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Chris took a deep breath, standing before her apartment’s front door. It wasn’t too late to hide in bed, right?

Gretchen grinned. "Well, I told Rodrick about your situation. His response was more or less, 'WOAH!? Seriously!? That's amazing-- err, not like amazing as in great, but amazing that transience could change someone's sex. I will stop talking now; when can I see Chris?"

Chris just blinked and let out a small laugh, her anxiety receding a little. "That sure sounds like him. I guess I should see him soon."

"Just don't push yourself if you're uncomfortable with Rodrick seeing you in this form yet. Though, I'm sure seeing him won't be bad."

"I'll probably see him tomorrow… I'll send him a text real quick," Chris muttered as she pulled out a phone to send a message.

"Hey! I guess you know the truth now. You, Gretchen, and I can do something tomorrow. I'll talk to you in a few hours."

With that, Chris left her apartment with Gretchen and walked down the stairs. Each step caused her breasts to jiggle and her ass to sway. She was embarrassed over being so easily flustered by her body's movements. 'This is me now. Get over it," she told herself as she gritted her teeth.

The girls made it outside and reached Gretchen's car. Chris opened the passenger door and sat down before locking the seat belt into place. Much to her annoyance, she was forced to adjust the shoulder belt so it didn't lay atop her sensitive nipples. Women had a lot of factors to consider in everyday life.

Gretchen started the car and drove off with a smile on her face. "Barbecue sounds great. Are you going to let me feed you?"

Chris raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "Feed me? What on earth is going through your head?" She asked with a hint of playfulness. Gretchen had a way of lightening up any situation.

"Well, let's see," Gretchen replied, pursing her lips as she kept her eyes on the road. "I'd hold a piece of barbecue up to your mouth with chopsticks. Then you lean forward and bite down while making a cute little 'on' noise."

"You've got to be kidding me. I'd look ridiculous doing something like that!" Chris insisted, turning faintly red. "You're incorrigible; you know that, right?"

"I'm not done yet!" Gretchen insisted. "After that, you would close your eyes and smile while touching your cheek. Then you'd say something like 'So tasty!!!' while wiggling around like a cutie. You definitely wouldn't look ridiculous."

Chris briefly imagined a girl who looked like herself performing those actions. She hated to admit it, but it would likely be an adorable sight to behold. "Is this one of those things where you're joking, but you secretly wouldn't mind if I actually did it?"

As they hit a red light, Gretchen turned toward Chris with an innocent look. "I would never do such a thing! Heh heh…  Of course not," she insisted as her lips curled into a devilish grin.

Chris huffed and looked out the window. "There's no way I'm letting that happen. I'll feed you if you want, though." As she spoke, a strange thought entered the back of her mind. She

 would be female for the rest of her life, so it wouldn't be too awful to enjoy tasty food and play along with Grethen. No one would think twice about a girl like Chris acting bubbly and expressive. 'No, get a hold of yourself.' She shook her head and smacked her hands onto her cheeks.

Gretchen tilted her head. "You okay, dear?"

"Yes! I'm fine…  I just needed to snap myself back to reality," Chris muttered as the light turned green, and they continued forward.

Gretchen let out a small laugh. "We'll be there soon. Don't worry; I understand boundaries fairly well."

Upon reaching the restaurant, Gretchen and Chris got a couple of looks. This was the first time Chris went to a public space with an entirely female body and no illusion magic to hide her form.

A waitress with tan skin, emerald eyes, and pointed ears greeted them. "Hello! I'm Elicia! I will be your server today. Would you like a table or booth?"

"The most private booth you can seat us in, please," Gretchen replied.

Chris silently thanked Gretchen for understanding her so well. "Thanks. The fewer eyes on me, the better."

"Of course!" Gretchen took Chris's hand and followed the waitress.

Chris wasn't sure if she'd get used to how small and soft her new hands were. She felt vulnerable and exposed, with Gretchen being the only reason she was mentally okay at the moment.

They sat across each other and briefly looked at the menu before placing an order. Chris smelled the scent of cooking meat wafting through the air and felt a great pang of hunger. She hadn't had the biggest appetite lately, having been preoccupied with the anxiety of transience. This was the first day she felt a genuine need to consume sustenance.

"Have you found any advantages to being a girl yet?" Gretchen curiously asked, staring intently at Chris.

