Sleep came easily... for Zoe. The moment the lights went out she basically was too. Jon thought it was funny at first, cute almost, but as the minutes turned to hours as he stared at the ceiling, his amusement faded. He tossed and turned, finding it impossible to find a comfortable position, his breasts finding a way to insert themselves whether it was on his back where they would flop and creep down to his armpits, on his side where they either navigated upwards to interrupt his breathing or managed to wedge themselves into a spot where they would be painfully pinched between his arms, and a quick flop onto his stomach ruled that set up right out; their sensitivity and size and amorphousness made it impossible to get right. Finally, after settling on sleeping his back with his hands tucked at his side like some sort of vampire, when the darkness of rest seemed to finally be closing in, a loose strand of hair got sucked into his mouth, interrupting his breathing, and sent Jon coughing.
How do women do it? Well, that body pillow Zoe snaked away would probably help, Jon realized, having something to cuddle would set the geometry of his body right. Turning over and wrapping an arm over Zoe, appropriating her for this purpose, he closed his heavy eyes again, wishing his pressed up bosom wasn't such a nuisance
And then they just weren't. None of it was. He wasn't even tired, there was no hair in his eyes, his ironic Golden Girls t-shirt hung flat against his chest- "Hey, Earth to Jon-boy? Are you even listening to me or are you up in space again?" Jon could almost cry at his relief, trying to find the right words to describe how horrible a vision he just experienced to Karyn, about Zoe's wish, about becoming a woman, when a sharp rapping on the door startled both of them.
It was also accompanied by a gentle voice, "Karyn? Karyn? Are you in there? It's me and I really need your help."
"Not now mom," her tone soaked with venom on that last word, in only the way teenagers could manage. "You know I'm busy with my friend. I told you to leave me alone! Ugh, parents. Sorry about that Jon. Now where were we? Oh yeah, your dumb wish. So tell me why exactly you wished for boobies?"
"What? No, Karyn, I didn't... that was," but a cursory glance down and a quick squeeze at the lumps poking through his shirt revealed differently. "I thought that was you."
"Oh come on Jon. As if! My titties are big enough as is. You're the perv that wanted full access to your own pair. There really not all they're cracked up to be, just big sacks of milk if you ask me. And it's a shame really, if you wanted to play with some, you could have always have asked me. I would have let you. I really had the biggest crush on you before all this. But now, between you and Zoe-"
"Zoe!" Jon's eyes shot wide, realizing that he had completely forgotten she was in trouble with the stone and needed his help. Why couldn't he focus? Why had such a huge detail been lost to him.
"Yeah, Zoe. Always about Zoe."
"Karyn, I'm sorry I got to cut this short but-"
"But Zoe needs help and you need to go. I've heard it a thousand times. I get it, she's your number one priority, yada yada. I guess, I'll see you when I see you Jon-boy. I'm always here, for you Jon, when you need help."
But Jon was already one foot out the door before Karyn could even finish.
Running down the endless hotel corridor, trying his best to contain the jiggling from his bust, Jon tried his best to locate Zoe, knowing each door held some sinister surprise behind it, needing to focus in and pick the right one where Zoe was trapped. And as daunting and endless as this seemed, it was almost like Jon could sense her through some connection, some intuition, feeling how alone and scared she was, even weak and hungry, like they were almost his own emotions. And as worried as he was for Zoe, this new power only bolstered his resolve, acting with a certainty that he was the only one who could save her.
And there it was, room 6262, there was no doubt in his mind that the energy he was sensing from behind that door was Zoe's, letting himself in and frantically sprinting to the mess of back hair curled up in the fetal position in the corner. She was crying. "Oh my god, thank god it's you Zoe. How'd you even get here?" But Zoe didn't open her mouth to speak, instead latching onto Jon's exposed teat, sending an absolute rush of conflicting, confusing feelings through his head. "Zoey, I know you're starving, but there's nothing there..." Jon's statement being proved wrong as he watched a dribble of white liquid make its way down Zoe's chin. He knew this was wrong, that he needed to break off this attachment, this act no brother and sister should ever share, but it just felt so wonderful seeing her like this, running a hand through her hair as she suckled away, getting smaller and smaller with each passing second, regressing until she neatly fit in Jon's arms. Jon realized there'd be consequences from this, but somehow, making sure Zoe's needs were met was far too important. And Zoe needed her mother's milk.
