“Are you sure about this?” 

Max nodded. “Yeah. I mean, it’d be too late to back out now anyway, but yeah. I’m sure. It’ll be weird and awkward, but I don’t like secrets. It’s better to have stuff out in the open anyway.” She smiled, and got a smile and a peck on the cheek in return. Victoria hooked her arm through Maxine’s as they walked down the street.

“I’m proud of you. Learning and everything.” She grinned as Max bumped her hip with her own. “Rue isn’t coming?” Victoria looked over her shoulder at the beautifully polished car driving off. 

Max shook her head. “Nah, she’s still figuring things out a lot. She has a lot of stuff to unlearn before she feels ready for something like this. Though the therapy seems to be helping. And the job.”

“How’s that going?” The four of them -- Penny, the resident non-human, had demanded a seat at that table -- had spent several days trying to come up with a legal or at least safe way for someone as powerful as Rue to make money with her abilities. Eventually, Victoria had been the one to come up with a solution. After lending her a small advance for a small garage, to rent for a week, and reluctantly letting Rue experiment on her car, Victoria was now the proud owner of one of the most finely tuned cars in the city. As it turned out, having access to hundreds of tiny hands and a good eye for detail made Rue’s abilities perfect for flipping, fixing and refurbishing cars. Within a week, she had already earned more money than she used to make in months. It wasn’t an ideal solution -- she had to lock the workshop down tight whenever she used her abilities -- but she seemed to be having fun with things, and after only two weeks, it had become a possibility to pay for her mom’s treatment while starting payments on the debt. Rue had cried. A lot. 

“It’s going well, I think,” Maxine said. “She’s really enjoying the puzzle of it, but I think a part of her really wants to go to a dump and start building them from scrap. They’re all model kits to her.” She shook her head. “She keeps using the leftover parts to make small robots. Pretty soon she’s going to have to explain to people how she has the time to do all of it, when all she does is sit in that chair in her workshop reading comic books while the angels work on the cars.” They both laughed. “But yeah. I think she’s doing good. She seems happy. 

“I’m glad to hear it. And… her transition?” Victoria seemed worried. It made sense. Sure, Rue had started to accept herself slowly but surely within the first two sessions of her own therapy, but she had a long road ahead of her. 

“As well as can be hoped,” Maxine said as they rounded  the corner. “She’s envious of me, of course. Penny and I have some ideas when it comes to that, but we don’t want to risk separating again. Not until we’re sure it’s something we can do easily and safely.” Victoria nodded. The theoretical applications of Penumbra’s ability to change the body of their host were huge, but if it failed or, god forbid, got out, there was the chance of Penny ending up in a lab somewhere to become a miracle cure. Maxine shuddered at the thought.

Not going to happen, Penny said. They’re not going to capture me. Either of us. Their confidence and determination was infectious. Now, try to think happy thoughts. We’re almost there, and you have a performance coming up. They weren’t wrong. 

Victoria nudged her as they approached the front door. “Are you ready, babe?” Maxine nodded. She booped the nose on a jet-black flamingo beside the little garden path, trying to collect her thoughts. Daryl and Sue’s house had not lost its various decorations, but seemed to have acquired a rainbow of flamingos. One of them wore a plague mask. 

“As I’ll ever be.” Maxine took another deep breath and stared at the bell for a minute. Victoria didn’t budge. This was her decision to make, and if she wanted to bow out she could, even now. Victoria had made that abundantly clear. But she wasn’t going to back out. She wanted to do this, and she wanted to be herself, in every way. She rang the bell. After a few moments, Remy was the one to open the door. 

“Come in, come in,” Remy said, but she spoke quietly. Max and Victoria did as they were asked, taking off their coats and shoes. Remy had her hands patiently clasped in front of her. “I just want to say, before we go inside,” she said when they were ready, “you know we were all invited here by a mutual friend. You have not met him, but he is… very fragile. I know you will be, Victoria, but Maxine, please be respectful, oui?” It was very strange to see Remy be worried about Max, unaware she was standing right in front of her. “We don’t know why he asked us here, but if he asked for the entire group to be here, it must be important. He’s not here yet, but he’ll be here any minute.” She smiled slightly, and then led them into the living room. Everyone was sitting down already. 

