Trouble at the workplace. (Sanquin / Sarpedon)

[Sanquin]

(I guess skates would make more sense. xD This is where me not being a native English speaker still shines through. :P)

Chris was handed a few pieces of dead fish to feed to the small sharks and skates. Everyone was advised that if you wanted to feed the sharks, it was better to use the plastic pincers they had so they wouldn't accidentally bite your hand. Chris was content with just the skates though, as they could eat out of your hand directly. She smiled a little bit as a skate came up to her, tickling her hand as it took the piece of fish from it. Feeding the skates and sharks too about 15 minutes. Then the buckets were empty and now came the feeding of the other fish. Unlike most people though Chris stayed behind and sat on a bench, looking to the aquarium from there. For some reason she just didn't feel like standing in the crowd at the moment.

The feeding of those fish passed as well, and after the announcement of when the next feeding time was, everyone started to disperse again. Leroy was one of the last to leave the window, easily finding Chris sitting across from it. "Must be such a carefree life..." She mused softly as she looked at a shark that swam by the window, searching for a few more scraps. "Ignorance is bliss and all that." She shrugged, then leaned against Leroy on her own. The physical contact had helped her before in the previous room, so it could maybe keep on helping her in the future. Might as well accept that fact, rather than make things incredibly awkward and weird for herself. As, if her conclusions were right, she would have to get used to this anyway. She noted that she had basically followed the 5 steps of acceptance, except for the first one: Denial. It was hard to deny what had happened after all. First she had been angry, then she tried to rigorously find a way to fix it or 'bargaining', after that came the depression of realizing that that probably wouldn't work. Acceptance was the last step in the sequence, and it felt like she was moving towards that as well now, if slowly.

"Leroy...what if I really am stuck like this? Having to basically figure out my entire life a second time, a life I didn't want even, I don't know..." She was just expressing what was on her mind at the moment. Not really a thought that was going anywhere or required a direct answer.

[Sarpedon]

((pffft I've been speaking english my whole life and it still doesn't make sense, you're doing just fine))

Leroy didn't notice Chris not joining the rest of the crowd, at least not until after all the fish were fed. At that point the next feeding time was announced and then people started to disperse. Leroy watched the fish a bit longer until he realized that Chris wasn't with him. He looked around and quickly discovered her sitting on a bench. He joined her happily and shrugged when she commented about the lives of the fish. "But what if they know? What if they know and they, like, hate us or something?" he shrugged again and chuckled. She leaned against him, and the salesman instinctively put an arm around her. They sat quietly and Leroy pictured a fishy revolution while Chris was probably thinking somber thoughts and being sad. He didn't have any more chocolate though, he'd have to work on that.

Then she asked him a question that he had thought she might not ask. What if she was stuck like that? "Well, if you really are stuck like that..." he thought for a moment, "I guess I've got no choice but to help you out. And I have to be honest, I do like you like this..." he figured she might not like to hear that, but he was being honest, and that was supposed to be a good thing, wasn't it? He wasn't sure any more, but he figured he would give it a try, and if that didn't work, he'd just lie his ass off. That could be fun, then he could be whoever he wanted to be. But that didn't matter right now, right now he was focused on keeping things between himself and his friend stable until he could get his soul back, then they could deal with the fallout of that, and after that he could go back to doing whatever he did. What do I do? he wondered, Fuck all I guess... Oh well... he shrugged that off too, fuck all was quite entertaining, and compared to all this, he much preferred that. Getting a girl might be nice, but there was no guarantee she would stay a girl after the deal got undone. If the deal got undone...

