the_matrix | Life Swap Meme

Life Swap Meme

You wake up, and you're living a different life. Whatever you had before, whatever you'd accomplished before, is gone. In their place is something familiar, but not the same. Maybe your friends are your enemies, your enemies your friends. Maybe it's the whole world, maybe it's just your household. The only thing you know for sure is that something's changed, and you're the only one who's noticed. But who changed? Them... or you?

1. Domestic bliss. You may not be used to being married to this person or anyone, but now you are. Who are they? Someone you know? Someone you don't know at all? Whatever it is, you seem to have made a life together here.

2. Black is white, white is black. Whatever side you used to work for, you don't anymore. Your friends may have just become your enemies (or maybe they're there with you, working for a cause that you remember as wrong wrong wrong). You might want to step lightly here, though. No one likes an apparent defector.

3. Career changes. Well, your resume's really fucked now. The job you've been doing for the last x years? Never happened. Your awesome space marines team now work at a Wendy's. Or a bookstore. Or maybe you and your retail buddies are now saving the galaxy. Who knows? Whatever, hope you pick up new skills quick!

4. Pet platoon. Oh christ, now you're not even the same species. Your life has been reinterpreted into animal-life. Whatever, human life sucks anyway. Go chase a squirrel!

5. Back in time. Most of the details are same, it's just the setting that's changed. Did you live in 2000? Hope you like the 1800s! Good luck with that whole 'no indoor plumbing thing'.

6. The time of my life. You've seen this movie. One minute you're living pretty as a twelve-year-old, next minute it's eighteen years later and you have to hold down a job. Or maybe you've just been slingshoted to when you were younger. At least you'll totally breeze through algebra this time, right?

7. Wildcard. Make up your own, suggest your own. Do whatever you want. The universe is yours! (Sorta.)

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The first thing Wynonna was aware of was the sound of birds chirping and rather cheerfully at that. Almost like they were having fun with the fact that every little chirp from their tiny beaks felt like stabbing needles into her skull. Groaning, she pulled the pillow from under her head and pressed it over her face in an attempt to block out the noise but it proved to be only a temporary relief before the sound seemed to sink through the thickness of the pillow too.

Giving up, she brought her pillow up and dropped it on her stomach before finally opening her eyes to stare at the ceiling of her room. Except that it didn't look right.

"What the actual fu..." It kind of sucked to sit up as quickly as she did since the pain of doing so felt like a fist to the side of her head and her stomach but she barely noticed it as she stared at the room around her in mild horror. It looked like her room but nicer. Ten times nicer, in fact. It was also clean and not just clean but also...organized?

Scrambling out of the bed and jumping back like she had been burned, she stared at the queen sized bed that was definitely not the bed she had passed out in. It wasn't old or even had a metal frame to it. Nope, it was dark, polished wood with a nice headboard and bedding. It also matched the rest of the furniture in the room.

It was all kind of horrifying.

"Waves?" She yelled for her sister as she rushed out of her room and towards her sister's room, calling out again. "Waverly! What happened last night...."

Slamming into her sister's room, Wynonna stopped dead as she found herself staring at an office. At least, she was sure it was an office since there was a desk and file cabinets. There was even a computer set up but currently off at the moment. No sign of her sister's furniture or clothes. Nothing that belonged to Waverly at all.

She was just about to turn and fly out of the room when a picture caught her attention. It also caused her to hold her breath as she moved forward slowly, her head still buzzing as she focused on the two figures who stood beaming at whoever had been taking the picture while keeping their arms around each other. In fact, it almost looked like the couple was dancing their first dance with the woman in a stunning white dress and the man in a stylish suit.

The whole scene looked perfectly normal except for the fact that it was her and Dolls. As the bride and groom.

"What the fuck?" She plucked up the frame, studying the picture before turning it over to look at the back like she expected to find it was a trick or there was some kind of answer on the back. Turning it back over, she looked at the picture again before quickly setting it down and rushing out of the room. Now she had no idea what to make of what was happening.

As she looked through the rest of the house, it seemed like she was home but everything was nicer like it had been fixed up for a family or at least a happily married couple. She was also seeing different little masculine touches that made her think of Dolls but what the hell was going on? More than that, where was he and did he know what was happening?

Also, how much had she drank the night before??

