The Brass Butterfly Ch. 03

This is a collaboration story between me and my friend Black Velvet. Sara belongs to Black Velvet while Matt and Simon belong to me. All written text and characters are copyrighted and may not be used without permission. This story will contain boy/girl, girl/girl, boy/boy, and threesome sexual content. Some chapters may not contain any sexual content. In which case, we also hope you enjoy the story. Feel free to stroke our egos, we love getting comments! Stroke them enough and we'll give you more faster. :)

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The next day they showed up at the UW campus at 2:00 on the dot at Simon's office, after getting a bit lost. Matt figured she should wait outside for a while before going in, in order not to scare the hell out of Simon the first time around. She didn't want to put it in his head that they were playing some weird practical joke on him and piss him off to the point where he'd refuse to help. Sara pointed out he might think that anyway since there really was no good way of explaining it without sounding like a lunatic, but eventually agreed that going slower might be the safer route. Sara knocked on the door alone, and heard the rumble of Simon's muffled reply to enter.

The office wasn't that big, and was cluttered with books, papers, and some Chinese knick-knacks. The carpet was deep red and a bit stained, and there was a large oak desk with stacks of papers lined up in piles around the edges, filled paper sorters, and an open laptop. Simon looked up from the laptop when she came in and smiled.

Sara's breath caught in her throat and her mind went temporarily blank.

Simon Webb had always been cute in an awkward sort of way, but now he'd become outright gorgeous. His mother was Chinese and his father was Welsh, so he had the slender pointed face and straight silky blue-black hair of his mother, which he'd grown so long it was wound in a neat and tight braid down to the middle of his back. The rest of his features—including a striking set of round blue eyes—were all Caucasian. His parents had moved to the United States from Wales when he was in his teens, and somehow he'd grown up much taller than either of them. He was at least six foot two, with had broad shoulders and arms. Not so broad that it made Sara think of a body builder, but broad in that she could tell he worked out regularly. His tailored gray pinstripe slacks, black shoes, and a white button down shirt were simple, but flattered his body, and a pair of slim-framed wire rimmed glasses enhanced those incredible blue eyes. He smiled brilliantly at Sara when he saw her, and got up with his arms opening for a hug. His voice was a sexy and smooth baritone with a light Welsh accent, "Sara, it's great to see you again!"

She hugged him and forced her mind to focus. "Likewise, Simon. When did you get back into town?"

He pulled her close to him—and he smelled good, like some very nice, light and spicy aftershave. "I've been teaching here for about a year or so now."

She pulled back and slapped his arm playfully, "A whole year and you never once tried to find us?"

He put his hands up in surrender, "Ok, I give. But I figured you guys would have moved on, and it would have been awkward. Speaking of guys, where's Matt? I thought he was going to come with you."

She sobered, "He's—here. He's in the hallway waiting. He wanted me to talk to you first and explain a few things."

Simon's brow creased in concern, "Is he ok?"

She gestured with her hand, not quite sure how to answer. "In a manner of speaking. He's okay, but you might want to sit down."

He looked perplexed and scratched the back of his head. "Well, all right." He turned and pulled a chair out for her and gestured for her to sit in front of his desk and took his seat around the other side, "We'll get down to business then so he's not stuck in the hall for too much longer. What's going on?"

Sara pulled the box out of her purse and started to tell him the story—how they found it, how the lid wouldn't open, and what happened to Matt when he finally opened it.

Simon took the box and adjusted his glasses, looking it over while she talked. He opened up a bottom drawer of his desk, and pulled out a cloth and rubbed some of the symbols so he could read it better. He said nothing when Sara finished her story, studying the box intently.

She looked at him nervously. "Can I let Matt in now? She...he's not too comfortable in public at the moment."

Simon looked at her, face neutral, but serious. "You're telling me he opened this box and now he's agirl?"

She nodded, "Yes."

He lifted one eyebrow and looked warily at her like he was expecting her to pull some bizarre prank on him. "Ohhhkaaaaay."

She got up and opened the door, gesturing to Matt. "Come in now."

Matt came in and Simon stood up. They stared at each other and Matt had the same reaction that Sara did, struck suddenly and hard with how handsome Simon was. It took her a moment to realize she was staring at him, and she felt sheepish. Embarrassed, she finally cleared her throat and said, "Hi, Simon, long time, no see."

Simon was silent. He stared some more at Matt then he looked at Sara like he was wondering what the hell they were both doing in his office.

Matt shifted uncomfortably from one leg to another, her eyes flicking from Simon to Sara and back.

Sara coughed nervously. "Simon?"

Simon shook his head. "I-I don't understand this."

Matt looked at Sara. "Youdid tell him, right?"

Sara looked desperate. "Of course I did! I'm telling you the truth Simon, this is Matt, the same guy we went to college with!"

Simon leaned over his desk, palms down on top of it. "I'm waiting for the punch line here, folks."