[Sanquin]

(Well, Leroy had plenty of time to sneak in a kiss if he had wanted. But I guess he doesn't want to take advantage of her like that at the moment. Which is a good quality in the end. :P)

Chris wasn't sure how she felt about Leroy liking her like this, and most likely wanting her to stay like this. But she did know one thing for sure. She sure as hell wasn't going to allow him to stop her from going back to being a man if it was possible. She sighed, shaking her head a little at her own thoughts as if she was telling herself 'stop thinking about it for now'. "Well, there are two more rooms to visit so we might as well move on." She then spoke, heading to the next room. The rest of their time spent at the aquarium wasn't really eventful. Still plenty to learn and see of course, as they once again went through as these area's had different fish from the other side. No tunnel this time though. Probably so save space, as otherwise the whole building might get too big. Once they were on the other side it appeared that they had walked almost in a circle. The entrance and exit was only about 100 feet away through a hallway that had some museum-like exhibitions. But since they had already gone to the museum of natural history Chris wasn't too interested in them. Though if Leroy wanted to see them she would stay and wait of course. It was Almost 3:30 pm now, and Chris was done with her plans for the day. In other words, she'd probably spend the next few hours just lazying in her hotel room, not doing much of anything. Maybe just a little bit of pre-work so she'd be fully prepared again for when she went back to work the next day. But that was about it.

"So, want me to drop you off at the motel?" She asked him as they walked to the car again. The two of them had spent more time together during this vacation than she had anticipated. But right now she wanted to spend some time alone. Go to her 'lazy place' you could say. That particular state of mind that you didn't even want to show your best friend or even your wife. Where you wanted to do as little as possible, not caring about how you appeared to anyone else as no one was around during those times. "Or, you know, anywhere else. I just feel like being alone for a bit. Though feel free to drop by again for dinner, since you paid for it and all." It would be rude to not invite him once again because of that reason. Which was fine really. As long as she was given some time for herself before that.

[Sarpedon]

((And he didn't know that he could have pulled it off, he's still worried that she hates his guts))

Leroy agreed with Chris. He figured she probably didn't like how close they were getting, so he let her go, and they finished wandering through the aquarium. There were plenty more fish to see, and then some museum-y displays afterward. The salesman was pretty sure he had already learned some things though, so he didn't linger too long there. And finally, having wandered through the whole place, they came to the exit, which also seemed to be the entrance. That had been interesting, Leroy decided, and figured he would have to reevaluate some things once his life was back in order. For now, it seemed their adventure was over, and that was almost nice, though he would have liked to get closer to Chris. Leroy totally understood her desire for some privacy and he shrugged when she offered to drop him off wherever, "Might as well drop me at the motel, I guess..." he agreed, hopping into the car. She invited him to dinner, but he wasn't sure if she'd be picking him up, or what, as he didn't really feel like walking all the way back to her hotel just to get dinner.

He would deal with that at dinner time though. For now he just got settled in the car and made sure the radio was tuned to Chris' station. He figured she would prefer her more normal rock and roll, and it wasn't like he was the one riding around a lot any way. The salesman was more than happy to put up with less than ideal conditions for a bit, especially since he knew his partner preferred them. And it wasn't like he was terribly bothered by his friend's music of choice, it just wasn't quite as heavy as he was used to. He chuckled when he thought about how much worse it could be. He was pretty sure they wouldn't be friends if she listened to audio-vomit, and counted himself lucky as they drove off...

[Sanquin]

So the motel it was. Chris gave a small nod and then headed into the right direction. Leroy switched the radio to a rock channel which was great for her. The metal music really was a bit too heavy for her. He probably did it to be considerate of her though, so that was nice of him. The two were mostly quiet for the trip again. It really was better to have an understanding that you didn't need to talk among each other, rather than feeling the awkwardness of having to continue a conversation going. "See you this evening then. Do you want me to pick you up or will you be coming on your own?" She asked as she stopped the car in the car park. "I still have dinner for two after all, and it would be a waste to throw half of it away." The trip to the aquarium had actually cheered Chris up a bit. Or maybe even a lot. Or was that because she started to accept that this was her fate? That this would be her life from now on, and that she would have to accept it eventually? She didn't know, but feeling better was always a good thing to her. Once Chris had Leroy's answer she watched him walk to his motel for a few moments before driving off again.

