The New Forever
Written for: 
brigits_flame, May 2013, week 3
Prompt: Splice
Words: 840
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: unhealthy relationship
The New Forever
"Splice - the new forever!" The red neon sign blinked luridly above the rose-colored wall. The building itself was pristine, but the smell of garbage hung in the air. Morgan hesitated.
"Are you sure we should do it this way? 'Until death do us part' was good enough for generations before us."
"You know how well that worked," Lou said. "Estrangement, infidelity, divorce. I don't want any of that happening to us. Besides, I want it to be special!"
Morgan nodded and pushed open the door. A receptionist greeted them with an alarmingly white smile. He took their information and led the along a corridor that smelled of hospital disinfectant. Of course, Morgan thought. It shouldn't have been surprising.
Room 21 was divided into two parts. The front half had a desk and a plushy red couch; the other half looked like an exam room. They sat down on the couch. Ms. Speron, one of the founders of Splice Corps, did not waste much time on niceties.
"Are you sure you want to go through with this? It is a permanent procedure."
Lou beamed. "Of course we are, right, love?"
Morgan nodded.
"Then I need you to fill out this paperwork. Mr. Chow will take care of the preliminary examinations afterwards."
Morgan swallowed and began filling out the paperwork.
Three weeks later, Lou was invited to a barbeque at Mel's garden. Morgan could hear Mel's voice before seeing her through the thick hedge.
"I think it's just gruesome. I can't imagine mutilating myself or Jin in that way."
Ana's voice drifted over the hedge as well. "It's not even about the physical part. As much as I love Aelia, I just can't imagine being around her all day, without ever having any time on my own."
Morgan slowed down.
"Don't worry," Lou whispered. "They'll get used to it. I doubt they'll say anything to our faces."
Lou tagged at Morgan’s hand and they opened the garden gate.
"Lou! Oh, hello Morgan! I'm afraid you might get a bit bored, I must have forgotten to tell you this one was planned to be one without partners..."
Mel trailed off when she saw how Lou and Morgan's bodies were connected.
"Oh. Well, come and get some drinks. They are over at the bar behind the pool."
Morgan missed lunch breaks the way they used to be. Mediocre food from the canteen, a fizzy drink and quiet except for the traffic noises that drifted up to the top of the office building.
Lou preferred to spend the lunch breaks in the canteen, surrounded by noise and collegues. Morgan sometimes listened to music to block out the surroundings, the way Lou's voice was too loud and the same jokes as always. Other times, Morgan simply watched the other people in the canteen.
Lou gave Morgan a sharp nudge in the ribs. "You're looking at Jarek from accounting again, aren't you?"
"Why do you always think that? I was just looking around."
"Because I can feel you're interested! You keep forgetting we share the same bloodstream!"
"Well how do you know it's not you who is interested in Jarek?"
"Don't you dare try to pin this on me!" Lou huffed and went back to eating lunch, turning as far away from Morgan as their connection allowed.
Morgan turned up the music and regretted the decision they had made years ago.
The fights were awful. Hours of yelling and shouting while neither of them could simply walk out of the room. Morgan had never thought they could be so miserable together.
Morgan sometimes got drunk just because Lou would have to suffer the same hang-over in the morning.
Lou took up bungee jumping in turn. Morgan thought the terror would give them heart attacks and put an end to it at last.
Finally, they found something they could agree on. There were x-rays, CT-scans and blood tests. After days of tests, their entire misery lay printed out on the hospital table before them. There were pictures, numbers, graphs and the words "I'm afraid there is nothing we can do. Any attempt to reverse this would kill one or both of you. This was designed to be permanent."
Morgan and Lou tried to sue Splice Corps. It turned out they were not the first couple to do so. Ms. Speron and the others involved in Splice Corps had long since left the country. There was an international arrest warrant but they simply couldn't be found.
When Morgan and Lou walked through the streets, little children pointed at them.
"Mommy, what's wrong with them?"
"Shush darling, it's rude to point at people. A long time ago, young people thought it would be romantic to be connected forever. It's not a very good idea, though. Just imagine never being able to go anywhere alone again, not even to the bathroom. If you ever fall in love, it's much better to just buy a house and maybe a puppy together."