There was no doubt about it in Xavier’s mind. Purgatory had lost its mind and demons were behind it. He’d woken up hours earlier next to Wynonna with no memory of how they ended up in bed together. He wasn’t the type to sleep naked yet there he was cuddled up to his deputy with without a shred of clothes between them. In the closet, once he’d found underwear in a drawer, was a Purgatory Sheriff’s Office uniform in his size.

He refused to get dressed in it, opting for a t-shirt and jeans instead. Wynonna barely stirred in the time he spent searching. She continued to snore softly as he left the house in search for answers. He’d left a note for her by the coffee pot, certain that’d be her first stop once she stopped freaking out. Dolls wasn’t sure if she’d remember life before or was part of this elaborate rouse.

There were no Black Badge or US Marshalls credentials anywhere to be found. No blacked out SUV at his disposal or any phone number for him to call on the device closest to the side he’d slept in on the bed. No sign of Waverly in the house but there were two cats who demanded his attention and only calmed once he’d found kibble to put in their bowls. Xavier didn’t even try to guess their names. He refused to read the bowls that were obviously theirs.

As strange as the house was, it still held familiarity. As did the faces in the pictures fixed to the fridge. Dolls ran water in the kitchen sink and washed his face but nothing changed. He grabbed keys off the table near the entrance and headed out in what seemed to be his patrol car. Driving into town hadn’t helped matters any. The same people, including Bobo, but no hint of demons that Xavier could note.

All that was left was to return to where his day began. He stopped by the coffee shop and picked up a coffee for Wynonna. Either she’d be as delusional as everyone else in Purgatory or his only chance at finding a way out of crazy town. Sheriff Haught only asked him to check in later and update her on how Wynonna was doing. The Heir had been his excuse for staying home from work. Xavier pushed through the door after unlocking it and called out…

“Honey… I’m home!"

While the temptation to run off had been strong, Wynonna recognized the fact that she couldn't go running around Purgatory in next to nothing for clothes. So she found some panties and a bra (ones that actually matched, wtf), a pair of jeans and a faded black t-shirt that had a school logo that she didn't recognize. It didn't even cross her mind to think that it was too big for her. She simply knotted it in the back and made her way back downstairs to figure out what to do next.

She was in the middle of reading the note when she heard a vehicle pull up in front of the house. Hurrying to the window, she leaned forward to watch as the driver door swung open and Dolls climbed out. Almost immediately her heart was in her throat and racing as she watched him. There was a part of her that was relieved and even happy at the sight of him but there was also a cowardly part that wanted her to run.

Staying where she was, she reminded herself to breathe slowly as she listened to him move up the front step and finally through the front door after he got it unlocked. Hoping she didn't look as pale and shaky as she felt, she turned to look at him even as she heard the call.

Which was so ridiculous that she actually snorted softly. "Seriously? That's what married you says?"

Oops, maybe not the right response. Shit.

"I'm in here." She called out louder, hoping he didn't hear the first comment and then she frowned to herself before adding. "Uh, honey? Sweetheart? Baby...doll."

“Good to see you, Earp.” Not ‘Wynonna’ or ‘Mrs Dolls’ or anything that he’d probably say if he believed they were a normal married couple in Purgatory. …As much as anyone could be normal anything in Purgatory. Maybe that was the strangest thing about all of this; the theme seemed some ideology of a normal town. “Wasn’t sure you were in on this stepford wives deal in town. Figured that’d get an honest response out of you."

He might not have heard her soft snort but the rambling that came after had given Wynonna away. Xavier didn’t hold the stoic gaze on his face from initially arriving. There was a softness at the realization that she was the woman he knew. A lot of things were left unsaid the last they’d seen each other. He didn’t miss that whatever this was, it’d given them something of a second chance to say their goodbyes.

“What’s the last thing you remember?” he asked and handed off the coffee then went to sipping his. She looked like herself. Xavier liked to think he’d know her anywhere, even if the darkness inside of him went uncontrolled. His pulse skipped at the thought. He had no idea if there was still that part of him or if this was some kind of subconscious state that Black Badge had put him under. He fully believed no matter what else he might envision, Wynonna would be Wynonna.

Almost immediately Wynonna was sagging against the counter and blowing out a sigh of relief when he addressed her as 'Earp' instead of some cutesy name that would just feel a hundred ways from wrong coming from him. It also made her feel ten times better knowing that it was her Dolls and not her husband.

Focusing on him, she felt her heart trip in a familiar way when she saw the way he was looking at her but she didn't examine it too closely. Not when she was suddenly throwing herself across the kitchen and into his arms to catch him in a fierce hug that relayed more of what she was feeling. It was true that there had been a lot of things left unsaid when they had last seen each other but she was just also happy to see him alive. Maybe not healthy or safe but it was better than dead.