The woman turned her radio off on the trip there. And once at the hotel she immediately went into lazy mode. Her clothes except for her panties came off, then were replaced by the blanket from her bed. She headed to the kitchen and made herself some tea, then moved to the couch. After wrapping the blanket around herself she sat down, took her cup again and turned on the TV. Just any channel would do right now, but Chris instinctively first went to the educative channels. Something about the link between science and sci-fi was on, so she decided to watch that. Several hours just for herself...that was a nice thought. After a bit she would probably take a shower, then relax until it was time to go pick up Leroy from the motel again.

At 5:40 pm Chris arrived at the motel once again. She walked to Leroy's door, knocked on it, then waited for a response. If he asked who it was she would of course answer normally. Chris had done absolutely nothing but drink tea, lazy around on the couch, watch TV and only take a quick 5 minute shower. And it had once again helped. Apparently there had been a lot of stress building up in her body over the last week. And just taking some time for herself and relax had helped to relieve some of that stress.

[Sarpedon]

Leroy waited through the trip quietly as he usually did, not feeling the need to say anything. He got distracted and then suddenly they had arrived. Chris declared she would see him that evening and asked if he wanted a ride. "I would prefer it if you'd give me a ride, but I can walk if necessary." he said, figuring he would show up for dinner, since he had been invited, and it was just a matter of when she wanted him to show up. His friend seemed happier, and that cheered the salesman up, it was good to know she was coping and functional so they could get the deal undone. After plans were made, Leroy hopped out of the car with his bag and went to his door. He unlocked it and turned around to wave before stepping inside. He put his bag on a chair, which he put in front of the door, then he pulled his shirt off, and it went on the chair too. He turned on the television and flopped on the bed. He was only vaguely aware of what was on, and he drifted in and out of sleep for what felt like a while. It was his default lazing mode. He never got anything done when he was like this, at least not until he got some kind of wake up.

He got one of those at five o'clock, when he realized it was five o'clock. "Shit!" he said, thinking that Chris would probably show up soon so they could eat at a reasonable hour. He grabbed his bag and found some clean clothes and such. He wanted to make a subtle attempt at impressing her, and he figured he would start by showering and shaving and generally looking his best. He pulled all that off in twenty minutes, with most of that being spent in the shower. He had gotten distracted and was debating the merits of different home-defense weapons for several minutes, absently standing underneath the flowing water as he tried to decide on what he should be buying. He wanted an AR-15, but those were well out of his price range, so he was now debating between a Glock and a shotgun. He was unsure how useful a handgun might be, considering he lived in California. "I should probably move..." he muttered, figuring he would find another state that wasn't so communist. And then the word move rang a bell and he swore again. "Goddammit, I'm supposed to be showering!" he grumbled, going back to actually cleaning himself.

Finally he decided he was ready. He was clean-shaven, he had clean clothes on, and he looked relatively normal. His knuckles were doing a lot better, so he didn't put anything on them. He figured that if by some chance he ran into someone that wanted to fight, the marks on his knuckles might deter them. He relaxed after checking that Chris had not yet shown up, and he sat down to watch something. He flicked through the channels until someone knocked on his door, having not seen anything worth watching. Chris was there, and he smiled, she looked a lot better now. "Hey!" he said, grabbing his bag and locking the door behind him, "How are ya?" he asked, wanting to confirm his suspicions. Things might be going better than expected...

[Sanquin]

Leroy opened the door, and right away Chris noticed that he seemed quite a bit more cheerful than before. Then again, so was she most likely. "I'm okay I guess. Just relaxing for a while helped me a lot. To put my thoughts straight and such." She smiled a little, then went back to the car with Leroy following behind. "I guess dinner will be a little later, as I haven't done any preparations yet." She spoke as they got into the car. Then moments later she drove off, back to the hotel. This was their last day there, and somehow Chris felt a bit bad for not doing something special. She pretty much always did so on her last day of a vacation. But right now she had already done two things and didn't have money any more to do something else. Oh well, she could make up for it once she had enough money to go to the Netherlands again in the summer.

