"And this is legal?", Natalie said, suspiciously eyeing the contract in front of her.

"Absolutely. At the end of the day, its just a prenup. You pay me, we get married, I turn you into whoever you want to be, and we get divorced. The only thing that will change is you." Theo explained with the confidence of someone whose delivered that little line dozens of times before.

"Right," Natalie said, still not seeming entirely convinced. She looked up at Theo, "So this is, uh- quite an unusual line of work you're in. How'd you get involved?"

Theo forced a thin-lipped smile, "I don't really like talking about myself." He placed a pen next to the contract, "For your signature, whenever you're ready."

Theo hated when clients wanted to meet in person. He preferred for their only meeting to be in the courthouse the day of the wedding. But some women just couldn't let go of tradition. They wanted to at least have coffee with their future husband before marrying him. Even if it was a sham marriage.

"Come on, please? Can't we at least have one real conversation here?" She paused for a second to recalibrate herself, embarrassed at her palpable desperation. "If you don't, I may have to turn you into a goblin or something on our wedding day."

Theo stiffened, "You can't." He reached for the contract, ready to flip to page 13, section 7, which noted something exactly to that effect, when she put her hand over his.

He looked up and she gave him a bemused smile, "Relax, I was just kidding. I know I'll owe you like my first born if I so much as change a hair on your head."

He pulled his hand away as she continued, "Besides, you're so handsome! There's nothing I'd change anyway."

He stared at her, trying to see if she was mocking him but her warm eyes were inscrutable; she could be fucking with him but there was a possibility that she was being sincere. It wasn't like he was ugly; some would even say he was above average looking. But still. With all the perfect looking 90s era Brad Pitts and Timothée Chalamets around these days, he wasn't very used to being called handsome.

He grumpily said, "I'll have you know I'm happy with the way I look."

"Well, so am I!" She said defensively.

They stared at each other in silence for a bit, the obvious truth hanging bitterly in the air; if she were really happy with her appearance, she wouldn't be here.

He caved first. She was a little obnoxious but implying that a potential customer was unattractive was a great way to lose business, "Sorry. Of course you are. Its just I had a bad experience with the Transformation my first marriage so i'm a little sensitive to the idea of being changed again."

She seemed to relax a little bit, "That's okay. I'm sorry too, i'm just nervous. Can I ask you what happened?"

He suppressed his annoyance. This is exactly why he didn't like to meet clients before the wedding; they always wanted to get personal. "My first marriage was to a young widow. We promised not to change each other at all and I held up my end of the bargain but she made me look exactly like her dead husband."

Natalie looked horrified, "Oh my god, I've read about that happening! How terrible! I don't understand people like that, its not like you wouldn't divorce her right away for that shit."

Theo blushed sheepishly, "Well, actually we did try to make it work. She was more upset than me when it happened. She apologized, said she was overwhelmed when she got the opportunity but that she really did love me."

Natalie put her hand on his hand again and murmured sympathetically, "Oh, honey"

Normally he hated when people were overfamiliar but her face was so filled with compassion that his irritation faded away. He didn't move his hand, he actually wanted to spill his guts to her, "Yeah, it obviously was a mistake. She kept getting annoyed with me when I didn't understand their old inside jokes about loading the fucking dishwasher or whatever. She'd call me his name all the time. I didn't feel like myself and I didn't feel like this man I never knew. It was like I was no one at all. Eventually, I couldn't take it anymore and did what I should've done immediately and divorced her."

Natalie quietly said, "How completely awful. So are you still...?"

Theo quickly shook his head, "No, no. I found someone on one of those apps to marry me and change me back to my normal self. But the whole process was so shady that it made me start my business."

Natalie nodded, "Makes sense."

They sat in silence again, but this time the silence was comfortable as opposed to tense. Theo was again the first person to break, "What about you? Are you looking to change for someone specific?"

This was a popular motive among his clients, not that he typically asked them. It wasn't surprising. Many people wanted to change into their partner's dream spouse without the resentment that comes with their partner being the one to change them.

"No one specific. I just got divorced and sort of wanted to get a touch-up, but still look like myself, before I start dating again." She smiled, "I thought this would be easier than going to the gym or getting Botox."

Theo returned her smile, "Yeah, it is pretty painless. So what happened with your marriage?" He couldn't believe he was asking this but he found himself genuinely curious.

"Like pretty much every marital problem, it started with the Transformation. I wasn't one of those people who said that if he changed a thing about me, I'd leave him. I didn't want him turning me into Margot Robbie or anything, I still wanted to look like myself but if he wanted-" She gestured toward her chest, "upgrades or me to lose ten pounds or so, I was totally fine with it. He said the same thing and like an idiot, I believed him. The only change I made was making him a couple of inches-"

Theo slightly narrowed his eyes before she quickly finished, "taller! That was it, just a little taller. And he didn't end up changing me at all. He was so proud of himself but was shocked that I didn't do the same thing. He'd always try to make me feel guilty. I'd ask him to take the garbage out and it would somehow end up with me apologizing for the Transformation. He was always criticizing my looks, saying what he wished he did change. I swear, by the end of our marriage, I didn't recognize this bitter ugly person he became."

"What an ass. I'm glad you left him."

It was Natalie's turn to look sheepish, "He left me actually. He found someone else to marry, someone who he could change."

"His loss." He meant it. Sure, she had a few wrinkles but she really was beautiful.

Just then, his phone alarm went off. He checked it in a panic, "Oh shit, I'm sorry, I have a marriage at city hall in twenty minutes" Theo grabbed the unsigned contract off the table and stuffed it hurriedly in his briefcase.

As he stood up to leave, he turned to her, "Maybe we can schedule another coffee date? Just to, uh, make sure you're comfortable with the process and everything."

She smiled, "Yeah, I'd like that."

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Saw this prompt from u/adasnitch and thought it was a perfect opportunity to try a little romance!