It was the odd positioning of her hand at the back of her head that had made her finally beg with her eyes for help. Thankfully with his recent exposure to women's long hair, he took the hint readily and moved close to help.

It was good to have a second out of direct scrutiny. Especially as she was piecing things together, and they were so nicely chronological and uninterrupted. She couldn't blame her power, which she hadn't been in charge of at the time. She couldn't blame the drinking, she'd hardly done much of it. She'd just... felt that forever might not be so bad with someone else. Like a thermometer, her neck turned red first as she thought things through.

Like how he'd tried to cover himself like a lady at first, when she'd yoinked the sheets away.

"I said a lot of things. And meant them. You would have noticed if I didn't." He couldn't taste her words now, though. He'd just have to trust that they were true. Michael freed her hand sans gauze and there it was. Undeniable proof that last night was more than a fever dream: the ring tattoo was still shiny with petroleum jelly. She turned her hand over and the letters were scrunched but all there.

Was it silly? They were living together already. Their lives and belongings had been intermixed from the start. But there'd been lines that she hadn't crossed. Parts of herself she'd tried to just tamp down and forget. She'd never wanted to. "I don't think I ever said I love you? Or asked." He'd sort of mauled her in an alleyway. And then again in the kitchen.

This time the red went all the way up to her hairline.

"Do you regret it?"

Noel answered his question and Ranger found he couldn’t taste the voracity of her statement. While it was often a massive burden, it made trust easy. He remembered what she had said, and she was right that he would have noticed had it not been truthful. ”I remember. An’ I remember I said a lot of things too. I also meant ‘em.” They had said them right before Ranger had been the one to suggest the ring tattoos.

The ring tattoos that were on their fingers as proof that the previous night had indeed happened.

Somehow discussing the previous night brought on a sense of nervousness. It was like he was now feeling what he should have felt then. Maybe the fragmented way Ranger seemed to be recalling it was to blame? Like the questioning of if it happened and what was said made it not real and unsaid until it was said again or confirmed.

While Noel looked at her tattoo, Ranger looked at his. The band, the name. He was thankful they didn’t go with his idea of one that said, ‘Property of …”

Ranger knew that he was serious when he suggested the rings. He knew he was serious when he spoke of forever with Noel. It didn’t matter who was who. It was a genuine feeling, but one that, in retrospect, he was surprised he was so able to come out and say. He hadn’t had so much to drink that he would have been running on liquid courage. He certainly felt like he’d had that much to drink though. Maybe, it was just because Noel and he had a true moment, there with Ranger pressed against the concrete wall. Ranger could still remember how she felt in that moment.

Whatever the source of the courage, they both had bared their soul and gotten wedding bands tattooed on as a way to inscribe the feelings into each other and remind them always.

Noel cut through Ranger’s thoughts when she next spoke. The words, ‘I love you’, even as part of a question, drew his attention back to her from the tattoo. Noel was turning red. Ranger looked into her eyes, something he had been fearful of doing just the day before. He felt heat rising in his own face.

”No. An’ I didn’t either.” Not in those words. They had both talked around it. Not in that they were unwilling to say it, maybe… Maybe they just didn’t know that’s what they were describing? Was that what they were describing? Was that what Ranger felt? They’d only known each other—from their perspectives—a few weeks. Yet, it was a rollercoaster of a time where they had the chance to get to know each other better than likely anyone ever got to know anyone. Ranger’s eyes moved from hers as he searched his own feelings.

Noel asked if he regretted it.

Ranger gave her a soft smile as he met her eyes again. ”I don’t regret anythin’.”

The last time Ranger had sex while swapped with a woman was not an event in his memory he looked upon fondly. In fact he tried to bury the memory and forget it happened. This time however. Ranger had wanted it more than anything in the moment, and the next morning—as himself—he still was glad he had. The closeness, the passion, the intimacy. It didn’t matter who was who in that moment. ”I wouldn’t trade last night f’r anythin’.”

Gently, placing his hand on Noel, Ranger said, ”Maybe... Maybe, one regret. Not sayin’ I love you.”

No ragrats. There was that at least. She relaxed a bit as he touched her. He wasn't running off and screaming, he was literally reaching out to her. And, for all of her insecurities, she wasn't running either. She'd chosen him and it seemed despite some minor relocations, nothing had changed over night.

"I cain't believe that worked." She buried her face in the sheets noticing that her legs felt weirdly slippy in bed. She didn't have to check to know that less hair meant less friction. She'd visited almost all over those legs just last night. But it was one thing to be the one feeling the lack of hair and another thing to have a lack of hair and feel it from the other side.

"It has to be th' friends we made along the way. Or, bein' true to thine own self or somethin'." She refused to think it was actual, literal sexual-based swapping. If her power was messing this up for her because it was all initiated by a kiss...

