woke up again, Reg was sitting next to her, fast asleep. She didn’t want to wake him up, but she was feeling extremely hungry. Apparently the nanites which had reshaped her body — and she swore narrowed her ribcage in the process now that she was a little more self-aware — had not bothered to simulate actual food while they were keeping her alive. When she couldn’t take it any more, she said, “Uh, honey?”
Reg stirred. “Yeah?”
“Can you get me something to eat?”
Reg stretched. “Sure.” He returned a few minutes later with a tray.
“Have you been here the whole time?” She asked sternly after a minute of solid eating.
Reg rested a hand on her leg. “Where else should I be?”
“At school?”
“I’m keeping up. I’m only five weeks out from graduation after all.”
Kelly propped herself up higher. “Weren’t you bored?”
“A little,” Reg admitted. “I read, I watched TV. I watched you.” He said, a soft tenderness entering his voice. “To be honest, I watched you a lot. You only got more beautiful the longer I looked.” He winked. “You also look really sexy floating in a tank.”
“Thanks. I think.” Kelly smiled mischievously. “Maybe this summer I’ll get a mermaid tail and maybe install some sort of breathing apparatus along the bottom of the pool. Ugh!” She gasped, almost dropping her spoon.
“What?” Reg had leap to his feet and was looking torn between seeing to Kelly and running for help.
Kelly giggled and blushed. “Don’t worry, sweetie. I just … uh … I’d never been aroused as a girl before.” She laughed as he sat down in obvious relief. “Well, I didn’t know what it would feel like! I’ve only ever been hard in a female shell. The real thing took me by surprise.”
Reg couldn’t help but smile back at her. “I should be flattered that I have such a profound effect on you. You shouldn’t be getting hot, though. Mike said you had to relax.”
Kelly stuck her tongue out at him. “It’s your fault. Hanging around and being all sexy and whatnot.”
“I could leave.”
Kelly grabbed his arm. “Oh no you don’t! You stayed while I was asleep and stared at me naked in a tank. Now you’re going to talk to me when I’m awake. How are your parents?”
“They’re doing all right. Mom said she was praying for your family since you seem to be having such a run of bad health. Your dad dying and now you in the hospital.”
Kelly bunched the covers with her free hand. “Yeah. That. It’s funny. I’m not really afraid anymore. I know I’ll miss him and miss the freedom of knowing that I could be him again if I needed to. I guess now that I’m here and completely me, I can see that I won’t need him anymore. You’re all the man I want in life.”
“That’s sweet. You lost a dick so you could have mine.”
Kelly punched his arm. “Don’t talk dirty. It’s hard enough lying here knowing I won’t be able to do anything with you for a week without you getting me wet talking about it. I really want to know what it’s like.”
Reg laughed. “It’s not easy on my end either. I’ve gotten used to having amazing sex every night and now I have to wait to start up again with amazingly amazing sex.”
“Do you think it’ll be that good?” Kelly asked.
Reg kissed her forehead. “Of course it will. Maybe we’d better turn on the television so we don’t go any further.”
Kelly sighed. “We’d better.”
By the end of the week Reg was bored and Kelly was shouting to be let out, having gotten tired of staring at her hand. Mike agreed that if she was that energetic that she was in good enough shape to leave two days early, so she sent Reg to get her a change of clothes. “See how much I trust you?” She said when he got back. “Not only can I change in front of you, I even trust you enough to pick something out that looks good.” She swished the calf length skirt. “Why did you pick this, anyway?”
“I’ve always liked that one, especially with the top.” Reg replied. “Also, I thought you’d want something looser than usual so you’d be more comfortable. That’s why I brought you sneakers instead of heels.”
Kelly kissed him. “So considerate.” She took his hand and her eyes were sparkling. “Plus all of this comes off pretty quickly and I’m definitely going to want it off as soon as we get home.”
“Will that be OK?” Reg called out to Mike as Kelly dragged him out.
“Just take it slow at first.” Mike replied. “Don’t tire her out.”
Kelly tossed her head when Reg opened the car door for her. “I wish I could say that I know my own body better than he does.” She took a lock of hair between finger and thumb. “Huh. I have real hair. I wonder if it’ll be as lustrous as it was when it was fake.” As Reg took the driver’s seat, she clutched his arm. “Reg! Is my hair still pretty?”
