This time, I paused. I stared at Matt. He stared back at me, then he gave a chuckle. Then a laugh. “You know. Not a bad idea personally.”

“Logistical nightmare, though,” I said, leaning back. “You need to get to your parents’ place rather often, don’t you, Matt?”

He sighed. “Kinda. Wish I didn’t. Would be cool to have an excuse.”

“Huh.”

Marie pointedly sipped her drink, giving us a grin. “So, I see a mutually beneficial arrangement here…”

Then I felt a twinge in my heart. “I… I would kinda enjoy to, like, at least consider moving in with Ann.”

Matt leaned back in his chair, quickly, eyes widening. “Oh, yeah, of course,” he said immediately. “Totally get that. Your relationship takes priority. I, uh, also get why you wouldn’t want me to-”

“That’s not the issue, Matt,” I interrupted him, smirking. “You don’t wanna see me and Ann doing romantic things. If the three of us were living together…” I let the sentence hang in the air.

He pointedly coughed into his fist, while Marie started laughing out loud. “Right,” he muttered. “Of course. Yeah. Conflict of interest, there.”

I nodded, sagely. “Certainly. A… misalignment of what matters to me.”

Marie smiled. “Bit of a poet, Fio?”

I blushed. “Uhm. Sometimes.”

“Anywhere in particular you picked it up?” she asked. “Oh!” she added, a moment before I had the chance to answer. “Your old spearwork teacher, right?”

That got a faint smile out of me. “Yes. Rey. He does calligraphy, over on this side I mean, to have a… less war-like hobby. He stayed away from any weapon on purpose, so that once he retired, he wouldn’t think to touch one.” My eyes turned a little sad, and I stared into the glass I held. “I respect that.”

Marie nodded along. She got a bit of a distant look. “Mhm,” she hummed. “Yes. I think that man was wiser than we gave him credit for.”

“We gave him no credit for it because he kept beating Fio up,” Matt deadpanned.

Marie grinned, snorting, but holding in a laugh. “You make a fair point.”

“Well, granted, I was always the one for sparring matches, and he actually smacked me with quite a bit less force than you usually do, Matt.” I emphasized his name, doing my best to bore through him with a stare.

He shrugged and laughed it off. “Look. If you weren't so close to me in skill level, I could also afford to lazily smack you around.” He grinned, but it was a little lopsided. “Quite frankly, the fact that you’re able to hold your own at all is shocking.”

I stuck my tongue out at him pointedly, then smiled and drank another sip. Marie leaned back into the couch, looked out the window, and gave a long sigh. “Divines. Why’d this place have to go to shit?”

At that, silence fell among our group again. Matt stared out the window, and so did I. We both remained silent.

“Can you imagine that I got to see it all?” Marie asked, suddenly more quiet. “I’m… old enough, older than you, to where I still see it. Still know where the grass grew, still remember running through proper greens.” She sighed again, then smirked. “Gosh I’m old.”

Matt tapped her shoulder, lightly. “Sorry you had to go through that.”

She looked at him, half a smile on her face. The kinda smile that showed pain she’d felt countless times before. Then it grew a little wider. “Hon, don’t worry about it. Just leave a fossil like me to my ramblings…” she closed her eyes, as if accepting her fate.

“You’re barely forty,” someone said next to us.

I almost jumped out of my seat I got scared so bad, and Matt did actually half knock over his glass before catching it again. Marie, though, just turned calmly.

Liam gave a smile. He was wearing a mask, this one blue-ish with wave patterns across the front. It muffled his voice slightly, and his lips, but I could see the corners of his eyes lift up. “Boo,” he said, and I could hear him grin.

And he had scared us, genuinely. None of us heard him coming. Or saw, for that matter. Did he, like, not cast a shadow?

“Uhm. Hi?” He asked. Suddenly he sounded more unsure, tilting his head a little. I couldn’t see, but his smile probably turned crooked.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Before he had a chance to become more insecure, I quickly hopped up from my seat and wrapped him into a hug, tousling his hair. “Liam! So glad you could make it!”

He hugged me back. “Heya Fio!” He had a kind type of voice. Comforting.

I held the hug for a second, then let him go and stepped aside. “Looking handsome,” I said and his eyes lit up a little.

“Thanks!” he said, already hugging Matt and greeting him. Of course, Marie got her turn as well.

Soon, we were all seated again. Once we were, I poked at Liam’s shoulder. “Sneaking up on us, eh?” I asked,

He tilted his head, cheekily. “Guess so. Not my fault when you’re so unaware!”

Matt shook his head. “Coulda kidnapped me right there. Or so you’d think!” He quickly brought his hands up in a mock martial position, making all of us laugh.

A minute later, the waiter brought Liam’s drink, just a cup of coffee, black with a tiny dab of milk. Which is when he took off the mask, and I saw that he still had the scar on his face.