Sara pursed her lips, went over to the desk and leaned over it, mimicking him with palms down and looked him in the eye. "There is no punch line Simon. Matt was cleaning the box; it opened and there was a flash of light. When we could see again, he was like this." She gestured back at Matt. "The key is in that box and you're the one who can translate it and or research the history of it." Her look softened. "You're the only one we can trust with this Simon."

Simon's face was almost kissably close. He looked more confused than ever and looked at Matt again, "Ok, fine. Tell me something only Matt would know."

Matt frowned, "Is this really necessary?"

Simon narrowed his eyes, "You really expect me to swallow that you spontaneously turned into a girl?"

Matt sighed. "Fine. Back in our second year, you told me you were bisexual and had your first date with a guy. But you were too scared to death to tell anybody about it except for me. I recommended you two go to this restaurant on First Street, and you were so nervous, you dropped a whole plate of fettuccine into this guy's lap."

Simon gasped, his jaw dropping. "Oh my god."

Sara looked at Simon. "Well?"

Simon came around the desk and up to Matt. They stared at each other some more and Simon leaned forward to inspect her face. Matt brought her head back and watched Simon warily. Simon shook his head and looked like he was trying to reconcile the idea. Then suddenly he reached out and squeezed one of Matt's breasts.

Matt yelped and jumped about a foot in the air. They both stumbled backwards, Matt putting her hands up protectively over her breasts and gasped, "JESUS Simon, I'm happy to see you too, but PERSONAL SPACE HERE!"

Simon nearly tripped over a chair and leaned back heavily against it, all the color drained from his face with one hand on his chest as if trying to prevent a heart attack. "I didn't want to believe it, but it's true!"

"Christ," Matt said, unnerved and angry, "I hope I'm not going to have to spend the rest of my life having people grab my tits in order to prove myself." Sara came over and put an arm around Matt, ignoring her sarcasm and looking at Simon. "So can we trust you? Will you help us?"

Simon nodded and straightened up and pulled some of his hair out of his face, trying to compose himself. "I...yes, of course. I—I won't say anything...nobody would believe me!"

Matt let out a breath of relief. "Thanks, man. I know this is kind of awkward to spring on you, but imagine howI feel!"

Simon made a weak and slightly strained chuckle. "Kind of soft and full."

Matt reddened and grinned, straining to go along with the joke. "Har har. Good to see you're still the same bastard you always were. Can we talk about how to get me back to normal now?"

Simon cleared his throat and walked around his desk again. "Of course, of course. Come sit down while I look over this box again."

Sara sat down and leaned forward anxiously, gesturing for Matt to stop being rude and sit down. Matt sighed and did, sitting like a guy with her legs open and arms draped on the back of the chair.

Simon rubbed the box and peered at the writing again. He spent a long time looking it over, opening the box carefully, and looking inside at the writing under the lid as well. Nothing happened to him. The box opened normally and passively. He spent a lot of time turning it over, furrowing his brow, and adjusting his glasses. Then he'd repeat the process over again. The silence stretched out for a long time, and as much as neither of the two women secretly admitted they minded watching Simon do this, Matt fidgeted uncomfortably for a while and finally couldn't stand it anymore. "Well?!"

Simon looked up, "I don't know. I've never seen most of these symbols before."

They let out a collective breath of exasperation and disappointment. Simon shrugged, "Don't panic yet. I can tell you this much, that I think it's a genuine article. I couldn't tell you how old it is, but I was able to recognize one word," He held up the box and pointed at the large symbol in the middle, "This large one here is the symbol for 'butterfly.'"

"Butterfly?"

"Yes. The butterfly usually represents joy and marriage in Chinese Mythology, but it can also represent change. Butterfly is pronounced in homonym with the worddie, which means "80 years old." 'Die' is also pronounced similar to another word, which means to "pile up" or "repeat" - and thus given the meaning "many." This couples with the imagery of the dragon along the sides. Dragons are representative of many things in Chinese mythology from royalty to rain, but they essentially embody eternity and the Yin to Yang, that sort of thing."

Matt sighed, "And this helps me how?"

Simon put the box down. "Well, it's just a theory of mine right now, but since the Yin-Yang is one, and the universe moves forever in a Circle, I'd say if you can get to be what you are now, you can get back to being what you were."

Sara shook her head. "What?"

Simon folded his hands on his desk patiently. "There is a REALLY good chance that we can make Matt male again."

Both of them let out a huge sigh of relief, and Sara said, "Oh Simon, that's wonderful news!"

Simon smiled gently in appreciation, but held up a hand. "Don't thank me yet. I still haven't the foggiest idea how this could have happened or what triggered it. Sara's handled the box, I've handled the box, and we've both done the exact same things to it that Matt did when her...uh...his accident happened. And we are fine. So it doesn't seem to be triggered by cleaning or opening the lid like a genie in a lamp or something like that."

