With a smile

"You want to be me?" Aphrodite chuckled, "Sweetie, there's only one me, and that's me."

Seth had finally blurted out his deepest secret, and being on the cusp of seeing his wish granted made him stand a smidgen taller, his stammer lifting. "I don't want to be you. That would be too much to ask. But I want to be like you. A truly beautiful woman; perhaps, even, a mother..." He said bashfully, looking toward the floor.

Aphrodite raised an eyebrow. "Almost anyone out there could have made you a woman. What stopped you from riding the first Infected man you saw until his cock gave you what you wanted?" she asked matter-of-factly. Seth blinked, not expecting the bluntness of her question. Recovering quickly, he responded as if the answer was obvious.

"My Lady, you're the epitome of beauty, of fertility, of grace. If I could be given even just a fraction of that, I would be the happiest person in all the world."

With that, Aphrodite gave Seth her brightest smile, which made him blush even more. "Good answer." It was obvious, and he had passed the test. She turned to Aires, who gave her a bemused 'it's up to you' shrug. The whole situation had become good entertainment; even Evelith, who usually parted for the night by now, had stayed put to witness the exchange. This young man had the gall to ask a Goddess to be remade in her image? Regardless of outcome, the momentary distraction would be enjoyable, to say the least, and news of this would spread like wildfire through the Citadel and beyond. It could become a minor annoyance, sure, other people thinking they could come and ask for direct favors from the Divines, but it could also be great PR. Things would go smoother if more people accepted the Infection willingly, after all. The only question that remained was what to do about it, from which the look in Aphrodite's glowing eyes seemed to be quite telling.

Aphrodite stepped back from Seth, playfully stroking her chin as if she were a bearded painter examining their canvas. Seth shuffled from foot to foot, unsure of how this would play out. Had he overstepped his bounds? Was he going to be told no? She resumed pacing around the young man, getting a second, third, fourth look. After what seemed like an eternity - but was probably only a minute or two - she finished circling him, and nodded her approval. His face beamed.

"Really?!"

"We'll seal it with a kiss." Aphrodite stepped forward, but Seth took a step back, eliciting a confused head-tilt from the Goddess.

"...Do you not want my gift?"

Seth's eyes went wide. "No - I mean yes! Of course, yes! It's just..."

"You're a virgin and you've never kissed a girl before."

"I - yes." The words caught in his throat. She had sized him up pretty accurately, it turned out.

Aphrodite smirked. "Well, girlfriend, you'd best prepare yourself, 'cause after this one, you're never gonna kiss another like me."

She moved with surprising speed, not allowing Seth any more time to hesitate. He barely had enough sense to think 'This is it' before their lips were touching. The softness, the slightly sweet taste, the way her hand brushed his shoulder; it was all he could have imagined and more. And then...it was over. While he wasn't expecting to make out with Aphrodite - that would have been truly the best timeline - Seth was so shocked by the suddenness of it that he never actually kissed her back. The most beautiful woman that ever existed and he froze up; the bittersweet combination of disappointment in himself and the elation of the moment mixed together and stirred around in his brain. Aphrodite, meanwhile, had already resumed her original position a step away from him. She watched his internal struggle with amusement and a dash of pity.

"Not bad, considering it was your first time and, well, who you're dealing with. I give it a C+. But now," she said, smiling while rubbing her hands together, "now comes the fun part."

The tingling began in his toes. Seth looked down: there was nothing to see just yet, but he could feel it, almost like his feet had fallen asleep. As the tingling intensified he shook his left foot, only to notice that it no longer fit right in his shoe. The shoe rattled around, and was eventually kicked off completely. Seth did the same with the other one, to the same effect: his feet had no doubt become smaller. Daintier, even. He wiggled his toes happily, feeling them move around in his similarly-too-big socks. This was it! It was happening! As the feeling made its way up his legs, Seth shut his eyes and started to undo his jeans. He couldn't decide if he wanted to watch the changes or to simply experience them and await the finale; with a deep breath, he settled on the latter as he threw his pants to the side. It would be almost like a surprise this way. With his eyes closed, it was up to his hands to feel around him, to send more of that tantalizing sensory information up to his brain as his body buzzed its approval.

To appreciate his skin becoming softer, smoother.
To explore his thighs as they thickened a bit.
To sense his hips expand.
To feel his waist and stomach pull in.

It was all almost too much to take, but Seth paced himself. He unzipped his jacket and tossed that aside as well. The tingling matched his movements, speeding up and slowing down as he did, like it knew what he wanted and when he wanted it. Seth crossed his hands and used them to feel up the opposite side, the hair receding as he brushed up his arms. He appreciated the little things, like even how soft his elbows now felt. The feelings only increased as his instruments changed themselves, Seth's hands becoming softer and lighter and dainty and everything he could possibly want. He could hear Aphrodite giggle when he double-backed to feel up his body again, taking it all in a second time now that his hands were different.

She was going to say something but stopped herself; this moment was his.

Seth ran the back of his hands up his neck as the tingling finally reached his face. The feeling was unfocused, washing him in a steady buzzing all around his head as it reconstructed. He was no anatomy expert, but everywhere he touched felt different. His eyes seemed bigger, his lips puffier. Seth let out a sigh of happiness, and it sounded...positively feminine. Was that really his voice? It wasn't just sweet: it was outright pretty. Cute, even, not too sexual but could be if he wanted to. Everything about this was simply wonderful; he could stand there forever, soaking it in. But eventually it had to end, and when it did, Seth opened his sapphire eyes. He could tell something was off; his penis still existed, for one thing. Opening his mouth to say something, he never got the words out as nothing less than a fire started in his loins. For her part, Aphrodite just met his confused gaze.

"This is it, honey. Relax, and let it happen."

Seth wasn't a complete prude: he had masturbated at least once in his lifetime. A few times. Okay, quite a bit. But this was something else entirely. This was something he could not explain even if he wanted to, for it had never happened to him before and would never happen again. He brushed against his nethers through his boxers, and he could feel...it getting smaller. His stomach churned, his insides informing him that something hinky was going on within his body as well. Beyond every feeling, however, was the heat, both in temperature and of the sexual nature. Seth made the first of what might be many "O" faces as he moaned, an unabashedly sexual moan that caught him off guard. But by now it was too late: he was caught in the whirlpool, and the only path forward was to stop struggling and ride the wave. This too seemed to last forever, and Seth closed his eyes. By the time she opened them, the process had moved upward.

The heat buried itself in Seth's chest, her hands bunched into fists as they pressed into her ribs. Her heart fluttered, and her mind raced. Somehow she knew this would be the best part, and she was not disappointed. Her body pushed back against her hands, pushing out, out, out. Seth's breathing came rapidly, and she fell to her knees. Her breasts - this had become the appropriate description by now - continued unchallenged, and she certainly wasn't about to protest. She opened her fists, and cupped her expanding chest through her shirt, reveling in the sensations. Seth had little idea about bras - she had been around them before, at work, but never to this degree surely - and wouldn't be able to guess her size even if she wanted to. All she knew was that it felt good, really good, and it felt...right. This eventually faded, to her great sadness, and with the process completed Seth struggled to a standing position. Her entire body felt different, her center-of-gravity off, but this didn't prevent her from having the biggest smile on her face. She adjusted her glasses reflexively, even if she probably didn't need them now, and turned to Aphrodite. The Goddess in turn sensed her thoughts, and smiled back.

"Well, Sera, what do you think?"