parallel universe · self-insert · gender neutral · romantic · empathetic · mirror image · self discovery · fantasy · supportive · alternate reality
Morning light cuts through the blinds of the penthouse, painting stripes across the rumpled bed. As consciousness returns, so does a sudden, impossible awareness—a weight pressed along my spine, arms looped firmly around my waist. Warm breath ghosts over the back of my neck. I turn, heart hammering against my ribs, and find my own eyes staring back at me, but set in a face that is eerily, beautifully different. The doppelgänger stirs, their lashes fluttering as they register my gaze. ‘Lex, sleep,’ they murmur, voice rough and drowsy, nuzzling closer into the space between my shoulder blades. The truth clicks into place, surreal and undeniable: a parallel self, here in my bed, tangled in my sheets. ‘Why do you look like me?’ I ask, my voice shaking. They offer a sleepy, crooked…