Welcome to

***
Prologue

One day, Humanity shared a common dream. Every person on Earth, as they slept, dreamt the same vision. In it, they could see themselves and others pulled toward someone of the other sex. As their two bodies collided, they were becoming one single being. One body of two minds. As people woke up, they could feel it: a deep knowledge that it wasn’t only a dream, but some kind of prophecy.

The pragmatics thought of it as Mother Nature fighting against human overpopulation. The poets preferred to think it was a restitution to our primal form where men and women were only the two halves of the same entities.

Sure, there were a few deniers, like there’s always some for Climate Change, but most people knew this day would soon come, the day of an event they soon started to call The Great Merge.


***
Sean

My name, at that time in that place, was Sean. In a few days, I was officially starting college there in my hometown, while my girlfriend Ann was moving away for her studies. I wasn’t particularly worried about it: our relationship had started as early as middle school and was so strong I knew it could even survive years and years of distance. But still, we wouldn’t be able to spend each day together like we did until now, so I wasn’t looking forward to it. To add to the injury, Ann was going to pursue a brilliant career in the medical field thanks to her perfect grades while my medium scores and not-so-wealthy family confined me to a local community college. I couldn’t say I wasn’t jealous.

“Don’t worry, honey. It’s just a matter of time anyway. We’ll be one in no time, so we’ll enjoy my new university together soon enough!”

That’s what Ann was always telling me when I shared my mixed feelings towards our future. We were often seen as the perfect couple. I believed in her love for me as much as mine for her. So when the Dream occurred, it was only natural for us to conclude we would fuse with one another. Even if the idea of losing their identity was scary for everyone, Ann and I felt like it was the most romantic thing that could happen to us. There was excitement mixed in the fear. But what if the Great Merge happened while she was away? Would it still work? Would it make her merge with a random dude from her school? Nobody knew for sure, but I didn’t want to leave it to chance, that’s why I was making sure to be with her as much as I could since the Dream.

Enjoying our last moments of summer, we were spending the afternoon at my friend Jason’s place. Jason's family was quite wealthy and owned a big house with a pool, so it was often him inviting us over and during summer vacation, we almost spent more time there than in our own houses. I stared dreamily at Ann as she got out of the bathroom in her newly brought red bikini. “Wow…” I was the luckiest man on earth. She was wearing her wavy brown hair in a ponytail and her usual fair skin had taken a golden hue from all our time here. An angel. Not only was she the smartest girl I knew with her already mentioned unparalleled academic prowess, she was the most beautiful in the whole world. Sure, I don’t claim I was the most objective, but still. Those green eyes, that cute little nose, and that damn smile… An embarrassed smile that, at that moment, was asking me why I was still looking at her like the first day we met.

“I swear next time I’m going in a diving suit.” she joked.

“Pretty sure you’d still rock it anyway.” I replied.

I loved how humble she managed to stay despite her perfect hourglass figure. She always had this shyness when it came to our desires for one another. I knew she had a kinky side that she was always too embarrassed to show me, like those erotic comics she hid in her room, or the way she blushed when watching a sex scene in a movie. Her modesty was probably the only thing I could see as a default about her personality. She could be a bit passive during our intimacy, but really it was nit-picking. Because yes, having the brain and the looks wasn’t enough for her, she also had to be the most kind-hearted person, making her popular not only with the teachers but every student in our old school.

“Come on, love birds. there’s only a few hours of sun left already!” called out Jason.
He was a great friend. Very sporty, outgoing, and full of confidence. I wasn't especially lacking in that department myself –how could I with Ann at my side– but I've always been a lot more reserved. He had sandy blond hair and a radiant smile that felt very inviting, making him the target of lots of girls' attention.

"Carrie's not here?" I asked him.

"Nah, we split yesterday," he answered casually.

Nothing to be surprised about, it was bound to happen. Jason's adventures never lasted long, as he could be very frivolous. He liked girls but not much commitment, and they often felt insecure in their relationship with him because of his popularity. He never cheated on them, but never reassured them much either. That was the same story with his previous girlfriend.

"Aww, too bad. I really liked Carrie, she was sweet," said Ann who was holding my hand as we walked to the pool area.

A big sliding door was opening directly on the bluest pool, taking much of the space. On our right was a neatly mown lawn and on our left was a stone wall matching the pool’s tiles. At the far end was a big modern pergola shading the lounge chairs under it. There, a familiar silhouette greeted us: “Hey, guys!”

The squeaky voice belonged to Jason's little sister Sheril. The little goblin was always clinging to us like a tick. I cringed at the harsh thought. She wasn't THAT bad. Sheril was a sophomore in our old high school. My guess was that, like most girls from her grade, she saw Ann as a role model or something, and because of that, she spent as much time as she could with us. She was nice, but often tried to monopolize our attention, talking loudly and frequently interrupting us. At the beginning of the vacation, Jason had tried to get rid of her multiple times but quickly forfeited as he often did with her relentless stubbornness. Ann didn't seem to mind her as much as I did as she always seemed impossible to annoy. For that reason, I had to also give up, just trying to ignore her as much as I could.

"How are you today? Do you want to play a game of tag or something? Hey, Ann! Have you seen my new ribbons? I bought them yesterday with Mom. She says they match with my eyes, what do you think?" She started rumbling as she jumped out of the chair and skipped around like a pestering fly.

Despite soon starting her last year of high school, Sheril was quite short for her age, not very developed, and wore her blonde hair in characteristic long and curly pigtails. Because of that, she could almost fool people into thinking she was still a child. Her current swimsuit, a white one-piece with pink flowers, was not helping her case. Despite that, she was definitely cute in her own way. She had big and very light blue eyes. Her button nose and rosy cheeks were covered in freckles and her overall facial features were free of imperfections. She had great potential if she started acting and dressing like her age, but for now, it was difficult to see more in her than a pesky kid.

I gave Ann a knowing smile and let her tank Sheril's attention for the moment. She didn't seem to mind and patiently responded to her endless chatting. I dived into the water with Jason for a few laps.

"So... What's your plan for the Great Merge now?" I asked Jason as we chilled on the other side of the pool. It was an obvious question to ask after his breakup with Carrie.

"Dunno, man. Guess I have to find a new girl soon, heh?" He answered, clearly not too worried.

"I mean, I would if I were you. You don't want to merge with your sister, I presume." I smirked.

He splashed water on my face. "Ugh! Please, no. But we have time, right? I mean everyone says it will happen on New Year's Eve.”

It was a popular rumor. There was no way to know for sure, but since the dream happened a few months prior, people were starting to relax to the idea it wouldn't happen right away.

"Maybe, yeah. But you can't be too cautious about that. Plus it's not like you lack the choice of partner. Half the girls in school want to fuck you, man."

He chuckled. "You really think I'm some kind of sex god or something? If you were not already in your perfect little couple, I'd think you have a crush on me, bro."

It was my turn to splash water at him.

"No but seriously, it must be so cool to have no doubts. You're going to spend your life stuck with your soulmate... You're one lucky dude, man." He said with more seriousness than usual.

"Yeah, I guess I am..." I answered, looking at my reflection in the pool. I couldn't mutter the strength to admit I also had doubts. Sure, being the other half of your half, it seemed like destiny, I couldn't deny that. And even if most of my mind was happy with this perspective, another, deeper part was sad. Who would we be in love with once we'd be one single being?

My thoughts were cut short by the sound of Sheril jumping in the pool. She quickly joined us, with Ann more gracefully following behind her.

"Let's play Chicken Fight!" yelled Sheril, a bit too enthusiastically.

"Again?" complained Jason. I shared the feeling: we played Chicken Fight every time we went to their pool. Well, at least it was a good excuse to caress Ann's smooth legs...

"Yes, but let's switch this time! I want to go on Sean's back!" said his sister in her bratty tone.

It took me by surprise. "Huh? Why?"

"Being on Jason is boring. He's, like, the worst horse. I just want to try out, pleaaaase!" she begged.

I wasn't keen on the idea at all, for obvious reasons. I was ready to rebuke the idea when Ann intervened: "Come on, guys. Try to be good sports, it's only for a few rounds."