Morgan and Lou simply walked past with tightly pursed lips.
brigits_flame, May 2013, week 3
Prompt: Splice
Words: 840
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: unhealthy relationship
The New Forever
"Splice - the new forever!" The red neon sign blinked luridly above the rose-colored wall. The building itself was pristine, but the smell of garbage hung in the air. Morgan hesitated.
"Are you sure we should do it this way? 'Until death do us part' was good enough for generations before us."
"You know how well that worked," Lou said. "Estrangement, infidelity, divorce. I don't want any of that happening to us. Besides, I want it to be special!"
Morgan nodded and pushed open the door. A receptionist greeted them with an alarmingly white smile. He took their information and led the along a corridor that smelled of hospital disinfectant. Of course, Morgan thought. It shouldn't have been surprising.
Room 21 was divided into two parts. The front half had a desk and a plushy red couch; the other half looked like an exam room. They sat down on the couch. Ms. Speron, one of the founders of Splice Corps, did not waste much time on niceties.
"Are you sure you want to go through with this? It is a permanent procedure."
Lou beamed. "Of course we are, right, love?"
Morgan nodded.
"Then I need you to fill out this paperwork. Mr. Chow will take care of the preliminary examinations afterwards."
Morgan swallowed and began filling out the paperwork.
Three weeks later, Lou was invited to a barbeque at Mel's garden. Morgan could hear Mel's voice before seeing her through the thick hedge.
"I think it's just gruesome. I can't imagine mutilating myself or Jin in that way."
Ana's voice drifted over the hedge as well. "It's not even about the physical part. As much as I love Aelia, I just can't imagine being around her all day, without ever having any time on my own."
Morgan slowed down.
"Don't worry," Lou whispered. "They'll get used to it. I doubt they'll say anything to our faces."
Lou tagged at Morgan’s hand and they opened the garden gate.
"Lou! Oh, hello Morgan! I'm afraid you might get a bit bored, I must have forgotten to tell you this one was planned to be one without partners..."
Mel trailed off when she saw how Lou and Morgan's bodies were connected.
"Oh. Well, come and get some drinks. They are over at the bar behind the pool."
Morgan missed lunch breaks the way they used to be. Mediocre food from the canteen, a fizzy drink and quiet except for the traffic noises that drifted up to the top of the office building.
Lou preferred to spend the lunch breaks in the canteen, surrounded by noise and collegues. Morgan sometimes listened to music to block out the surroundings, the way Lou's voice was too loud and the same jokes as always. Other times, Morgan simply watched the other people in the canteen.
Lou gave Morgan a sharp nudge in the ribs. "You're looking at Jarek from accounting again, aren't you?"
"Why do you always think that? I was just looking around."
"Because I can feel you're interested! You keep forgetting we share the same bloodstream!"
"Well how do you know it's not you who is interested in Jarek?"
"Don't you dare try to pin this on me!" Lou huffed and went back to eating lunch, turning as far away from Morgan as their connection allowed.
Morgan turned up the music and regretted the decision they had made years ago.
The fights were awful. Hours of yelling and shouting while neither of them could simply walk out of the room. Morgan had never thought they could be so miserable together.
Morgan sometimes got drunk just because Lou would have to suffer the same hang-over in the morning.
Lou took up bungee jumping in turn. Morgan thought the terror would give them heart attacks and put an end to it at last.
Finally, they found something they could agree on. There were x-rays, CT-scans and blood tests. After days of tests, their entire misery lay printed out on the hospital table before them. There were pictures, numbers, graphs and the words "I'm afraid there is nothing we can do. Any attempt to reverse this would kill one or both of you. This was designed to be permanent."
Morgan and Lou tried to sue Splice Corps. It turned out they were not the first couple to do so. Ms. Speron and the others involved in Splice Corps had long since left the country. There was an international arrest warrant but they simply couldn't be found.
When Morgan and Lou walked through the streets, little children pointed at them.
"Mommy, what's wrong with them?"
"Shush darling, it's rude to point at people. A long time ago, young people thought it would be romantic to be connected forever. It's not a very good idea, though. Just imagine never being able to go anywhere alone again, not even to the bathroom. If you ever fall in love, it's much better to just buy a house and maybe a puppy together."
Morgan and Lou simply walked past with tightly pursed lips.