Sorry for the super-long delay, you guys! But we are back! My hope/plan is still every-other Monday but (as we saw last time haha) it might turn into every-THIRD Monday on months where I’m super busy (or random Tuesday updates like this one when I’m just not ready for Monday… Whoops :P)

Okay, enough of that. On with the chapter! (It’s a long one! Oh! And for the first time in this story, we have a steamy screenshot warning! So be careful if reading at work 😛 )

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John sighed softly to himself as he let the towel drop to the bathroom floor beside him. The air was still wet and warm from his shower, and he’d had to wipe a fine layer of condensation from the mirror in front of him just to make out his reflection.

The shower had been refreshing and relaxing, but part of John wondered why he even bothered. Practicing good hygiene had always been expected among his people, and was a normal routine he’d developed over the past few hundred years (Being repulsed by body odor was one of the few social norms that both Sixamians and Earthlings seemed to share). But these days, it was starting to seem rather pointless. After all, John spent most of his time hiding his true form, concealed beneath the illusion of a human disguise.

In fact, as strange as it seemed, he was actually becoming more comfortable living in a human skin, rather than his own. The years he’d spent on this planet had truly begun to shape him, it seemed. And his time spent with Juniper had changed him most of all.

He had already grown accustomed to thinking of himself as ‘John’. And lately, he was growing more and more comfortable being ‘Jane’ too… But what about ‘X’Ogan’? Had he been left behind on Sixam?

Perhaps. John thought. Yet it was a thought that brought him no sadness. Only acceptance. And that was a good thing, wasn’t it?

The alien shook his head. He’d allowed himself to get too caught up in his thoughts again. John had been doing that a lot lately, it seemed. But he had a busy day ahead of him, and could not afford to waste any more time.

Hmm… I suppose I will spend the day as Jane. He decided, allowing his female disguise to finally take over. It was the form his beloved Juniper preferred, after all. And the more accustomed he became to his soft, female body, the better.

Jane tried to smile as she took one last look at herself in the mirror, but for once, thoughts of Juniper did nothing to bring her joy. She’d been acting so strangely for a few weeks now, and over the past several days, things had been worse than ever before. And Jane still had no idea what to do about it.

With a soft sigh, she finally left the bathroom behind her and headed for the front door, crossing over the threshold into the bright mid-morning sun.

Jane tried her best to stay focused on the task at hand. She was woefully behind on sending a new batch of samples back to Sixam, and today was the perfect day to go and collect some trimmings from the local flora. Perhaps a bit of fresh air would help her to clear her head as well, and figure out what to do about Juniper’s odd behavior.

As she headed off down the sidewalk, Jane tried her best to go over everything that she’d observed lately. As much as she hated to admit it, it seemed that the disastrous night at the karaoke bar had been when most of the trouble had begun. Juniper had been behaving so oddly ever since. Asking unusual questions, acting distracted and distant during their dates, stalking the mailman… What could it all mean?

“Hey, John! Er… Jane!” A soft little voice cried out, calling Jane back to the present.

Jenna, Harry, and Randy approached, smiling and waving as they did so. Jane tried her best to return the gesture.

“Greetings.” She called weakly.

Jenna’s brow furrowed in concern immediately as they drew closer. “Uh oh… What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Jane insisted, forcing another smile. “I am fine.”

“You’re a bad liar, John.” Harry shook his head.

“Unless he’s lying to Juniper…” Randy muttered in amusement, earning a quick glare from Jane. “No, but seriously… Are you okay?”

Jane sighed. She knew there was no point in trying to hide it. “No.” She confessed. “Unfortunately, I find myself quite distracted this morning.”

“Girl trouble, I knew it!” Harry cried.

“You gotta buy Juniper flowers or something.” Jenna smiled confidently as she spoke. “That’ll fix things.”

“Flowers?”

“Uh huh! Mr. Grimm’s been sending a bunch of flowers to mom lately, and I think it’s working.”

Randy raised one of his thick, bushy eyebrows. “Wait, what? He has?! He’s trying to win her back?!”

Harry nodded. “But mom told us she ‘isn’t gonna fall for it this time’.” He assured him.

“Yeah, but she REALLY liked those lillies he sent over last night…” Jenna smiled. “And that sappy card too. She made me read it to her like ten times!”

“Ugh! She can do so much better. I mean, look what he did to her last time!” Randy shook his head in disgust. “Alright, I’m talking to your mom tonight… ” He paused for a moment, then turned his attention back to Jane at last. “Look, as nice as some flowers might be, I have a feeling you and Juniper’s problems go a little deeper than that.”

Jane felt a wave of dread wash over her at his words. “Problems? But… we do not have problems. We are in love!”

