“Shoes off, please. There’s spare slippers hanging there, grab a pair.” Joseph pointed to an organizer hanging on the wall, handmade from the looks of it. I shrugged and grabbed a fuzzy-looking pair. Joseph sighed. “I hope Mom’s still awake, I always feel bad waking her up in the middle of the night.”
“I run a bar, Joey, it’s more trouble for you to wake me in the morning.” The lights flipped on, making the figure standing in the kitchen with a cup of something hot in hand clearly visible. She had a couple stray gray hairs and slight wrinkles and a curious expression on her face. “Who’s your friend?” She gestured towards me with her cup, so I waved slightly.
“I’m M, she/her; Joseph offered me your spare room for the night.” Century jumped in my arms since there were no slippers she could put on. “And this is Century, also she/her.” Joseph’s mom walked over, scratching Century under her chin.
“Well, she’s absolutely gorgeous.” Century chirped in appreciation at the remark. “Call me Maria, she/her.” Maria appraised me, head to toe. “When was the last time you had a proper shower?”
“Mom! You can’t just ask people that!” Joseph stammered out, throwing his hands up in the air.
“I can when they’re going to be guests in my house, Joey.” Maria gave him a sideways glance before focusing back on me.
“Uhm, four years ago? Water’s precious out in the Dust, we all just used dry shampoo and gel packets to get the job done.” I shrugged, and Maria shook her head.
“You both looked like you desperately needed one before you told me that. M, you go in first while Joey tells me all that you got up to tonight. Second door on the right.” She nudged me in the direction and grabbed ahold of Joseph’s shoulder, dragging him off to the kitchen counter. I caught her taking out two more cups before I went past the corner.
My only other experience with bathrooms was the small one I got prepped for surgery in, so Maria’s roomy bathtub/shower combo floored me. Century pinged me with a cartoony image of herself with soap bubbles on her head. “Yeah, we both need a good scrub down.”
The water ran brown with years worth of dirt and grime I had been unable to wash off, so caked onto me in hard-to-see spots I was sure I was taking off a couple top layers of skin in the process. Century was much easier to deal with, all she had were dusty paws and a little bit of soot near her jets. Once I was finally done and in the middle of wiping myself dry, I stopped to take a good look at myself in the mirror, something I hadn’t had a chance to do in just as many years as showering. My smile was more than genuine. There wasn’t any trace left of the boy I’d thought I was; in his place stood a young woman, twenty-four years of age, with green eyes and sandy blonde hair in a side shave I was planning to braid once it was dry enough. I touched the small scar in my lower abdomen, and breathed a sigh of relief.
There was a knock on the door, and by cracking it open a little bit I could see Maria standing there. “Now don’t you look better already. Here’s something spare you can use as sleepwear; I’ll do your laundry.”
“Thanks, Maria, I really don’t know what to say.” I grabbed the stuff; it was an old t-shirt with the logo of a band called Siren, a band I was sure I had a couple records of stashed away in my car, plus a pair of shorts, nothing special.
“Don’t mention it; you did something noble today and Joseph doesn’t have the cash to pay you anyways. Consider room and board your commission for tonight.” She patted the doorframe a couple times, most likely thinking about what more to say, I could tell from how she was pursing her lips and moving her brows, but she thought better of it and stepped away, letting me get dressed in relative privacy.
“What do you think, Cent?” She rolled her eyes at me and yawned. “Oh, as if you knew anything about fashion; I’d be wearing sweaters you knit for me and jeans up to here if you got your way.” She tilted her head up in mock offense and sent me a news clipping labelled ‘Old AI Yells At Cloud’, crossed out with bold red lines. “Alright alright, sorry, Cent. C’mon, bed time.”
I was sore all over. I was sore in the way you get sore on a new seat. I had gotten used to sleeping bags in the back of my ride, or the car seat reclined far back with a blanket over me. I had gotten used to shivering in the cold. I had never in my life slept on a proper mattress. Ever. Motels on the road didn’t feel safe to stay in, and I was always much more comfortable in my car.