Of course. Ann, the voice of reason. How could I say no to those eyes? I sighed and accepted. Seeing Jason take Ann on his back raised in me a pinch of jealousy, but I knew it was unfounded since I had complete trust in both of them. I crouched in the shallow water to let Sheril put her scrawny legs around my shoulders. Lifting her was the easiest thing in the world, and that was when I realized how underbalanced our two teams were: generally, Jason's bulk made up for Sheril's weak arms, which could then compete with our more standard duo. Me and Sheril had no chance.

Jason seemed to have done the same math. He grinned at me with his dashing smile, and charged.

"You okay up there?" I asked Sheril when we rose back from the depth, disoriented.

"Uh-huh. Let's try again." She said, sounding less convincing than she probably wanted.

We brawled for a bit, trying to make the most of our only asset: swiftness. Sheril's light weight allowed me to move around as we spared and I could see Jason starting to tire faster than me. Sheril was laughing loudly, apparently enjoying being tossed in multiple directions. I had to admit that I was starting to have fun too as I saw a thin chance of a possible win.

That's when I saw it. I stopped in my tracks, trying to discern what I was witnessing.
Jason rushed to us when he saw me stop, and I had to stop him loudly: "WAIT!" I screamed. It seemed to work as attended. "W-what's going on with your hands?"

Jason's hands were holding firmly on Ann's thighs, but I couldn't seem to find any gaps between their skins. It looked like they were... fused. My heart sank at this thought. No, no, no, no.

Jason, noticing he couldn't move his hands off Ann, was slowly joining me in the realization. He jerked them violently. Instinctively, I tried to do the same, only to understand I was in the same predicament. My head was boiling with fear. Not now, not now, not now…

The girls took a few more seconds to notice, both screaming in horror. I joined sight with Ann. In the middle of her shock, I could see resignation and sadness starting to rise while her eyes were filling with tears. On my back, Sheril was thrusting and swinging like a mad girl, trying desperately to free herself from my hands that were slowly but surely disappearing into her legs. I tried to lift my head to her face, but it was now firmly glued to her crotch, locking my neck in place.

My eyes locked on Jason in front of me, whose hands had already entirely entered Ann. His head had started entering her abdomen. He looked at me with desperation. He said something to me. I couldn't hear anything behind the screams coming from the top, but I managed to read his lips: "I'm so sorry." After that, he walked towards the edge of the pool as his head completely disappeared inside Ann.

I stayed paralyzed for a few more seconds before my survival instinct kicked in. I tried walking too, but Sheril's hysterical tantrum made it impossible as we stumbled into the water more and more. My vision finally blackened. I fought a little more before I was unable to breathe, either because of water or Sheril's body, I couldn't say. My consciousness quickly-


***
Sheril

My name, at that moment in that place, was Sheril. I lived in the Sunny Hills, a calm suburb above the city, with my parents and my big brother Jason. In a few days, I was starting my last year of high school. It was cool in a way: seniors are the ones all the freshmen are looking up to, but who was I kidding? Nobody was looking up to me, figuratively and literally.
I was the scrawniest girl possible. Only Holly was worse in that category, but she had an illness or something, so she didn't count. I had no breasts to speak of, the flattest ass imaginable. Sure I wasn't ugly, but a cute face doesn't make up for the absence of a body.

My friend Sasha always told me I should wear sexier clothes, but she didn't know what she was talking about. She had tits for days, a bit too much even. What does revealing clothes do when you have nothing to reveal, really? Nothing, you just look stupid. I had to play with the cards in my hand, and my only card was cuteness. So I wore cutesy clothes. Not like my mom would have accepted anything more. If I listened to her, I'd go to school in a space suit. I preferred to be called a child than a nun, personally. At least I had a few guys looking at me. Not the right one, though.

Sean had been my big crush since I entered high school. Tall, half-Asian, jet-black hair hiding his deep black eyes... He was just my dream type, like right from a K-pop band. And it wasn't just his looks. He had that aura of mystery. That low and soothing voice. That shy side-smile that let you wonder what he was thinking about... and he was so romantic. The way he cared for his girlfriend was obvious and intense. Because, yes, Sean had a girlfriend. Not only did he have a girl, he had THE girl. Ann was, like, probably in the top 3 most popular girls in the whole school last year. She was so smart and beautiful, it was just unfair. And the worst part is that I couldn't hate the bitch for how nice she was. I was so jealous of her, it hurt. I couldn't help but compare myself all the time.

I was waiting on the lounging chairs, covered in solar cream. Last summer, I had ended up red as a beet, so I didn't want to risk it this time. I lifted a brace from my swimsuit and took a pick: almost no tan lines. I was just not made for summer. Sasha had invited me to join her at the mall, but I had told her I couldn't today. Because as usual, Sean was coming to the house.

“Ah, I hear them,” said Jason as he came out of the pool. “They prolly want to enjoy their last pool day in peace, Sheril, so don’t start pestering them like usual, huh?”

I stuck my tongue out. Gosh, Jason was the worst brother. He always treated me like I was 5 and I was so sick of it. That goof probably thought he was some sort of womanizer with how many girlfriends he had over the years. I knew the truth though: they broke up each time they realized how fucking dumb he was. His friendship with Sean was a mystery I never managed to crack, but I wasn’t complaining: at least my stupid brother was useful for one thing.

I rolled my eyes watching Jason walk back into the house. I pity the girl who’s going to merge with him…, I thought.

On the day of the Dream, I had first hoped I would merge with Ann so I could be with him. But I quickly understood it would only work with a guy. I of course imagined merging with him. It would be quite romantic in a way, but I realized it meant also killing all hopes of going out with him. But hearing them talk about it, I knew Sean and Ann wanted to merge together. It wouldn’t be so bad, actually: if they merged, they wouldn't be a couple anymore, it would be my chance! I just needed the right partner. I knew of a guy in school who had a crush on Ann (like half of them really). He wasn't too shabby so I told him about my plan. He seemed to be on board. Now I only needed to get closer to Sean before the merge, so he could see me as the next best thing!

At that moment, the door from the patio opened and Jason came out with his friends beside him. "Okay, Sheril, stay cool this time," I repeated to myself.

I beamed and greeted them as they arrived, showing them the new ribbons. Sadly, Sean didn't seem to care much and quickly went into the pool with Jason. Of course, I should have guessed ribbons were not the appropriate subject of conversation... stupid. Ann seemed a bit more interested though, and we talked a bit about our recent outfits. Ann has a great sense of fashion, sexy while keeping it modest enough. I wanted to master that, but I had hesitated to go too far in that direction. I didn't want people to see me as a tasteless copycat. Plus, it would hint a bit too much that I was trying to get Sean's intention by mimicking his girlfriend's style.

"Hum, Sheril?" she interrupted my train of thought. "How about we join the boys in the pool? I'm drying up with that sun."

"Oh, yeah! Sorry!" I said, hoping I wasn't bothering her. "Oh! We should go for a game of Chicken Fight! Do you think we can mix up the teams this time?"

I've been waiting to team up with Sean for once, but it was difficult breaking those two up. I hoped that, by asking Ann first, it wouldn't sound too desperate.

She took a second to answer. "Sure, why not? If the guys are okay."

After a bit more convincing, the guys accepted as well. Sweet! The idea of climbing on Sean's shoulders was already making my heart flutter. He lifted me with ease as I took the opportunity to caress his thick dark mane. What a treat! I was thankful to be in a pool at the time, as my face reddened like a tomato... I was soon put out of my daydreaming as the others shoved us into the water without warning. Jason was his usual brute, of course.

As I climbed back, Sean asked me if everything was alright. I felt like his personal little princess, it was magical! The second round went better. Sean was moving me around so much that I couldn't help myself laughing. Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks and yelled. "WAIT!"

I was surprised by the abruptness. "What's going on?" I asked, but Sean didn't react. Instead, he addressed Jason, asking him about his hands. I didn't understand, but I could feel my partner's body tensing underneath me. My brother started shaking around violently, and I finally saw it: his hands were stuck to Ann's legs. Not just stuck: fused, like tin on a circuit board. I screamed in horror and tried to get off Sean. No dice. "WHAT'S GOING ON!? WHAT'S GOING ON!?"