Once there Chris started on making dinner right away. There was really no need for Leroy to help as the only thing that needed paying attention to was the meat. The rest just needed to cook for a while. So once everything was going Chris went back to the living room and sat down, stretching a little. "You know...I'm kinda looking forward to going back home. I miss my own bed and having a bath, for one. Plus, the sooner we go the sooner we can actually start working on setting things right again. Well...for you at least." She sighed softly, then turned on the TV before standing up again. For some reason she felt like doing dinner slightly differently tonight. Instead of eating in the living room, they could actually use the dining table for once. So she went to prepare that. Two wine glasses, plates, even a candle for a better atmosphere. Why she wanted to do this she didn't know, but there was no need to question. It was better to just go with what felt right, in her opinion.

(I'm going a little faster atm so we can get back and actually get to the point of the plot. Getting Leroy's soul back. xD)

[Sarpedon]

((cool beans, souls are important.))

Leroy was glad that Chris was feeling better, that was always a good thing. They went and got into the car then, with Chris explaining that dinner would be a bit late. Leroy didn't mind, he didn't have to cook it, so who was he to complain? He shrugged, totally cool with waiting around a bit longer. Then they drove off to the hotel that his partner was staying at. It didn't take a whole lot of time, and soon enough they were in Chris' room. She went off to cook right away, while Leroy relaxed, sitting on the couch. He plopped down and flicked on the television. As usual, there really wasn't anything to watch, so he turned it off again. His friend sat down beside him not long after that, and the salesman smiled at what she said. "My own bed would be nice right about now..." he agreed, "And having my soul back will be cool. I certainly won't go about offering it to people anymore..." he made a face and then chuckled, "I suppose I'll have to be nice to you once you're a guy again, eh?" he shook his head. He wasn't sure what he'd do, probably avoid her, him... It? No, he supposed she was a him. That didn't make much sense, genders were confusing when you didn't just pick one. Chris did not seem so optimistic about returning to her original state, however. That seemed kind of dumb, why was she not being hopeful and optimistic?

She turned on the television again, and then walked away. The salesman frowned, but didn't say anything, it was her place, she could do what she wanted. Then he turned to see what she was doing and saw his compatriot setting the table. "Wine? Shit, I thought we were having, like, burgers?" he chuckled, a little confused. He wasn't opposed to alcohol, especially if Chris was going to drink a fair bit, it just seemed odd to him, to have wine with burgers. That, and he had always seen giving him expensive food to eat as kind of dumb. Why give him food he wouldn't appreciate properly? He'd be just as satisfied with pizza or something. Expensive alcohol was the same way, he'd get drunk soon enough and wouldn't appreciate it at all. It was like slapping makeup on a pig, it was still a pig, and it probably wouldn't even look prettier...

[Sanquin]

Chris smirked at Leroy's comment about the wine. It was a bit of an out of the ordinary combination yes, but so what? "It's not like I broke out the champagne, or some expensive wine. And hey, hamburgers can be high class too." She shrugged, then finished up preparing the table before heading back to the meat. Once the burgers were done she put the gravy mix and some water in the pan and heated that up as well until it was almost like syrup. Now that everything was done she got the two plates, bringing them over so she could put everything on them. Just to be sure, since Leroy seemed like the kind of guy that liked a good, large meal, she let him have a bit more potatoes and carrots, and was a bit more generous with the gravy when pouring it over his food. Then she brought both plates back again, and dinner was ready. "Okay, that's about all. Dinner's ready." She spoke, lighting the candle before sitting down. The wine bottle and corkscrew were standing on Leroy's side, letting him do the honours of opening it. It was a shame that Chris couldn't just drink as much as she wanted. Well, she could, but she didn't want to get drunk so had to watch her alcohol intake.

It was kind of like they were eating in a restaurant now. Though their plates were probably a bit more filled, and there was no noise from other people. So in a sense it was even better than a restaurant. Once Leroy was seated as well Chris took up her fork and knife and started eating right away. She was actually quite hungry, and finally being able to eat felt great right now. Though once Leroy had opened the wine and filled her glass she stopped for a bit to take a few sips. "So...here we sit once again." She mused, finding the situation quite ironic. "Considering you're a guy I wanted to strangle only just over a week ago, I find it quite a weird turn of events that we're sitting here like this now. Though things could have been a lot worse I guess."