Upon hearing Gretchen's question, Chris felt a slight chill down her spine. It was an innocuous question, but she still felt strange. "I mean…  I have more energy. Besides my anxiety and a healthy dose of dysphoria, I feel healthier than before." As she spoke, she felt a dull throb in her nipples, causing her to wince. Why did female anatomy have to be so unreasonable?

"That's great! I knew there would be some benefits."

"I suppose you're right, I-- ugh…" She grunted and picked at her bra. "Damn, it…  These things ache. I'm not sure what's going on." Being a woman seemed extremely complicated so far. Her body had felt so many new and bizarre sensations in a short period.

Gretchen froze, flashing a concerned look momentarily before her eyes widened. "Ooooh. I might know what's wrong."

Chris didn't like the sound of that. She thought she might know what Gretchen would say but wasn't ready to deal with it.

"Please don't freak out, but you could be getting ready to start your period," Gretchen said quietly and carefully.

Chris's blood immediately ran cold as she broke out into a sweat. She logically knew that she'd be dealing with this at some point, but it was terrifying to face her body's hormonal cycles. "Fuck," she grunted, resting her elbows on the table as she placed her hands over her face. It wasn't fair; why did she, of all people, have to be the one to get a sex change with transience? Most transience cases involved the patients retaining their original biological sex. "Why the fuck did I have to win the bad luck lottery?" She demanded, pressing her legs together as she shifted in her seat.

Gretchen cast a sympathetic look and moved to sit next to Chris. She put an arm around her waist and held her close, kissing the top of her head. "I can't imagine how hard this must be after being male your whole life. I promise you it's not that bad. You have me to help you through it, okay?"

"Dammit, all…  If I start bleeding from there, I feel like I'll lose any remaining shred of masculinity I have left," Chris responded.

Gretchen opened her mouth to talk but stopped herself. After thinking for a moment, she continued. "Let's try to get you on birth control ASAP. We might be able to get rid of your periods, but I can do nothing to stop the cycle you're going through right now. I promise it's not that bad! I'll spoil you and do whatever you want the whole time, okay?"

Chris couldn't stop thinking about how far removed from her old life she had become. She looked completely different, had utterly new sensations and hormonal cycles, and was perceived as a cute woman by the society around her. The thought of men trying to court her also drew concern.

Gretchen noticed the look on her dear friend's face and gripped her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "You're doing amazing, by the way. If I turned into a man, I wouldn't handle it nearly as well as you. You deserve all the praise in the world for your resilience."

Chris perked up slightly, turning faintly red as she felt Gretchen's warm hand gently clasped upon hers. "I appreciate that," she said softly, flashing a weak smile toward Gretchen. She usually wasn't one to let others comfort her, but there was no way she was about to rebuke Gretchen's efforts. For one, she loved Gretchen dearly. And secondly, she wasn't in the right emotional state to refuse support. The thought of bleeding from an orifice she didn't have last week lingered in her mind, but she tried to push that musing into the back of her head to enjoy her outing with Gretchen.

Elicia trotted up to the table with a wide smile. "Hello, ladies! I'm ready to take your order. Let's start with you," she said as she looked Gretchen's way.

Chris winced, freezing up when she heard Elicia refer to them as ladies. She had already decided to exist as a woman and use female pronouns, but it still felt like a stab to the gut when she heard the word.

After Gretchen picked some tasty meats and vegetables, Elicia turned toward Chris. "And, what can I get for you, Miss?"

Chris took a slow breath. 'I have to get used to this. I'm a girl. It's not a big deal,' she told herself, forcing her lips into a smile. "I'd like an order of the prime kalbi, some bulgogi, and some pork belly."

"Would you like any vegetables as well?" Elicia warmly asked.

Chris thought for a moment. She intensely craved meat and felt a strong need to ingest protein. "Maybe the mushroom variety…  Other than that, meat is good."

"Of course! I'll be right back with some tasty food for you ladies," Elicia chimed, offering a bubbly smile before trotting off.

Gretchen looked at Chris with sympathy upon noticing her wincing. "I'm sorry, sugar." She placed a hand on her shoulder with a soft smile.

Chris sighed, shaking her head. "It's fine, I just--" a pang of anxiety shot through her, cutting her off mid-sentence. She still wasn't used to the song-like, feminine voice that flowed from her lips every time she spoke. She trembled slightly, placing her lithe fingers on her throat as she probed the distinct lack of adam's apple.

