Chapter 8: Second Draft

Ethan woke up on his own couch with someone else’s morning wood and the slow, sinking realization that he had slept better in Kai’s body than he had in his own for months.

This was offensive on multiple levels.

Kai emerged from the bedroom already dressed in one of Ethan’s button-downs, sleeves rolled up, looking like a man who had never experienced shame as a concept.

"Rise and shine, temporary roommate," Kai said. "Your dick says good morning. Please thank it for its service."

Ethan dragged a pillow over his face. "I will end you."

"You’d have to get off the couch first. Big ask right now." Kai tossed a protein bar at his chest. "Eat something, we’re going to the office. Both of us."

Ethan sat up so fast the pillow fell. "Absolutely not."

"Absolutely yes. You’re the one who demanded daily check-ins and joint responsibility. Harlan has the first draft. Today we make the second and I need you close enough to stop me if I start writing actual breeding clauses in redline."

"That is the opposite of reassuring."

Kai grinned. "I know, it’s part of my charm. Get dressed, you can wear the tragic gray shirt. It matches your emotional state."

They arrived at Meridian Capital together and immediately pretended they didn’t know each other.

Kai went to Ethan’s cubicle. Ethan hovered near the elevators like a man considering a new career in professional vanishing. His new phone stayed off, the leather jacket stayed on. He looked like a delivery guy who had taken a wrong turn into late-stage capitalism.

At nine - seventeen Kai texted him.

Ethan (Kai): Harlan just walked past and nodded at me. That’s either approval or the beginning of a performance improvement plan. Exciting either way.

Kai (Ethan): do not make it worse

Ethan (Kai): define worse. be specific,use bullet points, you love bullet points.

Kai (Ethan): if you turn my job into a sex cult I will find a way to switch us back just so I can kill you in the correct body

Ethan (Kai): noted, very romantic,see you at 11 for coffee, don’t talk to strangers. my reputation is delicate.

Ethan was still trying to invent a reply devastating enough when a woman from accounting stopped in front of him and frowned.

"Kai? You look lost."

He froze. "I’m visiting. A friend, who works here. Very briefly."

She gave him a long look. "You sure you’re okay? You’re standing like someone who’s never been in an office before."

"I’m fine. Just processing a near-death experience and an identity crisis. Normal Thursday."

She blinked. "Right. Well, tell your friend the coffee on 27 is still terrible."

She left. Ethan exhaled so hard he nearly folded in half.

They met in the stairwell between 26 and 27 because conference rooms had glass walls and Ethan’s remaining dignity had a strict no-audience policy.

Kai leaned against the railing in Ethan’s body, looking unfairly at home.

"Harlan asked for a cleaner version," he said without preamble. "Shorter. Less apocalyptic. More ’thought leadership,’ less ’we should all be fucking for the quarterly numbers.’ I’m drafting it now. You’re going to help."

Ethan stared at him. "I am not helping you write the corporate manifesto for recreational impregnation."

"It’s not recreational, it’s strategic. Keep up." Kai pulled out Ethan’s phone and opened a notes app. "Okay, title options. I’m between ’Structured Wellness Intervals’ and ’Performance-Aligned Release Framework.’ Thoughts?"

"I think you need professional help."

"Already have it. You’re standing right here." Kai typed anyway. "We’ll go with Structured Wellness Intervals. Sounds expensive. Executives love things that sound expensive."

Ethan pinched the bridge of the new nose. "Every time you open your mouth my future dies a little."

"And yet you’re still here instead of running into traffic. Curious." Kai glanced up. "Also, you’re doing that thing again where your ears turn red. It’s adorable, my body has tells I never bothered noticing."

"I am begging you to stop narrating my physical reactions."

"No can do. Data collection is important. How else am I supposed to write a responsible policy?"

Ethan leaned against the opposite wall and crossed his arms. The leather jacket creaked. "Fine. You want help? Here’s help. If you actually put anything about breeding in the second draft I will personally email every partner in the firm from your account and confess to crimes you haven’t even committed yet."

Kai’s eyes lit up. "God, you’re hot when you threaten me with fraud. Say more."

"I’m serious."

"I know. That’s why it’s working for me." Kai sobered a fraction, though the smile never fully left. "Listen. I’m keeping the breeding language out of the official version. For now. It lives in the margins and in my head and in the extremely detailed follow-up document I’m not showing Harlan until the temperature is higher. Second draft is soft. Wellness, retention. Voluntary stress-reduction sessions with clear opt-in language. The kind of thing a tired man with a grinding jaw problem can pretend is still respectable."

Ethan studied him. "And the real version?"

Kai’s voice dropped. "The real version is that people are going to start asking for more once they get a taste of permission. And when they do, we’ll already have the structure. Consent forms, boundaries, exit clauses. All the pretty contract language you love. I’m not building a free-for-all. I’m building a system that can survive contact with reality."

"You’re building a system that lets you fuck half the floor without getting fired."

"I’m building a system that lets us survive this swap without losing our minds. The fucking is a side benefit. A very motivating side benefit." Kai stepped closer. The stairwell suddenly felt narrower. "You can keep hating the idea. That’s fine, hate it productively. Read the second draft. Tell me where the language is too dangerous, be the brakes. I’ll be the accelerator, that’s the deal."

Ethan held his gaze. The new body was very aware of how close they were standing, the old instincts wanted to step back. The current ones wanted to do something significantly less smart.

He stepped back anyway.

"Send me the draft," he said. "I’ll read it. And if it’s as unhinged as I expect, I’m burning your favorite jacket."

Kai’s grin returned full force. "Threaten the jacket again. I dare you."

"I’m going downstairs before this conversation gets any more biologically confusing."

"Coward."

"Survivor."

Ethan pushed through the door to 26. Kai’s laughter followed him into the hallway, bright and shameless.

By the time Ethan reached the lobby his phone had already buzzed.

Ethan (Kai): second draft incoming. try not to get hard while reading. or do. data is data.

Ethan (Kai): also I told Priya you looked lost in the lobby. she seemed concerned. you’re welcome for the character development.

Ethan stared at the messages, felt the traitorous heat low in his gut, and realized with pure dread that he was already looking forward to the next argument.

The plot was moving.