When he came back to the marriage room, displays of discontent for his lateness were aplenty. Shinji-Patrick apologized, pretending he was doing something he couldn’t remember a few seconds later. Amraani gave him a quizzical look, but he shrugged it off, smiling reassuringly. And they resumed the ceremony.

As the ceremony started, Shinj's eyes filled again with tears. However, unlike in the conference room where he hid to cry out his pain, those tears were of anger.

How ironic! To think this morning, I was worrying I would ruin all my preparation with unstoppable tears of joy.

He smiled and lightly brushed them away, and at the same time, earned some eyes-rolls from the assistance, a look of deep affection and covert joy from Amraani, and one of quickly-masked surprise from the minister.

          The minister reminded the partners of the specific rights and duties that would be theirs as part of the program and as married citizens of the nation.

The current body modifications were all the Glorians, particularly the he-wive would endure. He wouldn’t change any further, but he would have to obey his husband like every other woman in the country. After all, on all accounts, they were considered women marrying men.

He, like the other Glorians, would work at their respective positions in the government wielding the full authority and responsibilities attached to their positions. Shinji would not be discriminated against for being a woman at work. They could have children if they so desired. Detailed protocols to achieve that was downloaded with the Informational Aid Software.

Brain Tutor, Shinji smiled inwardly.

The husband and he-female wife were supposed to display at all times an image of love for each other and couldn't divorce since divorce wasn’t allowed in the country. Still, if they couldn’t live together anymore, separation would be, as previously agreed upon, realized by faking the death of the one asking for divorce. And parental rights would go to the other partner entirely and irremediably.

For the dignity of the officials that they would become, no one was allowed to have children out of wedlock. Even if the smaller amount of body modifications made it only a moral issue for the husbands, the minister asked Amraani to think of it as showing respect to the other man he was being bound to. After all, Shinji was a man who was sacrificing a lot to help the country by living like "a woman".

“Funny, how even in the program, the Glorian husbands can make children however they want, with both the he-wife and any other female they want while the he-wife can’t.” Shinji whispered angrily under his breath.

The misogynist bastards!

The uterine additive of a he-female wouldn’t trigger a pregnancy if the partner’s DNA detected on the he-female body was different from that of his legitimate/ registered husband.

I know that and I can’t do a thing to this monster.

When he was done reciting their rights and obligations, the minister told them to exchange vows. Amraani seemed to perk up and smiled before he started. To Shinji though, the wows they were reciting sounded so wrong right now, he couldn’t keep a glint of aggression from blazing lightning fast in his eyes when he said his. If Amraani sensed something was amiss, he didn’t let it on.

They reached the part of the ceremony where they exchanged alliances. A decade ago, someone had found it romantic to create a wedding band out of his DNA and biogenetically modified living crystals. Now wedding rings were made out of both partners’ DNA and would die off if taken off for more than a couple of hours a day. They grew cold when the partner walked away or warmer if they got close.

Hard to make the lovers feel more tied up together.

As the rings were being activated by the minister, Shinji lowered his face for a second. His anger was threatening to boil over.

What an idiot I am! I saw it coming. All the signs were there. I am a fool.

The dreadful prickle he knew well had slid across his skin when Amraani ran late yesterday. He had felt it in the loft they were about to purchase and in the restaurant. He even sensed it right before he heard Amraani talking in that room. He wasn’t able to discern the words yet, but he had picked up on that sting that announces changing tides in his life.

He was so taken by his visions of blissful future, each and every time he chose to attribute it to the joyful, impending marriage with Amraani. He even thought he was becoming paranoid. He was a fool for not listening to his intuition.

Now, the pain of this lie, of this loss, had to be shared with maximum efficiency. And I am good with efficiency.

Shinji thought as he watched his flying monitor along the side of the room panels growing closer to start a countdown. He breathed out slowly a whisper and calming down, he lifted his head and raised a truly happy gaze onto a very quiet and very concentrated-on-Shinji’s-face Amraani.

He whispered close.

“Are you sure you are alright, Shinji? Or should I say Fiji Mary? Maybe we overdid it last night.”

Expecting something else, anything else, a caught-off-guard Shinji blushed involuntarily.

“No, don’t worry! It will pass in a moment." His cheekbones were already a pretty shade of pink he knew for sure. He lied.

"I am hungry. All these emotions! And yesterday’s love session too!” He finished blushing bright red against his will.

I should kick myself for still remembering this that way. To think, I was lamenting we could only have children by adoption or by in vitro genetic manipulation. Meanwhile, he was already successfully impregnating me. He was seething again with ire.

The minister was back with the rings and the ceremony concluded with a kiss that left Shinji wanting for more, so much more. Despite himself.

Sollen Jenkins appeared smiling, to remind them that they were to head straight for the medical center. A few more checks on their health before they left for their new houses.

As the staff efficiently moved around Shinji and Amraani, the he-bride didn’t say a word. His brain tutor was explaining how it was adjusting to Amraani’s DNA so Shinji wouldn’t conceive a child from anyone other than his legitimate Glorian husband.

