Who: Merle and Faye When: 8th August Where: Her place What: Dealing with the bodyswap Rating/Warning: Low/Talk of being a soldier Status: Complete
Faye didn’t panic or worry easily but it had been 4 days now and there was still no word about switching people back. Even after making adjustments to Rose’s wardrobe she didn’t want to be stuck in this body for much longer. She missed her own body; her hair, her figure, her breasts - dear god she missed her own breasts.
So she’d asked Merle to come round. If anybody understood how much she missed her body it would be him. She was pretty sure he liked it almost as much as she did herself. So now she was pacing in her apartment waiting for him to arrive.
Merle had stayed in constant contact with Faye, partly a source of rough comfort and partly teasing her about the new British accent. Still, as time went on he was becoming increasingly worried. He’d learned to accept the weird, but Merle missed Faye’s body. Her hair, her figure, her breasts - dear god he missed her breasts.
With a immobile plastic hand affixed to his stump until he got something a little better, Merle rapped on her door.
He had teased her but it had kind of helped keep the whole situation light, something she had desperately needed.
Opening the door, she smiled and ushered him in “Thanks for coming round” she said, “I was losing it a little” she admitted.
Merle stepped inside with a slow smile. “Hell, you jump from American Pie to English Muffin, you tend to lose it a little,” he said.
Faye chuckled a little, “Yeah I guess so. Not sure I can handle the idea of no more American Pie” she said softly, before shaking her head a little, “Drink?” she offered.
“Constantly,” replied Merle, dragging a chair out from under the table where they’d fucked not that long ago. “You talked to your counterpart? Blonde-in-Faye?”
She smiled as she went to retrieve a couple of beers from the fridge, they could move onto the hard stuff later if they needed to. Or when. “A little. Just to lay down some ground rules” she said as she handed opened the beer before setting it down in front of him and taking a seat herself.
“Ground rules?” he asked. “Such as?” Merle slouched a little as he drank his beer, keeping his eyes on her.
“What we can and can’t do with each others bodies and the like” Faye told him, rolling her eyes.
“Well, obviously you can drink beer,” shrugged Merle. “And the others? No shootin’ up or getting tattoos of ponies on your face?” “There was no way I was agreeing to not drinking” Faye said, even if this body couldn’t handle as much as her own. “No permanent changes, no casual sex”
“No plastic surgery to.....” Merle held his hands out in front of his chest. “Make your hands feel more at home?”
“God I wish” Faye said, “I had no idea I’d miss them so much” she admitted and she really did. She missed her whole body, she knew it well and she was very comfy in her own skin.
“Huh. Missing a piece of yourself that you’ve always lived with,” said Merle, scratching his head with his stump. “Wonder how that feels.” He grinned and winked at her, taking another swig of beer.
“I must seem pretty silly huh?” Faye said, a wry smile on her face, “I mean it’s not like my body has gone forever, I hope” she added softly.
“Eh, a little bit,” he said, drinking again. “You’ll get your body back. Those monster things only lasted a little while in this Twilight Zone fucking place.”
Faye nodded, “I’m sure you’re right” she said, “What happens if this is different though? If I’m stuck like this?” she asked, her fear revealing itself.
Merle leaned forward, clasping his hand and stump together. “Then you’ll still be you. You’ll do what you need to do, make some new grounds rules, and still be awesome,” he said. “Don’t matter if you don’t look the same. If Free Willy taught me anything, it was that the inside counts. ‘Course, I was high at the time, but the message was pretty strong.” Merle smiled.
Faye took a deep breath and looked at him, “Thanks Merle, you’re awesome too you know” then she laughed at his next words, “Free Willy huh?” she smiled.
Merle shrugged and laid back. “Might’ve been Citizen Kane. I was high, I was in New Mexico with a bunch of drug dealers and we were watching some shit.”
She giggled at that, “Those are a couple of movies not many people would get mixed up” she said before her eyes widened a little, “Really? Wow, that’s pretty wild”
Merle laughed a little. “I’ve seen some shit, Faye, and that ain’t just some bull I’m saying to sound tough,” he said. “Before I was in the military, I ran with a lot of different types.”
"I know you ain't the type to make that crap up" Faye assured him, "You talk about it much? I bet you got some great experiences to share"
He finished off his beer. “Not all that great,” he admitted, staring down into his bottle. “Strung out on all kinds of shit. That’s why I went in the army: thought it’d either kill me, or get me clean.”
"Oh Merle I'm sorry" Faye said, placing her hand over his, "Didn't realise it got that bad. Army did you good then, by looks of it" she smiled softly.
Merle’s eyes fell to her hand on his, and then back up to the unfamiliar face with the familiar girl behind it. “Yeah, did me good. Didn’t do some people so good.”
Faye shrugged, honestly as long as he was okay she figured it was worth it. He was a good person, a caring person underneath all the gruff. At least he had been with her anyway, “You’re okay, far as I’m concerned that’s the most important thing”
“Yeah, well...past is past, right?” he said, raising his beer to her. “Here’s to the present. And to a future where you’re back in your body.”
“I’ll drink to that” Faye agreed with a smile. And it wouldn’t be a minute too soon.