thatsamilkshake | Room 407, Wednesday Morning

There might be a black chemise with purple fringe and a pair of scallop-top stockings somewhere on the floor of Merlin's room. ~~Good luck finding them.~~

That is all that shall be spoken of last night.

Well, that and "No, Cal wasn't in the room then, nor was he now," and "neither were any of Francine's other purchases from Dite's Decadent Delights." (Mostly because the bag containing those was currently living at the bottom of her sock drawer.)

As to this morning, there were two sleepy people in one relatively narrow bed.

Merlin	Which meant Merlin was wrapping his arms around Francine's waist to snuggle closer. His hands hadn't moved upwards, so he could be forgiven for not picking up on things. Very important things.
Francine	Francine ought to have picked up that there was now a lot more room in that relatively narrow bed, but 1) sleepy, 2) snuggling, 3) Francine. She did, however, yawn, try to scoot into the pull of his arms around her waist, and...blink a lot, for a moment. Oh. Um. Okay, right. That. Cough. She knew about that. It was morning, and Merlin was a guy, and...yes. Which didn't make snuggling awkward at all. At all. Huh. Actually, it didn't. In fact, it felt kind of. Well. Not bad, anyway. Different, somehow. So. Um. Snuggling. Yes. Closer could indeed be a thing.
Merlin	Pressing his face against Francine's neck, Merlin vaguely wondered what happened to all the hair normally there, but was busy enjoying the snuggling back to certain... things. "Good morning."
Francine	"Mm-hmm," Francine murmured in agreement, though not very loudly. She was a little busy trying slide her leg over his. ...And feeling vaguely dirty about that for some reason, like there wasn't already a black chemise with purple fringe and a pair of scallop-top stockings somewhere on the floor of Merlin's room, WTF, Francine.
Merlin	That was... what was that against his thigh? Merlin opened his eyes in order to kiss her -- him. Very him. "Francine?" he asked, eyes wide and lips against Francine's and dear god was that stubble?!
Francine	"What?" That wasn't the sound of Oh Francine please do that again, it was the sound of FRANCINE WHAT ARE YOU DOING, especially combined with the look on his face when she opened her eyes. ...And the sound of her voice. What. "What?"
Merlin	"Um." Merlin stared a bit more, finding she was... actually a rather handsome man. Not his Francine, but not terrible to look at and oh dear god, he did not think that.
Francine	"Um what??" But even her obtuseness had its limits. "...That's not my voice." Meanwhile the snuggling thing? Not getting any less nice.
Merlin	"No it's not," Merlin managed after a moment of staring. Yes, that was most certainly... Francine pressing against his thigh there.
Francine	Hands. She had those. She could, um. Reach up and -- no, not touch Merlin's back, Francine. Your face. That's it. Your faaaaaaaace... oh, crap. "Um." Don'tlookdowndon'tlookdowndon'tlookdownohGodTHEY'REGONE. "UM." I will not freak out I will not freak out I will not freak out I have been a pony with wings at least I'm not a different SPECIES I will not freak out I can handle this really. Really. asksjdhkjh.
Merlin	Merlin moved his hands up--goodness, Francine was far more muscular and um, not thinking about these things--to her shoulders, looking her in the eye. "Deep breath now."
Francine	"Uh-huh." That worked pretty much the same, at least. "Merlin?"
Merlin	At least there was that. "Francine?"
Francine	"I'm gonna freak out now. I just thought I should warn you." And yet she wasn't. Yet. Possibly because moving would mean she'd have to acknowledge that she didn't have any pockets so there couldn't possibly be a banana in hers.
Merlin	"Perhaps if you take deep breaths, you won't?" Merlin suggested futilely.
Francine	Sure. Right. She could do this. Without freaking out. It was Fandom. This happened all the time. And she'd be a total hypocrite for telling the boys to relax when they woke up girls, and then losing it herself. Deep breath. "Right. Um. Cover me - I'm gonna look." She could pick up the blanket. Really.
Merlin	Merlin was helpless but to look down as well. And how was it fair that she was more muscular than him?
Francine	"Hey! I didn't say you could look!" Which Francine would totally do something about when she wasn't staring downwards in stupefaction like the soon-to-be-victim of of a swaying cobra, and wow was that a bad choice of visual metaphors.