“Doesn’t mean you’re immune to problems, my friend.” Randy laughed heartily, then glanced down at Harry and Jenna for a moment. “Why don’t you two go play for a little while?”

“We know what that means…” Harry rolled his eyes. “Why don’t grown-ups ever just say ‘hey, scram!’?” He gave his sister a little nod before running across the field to give the adults a bit of privacy.

As soon as the children were out of earshot, Randy continued. “I wasn’t sure if I should say anything… But me and Bruce ran into Juniper earlier this week, and she told us a little bit about what’s going on. I’m telling you, man — You can’t keep lying to her. I think she knows something’s up. And this is gonna end up biting you in the ass if you don’t do something about it.”

Jane shook her head. Why couldn’t he understand? “There is nothing to be done about it. I cannot tell her the truth! You know that!”

Randy chuckled. “You two really are perfect for each other… So goddamn clueless!”

“It is not as simple as you believe.” Jane explained almost desperately. “You did not see the look on her face when she saw my true form. It was horrible.”

“I’m sure it was. But you know what’s even more horrible?”

She shook her head.

He turned away, laughing to himself. “Yes, you do. You’re just too stubborn to admit it.” Randy gave a small wave over his shoulder as he headed to the other side of the park to rejoin the children. “Good luck with Juniper, Jane.”

Jane’s throat felt very dry. He is mistaken. I’m not horrible! Am I…? She shook her head. There was no use in dwelling on things right now. After all, how could she even be sure of what was truly bothering Juniper in the first place? Everything will be fine. She told herself firmly.

She spent the next couple of hours examining the plants in the park and collecting samples… As well as a few of the flowers she came across too.

————————————————————-

Knock, knock, knock!

“Come on in!” Mr. Grimm’s gruff voice called from the other side of the door.

Jane reached forward, turned the knob, and entered.

The moment she stepped through the door, Mr. Grimm stepped back in apparent shock, though Jane could not understand why. “Woah. Hello!” He let out a low whistle.

“Greetings.” She replied, taking a quick look around her landlord’s living room. “I am here to complete the repair you requested.”

“O-oh yeah!” Mr. Grimm almost seemed to shake himself for a moment. “I just need you to take a look at my TV,” He explained. “Thing won’t turn on, and I already spent money on a pay-per-view movie for tonight.” He shook his head sadly. “It’s a real classic, too… Tits a Wonderful Life!” A soft sigh passed his unseen lips.

Jane raised an eyebrow curiously at him. “Are you referring to the 1946 film IT’S a Wonderful Life?”

“Nah, you heard me right.”

“I see…” Jane lied. Did he say… ‘tits’? Is that not a vulgar term for a woman’s mammory glands? “What kind of pay-per-view channel is this, exactly?” She asked.

Mr. Grimm chuckled. “The kind where a repair visit from a chick dressed like you would have a very different ending…”

Jane still had no idea what he was talking about, but something told her it was not a good thing. She said nothing and instead got to work on fixing the television.

“So, uh… Speaking of the way you’re dressed… You and Juniper got a date tonight?” Mr. Grimm asked.

“Not exactly.” Jane admitted. “I received a call from Juniper this afternoon. She said she wishes a to speak with me this evening.”

“Mm… You’re not gonna have to do a lot of speaking dressed like that.” He laughed softly for a moment.

“Is there a problem with my choice of wardrobe?” Jane’s brow furrowed in concern as she continued fiddling with the television cables. “I must confess that I did select this outfit with the intent of making a positive impression. Juniper… Well, she has been behaving a bit oddly lately. I fear for the state of our relationship.”

“Uh oh… Relationship trouble? Well, nothing a hot night between the sheets can’t fix, am I right?”

“Huh?”

“You know… A little bom-chicka-wow-wow?”

“Mr. Grimm, why are you gyrating your hips like that?”

“Holy shit, you really don’t get it, do you? I’m talking about sex, John!”

Jane’s eyes went wide. “Oh! Intercourse. Yes, I am aware of that.” She shook her head. “But I am unable to engage in human mating with Juniper while in this form. I lack the proper genitalia to –”

“Woah, woah, woah. Hold up.” Mr. Grimm held up both of his wrinkled, gray palms for a moment. “You two haven’t banged yet?”

Jane shook her head as she tightened the last screw on the electrical panel. “No. As I said, we cannot.”

“Well there’s your problem! No wonder poor Juniper’s giving you a hard time!” Mr. Grimm paused for a moment. “Look, I know that where you come from, it’s all about mating and making babies and all that crap. But we do things a little differently around here… And, uh, for your information, you can have sex with Juniper, you know.”