Wondering if she would go on forever, Zoe finally popped up with a wide baby toothed grin, looking no more than a toddler in her pink tutu, proudly announcing "All done!", releasing an adorable little burp which only made Jon giggle.
"Alright, you had your fun. Now let's get back to Karyn, maybe she'll have an idea on how to fix this mess you made."
"But I'm scared, what if Karyn doesn't like me?"
"You know she loves you, don't be silly. Just hold onto my skirt and let's go."
The walk back to Karyn's room hardly being a walk at all, it was only the next door over. Had he gone the wrong way before. Jon knocked on the door, sending Zoe anxiously moving from grasping onto his skirt from behind to sneaking underneath it to better hide. "Karyn? Karyn? Are you in there? It's me and I really need your help," finding himself unable to stop using the gentle tone that soothed Zoe.
"Not now mom! You know I'm busy with my friend. I told you to leave me alone!"
"Mom? Karyn, I'm not your mom, I'm not anyone's mom. It's just this mess Zoe and I are caught up," Jon felt around, almost needing Zoe for confirmation, but realizing she hadn't just underneath his long skirt, she had gotten even closer with him, finding her way to the safest place of all, his womb.
It began to feel like the walls were closing in on him, the stress, Karyn, now Zoe kicking him from inside, and the gigantic arms that wrapped around his figure. "Honey, relax. Let the kids have their fun. You and I never get alone time like this. And with Zoe on the way, who knows when's the next time we can have some adult fun," Liam's velvety voice making Jon feel weak at the knees. "Come on, let your hubby show you that you're not just a hot mama, and help you feel like a woman."
Jon shot upward in the bed like a person possesses, going from horizontal to a ninety degree angle in nanoseconds, sending all matter of his body flopping and hair flailing. Jon panted, out of breath, trying to calm himself, but as he tried to remind himself that it was only a dream, it didn't help much when that dream wasn't too far from his own, new reality. The growing pressure in his bladder alerting him, that he'd once again need to confront the exact details of his living nightmare.
After a quick hiss and wipe, still needing to look away as he did so, he made his way to the kitchen and loaded a K-cup to begin filling his 1 Corinthians 16:14 mug with java, trying to process everything that just didn't happen as he retrieved the creamer from the fridge. I wish I would've just stared at the ceiling all night long. It's not like I'm any less tired, and reality does a good enough job taunting me with my new anatomy, cupping one of his massive mammaries as he pondered, noticing that today they felt different. They weren't different, still heavy, still awkward, but compared to the dream they seemed... inadequate. Fa more saggy? Almost purposeless? Was it because they were empty? And as wild as the dream was, those feelings were still very much real, the after effects still lingering in his mind and in his heart. The ethereal bond with Zoe, how comforting it felt to have her safe and nursing, and the goosebumps that dotted his skin from Liam's touch... those sensations weren't as faint as he wished they would be.
Luckily, Zoe's presence interrupted any dwelling on those matters, finally being raised from her seemingly endless slumber. "Gosh Jon, I had the weirdest freaking dream last night. Hope you slept better than I did... Hey, since when did you start drinking coffee?"
"I don't know... guess it was sort of Sandra's instinct to do so," scaring himself at how naturally he took to her routine and also not wanting to give it up. Those first few sips of coffee being the only sense of calm he'd felt in a day.
Ignorant to the mini crisis Jon was having, Zoe shrugged, only offering an apathetic "weird," as she scoured through the cabinets. "Do you know if we have any cereal? I've just woken up with the strangest craving for milk."