Merlin	...very bad choice indeed. "Um." Huh.
Francine	I will not freak out I will not freak out I will not freak out PEOPLE DO NOT HAVE HOOVES wait wrong freakout. "This is very weird."
Merlin	"No more than when I was a girl," Merlin said, yes, still staring.
Francine	"We weren't naked when you were a girl!"
Merlin	"I was missing things!" Not helping, Merlin. "You're--how is it you're prettier than me and more handsome?" Seriously, Merlin? Seriously? Gayest thing ever.
Francine	Kind of a little bit the gayest thing ever, yes. "I'm missing things too!" Obviously. Or they'd be impeding the current view. Which would admittedly be even weirder. Beat. "I am not handsome."
Merlin	"Are too!" Stop it, Merlin! "You have muscles." You know. Like Arthur.
Francine	"Everybody has muscles. They're how you move." ...Dammit, now she wanted to see for herself. But that would require her moving. And there was this whole... bad cobra metaphor thing with an apparent mind of its own that didn't want her to move anyplace that could be classified as 'away.'
Merlin	Great, remind him of that, will you. "UM."
Francine	Oh, flailing, because they needed that. Great. "Sorry! Sorry!" She wasn't usually a guy, so Merlin still counted as the gayest thing ever. So there. "I'm not... it's just there!"
Merlin	"That's um... morning." Merlin nodded vaguely, managing to look back up at Francine's face. It was... similar to her, but really not the same. "It happens."
Francine	Well, yes. Francine was also under the impression it happened when you were naked in bed with somebody you -- still, apparently -- thought was just fine thank you whether he had some stupid hangup about muscles -- not that she didn't like muscles -- or not. Um. Anyway. "We're back to this being weird, huh."
Merlin	"Yes, we are," Merlin agreed. Oh, that awkward pause.
Francine	"I should...uh." Do something. Probably get up and flee; that would be the Francinely appropriate response to any and all awkward situations, once she'd made them sufficiently worse. Even though part of her -- no, not that part, you bushy-tailed perverts -- wanted to stay despite the awkward because it was Merlin and at least he was normal and familiar and safe.
Merlin	This could only go horribly wrong considering it was them. But, because it was them, Merlin was doing the worst possible thing and very hesitantly brushing Francine's hair back just a bit. It wasn't really long, but it was bushy enough. "Um."
Francine	"Really, really weird," Francine said. Then, "And if I don't do this now I'll feel really, really lame when I'm sixty," and she put her fingers out -- God, her hands were huge -- to touch his jaw, and bent her head to kiss him.
Merlin	This was... new and yet not so new. Merlin kissed her back, running his hand through her far too short hair. "Very--very strange."
Francine	Not so new for some people! Some people had been a) a guy and b) a guy kissing a guy before. Which was very, very strange to think about, as was the fact that new (Merlin's lips weren't, but her own crushing back that way? Yes.) or not, she sure as heck didn't hate it. But not as very very strange as the part where Francine had to admit to herself that judging by how much she didn't hate it -- how much anyone she was currently in bed with would be able to tell she didn't hate it -- if she got stuck this way, she'd be very, very gay. ~~Possibly gayer than Merlin.~~ Or at least b-- It was, of course, that thought that started the flail. The one with the leaping out of bed that would have been more successful if she hadn't got longer legs tangled in the blanket and smack and OW and wow the floor was cold when you didn't have any clothes on. "I think I reached my not freaking out threshhold."
Merlin	And, considering it was them, that move would cause a few things to happen. One being Merlin shouting something incoherent as there were LIMBS and THINGS flying about at him. Then curling up into a painful ball as one of those limbs connected with his own 'Good Morning'. "Francine."
Francine	"What?!" Look, she barely had her breath back and she was on the floor nake--- aaaghjasdgkjh. Francine grabbed at the blanket and yanked, trying to pull it down to cover her. It. (Which at least was, thank God, not as happy to not be a banana as it had been before she made contact with the linoleum.)
