Bryan laughed and patted his swollen, hairy gut. Sitting back, he slid one brawny arm behind his head and toyed with the bushy fur coat of salt-and-pepper hair covering his chest. He stroked his badger-like striped facial hair and grinned at the mirror beside him, admiring his strong, bulky musclegut. Wearing only the now strained and stretched boxers, he was able to see almost all of his powerful body, and was loving it.
"Damn son, your old man is one fine specimen. You hit the genetic jackpot coming from me."
Bryan was mostly just joking around by talking to Simon like he was really his son, but oddly it felt natural. Even desirable. When he looked over at Simon, he instinctively felt a paternal, fatherly affection. The same with his grandson, Jay. It took a force of extreme will to remember that they were just friends, all the same age. A force of will that Bryan could not really be bothered to draw up.
Simon grinned back, though a strong part of him was disturbed and roaring at him to reverse the changes. Still, he felt so strong, so masculine. The testosterone he had inherited from the old man pounded through his body and made him feel tough and confident.
"I could have done without the early baldness, pops. You'll have to watch what you eat when you grow up, Jay, unless you want to end up a tubby bear like me and grandad."
Shaking his head, Simon grimaced.
"Argh, we should really change back. This feels weird. We're not related, guys, we're all in the same grade for crying out loud. I think the Chronivac's recommended changes must have had mental change."
Looking around, he saw Jay, who was rooting through the closet where Simon had gotten the old clothes. Standing up, Jay showed off the old transformers toys he had found, almost bouncing with glee.
"Dad, you have Optimus Prime! Why didn't you tell me?"
Simon rubbed his temples, trying to focus, and sighed. He walked over and took the toy from Jay, who shot him a dirty glare and crossed his arms huffily.
"Listen to yourselves, you two! We're not really family! I'm changing the program back now."
Returning to the machine, Simon was about to reverse the changes, and make the two people upstairs his parents again. And lose his father...and his son. He bit his lower lip, knowing logically that they weren't really his family, and that the people upstairs were. But his heart and his emotions were telling him the opposite, and he couldn't bring himself to break up the family that a part of him knew he loved.
He turned as Bryan came up behind him, ruffling his hair before giving him a tight and powerful bear hug. His dad so damn embarrassing sometimes. Bryan spoke while still hugging him.
"Come on, Simon. We know it's not really real, but you're the only one who's bothered by it. I love being the big man of the family. I think Jay likes being a kid, too." Jay nodded at that, having found several other toys and started playing with them on the floor with obvious glee. "Why don't you just let us try it out, for a little while? We'll turn back at the end of the week."
Simon closed his eyes and frowned, but eventually relented. It would be quite interesting to try being an adult with a son, just for a brief period. Sliding the cursor away from the option for 'revert', he thought for a moment.
"Alright, but we can't stay here. Imagine what Mr and Mrs...I mean, my parents would think if they saw us. I'll set up a temporary reality shift."
After some typing and alteration, the changes were ready. Setting it up, Simon stood and watched as his clothing shifted, becoming perfectly-fitting but old and worn jeans, a white vest, and a flannel shirt over the top of it. He almost stumbled when leather boots appeared on his feet, and a heavy metal belt buckle swelled into existence on his pants.
Jay's clothes changed too, becoming blue overalls over a t-shirt, with well-used muddy trainers. Finally, Bryan's almost bare body went fuzzy, as if it was behind a mirage, before a blue mechanic's jumpsuit appeared on him, along with even larger and heavier leather boots, and a pair of fingerless leather gloves. He grinned and adjusted a flat cap that had appeared on his head.
The room around them shuddered, and vanished. Simon jumped up as he was suddenly sitting on an old sofa, and looked around at the rustic but homely room they were now all standing in. Bryan just grinned and crossed his arms behind his head, sinking into a very comfortable-looking armchair that looked as though it had conformed to his body shape after many years. Jay was sitting on the thick carpet next to the television, grinning with glee as he realized he was surrounded by toys.
"Wow, I guess it gave us all a whole new life..."