After all, to make sure the he-females were properly acknowledged as women by society, they had to be able to give birth or the gig would be up after a certain time. The one difference being that they wouldn’t conceive, unless with their legitimate husband till his death while the husband could procreate with other non-Glorian females.

Talk about cynism from those High Constitutional councilors.

It took them the better part of the day to fill out the remainder of the paperwork related to their new jobs, their new lives, and their old identities.

              By late afternoon, they were in the downtown loft with Shinji –Fiji Mary- in a sassy city outfit being carried over the threshold as per tradition. The movers, all members of the support team, all smiling and happy for the newlyweds, finished bringing in the new, 95% female, stylish wardrobe of Shinji. The apartment came furnished, so all they had left to do was finding diner. The very thought of sitting across the asshole irked Shinji. He squashed the feeling fast.

I have a plan to follow and it’s never too early to prepare for war.

Amraani disappeared somewhere in the house. So, Shinji started to make a few biocalls and get a splendid diner on its way. Amraani surged from the gym, humming a ballad and the wedding band on Shinji’s finger grew warm in tempo with his face. Amraani’s manly sweat scent had called up to Shinji’s mind images of their bodies intertwined together the night before. His moans of pleasure as he writhed amidst Amraani’s arousing groans and feverish embrace. It showed. And Amraani reacted right away, gathering Shinji in his arms and kissing him senseless.

“I’m having you and then food, please” The seductive drawl caused Shinji’s anger to rear its head, but desire unabated by the callous treatment he had received from his husband rose higher. He put everything else aside -for a short while- and drew his husband closer to himself. They made love in the kitchen, they had diner, and they continued indulging in each other as they made small talk on how to organize their married life for themselves and for the public eye. The house-integrated computer recorded notes for them and prepared communications they would later check and send to their new colleagues.

Deep into the night, Shinji woke up to the sound of rain pounding on the glassy window panels with Amraani’s arm solidly keeping him where he laid, close to the other man’s body. He felt the wedding ring warm on his finger and he silently wept. They were so close in that gigantic bed and yet so far apart it hurt. Deep.

I have to swallow my misery and hurt to make this loveless sham of a marriage work until I am ready to get my revenge. To this attention-loving prick, losing his standing among his academy peers and this job should be the worst thing that could happen. I will call a few people and track down THAT man and I will watch Amraani closely. We work for the same institution even if we have offices on different floors. It won’t take long to get the information I need to drive Amraani to his doom.

Shinji was sure it would take a while to grasp the right place where to hit this treacherous old friend/love. After all, they both were changing identities, employments, lifestyles, and matrimonial status, and they had to all that without getting caught by the public. Therefore, getting used to the new environment and not betraying oneself would be key to the success of the punishment-planning.

The hardest part will be fully acquiring the female mannerisms and keeping it in public, even when I feel like killing him each time he tries seduction on me. So for now, I have to hide my claws and hide in the background. I need to be fully integrated into the Eternal Glory program. Then, and only then, will I be able to dump him into the pit of sufferings he deserves.

Nursing some more thoughts on the implementation of Amraani’s punishment, Shinji’s breath gradually grew even and deep.

          Early morning, a sharp pain in the shoulder brutally pulled Amraani out of his sleep. By habit, he breathed out silently to ease the mental impact of the pain while he waited, eyes still closed, for it to recede. He looked around, blinking to recognize the place where he was.

“Oh mocks! I slipped back into those bad habits again. What did I do this time?”

He muttered. It took another second or two for it all to come back in a rush. He was in Ivory, capital of the Democratic Republic of Jarusha, in his new conjugal room, holding in his arms his newlywed he-wife and best friend, Shinji–Patrick Onodera. No, Fiji-Mary Ise-Masson! Oh yes, he also had a new job, a new name, and a new face.

A smile started spreading on his new face.

I can barely fathom it. I’m married to Shinji. It finally happened. I get to be with him, without hindrance. His good humor didn’t last long.

The disturbing sensation in his not-wrapped-around-Shinji’s arm came back sharper.

I can practically feel my ligaments breaking down now. I never thought the degradation of my body would happen this fast. It wasn’t enough that I was in trouble I had to drag Shinji onto that thorny path with me and I can’t even tell him all he needs to know to survive it. He trusts me without reservation and I’m doing this to him. I always appreciated him more than what words can convey, even if I never told him directly. Having him in my arms like this is a dream come true.

Amraani sighed, his mood hesitating between pure unadulterated joy and guilty uneasiness. "Can I tell him? How should I tell him?" He whispered, looking at the sleeping Shinji.

 "How long do I have to hide all this from you, Shinji? I don't think I will last. You could always see through me really fast. Then again, you didn’t recognize me at the Constitutional building hotel that morning. So maybe that hard conversation won't happen for a long time. You know it worried me somewhat that you, as Fiji-Mary, couldn’t see through my new appearance. You know me so well, I was taken aback and I felt lonely seeing how even you missed spotting my presence."

Shinji, still sleeping, moved a foot, scooted closer to the other man’s chest, and Amraani’s thoughts took another direction. The pain had receded.

Let’s have an early Shinji-breakfast. He dove down the sheets to kiss Fiji-Mary on her inner tights.