Noel dropped the sheet from her face.

Oh no.

"You have to kiss me." She was demanding it, really, as she invited herself onto his lap. "I need to know this isn't gonna happen every time."

Y’ cain’t believe what worked? Gettin’ me t’ say I love you, ‘r…” Ranger pointedly looked down toward hers then his nether regions before saying, "How we might've swapped back?" it was the only other thing Ranger could think of that was different from previous attempts. The only oddity was the first time they had swapped back.

Noel had buried her face in the sheets. Maybe because of her reddening? Either reason could certainly elicit an embarrassed response.

It sounded like Noel wanted to believe it wasn't sex that had been the cure for the swap. She was making a reference couple references, he understood Hamlet, but the second Ranger couldn't place… but he has certainly heard it or something similar to it before, as possible reasons they had swapped back.

"Yeah. Something. "

While Ranger was not scared away from kissing Noel by the possibility, he would much prefer something else was the cause of the swap back. Something simpler. Call him old fashioned, but he would like the chance to have sex with someone while he was himself and they were themselves.

Suddenly Noel dropped the street from her face and demand Ranger kiss her. Ranger was surprised by the suddenness of it. But opposed, but surprised. He was even less opposed to Noel climbing onto his lap before he even has a chance to respond

Ranger put one hand on Noel's hip and another on the side of her face, "Don't have t' tell me twice." Ranger said as she moved his face closer to Noel's. He focused on a thought to guide where he went into memory. Then stopped, just before his lips meet Noel's and said with a chuckle, "I was readyin' like I still had y'r power." Ranger moved his hand slowly up Noel's side as he softly laughed at his new-old habit. Ranger brought his lips to Noel's.

First thing he noticed, he didn't dive into a memory. He could be fully present the whole time. Second thing he noticed, was that him and Noel didn't immediately swap back. Third thing he noticed, was that he was naked and so was Noel who was sitting on his lap as he was rising to attention.

Getting him to say 'I love you' was hella bonus, for sure. He showed it on the regular, but it was never not nice to hear (and she might even begrudgingly accept that it was nice to taste). Just like it was, apparently, quite welcome for her to invite herself into his personal space. He gathered her up so she wasn’t just hanging on which was just fine by her. This was important science they needed to embark on before she could trust any plans for the rest of forever.

> "Don't have t' tell me twice."

Which was good 'cause she wasn't kidding. She closed her eyes in anticipation and he hesitated. She cracked an eye to check on him.

Oh. Right. Yes. She should get ready. She’d been entirely spoiled this last week to not be on guard, mentally. At least now he understood what it cost. A little melancholy tempered her enthusiasm.

Didn’t seem to phase the Ranger.

She catapulted into Micahel’s swapped experience, jolting a bit as she shoved some of last night’s similarities back from her consciousness. She was… yes. Still swapping lip service. A thrill ran through her.

It didn’t work. They didn’t swap. Just as she’d hoped it wouldn’t.

Some other things clearly did still work.

Having been on the other side of things and having explored the gamut of both their bodies, she couldn’t drum up the same kind of embarrassment as she might have before. It helped, too, that there were plenty of other things vying for top concern.

Like the realization that she had never done this. He had for her. (So clearly, she had the capacity.) But she couldn’t even complain that she hadn’t because she’d been the one on the other side of everything!

”I think we’re in the clear. I was gonna look int’ las’ night, but… Migh’ wanna ehm, test that? Directly?” Ah. Yep. Just asking was a whole new heap of self-consciousness.

Just because they hadn’t swapped yet, didn’t mean they wouldn’t. That meant Ranger had to keep kissing Noel. For science. It was in no way because he wanted to and kissing her felt like it was both creating and satisfying a need to kiss her, to touch her, and to be kissed and touched by her. Not at all.

The more they kissed, the more Ranger wanted to kiss her and the more he wanted more than just to kiss her. His desire was tactile and there was no doubt Noel had noticed. Especially considering that when they broke the kiss, Noel suggested that instead of just viewing his memory of the previous night, that they test it.

Surprise, excitement, joy all ran through him. ”Yeah. I think so too.” Ranger said as he moved his one arm around Noel’s waist. ”An’...Oh. I wanna.” His voice deeper and his breathing staggered. Ranger pulled Noel close and—using his other arm for control—lifted them both up somewhat off the bed before turning and laying Noel back down on her back.

Ranger took a moment to just look at Noel before he leaned down to kiss her. First on the lips, but then he moved to her jaw. Then her neck. There was an advantage to them having been swapped the night before. Ranger had first hand experience of how things felt in Noel’s body. As Ranger explored Noel’s body with his hands and his lips; he had a good idea of where to go, where to linger, and when to move.

((FTB))