All good.

A tense beat passed. Natalie didn't lower her hand, but she didn't move it.

"...how do you feel?" she asked Naomi. Naomi immediately embraced her.

"It worked! It worked, babe! I didn't feel any different at all!" Her voice was booming with manic joy. "I'm gonna be yours forever!"

Sophie grimaced. "Naomi, I'm glad it worked, but shouldn't we be figuring out how to cure it?"

Naomi laughed and sat back next to Natalie, idling playing with her girlfriend's hair. "It's a generational curse, not an infection! There is no cure. I'm just glad I can go out in public and lead a normal life again."

"Normal?" Sophie asked incredulously.

"Yes, normal. Right now Natalie wants me to lead the same life I had before, so things are going to go back to normal. Right, babe?"

"That's right," Natalie said. She turned to Sophie with a smile. "I like Naomi! As long as I want her to be her, she's not gonna change."

"But what about if you get sick of her, or want her to be different, or throw out an innocuous criticism? She'll instantly conform to whatever you want, even if you don't ask her to!"

Naomi nodded seriously. "That's true. And I can even see why you have a problem with it, but that's just how it's got to be. Now, Natalie, when was the last time you ate?"

Natalie realized that with all of the events of the day, she hadn't noticed herself growing hungry. "This morning. God, I'm starving! How did you know?"

"I heard your stomach rumbling earlier," Naomi said lovingly. "Wanna grab dinner? My treat."

Natalie stood. "Sure! Sophie, wanna join us?"