They couldn't answer me, too focused on their own thoughts and feelings. My mind was too alarmed to think straight, but as much as I tried to pull myself off his shoulder, I only felt like I was sinking deeper inside him. I finally understood as I saw my brother's face completely disappear inside Ann. The Merge, it was happening. I was merging with Sean! I didn't want to, I wasn't ready to die. I wasn't ready to become someone else. I cried and cried and pulled harder. In the end, Sean fell into the water. I couldn't break free. We were about to drown and I couldn't break free. My last sensation was his head moving inside my belly. How odd...


***
The Wake

Air pulling inside my lungs woke me in shock and pain. A mouth was on mine. I jerked away and coughed out a bunch of chlorine-filled water, the chemical smell stinking up my nose. My lungs were on fire, and it took me a few minutes of coughing to start breathing somewhat regularly again. Even more painful was my head. My brain felt like a throbbing core and my memories were in shambles. I couldn't think of anything before my wake without it burning my frontal lobe.

I focused on my environment. The sun was beating hard on my skin. The pool, yes. I know this place. I must have drowned. My chest felt compressed by a very tight fabric. A silhouette was shielding the beams from my eyes. I could only discern a vague shape. I should know them... my brother? I called the name that came to my mind: "J-jason? Is that... you?" my voice was weak in my biting throat.

The silhouette didn't respond, and got out of my sight, blinding me with the light. Jason... my brother? He's not, though. I don't have siblings... or do I? I decided to sit up to collect my thoughts. Keeping my eyes low to restore my sight, it was then that I saw my body for the first time. I wasn't sure what I expected to see, but I was certain without a doubt that it wasn't that. Something seemed wrong. I was bigger... or smaller? Definitely bigger in some areas, at least. I was wearing a loose swimming trunk over a constricting flowery one-piece. Both gears felt weird and familiar at the same time. What didn't feel familiar was the breasts on my chest. It was a lot bigger than what I was used to. It made sense since I wasn't used to anything at all... right?

My creamy white skin was sticky with solar protection. A reassuring fact since the sun was beating me for who knows how long. I crawled to the shady part of the patio, under the pergola. My mind was slowly but surely coming back to me. I was in my house. I was spending time with my friend and his sister, my girlfriend and my brother... and his friends. The number didn't seem right. Most of the common knowledge was still here, the hazy part was about my daily life. Too many incoherences.

As I sat back on my strangely ample bosom, on the darker side, I could see more clearly. Someone else was here, curled up against the decorative brick wall. They were holding their knees, staring into space. A girl, at first glance, though fairly muscular, with a boyish haircut. Her face... she looked like my girlfriend Ann. Ann... There was no doubt Ann was my girlfriend. For the first time, I was certain of someone's relationship with me. This girl's face looked so much like hers it was uncanny. Like a big sister, maybe. "She has a wider mouth", I thought. Her body was bigger though.

"Who...?" I tried to talk to her, but I wasn't sure what to ask. There was too much to sort out anyway, and she seemed also to have a lot on her mind. The sound of my voice was also new. Deeper... no, higher. Different, for sure. I took a long breath. The swimsuit was too damn tight. Despite not wanting to undress in front of a stranger, I couldn't bear it any longer. I took the strips down my shoulders, freeing my new chest and keeping the swimsuit hanging around my torso. I was weirded out by the unfamiliar appendages, but also proud in a deep part of my brain.

Hogging them for a few seconds, I wondered what was between my legs, for some reason. As expected, it was the usual set of female genitalia, an equipment I should have been familiar with, having clear memories of possessing one. However, as my hand patted my crotch, I was struck by a feeling of vertigo. Something was supposed to be there. I was supposed to have a penis, I remembered having a penis. Again, those opposing memories.

I decided to concentrate on finding out the meaning of all this, rather than exploring my body further. Two sets of memories... What kind of phenomenon could cause that? And like that, the lightning that cleared the fog I was in since my waking illuminated my whole being: The Big Merge. The dream. The Merge happened and I was the result of it. I was two people.

Finally realizing that fact, everything made sense and it was so much easier to sort my memories in respective mental shelves. Names: Sean / Sheril; gender: Male / Female; age: 19 / 18... After a few minutes, I had a pretty clear idea of my two identities. As I was still in this tiring process, the girl interrupted me.

"Hey. Are you there? Are you okay?" She said in a low voice like she was imitating a man. She sounded rough but concerned.

I look back at her. It wasn't hard now to guess who she was. Who they were. My brother... my friend was now merged with my role model... my girlfriend. They had a fit body, a middle ground between Jason's brawny physique and Ann's slender silhouette. Their hair, while a bit longer, was similar in style to Jason's. The color though, was neither blonde nor brown, but something in between: a light auburn, almost reddish. Their face was a lot more similar to Ann's than Jason's. A bit squarer, maybe, but still extremely beautiful. Their chest seemed a bit smaller than Ann used to be, but I inferred it might just be because of the bigger frame.

They were still wearing Ann's bikini top and probably the bottom too under Jason's trunks.

A sad realization finally set in as I diverted my gaze. Ann... I was supposed to be with her, with my soulmate. My brother had taken her from me. And now I was stuck, stuck with... myself. I instinctively put a hand on my mouth, as if I expected to throw up. I felt grossed out by my Sheril half. A punny, stupid, and bratty little girl. A loud mouth incapable of self-reflection, that's who I was. In reality, Sean didn't have such a low esteem of Sheril, but the sensation of losing my loved one was angering me, which in turn activated my Sheril insecurity. My two identities were bringing out the worst of each other and a wave of self-hatred swept me away. I started sobbing loudly, making me hate even more my girly and immature side.

"Wow, hey! It's alright, it's alright." My brother/girlfriend said, surprised by my sudden reaction. She took me in her arms, enveloping me like a mother would do to her child. It felt good, as much as I didn't want to admit. Ann was still there, she was still there with me even if she looked a bit different. It calmed me to think that, and I quickly reciprocated the embrace, hugging her tight around her firm waist. I was definitely smaller now. I finished sniffing like that for a few minutes as she caressed my hair (which I noticed was still styled as pigtails).

I finally managed to get a hold of myself and sat back straight. "S-sorry about that. I guess it's hard dealing with those new emotions..."

"I get what you mean, sis. Don't sweat it." She replied with a signature Jason wide grin.

I recoiled in horror. "SIS?!" I screeched, louder than was my intention.

They gave me a quizzical look. "Well, yeah. I know I look a bit different now, but it's me, Jason. You still haven't figured it out?"

I frowned. "I know who you are in there. I just expected you to be Ann."

They (or maybe he) laughed. "Okay, you're still not fully getting it yet, Sheril. It's alright. I'm actually both me AND Ann. We merged."

I winced at the name. His little smug tone was a premiere for me. Or at least my Sean part. It was fairly common for Sheril though, and annoying as hell. I pinched my nose in frustration, in a typical Sean fashion. "I know who you are. Both of you." I said in a low and slow manner. "You are as much Ann as you are Jason, so why are you talking about her in the third person?"

He looked at me with a dumb expression. "I dunno. It just feels more natural. I feel more like Jason than Ann. What's the big deal, sis?"

My face was slowly decomposing. I stood up in disarray. "What do you mean by that? How can you be more one than the other? AND STOP CALLING ME SIS, I'M SEAN!"

It took me a few seconds to register the irony of my comment. And a few more to think about that. I wasn't more Sean than Sheril, not really. I remembered equally growing up as a boy and a girl, their lives, their feelings, their hopes and dreams. But something felt a bit wrong when I thought of myself as Sheril. My Sean personality was too strong maybe? Not really. Sheril was a lot more vocal, usually. No, the difference was a matter of Ego, of confidence, I realized. Sheril had a major lack of self-esteem, now reinforced by the image Sean's mind was reflecting of herself. And while I, Sean, wasn't particularly the most confident individual of all time, it never had been a big problem in my life either. Plus, reciprocally, Sheril's love was boosting my Ego big time, which was kinda sad. She just preferred to see herself as me rather than I preferred to see myself as her, and as long as I believed it like that, I could more or less function.