Merlin	Oh, well that was just bloody fabulous. He was whimpering and naked. "You'd think you'd have a bit more sympathy for this now."
Francine	"For what?" Francine repeated, sitting up now and looking over the edge of the bed to... "Oh. Ohmigod. Sorry! Sorrysorrysorry! I didn't mean to!"
Merlin	"I should hope not!" It was like being a boy again with all the voice cracking something like this caused. He very carefully uncurled to pull a pillow over to cover himself. "Um."
Francine	"I didn't break anything, did I? Tell me I didn't break anything!" Look, it was a Concern.
Merlin	"Nothing broken." He hoped. "Are you--?"
Francine	Yes, Francine. Look under the blanket to check, because you wouldn't be able to tell if you were in pain. "I'm..." Still a boy. Just not as OBVIOUSLY a boy now, and Francine was perfectly happy with that. Even if she was now staring at her not as obviously a boy boyfriend who didn't have the benefit of a blanket, and hi awkward and also likely to make things more obvious in the near future if she didn't do something soon. "Pants! Pants could be good."
Merlin	He had a pillow! It was... not doing much. "I have spares!" he said quickly, tripping over himself to get to the cupboard.
Francine	The internal debate over whether it was weirder and more flail inducing to watch her naked boyfriend walk away or deliberately not watch was...briefly ignored. Then solved by standing up with the blanket wrapped around her -- someone should point out that she hardly needed to wrap it around the top part of her now -- and following him to the cupboard. Which had a mirror in the door. "...........Whoa."
Merlin	Heeeey. Merlin was very busy putting his own trousers on first. Then he looked over to offer her a pair. "I told you."
Francine	"You told me what?" Francine was still at Whoa, no REALLY, I am REALLY a boy. They are GONE. With a repeat chorus of Iwillnotfreakout to the tune of We Shall Overcome which was wrong on so many levels but fit the meter. At least now she was studying the mirror with that cobra-victim stare, instead of the...cobra. "Huh, I still have my streak."
Merlin	"That you were handsome?" He waggled the trousers at her again.
Francine	Oh. PANTS. Hi PANTS. New second-best-friend PANTS. Francine reached for them gratefully and... dropped the blanket, of course. Then it was less reaching and more scrambling. And fumbling. "I am not h-- how the heck do you people put these on?" Oh Francine. They're pants. Do the math. It's not like they have a built-in codpiece.
Merlin	Merlin stared just a bit more. "...don't you wear them normally?"
Francine	Stop having a point, Merlin. "I don't usually have to worry about how to arrange things in mine!" Wait. Pants at her waist, Francine looked down. "I also wear underwear normally."
Merlin	"Oh." Merlin looked back one some of the few modern adjustments to his wardrobe. "I suppose you could borrow some..."
Francine	"Either way it's kind of disturbing," Francine decided, fastening the aforementioned pants. "Let's go for the one where I don't have to take these off again."
Merlin	Merlin paused. "...you're keeping them even after?"
Francine	"....Where I don't have to take them off again right now, honey." Had she been someone else, the last word of that sentence would not have been honey, but she was not -- well, she was only a little bit someone else. Mostly she was Francine.
Merlin	"Oh." SHHH. He was a bit special, okay? "Shirt?"
Francine	"At least it won't be the first time I've borrowed one of those." She turned back to look at the mirror. At some point in the whole pants-putting-on process, she'd had to stop instinctively trying to cross her arms over the breasts that weren't there anymore, but she hadn't really... looked. Okay, chest hair? DISTURBING. The fact that the lily-shaped scar was still there? ...Oddly comforting.
Merlin	"It might fit better this time..." Yes, he was starting to miss the breasts now too.
Francine	Breasts yes. Bra, no. "Seems fine," she said, pulling it on over her head. "We're pretty close to the same size." Mind you that might be due to most of Merlin's shirts being two sizes too large. All the energy not spent on overabundant curves had apparently gone into height, with, okay, fine, a side-order of muscle. "It's weird; I don't look anything like my brother. I guess I'd take after Mom even if I was a boy."