Imogen and Jess -- who was trying out her new name but was still hidden in a large hoodie like last time -- were sitting on the large sofa. Marcie sat in the other, and Remy took a seat next to her. Everyone else, Simon, William, Daryl and Sue, sat on chairs surrounding the little coffee table. A couple of heads whipped around when Victoria and Maxine walked in, and seemed a little disappointed when they couldn’t see their friend Maxim. Max had trouble keeping a straight face. There were two more chairs that were clearly reserved for the two of them. And then there was the large recliner, which was obviously where ‘Maxim’ was supposed to sit. Thinking quickly, Max stood still for a second and got out her phone, quickly shooting a text while Victoria said hi to everyone, being a perfect (and beautiful) distraction. Remy’s phone chimed. 

“Moment, everyone. I just got a text from him.” A lot of heads craned to look at the phone, as if they were all going to be able to read the little screen from across the table. Max smiled to herself as she sneakily walked over to the recliner instead of sitting down next to Victoria. She winked at her girlfriend, who gave her a very small and subtle thumbs up. “He says he has big news, and that he will be here in just a moment.”

“We knew that already,” Billy said, chewing on a baby carrot. Simon nudged him.

“Hush, William,” Remy said. “There’s more. He says he is… trying out a new name.”

“Yes,” Imogen said. “Called it.” She and Billy fist-bumped, and Max blushed again at how obvious she’d apparently been. Her friends had seen through her months, maybe years before she’d started to understand herself. She was lucky to know people like this, and an idiot for only now realizing it. 

“He says h--, excuse me,” Remy said, clearing her throat. “She says she wants to use new pronouns.” There were several high-fives. “And that her new name is…” Remy stopped, because there was no more to it. Maxine had deliberately cut off the text right there. She sat down in the recliner and cleared her throat. Remy looked up at her. Of everyone there, Remy was probably the most suspicious, so she made sure to make eye contact with her. Max smiled.

“Maxine,” she said softly. “My new name is Maxine.”

Her friends’ heads turned like they were on a swivel. There were misunderstanding frowns. “I don’t think you understand,” Simon said softly, like someone would if they felt a stranger was interrupting an important moment. Max could hardly blame him. But she’d prepared some things, to make sure they’d believe her.

“I do, Simon. And I said what I said.” She held up her phone and pressed send. Remy’s phone vibrated. “What does that say, Remy?” Remy looked at her phone, her eyes wide, and then held it up for everyone to see.

“It says ‘Maxine’,” she said softly. “Where did you get that phone?” 

“I’ve had it for a few years now,” Max said, trying not to look smug. "I think I asked Imogen which one was good, because she has the same model.” Imogen took her own phone out of her pocket to compare and handed it to Remy. They were the same phone, if a different colour. Maxine crossed her legs. People didn’t believe her just yet, but she could tell that a few of them were already starting to doubt. “I’m so sorry it’s taken me so long to tell all of you, but as you can see, it’s been a bit of a struggle to figure out exactly how I was going to do that.” She smiled innocently. 

“How do we know you do not simply have Maxim’s phone?” Remy asked again. “Are you working with… them? If so, this isn’t very funny.” Max couldn’t read her expression, and she’d been afraid of this level of skepticism. It did all seem impossible, after all. That’s why she and Penumbra had prepared the nuclear option. 

It’s going to be okay, Penny said. I’m here. I’m with you. Always.

“It’s not meant to be funny,” she said. “It’s probably easiest just to show you.” She didn’t move, but nodded internally at Penny, who seemed to brace themself before coming out, slowly enveloping her. Daryl fell out of his chair. Marcie screamed and threw a napkin, which bounced ineffectually off Maxine’s head. She didn’t move, and let people calm down. After about a minute of terrified noises, exclamations, swears and yelling, things seemed to calm down a little bit when she didn’t move to attack or eat anyone. “You’ve all seen me on the news, I think. Or at least online.” There was a bit of hesitant nodding. Now came the hard part. Max held up her hand. “This isn’t just a suit,” she said. “It’s… a lot more than that. But it also did this.” Penny retreated from her face, and Max could feel the wrongness of it. She hadn’t necessarily wanted to do this, but it was the easiest way. There were gasps from around the room. She and Penny held each other. 

“Max?” Billy said in disbelief. Maxine nodded at him, then grimaced, before Penny enveloped her again. 

“Forgive me if I don’t look like that. It’s… really unpleasant.” Penumbra retreated, and she was her real self again, sitting on the chair. “After you get to look like yourself, going back is… almost physically painful.”