Jason lifted himself up. The new girl was towering me big time, my eyes ending up at the level of her breasts. Jason had always been taller than me, but not by much. I had been decently tall -much more than Ann at least- and even if their fusion had taken more of his height than her, it made me realize how small I had become. I was only a few inches taller than Sheril was, which didn't mean much.

"If you want me to call you Sean, it's fine with me, si- huh... man." He chuckled. "Sorry, it's a bit hard though, you look so much more... girly," He said and pointed to my bare chest.

I turned red from embarrassment. I had completely forgotten that part. I quickly ran to the lounge chairs to take my Sheril's towel from one of them, rolling it around my torso. My perky breasts kept it tucked neatly.

"Okay, let's start again," I said as I walked back to them. "Can you please concentrate on Ann? I understand it comes easier for you to act like Jason, but I need to talk with my girlfriend right now..."

They winced at that and looked away. "I... I don't think I can do that."

"I'll be Sheril if you want afterward!" I pleaded. "I just need to witness she's still here somehow... That you're still alive, Ann. Please."

I took a step towards them, and they took a step back. They were still avoiding eye contact. I let them think in silence for a few minutes. They were pacing around, looking at their hands.

Finally, they spoke: "She's in here, Sean. Don't worry about that..."

"Then talk to me! As Ann! I know it's possible, I'm in the same situation as you, remember?" Even if it wasn't natural to think of myself as Sheril, she was still me. I knew I could summon her personality if necessary, like standing on one leg rather than the other. But right now, I was too focused on my bond with the love of my life, a powerful feeling that Sheril had never felt until now.

"I just can't do that right now. I need to stay Jason."

"Give me at least an explanation!" Bits of Sheril's stubbornness were leaking into my mind.
They sighed. "She's not feeling right, okay? It would hurt too much..." Their voice sounded tighter and tighter. I could see it, she was struggling not to come out, shielding herself behind Jason's big personality. But Jason had probably never felt that either, he must have been lost to this strange new pain.

I very slowly took a step forward, as if I was trying not to scare a frightened animal. "Baby," I said in the calmest voice I could mutter. "I know I look very different right now, but it's me. I'm here, okay? We're still together-"

She pushed me away with her two giant arms. The strength and speed were enough to throw me away on several feet. I wouldn't have been able to stay standing if not for the wall behind me.

"WE'RE NOT TOGETHER!" she cried in a much more feminine voice than it had been. Tears started rolling from her eyes. "It's over, don't you get it? It was our only chance and we blew it. We were supposed to be together forever, it was our destiny, our dream and now it's gooone..."

She wailed like I had never heard her wail, and certainly not Jason. My eyes were feeling up again at the sight. I knew her feelings, and I wanted to curse the world too, but I was also so relieved to hear her back. Ann, my only true love, was still here at my side, behind it all.

I hugged her again, this time trying to comfort her. She was so tall it didn't feel right, but she took me in and bent down to put her wet face on my shoulder. I stood there, caressing her back and letting her take it all out.

After a moment, I led her to a lounging chair so we could sit next to one another. "Do you remember the last time you felt sad like that? I guess it was when Jumbo died. We did a Viking funeral..." I said in a weak voice.

She gave me a weak smile. "You made the tiny boat yourself. It was very sweet of you to take so much time for my stupid frog."

"Jumbo was not stupid, he was just special! And I couldn't let you flush him in the toilet." I snarled.

She chuckled, still sniffing. Taking a trip down memory lane wasn't without reasons. I wanted her to focus on herself, on us, and help her understand that the small girl in front of her was still her boyfriend. It seemed to work as intended because she looked me in the eyes with a sad smile. Her deep dark eyes, reddened by the tears, were still hers.

"If I look closely, I can still see you in there..." she said meekly. It made me realize I hadn't seen my face yet.

"I am. Still here. Still by your side." I answered.

She looked back at her feet, biting her lips. "Except you're my sister now..."

It fell on me like a brick, waking back my Sheril part. Even if Jason was hard to discern under this girl's traits, I knew it was really my brother I was looking at. I was in love with him, indirectly, and the idea was quite nauseating. I kept silent for a moment, wondering. Was Sean's love strong enough to make me do something so revulsing like incest? I just have to forget about Jason. He's not relevant anymore, I thought. As much as I knew how immoral it was, I wanted to hold on to this love. I wanted to forget myself in it.

I looked back at her, and with the most quiet voice, I uttered: "I don't... care."

Her eyes widened back at me in surprise. Apparently, she was going through the same fight. But I knew her. I knew our mutual feelings could win any challenges. Slowly, like she was about to touch a flame with her bare hands, she approached her face to mine. We were both red like the day of our first kiss. As I could feel her hot breath hitting my nostrils, I closed my eyes and ended the gap myself.

Our lips met with intensity. Her tongue was first to enter my mouth, taking the entire space. She wasn't kissing like we used to at all, but I didn't care: at this moment, I was like a maiden experiencing her first kiss ever. Our size difference made it natural for me to assume a new, more supporting role. We kissed passionately for an unknown amount of time, completely lost in bliss.

As we finally broke it, we knew our love was indestructible. It had survived the biggest challenge we had ever met, and we smiled at each other, truly happy.

"I would have missed that." She finally said. "If we had fused together I mean. We wouldn't be able to make out, I guess."

As we cuddled, my eyes met with her crotch. I gulped when I caught on the suspicious bulge it sported. "Huuh... D-do you have..." I started saying, not daring to finish my sentence.

"A dick? Yeah, I still have one. Or have one now, I guess. You don't?"

I shook my head, taken aback by their bluntness.

"Weird. I wonder what are the rules about that... Maybe I was just packing more than you." They said with a grin.

The fact Jason's personality reappeared while we were still cuddling made me wince. I broke the hug. "Of course talking about that would make you Jason again..."

They laughed. "Don't worry, I'm still Ann too. I think I'm slowly finding a balance between them both."

My curiosity for male genitals coming exclusively from Sheril, it was also canceled by the reminder it was Jason's pickle between their legs. I made a disgusted face when he tried to cuddle back.

"Oh, I see Sheril is here." He mocked.

I pulled out my tongue, either sarcastically or instinctively, I couldn't say. He guffawed and stood up, stretching their chiseled body.

"Maybe we should go inside now that we're feeling better. I'm curious to know more about the global situation."

I followed at their side as we walked back. "By the way, isn't it too quiet around here? You would expect chaos, people screaming... Are we the only ones merged?"

"Naaah, we all had the dream," they said with leisure. "It's a very calm residential neighborhood. The few old couples around must be lost sorting all their memories, but I'm sure it's a lot more chaotic downtown."

That made sense, but I still had lots of questions in my mind. What about people driving? Or in planes? It must have caused accidents all over. What about people with no opposite gender nearby?

"What about Mom and Dad?" I decided to ask.

"Which ones?"

"The ones we share, dummy," I answered back, very Sheril-like.

"I'm your boyfriend now, you shouldn't call me like that." They joked.

I winced at the insinuation. "Girlfriend. As Ann." I snarled.

"Sure, but I'm still the one with a cock here..." She answered, pinching my bubbly butt with one hand.

"Yeek!" I screamed with a jump and they laughed loudly. I slapped the hand with a mean gaze. The cocky attitude coming from Jason was very new in a flirt setting and I was scared to find out how this relationship was going to play out. Each time Jason's personality was acting out, my Sheril instincts were brought back too, which was slowly setting up a weird chasing game between us and the immoral aspect of our bond.


***
The Shower

We walked past the sliding doors inside the cool interior. Our house. I chuckled at the fact I was now officially living with my girlfriend. I guess we had two addresses now, but this house was a lot nicer than Sean's old one. My parents might not like it, though..., I wondered. Come to think of it, I should try and contact them as soon as possible.

"Well, first thing I wanna do is see my face," I said out loud.

"Oh yeah, same. I tried to see my reflection in the pool but I couldn't catch much."

A wide mirror was hanging in the hall near the stairs. I held my breath and I stood in front of it.