It looked a little different on this side, I supposed. Less… faded? It still went the same though. A small nick on his upper lip turning into a larger one on his lower lip, going down the side of his chin and straight across his throat in a curved, jagged line.

He caught the stare, my eyes meeting his over the coffee cup. He placed it down again without having taken a drink. There was a kind of solemn smile on his face. “Thought it’d take a little longer to notice,” he remarked.

“What would take a little longer to notice?” Matt asked, tilting his head and looking entirely oblivious.

Liam replied before I could. “My scar, Matt.” His voice shook.

“Hm? Oh. Oh.”

“It’s from this side, then?” I asked, tentatively. Marie regarded Liam quietly, empathy in her eyes.

He shrugged, looking away. Not out the window, but instead into the restaurant, his eyes stuck to the floor as he spoke. “Guess so.”

“What’s it from?” Matt asked.

Instantly, Marie clicked her tongue, and gave him a look. “What?” Matt asked again.

“If the kid doesn’t wanna talk about it, you don’t ask, Matt. That’s basic manners,” she said.

“I’m not a kid,” he hissed, sounding angry. I saw his knuckles go white as he clenched the side of the coffee cup. He breathed, then relaxed his grip a little. “I’m not. A kid.”

Marie leaned back against the bench, turning towards Liam again. “Of course. Sorry. I’m too used tah speaking to people younger than me as kids. That’s my bad.”

Liam’s fist slightly unclenched. “And it’s fine, Matt,” he said, turning to the swordsman. “I did get it over here. But it’s not a fun story.”

“Oh. Sorry, didn’t mean to bring up bad memories.” He looked like a rabbit left out in the rain.

A smile found its way to Liam’s face, about as slight as any expression could ever be. “It’s… okay. Do you even want to hear it at all?”

I nodded. “If you’re willing to tell it, I’d be happy to listen.” Matt and Marie nodded at that, too.

Liam gave a long sigh. “Alright,” he said, leaning back and closing his eyes for a moment. “Alright. It’s a rather short story though.”

“That’s fine,” I said, trying to be encouraging.

He nodded, then leaned forward. “It’s… self-inflicted. As a teen, I hated my voice. Much more about myself that I hated than that, but it made me so angry. I always sounded so calm, so small. I didn’t want that. So I tried to carve my own voice out. Just… snuck into a kitchen, took one of the knives there, and took it to my neck.

“I slipped, of course, because the pain was really, really bad. That’s where the uh…” he gestured to his chin, “upward curve comes from.”

“Fuck. I’m sorry to hear that, Liam,” Matt said.

Again, our rogue sighed. “It’s… okay. I’ve gone to voice coaching. I’m happier with myself now. Taking testosterone helped as well. I’m happier now than I used to be.” At that, a small smile played on his lips as well. “I am slowly changing my body on the other side, and this one is slowly shifting to match. It’s about as effective as the hormones, which I obviously can’t take over there. So it’s… not interfering with transitioning, at least.”

Marie gave a small nod, and I smiled while Matt gave a bigger smile. I had known Liam was trans, but I was unsure if the others did. Given the look on Matt’s face, he probably didn’t, and given the look on Marie’s, she probably guessed it but this was him telling her for the first time.

“I’m glad you’re getting to a point where you’re happier with yourself,” I said.

Liam smiled. “Thanks, Fio. Same, honestly. I’m getting there, bit by bit.”

There wasn’t really anything more to say, so there was a lull in the conversation, and Liam got to drink his coffee for the first time. It wasn’t steaming anymore, but it was still more than warm. He gave a content sigh and leaned back a bit afterwards. The cushioning of the couch squeaked as he did so.

I also took a sip from my drink, then regarded our rogue again. “What’re your parents like, Liam?”

“Oh!” he lit up at that. “They’re great, honestly. Really supportive. It’s been tough on them having me be gone for so long at a time because they care a lot, but I have two younger siblings, both still living at home, who keep them more than busy. They’re talking about adopting once my siblings move out. Something about too many kids without decent parents out there.” He shook his head. “Saints is what they are, too kind for their own good.”

Marie sighed at that. “Wish mine were. They’re such stubborn old goats. Still think that abolishing coal power was a bad idea, and obsessed with needing to carry guns everywhere. The idiots even go out without masks oftentimes, only to end up hacking their lungs out inside. Then they blame that on the smoking.” She shook her head. “Sorry. You probably didn’t need to hear that.”

Matt placed a hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry to hear that, Marie.”

She waved him off. “Eh, it’s fine. Everyone’s got their sob stories. Mine’s just another one for the pile~”

“Is that what your parents tell you?” Liam asked.

At that, Marie froze up, going silent.

She sat like a statue for a few seconds, perfectly straight, then burst out laughing. “Hahahaha, yes! Yes, they would, wouldn’t they?!” She shook her head at her own silliness, then chuckled some more. “Hehe, yeah. You’re right. Thanks for screwing my head back on the right way ‘round.”

Liam shrugged. “It’s what friends do.”