Becoming monsters is the creation of AiLovesToGrow, setting used with permission
This idea comes from Amethyst Dragonfly.
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Chapter 8: Exploration
The simple act of slowly waking up in the arms of your loved one, or with your loved one in your arms, is a truly magical thing. Especially when it follows a remarkably good night's sleep, together in your own home for the first time. This effect is somewhat spoiled when a phone goes off to the tune of Eiffel65.
Abbey reached over to the side of the bare mattress, barely able to reach it without leaving Justin's embrace. She accepted the call with a groggy "hello?"
The voice on the other end of the line was not one she wanted to hear. "Abbey, where are you? Your shift started fifteen minutes ago and I haven't seen you." The rough voice of Mr. Phillips sounded much more worried than mad.
Abbey found that comfortable, drowsy feeling evaporated
instantly
. She almost literally rolled out of bed and struggled to get her bearings. "Uh, sorry sir! Nothing serious, just an alarm issue. I'll be there as soon as I can!"
"Please do. Mondays get busy by lunch." There was a click from the other end of the line. Abbey immediately started a litany of unladylike and uncharacteristic swearing as Justin slowly came to.
"Abbey? What's wrong?"
"Neither one of us set our alarms last night! You have a class in fifteen minutes, and I'm fifteen minutes
late
already! Come on!"
He struggled a bit to get up. To be fair, he had been quite comfy. "Alright, moving. At least we both showered last night, so we can skip that step." He strode over to the Dorm Room door and opened it, relieved to find that it still led exactly where it had the night before. Fifteen minutes to get ready and get to class was, if not trivial, then at least easy if he started from here. He'd done it in the past often enough, both in reality and in his implanted memories. Oddly, almost always on the same days. It would have been completely impossible if he had to catch a bus, even if he knew exactly where he was starting from.
Note to self, I need to figure out a LOT of things about the house besides just its contents.
Abbey didn't pause for niceties. She could just go without things like food for a while without major detriment, and got running towards the bus stop as she expended precious slivers of magic to get into her clothing to be work-appropriate and straightened out. Justin managed to not topple over as he got into something he could go to class in without breaking any rules, then ran to Literature. His recent self-care kick meant he both got there in one piece and in time. Bit of a shock to him as he got into his seat. He even had his notes from the story, no matter how boring he found the fact that the narrator kept on calling everyone phoneys.
This was, of course, exacerbated by the fact that there was a long list of things he needed to do, which could not be done while listening to the lecture.
His mind steadfastly refused to stay in the room his body was stuck in. Abbey had created a mansion out of nothing. Somewhere, on prime beachfront land in Washington State, there was a rather welcoming cube with Corinthian columns that had not been there twenty-four hours prior. In it were a multitude of rooms, nearly all locked, and at least one door led miles away in a single step.. Granted, a Wish made it, but still. That was the kind of thing that even metaphysics were really leery about allowing to exist. And those rooms, what could they contain? That was a LOT more space than two people would ever need to live in, and given how he had worded the Wish that meant that the magic of it all was anticipating a LOT more needs than just their own in order to make their life together a smooth one.
Justin's heart did a backflip at that last thought. Their life together. THEIR life. TOGETHER. She was his, and he was hers, and everything was right with the world. The dopey look that came across his face unfortunately attracted attention from the teacher, forcing him to answer questions about how people acted during the general plot, which prompted him to make a comment about the main character clearly projecting on people, which started a rather vicious debate among the half of the classroom that consisted of rather opinionated Literature majors, which in turn kept his mind off of the mystery for the next fifteen minutes.
None of this stopped the dopey smile from returning to his face as soon as class let out, mind, but his train of thought was pretty thoroughly derailed.
Abbey, too, had a brain that wanted to be by the seaside, but which was otherwise occupied. Preparations for a shift at the bank were usually a brief thing, though critical to get right. This time, though, in the wake of the recent robbery and with significant chunks of the lobby cordoned off for repairs? They took more time. Brittany shot Abbey a significant look as she desperately tried to keep up with the increasing numbers of incoming people, making sure they stayed in the new patterns the ropes denoted while doing all of her regular tasks. The clock-in process was the same, but no shortcuts or imprecision could be tolerated this time. Not when the entire place was on elevated alert.