It was one thing to not recognize the body you're in, it was another level to see a new face in the mirror. And what a face. I was hella cute. Sheril's pretty face had blossomed under some of Sean's more mature traits. My eyes were still blue, but instead of big round balls, they had taken Sean's almond shape. The whole face was more vixen while keeping some of Sheril's original innocence. My hair was jet black had kept the pigtails, reminding me of some Asian cosplayers. I looked a lot closer to my actual age. Who would have thought that merging with a guy would have made me so feminine?

"Woow. I look a lot more like Ann than Jason, heh? No wonder you were expecting me to act like her at first." My partner said as they made all kinds of weird faces.

"Well, I certainly don't look like Sean," I added.

"You do in some ways. At least you don't look as much like Sheril as I do Ann. That's a relief."

"I bet..."

They looked at me through the mirror. "For Ann, the simple fact that Sean is inside is enough, but for Jason, I have to try and trick my mind into thinking you're just an unknown gorgeous girl who happened to share some similarity with my sister."

I blushed at the compliment. Being called gorgeous was raising some of Sheril's ego. I took off the ribbons from my hair, letting it flow on the back of my neck. "Does that help?" I asked.

"Thank god, yes." They sighed and bent down for a kiss.

I reciprocated, but more timidly, not able to shake the feeling I was kissing Jason this time. As we broke, I cleared my voice. "I really need a shower, my skin is still sticky from the solar cream..."

"Oh, okay." They said, sounding a bit disappointed.

I gave them a peck on the cheek as an apology. "I'll be back soon, I just need to freshen up."

I entered the spacious bathroom on the second floor. It was interesting to compare the quality of life of my two families. Sheril had never realized how good she had it before. Spoiled brat, I scowled myself.

I finally had the chance to put off my mixed swimwear. Looking at myself again in the mirror, unclad with my dark mane untied, a strong feeling of vanity and pride enveloped me. I gave a cocky smile at my reflection. I was fully female and had no explanation for that. My biggest wonder was my new perky breasts that I had estimated to be a C cup. Far from Sasha's utters, but still a very big improvement on my previous sizes. Where could they come from?

I took a deeper examination at my crotch. I could feel a mourning coming from Sean's loss of his manhood. As my Sheril part was more accustomed to the female anatomy, it was taking the lead in this investigation. I looked back at my reflection's gaze while running my fingers around my slit. How strange, I thought, to be aroused by my reflection. The taste for girls was new to me as Sheril, and it wasn't unpleasant. I bit my lips as I pushed a finger inside, it was already wet. My own muffled moan was raising the flow even more.

Not wanting to be caught by my brother, I turned on the shower, to better resume my exploration behind the sound of falling water. The wide shower was also equipped with a mirror on one side, so I could still peek at myself. Taking advantage of my Sheril mind under the wheel, I decided to partake in a little fantasy. I started imagining Sean going down on my new self.

"Sean... keep going..." It was a weird revelation for Sean, who was now also experimenting self-arousal, by his old male self. As cringed as he was deep inside of me, I for once felt even more pleasure. My love for him was drowning him, forcing him to watch in disarray.

"We are one now, Sean. You're inside me. I'm inside you... We're moan together forever."

I was slowly speeding up the pace, feeling a climax already climbing its way. "Sean! I love you, Sean! I'm closer to you than Ann would ever be!"

Here it was, my first orgasm in my new home. "You're mine! You're mine! You're miiiiine!" I screamed at my reflection, as the powerful wave of pleasure engulfed me.

Catching my breath, I chuckled: "Who's the brat now, huh?"

knock, knock, knock

"Sean? Is everything okay? I heard you scream."

The call of my other half's name was enough to flip me back. Shame quickly replaced my earlier demeanor. I felt like I had cheated Ann with myself.

Not hearing a response, she opened the unlocked door. Shit.

"I... knocked a toe in the corner!" I improvised weakly.

The sliding doors were filled with steam, so I couldn't see her. I only heard the sound of rubbing clothes. A few seconds later, the doors opened.

"I thought it would be quicker if we shared a shower," she said. "Or it might take longer if we knocked another toe."

She smiled mischievously. My eyes went instinctively to the odd member attached to her otherwise feminine body. Neither Sheril nor Sean could attest to its resemblance to Jason's old one, but it was certainly sizeable. Its length was not what made me stare longer than I should have: the lack of visible testicles was my first surprise. The skin around it was also making some kind of fold.

"Yeah I know, it doesn't look exactly like your classic male anatomy." They chuckled.

It seemed to work fine though, as the already half-erected penis rose slowly to a full stand. I became crimson and looked away, my stare certainly responsible for the change of elevation.

They closed the distance, gently lifting my chin with their fingers, and kissed me once more. Never had Ann been so assertive before. Jason's personality had completely changed our dynamic. I was now the submissive one. I didn't know what to think of it yet, still figuring out where this relationship was going. The hard hot rod poking at my belly made me flinch back.

"I-I don't know if I'm ready for that yet..." I said, a bit guilty for my earlier session.

"If not for the full act... would you mind helping me with that thing? You know... with your... mouth?" She muttered. The shyness at the request made it typically Ann. She always had a coy demeanor when she felt kinky, which was quite often.

"You want me to give you a blowjob?!" I gulped. For some reason, I had even more apprehension for oral than actual regular sex.

She went on the defensive: "Oh come on! I've done it all the time for you, what's the big deal?"

"The big deal is that I've never done it, for once..." I answered.

"Not even Sheril?" She asked.

I shook my head. Sheril was a virgin, actually. I had a few boyfriends, but never went farther than kissing.

"Well, I won't force you, of course." She said reassuringly, clearly fighting against her male urge. "Let me take care of it myself."

I sighed. If I wanted to continue my relationship with Ann fully, I'd have to do it sooner or later. "No, it's okay. I'll try."

"You're sure? I don't want you to feel obliged..." She said with utmost seriousness.

I smile at her caution and nod. "I guess part of me is kinda curious."

"Don't tell me which part, please." She said, wincing a bit.

Right... I was about to commit incest. Jason was probably trying his best to forget I was also his sister. I crouched awkwardly, not wanting to hurt my knees on the tiling. The pulsing dick was a few inches from my face. Closing my eyes, I tried to make the mixing between my two personalities. Putting Sheril away while keeping her interest in the male appendage was difficult, but I was slowly coming to it. I'm a girl, a heterosexual girl who's about to give a blowjob to my lover, Ann…

I put my lips on the tip. The smell wasn't as potent as I thought, even enjoyable. Then I took a grip at the base of the shaft with one of my dainty hands, the other one holding her firm leg to keep balance.

"Oh boy..." said my partner, holding onto the wall with anticipation.

Slowly, I pushed the head to my mouth, parting my lips. As it went in, I realized the girth was a lot harder to fit in than I expected. I had to almost dislocate my jaw like I was trying to take a bite of a giant burger.

"T-try not to put your teeth on it..." complained Ann.

"Hmm mmHmm!" I replied.

"What?"

"I'm trying," I repeated after putting it out. "You're just too big."

She laughed, a bit embarrassed. "Never had that problem with you..."

I gave her a dark look. "Shut up if you want me to resume."

"Yes ma'am."

I put myself back in character. That time, I curled my lips around my teeth so as to limit their contact with the shaft. I then started giving it a back-and-forth motion. It wasn't a very practical experience, but looking up, I saw my partner looking at me in fascination. It was an odd angle, her face shielding me from the water pouring around, her wet short hair leaking thin flows on my head. Her chest was covering part of her chin and in her eyes shined a lust I never saw in her.

The blow was not very pleasurable in itself from my perspective, but her desire for me was enough to stir my own arousal. I felt happy to give, I felt sexy and I felt love. I started putting more sensuality in my work and kept eye contact. I broke the pace with licks and kisses in between strokes. Her only reaction was small grunts, enough to comfort me that I was doing something good.

Playing a lot on my feminine charms was somewhat dangerous as I was close to waking too much of Sheril's mind. I'm sucking my brother's cock! was the last thing I wanted to think about, but if I went too much on the other side, Sean would be noticing he had another guy's cock in his mouth. It was a true rope-dancer act, but as long as I kept my poise, the experience was outstanding. My hand wanted nothing more than play with my clit, but I couldn't risk it in my shaky stance.

