A strange double date

You and Archer made your way up to your apartment, and you flipped your coin almost immediately to the Mars side, so you could get changed and find a bit of normalcy today. One more day of schoolwork down the tubes. You really did expect to be going to classes today, but far more interesting events were getting in the way.

You thought Archer would've forgotten about everything from earlier, but you definitely struck a chord with her that she'd made a mistake, an accusation you rarely made with each other. You and she had always course-corrected afterward, and it typically made your bond stronger. So, she seemed to be deep in thought about something, before reaching for her phone.

"Hey, you wanna do a double date tonight?"

You blinked, as you threw on a button-up shirt. You still had some of the residual emotion from earlier, but you were trying to shake that all loose from your system, to let it go completely. Any sort of distraction would be great, but you tilted your head at Archer's suggestion. "What, like you and Jane and, like, Don and Penny? I don't know, I want to spend a little more time like my old self for a while, I've had a bit too much Jane for today."

Archer shook her head. "No, I was thinking you and Ramona, and me and Cierra."

"...What?" This was unexpected. You knew about Archer wanting to hook you up with Ramona, she'd said as much earlier. "I thought you would want to keep you and my girl-side a thing instead of dating some other girl, you made it seem like you weren't interested."

Another head shake from Felicia. "No, that's a given. Me and Jane, we've got that unbreakable bond, right? But I mean you and Ramona, and Felix and Cierra."

"F...elix."

Archer grinned, and pointed at herself. "That's me, I'm Felix. Well, the other me. And look, if you don't want to, I get it, but I was just figuring that like how I don't really feel anything for you right now, that it'd probably be the same for my Felix form."

You decided to not answer. As a guy, maybe you wouldn't be attracted to Felicia's male form other than your usual friendship, but as Jane, something stirred inside you as Felix, apparently, saved you earlier. That really had you conflicted that whole bus ride, and you'd forgotten about it fully until this very moment. You rubbed your face as all those thoughts rushed back into your head, and it really threw you for a loop, especially knowing it was Archer's alternate body.

Still... it would be weird to say something now. You found a strong bond, but it was mostly as Felicia and Jane. Not all your configurations had to be rooted in that same particular closeness. Heck, between the two of you, you had four variants of friendship to explore! And if male-you and Felicia weren't going to work...

You nodded. "Okay, sure. You think they'd go for it?"

Archer grinned as she scrolled in her phone, standing up as she waited for Ramona to pick up. "Oh, most definitely. Trust me, I got a real good read earlier from Ramona while you were running around yesterday. And you were even there for like a half hour of the discussion last night about how they are single and they don't date guys unless someone vouches for them. Well, I'm going to vouch for both of us."

As Felicia worked her magic, you just lay back on the couch. Cute couple, troublemakers, damsel and knight, and now wingmen? At least for your part, this was going to be more in your wheelhouse. And you did have to admit, Ramona was cute. Archer knew your type, or more your speed: the brainy one, while the actual athlete would pair well with the musclebound Felix.

You frowned as a thought occurred, something that came to your mind as Archer hung up the phone. She waved her phone at you. "Can I borrow a fancy shirt tonight? We're on for LeVar's at seven."

"Yeah, if you can fit into them. Why is it that you look like you are one of the extras for the volleyball scene in Top Gun?"

Felicia snorted. "You know I said Top Gun too when I asked Emilia? She never saw it, I guess, but she got the idea... anyway. She says it's been like this in all her subjects. When a guy becomes a girl, they become a 'Venus', just this incredibly beautiful woman, like how breathtaking you are when you're Jane even without all the makeup and stuff, it's just a natural beauty. On the flip side, pun intended, a girl becoming a guy becomes a 'Mars', and even though I'm not heading off to war, you've seen what I could do earlier. Like a life-size action figure."

You scratched your head. It seemed to make sense... you inwardly beamed as you heard Archer comment so positively on your female form.

An hour later, you watched Felicia instantly become Felix. It was really something to spectate, the change really was instant. It's good that you and she knew enough to plan ahead for those changes now, as Felix's broad shoulders would obliterate one of Archer's usual shirts. Felicia was quite slim, Felix was a far cry from his female frame. Surprisingly... Archer's feet remain roughly the same size in either state, so she was good in the shoe department. Just all the other stuff was so different...

You and he looked through your wardrobe for a bit, digging through the clothes you'd got. The pants weren't a huge problem, you had jeans that were suitable. Not a single dressy shirt would work, however... arms didn't fit, and even if they did, there'd be a good three inches of gap to get the buttons closed. However, you did find a suitable alternative: an olive sweater that on you was pretty loose, but in Archer's state, it was just right. Just... damn, Action Hero Archer strikes again when you were done. In the jeans and olive sweater, he almost looked like he'd transported through time from one of the world wars. This was probably how Felicia felt when comparing herself to Jane... not that you looked bad. But you were pretty normal.

You and Archer headed out, and waited outside LeVar's as had been indicated in the call. Ramona and Cierra showed up not long after, and immediately you got a gauge of your pairings. You and Ramona certainly hit it off, as you could talk about stargazing and constellations and all that, since you'd had a bit of an interest of that before and you had a head start on Ramona's interests thanks to the drinks the other day, so you did a little research on 'latest astronomy news' before the date. Cierra and Felix, however... well, Felix would do something like describe how many babies he's saved from burning buildings, and Cierra didn't hear a word while she stared at Felix's pecs through the sweater pulled taut against him. It wasn't a competition, but it seemed like you and Ramona realized you were more second-fiddle to each counterpart, even if your conversation had more substance.

Soon it was time to pay, and Felix decided to continue to be his charming, generous self and he immediately dropped his card on the table to pay without thinking about it. Cierra peeked at the name, immediately seeing the surname on the card. "Oh my god, you're an Archer too? Is Felicia your sister or something?"

Felix froze, caught off-guard by what he'd just done. "Y-yep, I'm an Archer. Just like... like my sister, Felicia. That's a... detail I should've thought about mentioning, ha ha. Hahhhhh..."

Another tangle in the web. Another card atop the house. You were going to have to start taking notes at this point.

"Weird," Ramona said, looking between you and Felix, "I would've thought Felicia is more like John here, just sort of bone structure-wise. But hey, that's cool, your sister was amazing yesterday. She could really make a name for herself here on the team! Unless Josie gets her way. Who knows what she might do to make life hell for her."