Same for dealing with customers. Abbey found that she recognized a few of the people coming through. Distinctive shapes, personalities, and language quirks she recognized more now that she had been taking the Guild Hall bus and having visited the Guild Hall itself. It made them more... okay, Human wasn't the word. Many of them weren't, and would be insulted to be called that. It made them more real. More like distinct people.
Still, Abbey could not let herself be distracted. The people in this line tended to be more understanding of heightened security, true, but neither were they known for patience. That combined with those same exacting standards and heightened scrutiny to make her day one that was not exactly easy on the nerves.
It was no wonder when both found themselves back at the dorm room after dinner that evening, both wanting a rest and neither able to contemplate any such thing. Both looking at that wooden door that shouldn't have been there, which shouldn't have led to anything if physics had anything to say about it. But... it didn't. It was Justin who broke the silence. "Looks like yesterday was real after all. After this morning, I was doubting my own senses there for a bit."
"I thought I might have dreamed it, too. Glad it wasn't one, that means you actually did tell me you love me, and I did tell you I love you too. Shall we go explore?"
"Of course." The door, as before, opened easily. This time around, though, they beelined for the kitchen... once they stepped around the mattress they'd left in the hallway. As before, it was unfurnished... but this time, the door by the dining room was labeled. It had not been, before, but now it featured a small placard in an elegant cursive. "Master Bedroom." Abbey shook her head. "It's even in my calligraphy handwriting, but I didn't write it."
"I didn't even know you did calligraphy."
"I... kind of don't, anymore. Mom insisted, but it always hurt my hand. I mostly use it on documents I want to be hard to forge."
"Even with the shortcut, I'm learning something new about you every day. Any bets on how much of a bedroom will be behind there?"
"Besides there being four walls in soothing colors, no bet."
"Looks like I'm not the only one learning. Come on, let's take a look!" With that, Justin stepped forward and opened the door.
What was behind that particular door was pretty sizable. They weren't going to be playing baseball in it or anything, but it felt larger than what should have been able to fit. The ceiling was high, enough so that Abbey could at least sit on the ground in her fully giant form. The carpet on the ground was soft, a surprisingly small bed stood in one corner with a bedside table and lamp. Really, it was barely bigger than the dorm room mattress that still sat upstairs. To the side was another door, presumably to a bathroom of some kind. Everything there felt... smooth. Comfortable, in a way normally reserved for clothing and buildings that had been lived in for years. Justin instinctively felt that he'd be able to find the doors and make his way without needing light to see by.
The predicted bathroom was there as expected. It looked a hair odd at first, but then made perfect sense. Everything was split-level. One sink, one toilet, one shower head? They were each meant for someone of a standard size. The other was clearly set for someone with their head near the high ceiling. There was a tub, one section of it shallow, the other deep enough that Justin could dive in it... or Abbey could soak in her full natural form. Much like the outside, it felt like it shouldn't work... but just as much felt like it did anyway.
Justin looked to the side as his blue lady stepped forward, reaching out in wonder towards that tub. Abbey was enchanted. "Justin... do you mind if..."
He smiled. "Go ahead and take a bath. I'll keep poking around?"
"Thanks, love." Yep, the word definitely still gave him the tinglies. Again. He suspected it always would, and didn't mind the thought at all. "It's been a long time since I could just... do that. As me."
"Completely understandable. I'd join you, but safety first. Until you're used to it again, I don't want to risk getting stepped on or drowned." As he began to step out, he could hear the whoosh of her shapechanging mists coming forth. Since he wasn't here to get soaked just yet, it was time to scoot.
Abbey was a bit disappointed as the door closed, he'd entirely missed the hint. Then again, when the tap turned on and unleashed a stream of water that was both quiet and warm, the emotion evaporated. She had said it had been a long time. Truth be told, this would be the first time since the Change she could take a warm bath. Despite the depth of the tub, it filled fairly quickly, and with a contented sigh she stepped in to settle into the contours at the bottom. All eighteen feet of her. She felt weightless, like both body and soul were floating there. Like the world, for once, wasn't weighing her down.
Justin was still in their room, poking around to look at the little details. There were outlets seemingly everywhere, though he could have sworn that they didn't actually exist until he went looking for them. The bed, too, was made in similar soothing colors to the walls... though no spare linens were evident, nor places to go and do the laundry.
