“My boss is a pig!” growled Marshall.

Vance nodded.  “Yeah, what’s new?  All bosses suck.  That’s why I’m planning on being my own boss as soon as possible.”

“No, seriously.  I really don’t get what’s going on in his head.  For the last week whenever he sees me it’s like he suddenly turns into a drooling moron, and the jokes...  Ugh.  He can’t possibly be flirting with me, not that horridly.”

Vance patted her on the arm.  “C’mon, let me get you a latte and you’ll feel a bit better.”

“Thanks.  Uh... I know it sounds totally stereotypical, but could I get one of those whipped fruity drinks instead?”

Vance smiled at Marshall indulgently.  “Of course.  Back in a bit.”

When he returned with a latte and a sprinkle-covered whipped drink, Marshall grinned at him.  “Oh yeah.  Sugar rush time.”

“You know, if you don’t want people treating you like a girl...”

Marshall glowered at Vance.  “That’s not the point at all!  I’d be fine with my boss treating me like a girl.  He treats the other woman in the department just fine.  Treat me like a professional, and don’t drool.  Is that really too much to ask?”

“Maybe you confuse him?” suggested Vance.  “You certainly confuse me,” he muttered.

“What’s to be confused about?  Come on, the Venn Machines have been around for years now.  We’ve both been girls before.  Remember gym class?”

Vance chuckled warmly.  “Oh yeah.  It was such a production to get everyone swapped.  Kind of fun, though.  I seem to recall seeing a lot more girls around the school for the following month.”

“Yeah.  Fun times.  So why does this have to be some big production?”

“You also went from taller than the doors, to under five feet tall.”

Marshall nodded in agreement.  “Okay.  That has been a big change.  Actually... can we hit the Venn Machine later?  I brought some of my clothes along to retailor, and now I’m thinking I’d like to be a little taller.”

“Having trouble reaching the top shelf?” Vance asked with a grin.

“Top two shelves.  It sucks having to go fetch a stool just to reach stuff.”

“No other reason?”  The grin became more of a smirk.

“Okay, I’m tired of getting a crick in my neck when I kiss you.”

“Me too.”

They commiserated about work for a while.  Once they’d finished their drinks, Marshall picked up a large backpack that nearly dwarfed her reduced frame, and they headed out into the mall.

“How’s your Mom been handling all of this?  I haven’t seen her since I had to verify you were, indeed, her child.”

Marshall grinned.  “Great, actually.  She always wanted a daughter, so... yeah, we’ve had some good times.  She does expect me to do more of the cooking, though.”

“Could be worse.”

“Mhmm.  Turns out I like cooking more than I remembered.”

“Handy.”

They stopped in front of the Venn Machine, and Marshall set it up.

“A year?” asked Vance.

“At least, yeah.  I’m hoping with a little height nudge, I can settle in and really get to know me.”

Vance nodded, and entered the machine shortly after Marshall did.  “No sneaky turning me into a purse, now.  I don’t want to be stuck for a year.”

“Charlie would totally do that.  I don’t want to miss out on your kisses for a year.”

Vance grinned.  “Really?”

“Just make me taller already.”

Vance chuckled as he did so, and with a flourish he was done.  Marsh studied Vance from her new perspective.  “Still a bit shorter than you?”

“Yeah, I figured it’d suit.”

A little later the machine let them out, and Marsh snuggled up against Vance then tilted her head up for a kiss.  She purred happily into it, and when they broke she nodded sharply.  “Perfect.  Still confused?”

Vance licked his lips.  “Cherry?”

“I like flavoured lip gloss, is that so wrong?”

Vance looked around, and found a free bench to sit on.  Marsh tagged along behind and sat beside him, close enough that their hips almost touched.  Vance scooted a little further away, to a pout from Marsh.  He sighed, and shook his head.  “I just... never expected to be here.”

“We come to the mall all the time.”

Vance beetled his eyebrows at Marsh.  “Not that.  It’s all the kissing.”

“I like the kissing.  Can we do more of that?”

“Why?”

“Don’t you like the kissing?” asked Marsh with a coquettish flutter of her eyebrows.

“You should not be so good at that,” grumbled Vance.

“Mom has been giving me a crash course in all things girly.”

Vance slumped back in the bench.  “Figures.  She’s just fine with all this?”

“She’s having the time of her life.  We’ve been doing so much stuff together, it’s great.”

Vance rolled his head to look at Marsh.  “Huh.  So you’re just going to roll with it.”

“Why not?  Mom’s great with it, all our friends are okay with this.  Heck, Charlie’s been venned for years.”

Vance sat up abruptly.  “Really?  Since when?”

“Pretty much since they showed up.  Nothing fancy, just fixed some health stuff.”

Vance nodded slowly.  “So...  I’m the odd man out, getting all confused by this?”

Marsh laughed merrily.  “Not by half.  Confusion is normal when dealing with new things.  And the kissing is definitely a new thing.”  She snuggled up against Vance and nuzzled forward for a kiss, a kiss that he freely gave her.  No tongue, but as she slowly pulled back Vance leaned forward, until it was Vance pressing Marsh back into the cushions of the seat.

Marsh smiled at Vance prettily when he finally came up for air.  “That’s more like it.”

Vance blinked at her.  “Shit.  Sorry, I got carried away.  You’re just like...”

“Just like what?”

“You’re a girl.  I can’t reconcile that with my tall buddy Marsh who kept banging his head on everything.  I didn’t even mean to turn you into a girl, you just turned out so cute...”

Marsh’s grin at the compliment dimpled her cheeks.  “You do good work.  I think you’re the reason it stuck this time.  I’ve been a girl... five times before, I think.  Never clicked, until your ‘not even trying’ change.”

Vance laughed.  “I was trying to be true to you.”

“Were you ever,” purred Marsh as she nuzzled in for another kiss.  This time, she dared a little tongue, and was rewarded by an even more intense kiss, rather than a frantic retreat.  She smiled into the kiss and let Vance take it wherever he wanted... which nearly ended up in a public indecency charge.

“Maybe we should take this somewhere a little more private.”

Vance looked stunned.  “Fuck.  Did I just...”

“Mhmm.  And you’re welcome to do more.”  Marsh’s smile was pure sweetness and light, but the implication was very clear.  As was Vance’s response to it.  She glanced down at the bulge in his jeans then back up to his eyes, and winked very deliberately.

“Holy...  I just have one question.”

“Shoot.”

“How long are you planning to stay like this?”

“Exactly as long as you’re willing to keep kissing me.”

“Might be a long time.”

Marsh’s smile was honest this time.  “Good.”