The frustration sped up my back and forth, and without warning, her pulsing dick spurted hot semen into my mouth. Through pure motion reflex, I swallowed the bitter and slimy liquid, only to fall down and gag into the faucet. I spat what was left in my mouth, cleaning it with hot water, but what had been gulped stayed inside.

"Didn't you teach me to warn you when I was about to cum?" I snarled, the unpleasant taste still lingering in my mouth.

"S-sorry... I guess I was too focused on the feeling..." she answered not so apologetically.

I finally stood back up. Looking back in the mirror, I was slowly catching on to what I had just done. I sucked a dick. I sucked a dick as a girl and swallowed. My mind was fully back to Sean, which made me feel extremely ashamed as if a new level of my masculinity had been ripped from me. Is there still some left in me?

"God, that was... so intense. Even as Jason, I don't remember experiencing a head like that. Are you sure it was your first time?" They said, a bit too genuinely.

Well, now it's definitely gone... My face was already too red from the act to show any more of my shame. I gave my reflection a knowing smile. That being said, I'd also have loved a blow from that girl. Too bad she's me.

At last, I could have an actual wash.

"I don't know if any of my clothes will fit me," I said as we got out.

"Eventually we'll have to go shopping, but for now you can steal something from Mom's closet. I'm sure she won't mind." Jason answered as he played a bit with his breasts in the mirror. Yep, that's him in there right now. Probably all that male lusting summoning him back.

"Why do you say that?"

"I had a quick call from them while you were busy knocking your toe." He grinned.

I coughed to hide my embarrassment. I was relieved by the news. "Oh, they're alright? Who did they-"

"They merged together, as they wanted." He cut me, predicting my following question. "They're still at Auntie's house. She merged with one of her neighbor's sons, apparently. It's a bit of a mess out there, so they told me they won't be home tonight."

"What the plan for us, now?" I asked as I finished tying up a towel around my hair.

"Let's take the time to get news from our other families and friends for now. We'll decide what to do when we know more." They answered, pragmatically.


***
Phone Calls

As suggested by Jason, I looked into our mother, Elisa's closet. Her wardrobe was neither to any of my identities' tastes, but she fitted my new build fairly well. I was very sad at the fact none of my cutesy dresses would ever fit me now, at least half of me was. The other had not much to add in the matter of women's clothing except that Sheril's "cutesy clothes" were childish and it was past time for her to upgrade her style.

I skimmed out for something that wasn't screaming "old woman's outfit". The best I ended up finding was a yellow and blue floral dress that was SO old-fashioned that it was coming back to style. Her underwear options were a tad too small but worked fine for now. I added white tights to complete the look.

Walking back to the bathroom, I brushed my new silky hair and decided to style it in two low-braided pigtails, ending them with my precious ribbons. Maybe not the most mature hairstyle, but there was progress, and it just fitted the dress perfectly. Very Cottagecore. I'm so cute like this! I thought, smiling happily at my vintage look. I was ready to shoot an episode of Little House on the Prairie. Without thinking, I finished up by putting on some makeup: rosing my cheeks and enhancing my new eyes.

When some of my Sean's mind reappeared, I felt like I'd been bamboozled by myself. I'm doomed to be a girly girl now, am I? Well, I have to admit it does suit me.

As I went back downstairs, Jason/Ann was sitting on the couch, looking at their phone.

"That's what you're wearing, huh." I said not without contempt at their choice of outfit. They went for some of Jason's clothes, which were of course very loose on their new frame. The tank top they chose, which was probably the tightest Jason owned, was so wide it showed a big deal of their braless cleavage, while the elastic shorts, maintained to their waist by a makeshift belt out of some rope, were looking almost like a two-legged skirt.

They raised an eye to me at my comment. I proudly gave them a little swirl, posing. "Not too shabby, huh?"

After a few seconds of silence, they guffawed loudly. I made a pout to their reaction, hands on my hips.

"What."

"Oh nothing, nothing." they managed to catch their breath. "I guess you're back to Sheril, is all. I might have forgotten she was in there."

"Yeah, well, she's half of me, yes." I retorted "You know, I was hoping being with Ann would make you less of a jerk, Jason. Guess I was wrong."

"Oh come on, sis. Don't be upset. It's not a bad look, it's just really... you, I guess."

"Not more than your choice is really you, bro. You know you're not a guy anymore, huh? What's up with your outfit?" I interjected.

He shrugged. "Ann's slim jeans don't fit me anymore, as you might expect. I don't have much choice for now."

"Well, I hope it won't be your new style from now on..." I sulked as I sat in the armchair on the other side. I was too Sheril and he was too Jason to cuddle right now.

I reached for Sean's phone which had been sitting on the coffee table until now. There was a few missed calls from Mom's number. "Shit."

"What's up?" They asked.

"My mom. She's been trying to reach me. I should have done that sooner." I said, worried.

"You're right, I haven't tried to contact my other family either yet. Let's take care of that now." They looked for Ann's phone in her bag and went outside so we could each have some space.

I first tried to unlock my phone with my fingerprint, which of course didn't work. Thankfully, I still remembered my password. It took a pretty long time for the phone to pick up.

"Yes, who's this?" said a mysterious croaky voice. It didn't sound like my mother at all.

"Huh, Hi? I'm looking for Sandra. Sandra Wang?" I asked.

"Listen, girl. I'm having a hard time here, like everybody else, and I don't have much time. Can you start by introducing yourself?"

I was quite baffled by the unfamiliarity of the tone. Of course, I was expecting my parents to be merged, but the rude voice was completely unknown.

"I'm Sean, her son. Is my mother here? Is everything alright?" I started worrying.

It took them a few seconds to answer: "Oh, Sean! It's good to finally hear from you. Sorry, I didn't notice your name on the phone."

"Huh, Mom? Is that you?" I asked, still unsure.

"Well, yeah in part. That's my number, what did you expect?" She answered dryly. Her pitch, while still feminine, was very coarse, like a long-life smoker. It didn't make sense for a fusion of both my parents.

"Who are you with?" I asked the next logical question.

"Richard." I had no idea who that was. "Richard Dickinson? My coach from the swimming club. I guess I wasn't talking to you about it much, huh."

That was troubling, but it made sense. At this time of the day, my father might have still been at work.

"And what about Dad? Do you have news from him?"

"No." She said icily.

"Aren't you worried?" I asked, a bit surprised by the apparent indifference.

"Listen, kid. I have bigger fish to fry here. I tried to call the guy a few times already. I have a wife to take care of. The situation is enough of a mess as it is."

I was shocked by the tone. My mother had always been a polite and caring woman. Clearly, the other mind was leading at the moment.

"Can I actually talk to my mother, Richard?" I raised my voice.

I wasn't used to talking so boldly to one of my parents, but the tone they used on me since the beginning of the call was making it difficult for me to treat them as such. It seemed to be effective, as the silence following was telling.

"Ugh, alright. Sorry, Sean. I'm sure you know how it feels to share a mind with someone. It's easy to get lost. But I'm still here, sweetie." She said. The tone had changed drastically.

"Yeah, I understand," I answered, relieved.

"Did you merge with your girlfriend? Are you at her house?" She asked, a lot more concerned.

"No, I'm at the Sanders. I ended up with Jason's little sister..." I replied, a bit ashamed for some reason.

"Oh, I see. Sorry it didn't go like you wanted. At least you're in a nice home. Listen, it's probably better if you stay with them, at least for the time being. I have many things to get straight in Richard's life, and with your dad not answering my calls..."

"I'll try to call him. I'm sure he's alright." I said, trying to comfort her.

"I don't know much about the Sanders’ daughter, but she seemed to have a good effect on you, you sound more mature!" She teased. The irony made me chuckle with embarrassment. "Anyway, I really need to get going. I'll explain things to you later. Let's keep in touch, okay?"

"Sure, Mom. Good luck."

"I love you, son. No matter what, I'm still your mom."