“Very. It’s as iridescent as always.”
Kelly sighed with relief. “Good. Of course that means my natural color is completely unnatural, but that just makes me even more special. How many girls never have to use product to get green and blue highlights?”
“You have weird priorities.”
“Just trying to make conversation and distract myself from the fact that I’m out of hospital and have one hundred percent functional boobs. It’s taking a lot of will power to wait until we’re in private to test them out.” She fidgeted. “It doesn’t help that I’m still not totally over the sensitivity thing. Every touch is way stronger than usual. I guess my nerve endings haven’t readjusted or something.”
Kelly let go of all subtlety that afternoon, removing her clothes as quickly as possible and waiting on the bed for Reg to do the same in a more leisurely manner. The lack of familiarity with how it felt to be touched on her new skin meant it was her turn to need the lovemaking to be slow and gentle. She wasn’t sure if it was an aftereffect of the procedure or if she was always going to be this sensitive; she hoped it was the second because her evident enjoyment seemed to be heightening Reg’s desire as well. The tingling thrill that coursed through her body when he started rubbing her breasts caused her to arch her back. When Reg entered her, the feeling of him inside of her was so powerful that she held him to her with all her strength and cried out with every movement he made. At the end, Reg looked into her eyes and tweaked her nose. “I hope you have thick walls because you were pretty loud.”
Kelly kissed him. “You could tell how I liked it. How was it for you?”
“Very good. I’m starting to wonder if I ought to ask Mike to change me too.”
Kelly mock scratched his chest. “Don’t you dare! Besides, if you did that, then you wouldn’t be able to have me do this.” She rolled him over and got on top of him, straddling his hips.
“Are you up to it?”
Kelly put his hands on her breasts. “Squeeze a few times and I think I won’t be able to stop.”
Despite her confidence, Kelly slept the rest of the day and through the night after taking her turn being the one controlling the lovemaking. The next two days were spent mainly in bed as well. Kelly was determined to explore everything her rebuilt body could do and feel and even when she was doing so without his assistance, Reg was happy to go solo along with her. At one point, she penetrated as far as she could with a finger, looking to see if she could find any hint of her maleness inside. There was nothing more than what Ned had felt inside his past girlfriends and when she got up to look in the mirror, she could detect no change in appearance. She looked like Kelly and now she felt like Kelly.
When after a hurried dinner on the second day Kelly tried to pull him into the bedroom again, Reg held up his hands laughing. “Enough! Remember what it was like when you had one and take pity on me. If I try to keep up with you any more, it’ll fall off!”
Kelly smiled. “I’ve been taking it a bit fast, haven’t I? It’s just so new and different. Some of the sensitivity is wearing off, too, and I wanted to take advantage of it as long as I could.” She stretched. “By tomorrow, I think I’ll have leveled out. I hope. The newness will still be there, but I won’t be quite as desperate for it.”
“Are you still happy you did it?”
Kelly grinned. “Oh yes. Even without the heightened senses, it’s a lot better not having to have a layer of fake skin between me and the world. Being exactly what I look like is so much more fulfilling. I absolutely love being able to feel you inside of me. I’m glad the sensitivity is going away, though. It means I can live a bit more normally. I’m looking forward to being able to wear tighter clothes and more sensual fabrics without feeling like I’m going to orgasm from just walking around.” She plucked at her skin. “That reminds me, I’m really sorry.”
“About what?”
“Making it so your Christmas present doesn’t mean as much, sweetie! Now that I won’t come apart in cold water, we don’t need a pool warmer.”
“I can think of some uses for it,” Reg grinned.
“I thought you weren’t up for any more.” Kelly smiled back.
“Hey, summer’s more than a month away. I’m sure I’ll have recovered by then.”
Kelly stood by the open grave, her view slightly obscured by the black veil that she was wearing. She was holding Reg’s hand and standing opposite from Miriam and Arthur — the only other people who had attended Ned’s funeral. She’d hoped to see a few of Ned’s professional friends, but they’d stayed away for obvious reasons. Kelly had alternated between being genuinely solemn at the symbolic death of her previous life and biting back giggles at the thought that the vicar and Reg’s parents were at the funeral of a man who was sitting next to them in the body and identity of his previously fictional daughter. Even as the casket was lowered, Kelly couldn’t entirely stop seeing herself as Ned in a disguise. It wasn’t something she thought about much, but whenever Ned came up in conversation, she was reminded.