“I can?” Jane turned around to face him once more, the repairs finally complete. “But… how?”

Mr. Grimm beckoned Jane to follow him. “I think I know just the thing that’ll help. Here. I’ll show you…”

Intrigued, the young alien followed.

“That… That does not look sanitary.” Jane peered uncertainly at the computer screen as the video continued. “And how does this result in reproduction?”

“It doesn’t.” The hooded figure shrugged, closing the browser window and hastily deleting his search history. “Never know who’ll take a peek at this thing.” He explained. “Anyway, no risk of knocking anybody up and it’ll feel really good… In theory. I mean, I’m not a chick. I can’t exactly speak from experience.”

“I am not sure.” She hesitated for a moment. “Though I do find the human tradition of exchanging saliva quite pleasurable.” Jane admitted. “Despite my initial hesitation.”

Her landlord let out a small laugh. “Then trust me, you’ll like this. And it’ll be way better.”

“And… Juniper will enjoy it as well?” She asked nervously. Mr. Grimm responded with a nod. “I… I just fear that I will not be sure what to do…”

“Just take your time and follow your instincts, and you’ll be fine.” He assured her. “And it’ll make Juniper forget all about whatever was bothering her. I promise.”

Jane felt so nervous, but tried her best to appear confident. “I… I’ll try.”

“That’s the spirit!” Though hidden by his hood, Mr. Grimm’s smile was apparent in his voice. “Now don’t let me keep you any longer… Go out there and get some!”

“I do not understand.” Jane’s brow furrowed. “Get some what?”

Mr. Grimm held his hooded face in his hand for a moment. “Freaking hopeless…” He muttered. “Just… Just go, okay?”

The alien gave her landlord a small nod. “Thank you, Mr. Grimm. I appreciate the advice.” She left without another word.

——————————————————

“Wow.” Juniper’s eyes widened as she opened the front door, admiring Jane’s outfit for a moment. “Thank you so much for the flowers… And you look incredible tonight, Jane.”

“As do you… You are always beautiful. Perfect.” She smiled sweetly, placing the flowers on the edge of the kitchen counter before pulling her girlfriend into a warm embrace.

Juniper pulled away much too soon for Jane’s liking. She tried to hide her disappointment as she followed Juniper into the living room and took a seat beside her on the sofa.

“I’m glad you came… I really wanted to apologize to you, Jane.” Juniper continued softly as soon as they were seated. “For the other night, I mean. When I got all weird and asked you to leave.”

“It is fine. I understand that you were having a difficult day.”

The other woman shook her head. “It’s more than that. I… Well… It’s kind of a long story. And a really, really weird one.” Juniper bit her lip for a moment. “But I guess if I wanna cut to the chase, um… This is gonna sound really, really crazy. Promise you won’t laugh at me, okay?”

“Never.”

“Is there like… Some kind of… connection, or something between you and John?” Juniper’s embarrassment was apparent as she spoke. “I know you said you’d never met before, but… Are you sure you haven’t? Are you… I dunno, related, or something? Is… Is there maybe something you’re not telling me?”

A forced, too-loud laugh passed Jane’s lips. “Where did you get an idea like that?” She hoped her face did not betray her horror.

“I told you it was silly.” Juniper smiled softly at her. “But… you didn’t answer my question.” Her face was suddenly serious once more. “It feels like you never answer my questions lately. You or John… Just be honest with me, okay? What’s going on?”

Both of Jane’s hearts beat nervously in her chest. Her palms were sweaty. Her breaths were shallow. And Randy’s words from before seemed to echo in her mind. She closed her eyes for a moment, and did her best to let Mr. Grimm’s advice drown them out.

“I will tell you what is going on.” She replied at last. “What’s going on is that I love you, Juniper.” It was the first time she had ever said those words in her female form. “I am in love with you. And… And John knows how that feels. He has been helping me gather my courage to confess my true feelings.”

Juniper’s eyes went wide. “You… You love me?”

Jane nodded. “With both of my — ALL of my heart.”

“Oh, Jane… I love you too.” She replied in a whisper. “And I’m sorry for being so weird lately. I should have known you’d never hide anything from me.”

Jane ignored the twisting feeling of guilt in her stomach. “Of course not. I love you. And… And I want… to… to engage in intercourse with you.”

“You do?!”

“If… if that is alright with you…”

Juniper’s answer was a kiss.

A kiss which soon turned into even more.

And Mr. Grimm was right.

It was so, so much better than a kiss. And Jane allowed herself to lose herself in that amazing feeling.

Time seemed to stop. Jane lost all control. And nothing else seemed to matter anymore.

She forgot whether it was day or night. She forgot where she was.

But unfortunately…

She forgot who she was too.