I couldn't refrain my eyes from watering as I hung up. The reality of my family life being completely in shambles hit me like a rock. At the same time, I was relieved to hear she could still be herself. I took a few minutes to calm down. I could see Ann outside through the sliding doors, walking in a circle as she talked on the phone. What a fucking mess we're in…

I tried to call my dad, no dice. I tried to rationalize the fact he was probably still figuring things out. After all, it had taken me all this time to think about reaching out to them. But I couldn't stop thinking about what could have happened. At this hour, he could have been driving home when it hit him, pulling him in some kind of traffic accident... Did people have to touch each other for it to start? I didn't think about asking my mom how it happened to her, that would have been an obvious question…

I decided to search on the internet for information. Most news outlets were still bare of any news. I imagined most companies weren't in any state of running properly. The internet was still working at least, that was good. On social media, there were plenty of posts. Mostly it was people showing off their new appearance to the world: "Wow, I'm so freaking cute!", "My boyfriend and I merged. Look at the result, OMG I can't.", "So guys, smash or pass?", etc.

As I continued scrolling through the posts, I realized something interesting. The resulting appearances went from androgynous women to very feminine ones. There were no boys in sight, at least not apparent ones. Probably some of them had male genitalia (some seemed to confirm that), but no real masculine bodies anywhere.

Chewing this thought, I suddenly received an incoming call. I didn't know the number, but I answered anyway.

"Huh, hello?"

"H-hi. I'm trying to contact Sean?" the voice answered. It sounded very sultry and feminine.
"I'm Sean. Who is it?"

"Oh, thank god. I wasn't sure I remembered your number. It's me, dad." The woman said.
A wave of relief washed me. "Dad! I was worried. I tried to call you..."

"I'm so sorry, Sean! I lost my phone in the panic... It's a long story. Memories took some time to settle. Where are you? Are you alright? Did you merge with Ann?" His voice sounded quavering, he was visibly stressed out.

"I'm not with Ann no... I merged with Sheril. She's Jason's sister. We were at their house when it happened." I explained.

"Oh, okay! I guess you must be sad not to be with Ann, but that's still a good place to end up."

"What do you mean?" I asked, perplexed by his reaction.

"Well, the Sanders are quite the wealthy family. Now that you're their daughter, I guess it means you're inheriting it."

I was dumbfounded. He was right, sure, but the pragmatic calculation sounded very out of place in such circumstances. The Sheril in me couldn't help but find it offensive, like some kind of arranged marriage for money. Still, I let it slide, not wanting to start an argument.

"Sure, I guess. Who did you merge with, Dad? Mom tried to join you too, you know."

"Oh, huh. Just an unknown woman, I don't know." He said like he was trying to avoid the subject.

"You don't know? Wait, you don't have her memories?" I tried to clarify.

"Oh, yes. Yes, I do. I meant I didn't know her before. I've seen her before, actually. She works at the company, but only from far away..." His speech was messy. I guessed it was his new "mindmate" personality altering his usual calmer demeanor.

"Okay. How did you two merge? Were you still in the office?" I asked, this time curious to know more about how it happened for people not in direct contact. A weird silence followed my question. "Dad?"

"Yes, I'm here, sorry. We were leaving the building at the same time. It happened in the parking lot. That's how I lost my phone and..." He started to explain.

My mind drifted away when I saw Ann walk inside. She passed the living room, gave me a quick glance with a stoic expression, and went upstairs. I could easily tell something was up.

"Anyway, Dad," I interrupted his incoherent rumbling." I need to go. You should call Mom as soon as possible. She was very worried about you."

"Oh, okay Sean. Actually, I have a lot to take care of here, myself. Can you text your mom for me? I'll call her soon, I promise but... it's complicated. Stay safe at the Saunders, I'm sure you'll be fine there for now." He wrapped up the conversation.

"Hm, sure. Keep me updated, okay? Bye, Dad." I terminated the call.

I couldn't help feeling spite at the way my parents could so quickly hand me over to another family. Was our bond so brittle? At least I knew I had a solid home here now. Mom and Dad would never get rid of me like that... The other ones, I mean.

I walked back upstairs and knocked on Jason's bedroom door. I entered to find Ann sitting on the bed, looking at her feet. "Is everything alright?" I asked with concern.

"I guess... Everybody's safe." She answered, still looking down.

I sat next to her. "What's up?"

She sighed. "It's Mia. She... she merged with Dad."

Mia was Ann's little sister. She was only 10, and Ann had always been very protective of her. I didn't get the full picture of what it meant right away.

"I can imagine being merged with a parent is not ideal..." I risked.

She looked at me with a serious gaze. "It's not just that, Sean. She's only 10 while Dad is 46." Her voice was heavy, trying to contain her sob, and failing. "Now they're apparently looking like a woman in her late twenties. It's so unfair, she skipped her whole youth!"

I took her on the shoulder, patting her back. I didn't know what to say to make her feel better. "H-how did she sound like? Sadden?"

"No, that's the worst part... My dad said he couldn't manage to let her out. He can't stop being in the lead. We... we think he has so much more life experience, he's completely overshadowing her, or something." She said out between her weeping.

As I let her tears soak my dress, I looked out the window. The sun was slowly approaching the horizon.

"You know how old we are right now?" I said after a while. She only sniffed in reply. "We're all really, what? 3 hours old, right now? 4, top."

She raised her head, looking at me with confused red eyes.

"It's only been a few hours since we woke up to our new lives. I know it's hard to believe with everything that happened, but that's the truth." I explained to her. "Don't you think it's a bit early to set things in stone? Your sister might take a longer time to come back to the surface than we did but don't give up on her so quickly. I bet if we put them in front of a My Little Pony episode, your dad won't stand a chance."

She chuckled a bit at my joke and dried her face with her tank top. "Thank you. You might be right actually."

"Of course I am! This all Merge-thing is fucking crazy. We don't know anything about how it works and we can't say how it'll play out tomorrow. I say let's wait a bit before drawing any conclusions, okay?" I reassured her.

She nodded, smiling faintly.

"You should probably go back to them tonight," I said, hiding my pain at the idea.

She, thankfully, shook her head. "It won't be necessary. Mom is with them, she merged with a random guy when she was grocery shopping. Apparently, he doesn't have much of a family of his own. She said it's probably safer not to go out until things settled in, anyway... What about your family?"

I recounted how my calls went.

"Well... you said it best: let's wait before drawing any conclusions. In any case, that settles the fact we shouldn't split. We have responsibilities here too, after all." She noted, before kissing me gently.

I was relieved to hear her say that. Not only was she also my brother, but Ann was above all my only anchor to my Sean life at this point.


***
Evening

"I'm tired of all those emotions. Since we woke up, it has been worry after worry." She said as she stood up. "And I don't know about you, but I'm starving."

I hadn't noticed until now, but the mention of food was enough to give me stomach cramps. On that note, we went to the kitchen. I first tried calling pizzerias, but as expected: everything was closed. It made me wonder how society was going to organize itself now that the world population had been reduced by half. Some structures had already been thought of: we knew our government would soon distribute new identity cards displaying our two old selves. Most accommodations were still unclear though, as too little time separated us from the day of the Dream.

Thankfully the fridge was pretty much full, and Ann was an amazing cook. She surprised me with sautéed bell peppers, something she never did before because of my loathing for the vegetable. She knew from Jason's memories that Sheril, however, loved it. It was quite a weird experience to have half of my brain horrified by something I found so tasty. I ended up winning this fight against Sean and taught him all about the sweetness and crunchiness of bell peppers.

"You're such a great upgrade on my brother, Ann," I said between mouthfuls.

I laughed, their face indicating they didn't seem to know how to react to both a compliment and a jibe.

When the night finally came, we decided to go to bed early, as we were both feeling emotionally drained. Feeling awkward at the idea of sleeping together in either Sheril or Jason's beds, we settled on stealing the master bedroom, taking advantage of tonight's lack of parents.