She shed the veil as they drove home and Reg said, “Why did you have dad do the eulogy?”
Kelly shrugged. “It seemed self-aggrandizing to do it myself and I didn’t want to tear up too much at hearing what you would have to say.” She felt a wan smile spread across her face. “I shed my tears when I stopped being him the last time. I don’t need to have you up there praising us to bring them back. Besides,” her smile grew brighter, “you’d have let your love for me color your view of him and that wouldn’t have been right. Arthur’s speech didn’t really encompass the real Ned either, but it was what he would have wanted. To go out quietly and without any suspicion.”
“So have you decided to stop for good?”
Kelly favored him with a secret look. “For now. Maybe forever. I’ve found that in situations like these, circumstance dictates. You never know what will happen. I’ll keep up my exercise — if only to make you drool — and we’ll have to see what comes our way.” She fidgeted in her seat. “You know what’s weird? I’ve already gotten used to this body. I still think it’s amazing and I’m having way more fun with you in it than as a suit, but I don’t feel like a stranger in my own flesh.”
Reg rested his hand on hers. “It’s because you belong in it.”
Kelly kissed his hand. “You bet I do.”
Five years later, Kelly was standing in the bridal tent fidgeting with her bodice and checking for the hundredth time to make sure that her opalescent slippers weren’t going to catch on her train. She’d been wary of overly complicated wedding gowns since even after all these years she liked being able to move fast if she had to. In the end, she’d been convinced by the observation from Reg that though she could make anything look good, this lace confection worked well with her complexion and hair as well as with her figure, which had remained lean as her training did more to burn fat than the fact that she was no longer permanently in a waist cincher added it. She looked up as someone attempted to knock on the door. “Who’s there?”
“Something old, now open up.” An unfamiliar voice in a familiar tone called back.
Kelly undid the tie that made sure Reg wouldn’t see her before the ceremony. Two good looking men were standing outside. “I’m still not sure-“
“Now how can you forget me, girlfriend!” One of them said, grinning as they both entered. He handed her a bundle of blonde hair and skin. “In case you need something borrowed — a face! Or if you really need to talk to your man before things start and you don’t want him seeing you.”
“I’m not sure it works that way,” Kelly said. “It’s nice to see you, though. Sort of.”
The costumer smiled back at her. “Attending the marriage of a customer is good business. This is my special man, by the way.”
“And that answer is a lie in every respect,” a very familiar voice said. Mike entered. “I don’t think plausible deniability is going to work anymore, Antigone. You’re just a hopeless romantic and a damned thief to boot.”
The costumer pouted. “Spoilsport.” She removed the male mask and shook her blonde-brown hair out. “It’s a good thing I brought a dress.”
“Really, this is terrific,” Mike said. “If you ever need something to make your marriage more interesting or if you decide to have kids and they need a bit of help, we’ll be sure to give you a good price.”
“I don’t suppose the nanites are up to giving me ovaries.” Kelly said.
“No, they still can’t do that,” Mike replied. “Sorry.”
“I can hardly complain given how much they’ve already given me. Besides, I still have my spem, which means all we need is a surrogate.” Kelly looked at the mask Antigone had offered her. “I am so tempted to wear that now. I think Reg would completely lose his mind if he saw me coming up the passage in that.”
Antigone tossed it to her. “Maybe not for the ceremony, but afterwards,” she winked, “it might make your wedding night spicy. It won’t even mess up your hair.”
Kelly touched the near-sculpture that had rose up from her scalp and created a cascade down past her neck. “Now you’re just talking magic.”
Despite years of being together, seeing Kelly walking down the central passage — on his father’s arm - left Reg breathless. He went through the vows in a daze and when the time came to kiss Kelly he didn’t hold back. When the march played, he scooped her up and carried her to the car, which had been loaded with a few surprises from Mike and Antigone that they found later on and which made the wedding night very special. They lived happily ever after, which does not mean that their lives were uninteresting since they wouldn’t have been very happy otherwise. In fact, it was only a year later that Kelly broke her leg leaping from the roof in a makeshift bird costume in an attempt to make Reg’s predictions come true. She’d already dragged him down into the pool the first day she wore the mermaid tail Antigone gave her for her wedding.