"It can't be easy hearing such a foreign voice coming from your own mouth. I won't pretend I've been through the same thing, but I can understand it kind of sucks," Gretchen assured, running her hand up dn down Chris's arm.

Chris pushed her legs together, feeling a slight tingle between her legs. She was constantly aware of her lack of dick and balls; every time she adjusted her legs slightly, she was constantly reminded of what she had lost.  “I-- I just…”  She murmured, rapidly moving her eyes from left to right before fidgeting with her fingers.

"Scooch over," Gretchen insisted, getting up as she moved to the same side of the booth as Chris. She scooted close and wrapped an arm around Chris's waist, pulling her close. "I'm going to use comforting you as an excuse to touch you a little. Hopefully, you're used to how selfish I am by now," she teased, kissing the top of Chris's head gently.

Chris was just getting hit by a tidal wave of dysphoria and hopelessness when Gretchen came in clutch. Her cheeks flushed red as she felt Gretchen's soft hand on her waist. She instinctively rested her head against Gretchen's shoulder for comfort. Tears streamed from her face as she weakly clutched Gretchen's sleeve and closed her eyes tightly. "I-- I am only doing this because you're so desperate to touch me," she grunted.

"I am a little desperate to touch you. There's such a lovely curve right here," Gretchen purred, sliding her hand down Chris's hip and back up her side.

Chris shivered, feeling the shape of her feminine curve as Gretchen gave her gentle touches. There was no denying how wholly female her body had become. "I don't know how I feel about having a 'lovely curve,' to be honest," she gently huffed.

"If I'm ever being too much, just let me know. I'm not always great with filters…  Well, I'm better than Rodrick when it comes to filters, but not by too much," Gretchen giggled. "We rely on you to keep us in line."

Chris started to perk up again, her lips curling slightly. As the food was brought out, she pulled back from Gretchen and thanked Elicia for the delectable spread before returning to the lovely woman sitting beside her. "I'll still keep both of you in line, even if I have estrogen pumping through my veins and driving me crazy."

"It's true. Estrogen is one hell of a drug; I wouldn't recommend it," Gretchen chuckled before putting some meat on the grill.

Chris immediately perked up, her nostrils twitching as the smell of sizzling meat assaulted her sinuses. An insatiable hunger took over as she eagerly heaped some bulgogi and kalbi onto the grill. "I think I'm hungrier than I anticipated," she muttered, starting to salivate.

"I told you! You're becoming a cute carnivore," Gretchen insisted. She readied a pair of chopsticks and lifted a perfectly cooked bulgogi to Chris's mouth. "Just once for me?"

Chris's mouth watered as she stared at the meat held before her. She wanted to protest, but she enjoyed indulging Gretchen's behavior, and she also really wanted to eat the bulgogi. "Ugh…  Only because I'm starving; don't get any wrong ideas," Chris huffed, opening her mouth as she bit down on the meat.

As soon as the heavenly, umami flavor hit her mouth, she was overwhelmed by the savory decadence. Her eyes closed as she chewed and enjoyed the juicy, tender beef. Without realizing it, she wiggled her hips slightly and put a hand on her cheek. "Oh my god…  So good," she purred. She had always been a barbecue fan, but she had never enjoyed it this much. After swallowing, she opened her eyes and saw a wide, cheeky grin on Gretchen's face. Her face turned bright red as she scooched back and looked away. "It-- it was just really good! Don't look at me like that!"

"There's no way you're not letting me feed you again in the future if you're going to be so cute every time," Gretchen promised.

"I'm not cute! Don't say that," Chris grumbled, fidgeting in embarrassment. Despite her protests, her cadence wasn't one of genuine frustration.

"We've already established I could use more filters. I'm just really fond of you in general, and I can't help but want to lather you with compliments."

Chris briefly paused before letting out a slight laugh. That overwhelming sense of despair and dysphoria from minutes ago wholly disappeared. "When we're done here, I'm getting you registered as an emotional support animal."

"Does that mean I get a leash and collar? If this is a new kink of yours, I'm happy to indulge," Gretchen purred, leaning in as she kissed Chris on the neck.

Chris shivered, shifting as she buried her face against Gretchen's neck. "Let's pass. I don't have the energy to house-train you." She was pleasantly surprised by how well their outing was going thus far.





CHAPTER END

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