Our nightly cuddles soon transformed into a make-out session. I blushed, feeling Ann's infamous new member hard against my soft leg. Looking into each others' eyes, we silently agreed to succumb to our curiosity. We both knew what it induced, and how wrong it would be to partake in it without the proper protection, but we both pretended to forget about it. After all, we were used to raw sex in our former bodies… She slowly took down my panties. My heart was pumping like crazy, and it didn't take long for my inside to produce the now-familiar wetness.

Ann was deep inside me. Completely absorbed into the female experience, I had managed to keep Sheril at bay thanks to her lack of sexual experience. Having a dick thrusting into our womb was as new for her as it was for me, and the mostly Ann face that was grunting and gazing into me right now was holding the balance in my favor. With so little of my female self to guide me though, the feeling of the receiving end was truly alien. The sheer discovery of my depth was blowing my mind. I couldn't help myself from moaning anymore, and showing such a feminine side to Ann was embarrassing me greatly. The shame itself also seemed to nourish some kind of twisted arousal. Did I always have a fetish like that? It didn't seem right.

"I'm inside you... Oh boy, I'm inside you..." Ann was whimpering between each push, apparently playing some newly discovered kink of her own. Ann who, before the merge, had always been so passive and shy during our sexual intercourses. But now, she was in the lead and I was wondering what was going through her head. She was living a similar shift in our dynamic after all… well the exact opposite really.

Her movement was increasing, and my moans were more and more audible.
In the middle of it all, Ann's lips let out a terrible truth: "Oh god! I'm really fucking my little sister..."

"What?! What did you... say??" My mind shattered at the statement.

My reaction didn't stop them. "I-I'm so sorry, Sheril. I'm sorry!"

Hearing my other name was flipping me back. I panicked. "Stop it! Stop saying that, you idiot!"

"Oh god! I'm doing it! I'm inside you, sis! We're having sex!" Like me earlier, the shame seemed only to fuel them more. He pushed with added vigor.

"Jason, no! Shut up! You're ruining it!" I whined, but it was too late. I was now fully myself again. Sean couldn't shield me from the truth anymore. I was having my first time, and despite his feminine traits, I could only see my brother's face above mine.

Despite my tremendous disgust, my body was not fighting it. It wanted more, and I was powerless to stop it.

"You're so sexy, Sheril! You're so cute! I can't stop myself!" He yelled, possessed by pure lust for his own sister. Since when did my brother have such awful thoughts? I wanted Ann back! I wanted to be Sean again! But despite my best efforts, I couldn't.

"I'm close, sis. Your freaky brother is gonna cum inside you!" He howled.

"Get out, you moron! At least don't cum inside me!" But instinctively, my legs and arms locked on him, betraying my reason. I moaned and cried at the same time, feeling my climax building up at the same time as his.

We reached it in unison.

"I love you, Sheril!" He screamed when the defilement spread inside of me. I was too absorbed in my own spike to register it, though. My mind was melting in pleasure. Sweet oblivion, take me. I wanted to stay in this state forever.

He collapsed on my side, spent. I stayed frozen in place as hot cum was dripping from my pussy. Slowly, I dug a little hole in the corner of my mind, refusing to face reality at this point.

"Ann? Are you there?" I asked quietly as I was forced into myself again.

"Yeah..." She answered in a whisper.

"What... was that?" I asked, truly more surprised than grossed out now.

"Sorry... I think that's my fault." She said. I didn't know what she meant.

"I mean Ann's fault. I think some of my personal kinks mixed into my Jason persona," she explained, visibly ashamed.

"What do you mean?" I said, intrigued.

"I never talked much about it with you but... I kinda have a fetish for sibling relationships. You know, from my private manga stash?" She looked at me with an awkward smile.

"So that's what those are, huh..." I said, finally solving that mystery. "Guess you don't have many secrets left now, do you?"

She only chortled disturbingly. "Are you going to be okay?"

"I think so. I needed to face the truth of our relationship sooner or later... I guess it was just sharper than I wished it to be..." I answered honestly.

She caressed my hand. "Sorry... again."

"Don't be, I know it's hard to control all of this... Fuck, we're really siblings now. This is going to be a challenge." I understood.

"The world is in such chaos right now. I'm sure our situation is far from being the weirdest one." She said.

"And what about... Mom and Dad?" I winced a bit as calling them like that was calling in my other half.

They gulped. "They must never find out, or we're truly fucked."

The Saunders were a pretty traditional family. Not that a lot of parents would accept their kids to fuck each other, anyway.

"It might spice things up, in a way. Doing it behind their back..." I said.

They raised an eyebrow in my direction. "Is someone warming up at this incestuous kink?"

"I wouldn't say that." I snarled. "I just need to play with this new hand of cards if I want to keep our relationship working."

"Good thinking... sis." They smirked.

"Ugh, that will take time to get used to, though..."


***
Epilogue

“Coming!” I shouted at the doorbell as I ran for the door, ecstatic.

The first year had been quite chaotic, but now that school had finally resumed, a semblance of normalcy had returned. The Great Merge Cabinet, also known as GMC, had managed to sort things out with more or less success, but it worked out in the end. For fusions like us who were just students, the protocol was actually quite simple: we all had to choose to resume one of our old curricula. Jason’s old prestigious college approval was only due to his basketball sponsorship, which was a bit flimsy to begin with, so it was logical for them to pursue Ann’s plans. As for me, Sheril had pretty good grades, so I had decided to go back to high school, this time determined to join them for the next year.

I opened the door to a delivery girl holding a package. Finally, it had arrived! I took the box to my room, eager to open it. Inside was a bunch of new clothes I had bought online. With people worldwide in dire need of outfits for their new shapes, finding something had been a trial at first. It took me the last two months to finally have this package. Before that, I had managed to gather a few clothes by trading my old one. Male outfits were harder to get rid of, but some resilient minds were still trying to clutch to their lost manhood. Others more crafty used discarded male clothes to fashion makeshift attires. I myself used some of Sean’s old t-shirts to make not-too-shabby tops. Really, trends were all over the place.

“Haha, there you are!” I said out loud as I found the dress I was looking for. Since none of Sheril’s old clothes were fitting me anymore, I had to give them all away. So I was glad I had found a similar one she had, only a few sizes bigger. I smiled at it with mischief.

I didn’t call myself Sean or Sheril anymore. With time, the frontier between our two old identities had blurred, and we all started to choose new names for ourselves. Ann and Jason had chosen the very creative name of Jane. It fitted them well, though. For my part, I had chosen a more distinctive one: Naomi. It was a name both Sean and Sheril liked a lot, and I cherished each time my two personalities would agree on something.

I didn’t wait long before putting on the light blue dress and modeling in front of my mirror. As Naomi, I was now used to more mature outfits that Sean found sexy on girls: hand-cut denim shorts, blazers, crop tops… urban streetwear styles, generally. But today I wasn’t dressing for Sean.

Since Sean’s mother found out that his dad had fused with his mistress, my other family had basically broken apart. I still saw them regularly, but separately, and I lived exclusively at the Saunders. Jane on the other hand had still a functioning family from their other half and was going back and forth between the two households. Between that and college, we were seeing each other only once every two weekends. It was hard, especially having to deal with our parent alone most of the time, but knowing it was just a matter of a year helped me pull through with it. They were coming home today, and I had missed them so much I wanted to treat them with something special…

Earlier in the day, I had gone to the stylist to dye my hair. As Naomi, I usually kept my hair loose or tied down, but today I was styling them in very familiar pigtails. I took a final look in the mirror. In front of me stood Sheril, wearing her favorite summer dress, her blonde hair tied in her signature style with her favorite ribbons. Thanks to some clever makeup, I had hidden most of Sean’s traits and enhanced hers. What betrayed me the most was my much more voluptuous curves, which I had no intention of hiding anyway.

“I’m home!” I heard a familiar voice call from downstairs. “Naomi? Are you home?”

“Upstairs!” I answered as I quickly climbed on my bed. Waiting for them to arrive, I lay on my stomach, propped on elbows, my feet swinging in the air and facing the doorway innocently.

“Hey babe-” Jane quickly stopped as she saw me. “S-Sheril!?”

I sat back, slowly pulling off a strip from my shoulder. “Hey, Jason. Mommy’s not home yet. Wanna play with your little sister?”


FIN