All that is to say I was creaking like an ungreased hinge when I stretched and got up in the morning, awakened by the smell of something cooking. I groggily opened the door, Century falling out of bed like a drunk and stumbling over. The room was on the first floor, and there was a railing I could rest on to see the kitchen and living room from. Joseph was busy with something in a pan that I couldn’t quite see from this angle. “Morning, M! Hope you like cricket sausage in your breakfast sandwiches!”
“I ate coyote roast on a good day, Joseph, guess.” The honest truth was city food was usually out of our reach; we’d get rations that lasted a while and didn’t spoil without refrigeration.
“No opinion either way?” I clicked in response to his question, and made my way down.
“Where’s Maria?” The couch was way too soft. I sunk into it the moment I sat my ass down; it surprised me to no end.
“Mom’s sleeping,” Joseph answered as a toaster popped out four bagel halves. He deftly caught them with a plate in the air and was putting on the sausage patties and eggs without even looking at them.
“She’s not going to wake up from you cooking breakfast?”
“Nope, the master bedroom is a panic room, completely soundproof.” He slid me a plate with one of the sandwiches and I bit in. The sensation of a warm meal right after waking up felt off to me, having never gotten to enjoy one. It was dry but meaty and filling, with the spices kind of overwhelming everything else. If this is what people in Dusklight ate for breakfast, I wasn’t excited for lunch and dinner; coyote meat felt nostalgic in contrast. Joseph sat across from me, finishing the sandwich in just two bites, sighing with delight, while I took my time with mine. “So what do you plan for today?”
I pointed to the food and held up my finger to make it clear I was going to talk the moment I was done with it, because talking while eating is bad form, especially if what you’re eating was a gift. The moment I was done the first words out of my mouth were “Don’t ask me things, I’m eating, which by the way thanks for the meal, and as for what my plans are? Me and Century are going to take a long hard look at my car and make sure it’s up to snuff.”
“Oh, okay, yeah that’s smart. I just thought we’d hit up Sarah, have her introduce us to the local Bulletin, see if there’s anything available.” Joseph was scratching the back of his head, avoiding looking at me; he looked kind of stiff as well as if he was expecting a rejection.
“Give me two hours with my car, then we can go ask. Sarah lives on top of Auntie Murphy’s anyway, and I’m curious how Zag’s surgery went.” I left the plate on the kitchen counter, found my clothes neatly folded right behind the guest room door, and got changed.
With how the megaplexes loomed above high into the sky, it was difficult in places to tell it was day, the only clear indication being the unlit neon signs. Auntie Murphy’s place still had the same atmosphere as yesterday, but instead of a kindly old spider woman sitting in a chair in the corner, there was a strapping young man dressed like a schoolboy, with matching blue tartan pants and cap, behind the counter. Shirt, suspenders, brown shorts, cap, he looked as far from a nurse as you could get. “Oh, hey you two! Thanks for stopping by, do you need any check ups or implants?”
“Only check up I wanted to do was check up on you, Zag, how’re you doing?” I rested my elbows on the counter while Joseph nervously stood a bit back.
“I’m alive and it’s on my own terms and I actually feel alive; do hormone pumps really work that fast?” Ah, that topic of conversation, I knew the exact feeling he was describing.
“Oh yeah, when your brain is running on what it’s supposed to, it feels great. When’s your shift up? Cause I think you could use a drink and I’m not letting you drink alone.” I straightened up, getting ready to leave.
Zagreus shrugged. “In like eight hours? Auntie didn’t give me any exact times, it’s more of a loose ‘be available’ situation.”
“Alright, see ya in eight hours!” I waved quickly on my way out, turning the corner and walking up the steps to Sarah’s apartment. She opened it before I had even knocked, looking absolutely frazzled and still in her pyjamas.
“Oh, hey, M, Joseph, what’re you here to bother me with?” She scratched her stomach, yawning in the process.
“We were wondering if you could introduce M and myself to the local Bulletin?” Joseph was behind me, so I couldn’t see his expression, but his tone of voice was nervous.
“Sure, I’ll take you to Quicksilver, let me just wake up proper.” She closed the door in our faces, but opened it within two minutes, looking refreshed. “Follow me.”
aaaaaaaaaaa I couldn't imagine living with dirty crust ;o;
Thanks for the chappy!
That first shower in four years(!!!) must have been such heavenly bliss ^^
Also love the near instant trans surgery, gimme!!