"The last thing I remember is talking to Waverly at home about the new kid who joined the team. Then I had a drink and went to bed." She told him, standing back as he went about getting them coffee. Pressing her lips together, she waited for a moment before taking the coffee offered to her. "What is the last thing you remember? Where the hell have you been?"

His arms held her snug, needing the contact just as much (maybe more) than she did. Xavier would have rebuffed the display of affection once upon a time but Wynonna weasled her way though his layers of armor that guarded him. Not that he was admitting any of that to her any time soon. Yet the moment did pass and she stood back to listen to him. Dolls transitioned with her without making any kind of deal about what had just taken place betwen them.

He gave a nod when she gave her feedback on where she’d been last. Wynonna probably couldn’t tell that he had no clue what she was talking about. The common demoninator was waking up somewhere different than where they last remembered. The question was more why than how for him. “Last I remember, I was on the back of a truck being hauled off by Black Badge. So I went into town when I woke up next to you. It’s not like any Purgatory you’ve ever seen.”

Xavier let her mull over what he’d said than continue. He expected she’d want to run into town the minute she heard both Gus and Shorty were there. “No trace of Black Badge on anything that belongs to me here. If this is a demon’s doing then you need to find Peacemaker sooner than later.”

At one time, for a brief period, she wouldn't have considered being as affectionate as she was with him. She was still careful with it at times but somehow he had wormed his way past her walls as well. It was unnerving at times to consider how much she wanted and needed him around but the truth was that she did. Hell, she had taken on all of Black Badge to try getting him back and she would do it again without hesitation.

Playing it casual as well, she continued to watch him closely as he eased back as well. Then he was telling her that he had been on the truck leaving Purgatory and that was the last thing he remembered. Which meant that she was a few weeks ahead of him somehow, frowning softly. "But that's...."

She paused, shaking her head as she tried to comprehend what was going on but waking up where they were was what they would have to focus on more than a difference in time. "I can do that but what kind of demon could do this sort of thing?"

Wynonna had his undivided attention when she began to object. His brow knit together and arched as she shook her head and didn’t finish her thought. She seemed unsettled. It bothered him more than Xavier liked to admint. “What is it, Earp?” he called attention back to her objection rather than answer her question. “One thing at a time. Let’s start from the beginning.”

His guard was up but he also had a peace that was foreign to him, one he hadn’t felt for a very long time. It didn’t seem right to hide anything from Wynona but she couldn’t know what he was. Or maybe what he’d been. Xavier couldn’t feel the battle within. He was unnerved with the unknown—both in purgatory and his own existence. More than that, what she was talking about. “I don’t remember what you remember last. Do you have any idea what I’m talking about?”

He leaned back against the counter in the kitchen, a hand at each side perched on the surface edge while waiting for ehr response.

There were times when his undivided attention made her squirm under the weight of his gaze, often leaving her to feel like he was seeing more than she wanted him to see. It also made her worry what he would think once he knew all the things she hated for people to know.

"I do." She told him, her throat tight with a wave of emotion as she thought back to that day and everything that had happened. Finding out the truth about Willa, seeing what her sister had intended to do and having to stop it? Losing Dolls that day had been the sour cherry on a really fucked up sundae. Swallowing thickly, she nodded slowly as she fought back the urge to cry for no damn reason. Or well, tons of reasons.

"Black Badge took you and it took us awhile to find you but we did. A friend of yours led us to you." A pause. "Eliza."

“Shapiro?” Xavier didn’t question as if he didn’t know who Wynonna meant, but that the two met and found him. He trusted Eliza to do the right thing and wasn’t surprised at Earp’s answer. A part of him wanted to know just all that was shared between his old teammate and new but now wasn’t the time. And if he knew Wynonna as well as he thought he did, she’d voluntarily share the information the more uninterested he acted about it.

“And now we’re in the Mayberry edition of Purgatory.” His conclusion was pensive for half a minute before Xavier began to give Wynonna a longing look. He made a confession that was still very much on the forefront of his mind, especially standing there with her looking slightly broken again. No Bobo, Doc or even Waverly to pose a distraction. This was supposedly now the Dolls-Earp residence.

He stepped in and cupped her cheek with his right hand. “We should probably try to figure out what’s going on."

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Life Swap Meme

1. 'domestic' bliss?

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