He picked up the box again and turned it over showing more Hanzi in crude scratching on the bottom. "As I said, most of the rest of what's written on it is alien to me, and I read and speak several dialects of Chinese fluently. These marks here are the name of a village and a location near Qinling Mountains. That's a very good clue; it gives me a place to start. But it will take some research before I can tell you more. Could be a few days."

Matt choked, her voice rising. "A few DAYS?! What am I going to do until then?! Hide in our house and look up drive-through sex change operations?!"

Sara put a hand on her arm, trying to control Matt's panic, "Sweetie..."

Simon gave them both an apologetic grin, "Well, it's good to see you haven't changed TOO much. You still have that winning personality."

Sara gave Matt a warning look, "Just ignore her...him...Simon. Sh—he's been having a rough time lately. Okay, so what can we do to help you?"

He sat back and smiled, "Well, you can accompany me out to dinner tomorrow night. Matt's case of PMS or no, I still want to catch up with you both."

Sara smiled back, "Well only if Matt's comfortable going out. Otherwise you should just come over to our place and I'll cook up some lasagna."

Matt looked at the floor, "Well..."

Simon said quickly, "Think of it as a temporary situation, Matt. If you're going to be a woman temporarily, you should enjoy what the other side gets to do, right?"

Matt rolled his eyes, "You always were a bigger geek than me, you just want to show off the fact you have two girls hanging off your arm for once."

"Honey!" Sara said, appalled.

Simon smiled slowly, "True. But I wouldn't mind that if you were a guy, either, remember?"

Matt turned bright red and Simon laughed, "Gotcha!"

Matt slapped her forehead. "Argh! Ok, fine, let's go out, what the hell...I don't want your creepy ass in my house."

Simon laughed harder and Sara chuckled and shook her head. "All right you two." She looked back at Simon. "Where are you treating us to?"

He thought about it. "Are you both still into Thai food? I know a great place nearby."

Sara nodded, "Sounds good to me."

Matt followed suit, "Ok."

Simon smiled, "Great!" He looked at the clock and picked up the box and a set of keys from a key ring and walked over to a locking cabinet behind him. "I'm going to need to keep this while I research it, I hope you don't mind. I've got to run. I have a class to teach. Meet you here tomorrow at say--six?"

Sara nodded and stood. "Not at all. Good luck with it."

Matt shrugged. "Good for me, considering I'm on Gender Identity Crisis Leave from work."

She nodded. "We're both on leave for now. If Tony needs me in the office, I wouldn't be there more than an hour or two in the morning."

Matt looked at Simon. "Level with me...Are you serious about this taking days?" she asked.

Simon sobered, his face becoming serious. "I'm not going to build your hopes up. It's going to take me a while, and it could even take me months or years, god forbid. But I promise you, I'll do my best for you, I'll work on this as long as it takes. I won't know one way or another how it will go until I start, but I promise to keep you updated."

Matt nodded, "Thanks, man."

Sara came up and hugged Simon, "See you tomorrow."

Simon looked at Matt, and there was a moment of confusion that crossed his face of whether he should hug her or not, and then he stuck his hand out. They shook, "Sorry about the grope, earlier."

Matt quirked her mouth, "Not THAT sorry."

Simon smiled slowly at her again and said softly, "You're right."

Matt's face slackened a bit and she was speechless, which wasn't something she was often. Sara wondered if Simon was really being serious and if he was, she wasn't sure this was appropriate. Simon reached over and grabbed his jacket to put on over the shirt and then patted Matt once on the shoulder firmly, like he would do for another man. He let them out, waving and telling them he'd see them tomorrow as he walked off in the opposite direction.

As they walked down the hall back to the parking garage, Matt looked at Sara. "What was that all about?"

Sara glanced at her with a smirk. "He's flirting."

Matt stuffed her hands in her pockets. "Are you sure? I think he's just trying to mess with my head."

She chuckled and rolled her eyes. "That too. He's flirting with you exactly the way he flirted with me when I first met him...before he knew I was with you."

Matt eyed her askance. "I didn't know that. Did you ever date him?"

Sara stopped and looked at her, making Matt stop as well. "I met him when you and I were first dating. I went to dinner with him one time, but that was it." She shrugged, "He's cute, but he's not you," she said with a smile.

Matt blushed a bit at that and smiled at her shoes. "Thanks. I appreciate that. He's really...uh, changed hasn't he? He looks like he just walked out a magazine, DAMN. He was such a dork when we were in school, but...wow." Her eyes widened and she blushed suddenly, "I didn't mean that."

Sara chuckled and gave her a kiss. "It's okay, I know what you mean," she said as she took Matt's hand. "C'mon...let's go home. I need..." she yawned and grinned, "A nap. You kept me up kind of late last night."

"That sounded like a complaint to me," Matt said, teasing.

"Who's complaining?" Sara said with a wicked grin, and they finished walking the rest of the way to the car.

To Be Continued...