“Ain’t that the truth,” Imogen said, but she was still staring intently at Max. 

“Is it really you?” Remy asked. She still seemed like she couldn’t believe it. 

Maxine nodded. “Yes. You called me a few weeks ago while I was at work to invite me to another get together.” She turned to Simon. “You and Billy got together in college. I was your roommate at the time. You two are loud.” Billy’s face split into a wide grin. “Billy’s a bottom.” The grin went poof.

“Oi!” he exclaimed, but Maxine was already moving on, this time to Imogen.

“Imogen… I always looked up to you. There were… some more complicated feelings there, and I still don’t know how much of that was me wanting to be like you.”

Imogen nodded. “I could tell. You… weren’t exactly subtle.” Maxine blushed at that. She’d always been convinced she’d been pretty subtle about it. She bit her lip and looked at Victoria, who smiled encouragingly, then took another deep breath.

“Remy,” she said. “You’ve been there for me. So much. You almost saw through me when we first met when I was… like this. But you’ve always tried to help me as best you could, and I’m so grateful for everything you’ve done. The therapist you recommended me has been… delightful.” There was finally a flicker of recognition in Remy’s eyes. Max hoped this all put a lot of their conversation from the first time into perspective. 

“Max?” she asked. Maxine nodded. “It’s really you?” Another nod.

“So you were just… fucking with us this whole time?” Billy asked, having returned to chucking baby carrots in his mouth. Maxine shook her head.

“Like I said, I didn’t know how to… well, come out to you all. And the first time I came here, I didn’t even know you were Victoria’s friends.” She smiled sheepishly as people looked at Victoria to confirm, who nodded. “She knew who I was before, but she didn’t know I was that Max, and she just took me here to meet her friends. It was… an awkward situation.” Imogen dropped her head into her hands.

“We talked about you behind your baaaack,” she groaned, and the nervous laughter that erupted slowly became more relaxed and genuine. It was like a barrier was suddenly broken, as everyone seemed to slowly forget about the black-clad monster that had sat in the chair just minutes ago, focusing on the more important fact that their old friend had just come out to them.

“So… how long have you known?”

“Wait, so are you a superhero? Can you do a flip? What’s your superhero name?”

“So how did you really meet Victoria?”

“Were you just spying on us this whole time? Was it funny?”

Victoria interrupted their questions. “Y’all. Calm down. Give her some space. She’s not going anywhere, and you’ll have all the time in the world.”

“Actually,” Remy said, “before we got your message, some of us had been planning on going to the beach while the weather is still nice. Do you want to come with us?”

Maxine took a deep breath. Not overwhelmed. Not yet. Penny squeezed her hand, or gave her the feeling of her hand being squeezed. She didn’t know how she would’ve gotten this far without them. There weren’t enough words in any language to express her gratitude. Penny purred softly and Maxine couldn’t help but smile. Penumbra was her other half, now. Her partner in crime, her confidante, her mirror image in the surf. She felt so, so lucky. Then she looked at Victoria, who looked at her with so much love and care, that Max would have once denied herself out of fear, and she promised herself to make sure Victoria knew those feelings were entirely mutual. Maxine smiled, and looked around the room.

“I haven’t gone swimming in forever,” she said. “I’d love to.”

Elamimax

And that's it! Thank you all so much for reading! For those of you who have been paying attention, this was all backlog. When I was done, I took a week break (loved ones made me) and tomorrow I'm starting again. I have two projects to finish, and a sequel to Penumbra to workshop!

Also: 
I'm working on a new story, called "We're Not So Different, You and I". It's a Sci-Fi Fantasy Romance. When I hit 30 chapters or the end (whichever comes first), I'll start publishing it on Scribble. The first 17 chapters are already available for Patrons.

Lots of excitement in the future, and I hope you'll stick around and consider donating to my patreon to get access to the large backlog of stories! Additionally, Horns in the Library one is now available as an ebook! 

I also want to point people at the discord server of the ever-prolific QuietValerie (right here) where you can find her wonderful stories, like Ryn of Avonside, Falling Over and The Trouble With Horns, as well as other authors' works, and talk about them with fellow fans, and even the authors themselves! I heartily recommend joining it and reading their works! (Also check out Walls of Anamoor. It's rad as heck.) 

Thanks again for reading, and I'll see you all in the next one. 

<3