A couple hours later, there’s a knock on the door. I close my laptop and rub my eyes. I’ve been doing a dive into the transgender corners of the internet and time went by quickly. Reading about other trans people’s experiences has been quite validating. It also dried out my eyeballs.

I open the door for Anya, and only Anya.

“Hi, sweetheart!” she says enthusiastically.

My stomach does a backflip until I realize she’s talking to Zatanna, who is looking up at Anya from between my feet.

“And hello to you as well, cutie,” she adds, looking at me and grinning. That’s just not fair.

“Um, hi,” I manage. “No June?”

“No, she’s still working on stuff with Sam, but the heavy lifting part is over. They both say hi.”

“I need to get back to Sam about the job, but I never actually got her number.”

“I don’t think I have it, but June does obviously.” Anya pulls out her phone and taps at it. “There. June isn’t glued to her phone, but I’m sure she’ll see that before too long.”

“Thanks. Come on in!”

Anya comes in and looks around. “No roommate today?”

“No, he went in to work today.”

She squats down to pet Zatanna, who graciously accepts the attention.

“He seemed cool with stuff yesterday,” she says. “Any weird vibes off him after we left?”

“Nope! In fact, we had a really nice conversation. It sounds like he’s on his own journey of self-realization, but that’s his to tell, I think. Anyway, I think we’ll be good.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” she says and I can hear the care in her voice.

“Would you like to go for a walk?” I ask shyly. “I’ve been parked in front of my computer for too long and I need to move. There’s some nice views of the river if we go a few blocks.”

“That sounds great! I haven’t actually explored this part of the city much. You might want a jacket or something, though. Unless you’re immune to cold like June.”

“Does she have like magic warm hands or something?”

“Yeah, her powers involve a lot of energy manipulation. Her massages are the best.”

“Okay, I wasn’t imagining it then.”

I did get dressed after I called Anya earlier. I’m quickly becoming enamored of skirts and June packed lots for me, so I’m wearing a calf-length brown skirt with a cream-colored tee with a flower motif. Anya is wearing an unbuttoned flannel over what I suspect is her uniform of tank top and jeans, so I take my cue from that and grab my army surplus jacket from the hook next to the door. It was kind of baggy on me before, so it still fits and I might even be able to zip it up over my boobs if I need to.

I grab my keys and phone and am briefly stymied before I realize that even though my skirt doesn’t have pockets, my jacket does. I’ve just never carried my keys anywhere but my pants pocket. Anya laughs gently at my confusion.

“I’m absolutely not suggesting you switch back,” she says, “but that’s another reason I don’t wear skirts and why I buy my pants in the men’s section.”

“I didn’t get to wear skirts for my whole life, so I have to make up for lost time.”

“Hey, you’ll get no argument from me. It’s a cute look for you.”

I mumble something and mentally note down one more data point for my theory that Anya enjoys making me flustered.

Outside, the sky is clear and the air is crisp but comfortable. Only some of the leaves have changed color and most are still on the trees, but there are a few on the sidewalk that crunch under our feet. I point to indicate the direction to the road that runs along the top of the river bluff and we set off.

“Aside from making sure the local shapeshifting and queer population is clothed and providing shelter for newly be-girled demons, what do you do?” I ask Anya. “Do you lift heavy things professionally?”

“Freelance tech stuff, mostly. Four-hundred-year-old vampires would rather call a demon than the Comcast guy to come fix their WiFi.”

“Wait…you’re a nerd?! You don’t like put in a hard day’s work at the non-specific factory and then hang out at the local garage souping up your car for illegal street-racing?”

“Are you stereotyping me just because I’m butch?” Anya asks, grinning.

“Um, maybe a little bit?”

Anya laughs. I flush.

If I’m honest, I may have been asking for that one deliberately. I like it when Anya teases me or laughs at me. There’s absolutely nothing mean about it, even if she does sometimes speak without her brain fully engaged, and she seems genuinely delighted with me. That’s a new and unexpected experience, but I like it.

“You’re quiet,” she says. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, just thinking that it’s nice hanging out with you.”

“Oh,” she says gently. “I like hanging out with you too.”

We reach the bluff road and follow the footpath that runs alongside, chatting about nothing of consequence. I learn that Anya likes sushi, horror movies, and Taylor Swift (which she refuses to admit to June).

 I don’t realize how quickly time is passing until my stomach grumbles.

“Oh wow, I just got really hungry,” I say.

“Not surprising with all that shapeshifting you were doing earlier. We should get some food into you.”

“There’s a good deli a block over and then we could bring our sandwiches and eat them over there,” I wave in the general direction that we’re headed. “There’s a cool rock formation thing over the river.”

“Sounds good to me!”

As we change course, my phone dings. I fish it out of my jacket pocket and am surprised that it’s nearly five. There’s a text from Dave.

Hey u home?

Not right now
Anya came over and we’re taking a walk
Probably won’t be home for a while cuz we’re just going to get food now
What’s up?

K thanks

???

I’m not good at walking and texting, so I don’t look at my phone till we get to the deli. Dave has only responded with a thumbs up, so I hit him with the Frodo “All right, then. Keep your secrets.” gif and put my phone back in my pocket.

“Everything okay?” Anya asks.

“Yeah, just my roommate being mysterious.”

We go inside and order our sandwiches at the counter.

“Are these together or separate?” asks the cashier.

“Together,” Anya says and pays for our sandwiches.

“Thanks!” I say as we leave, then more quietly, “Does that make this a date?”

“If you’d like it to be.”

“Yeah, I would.”

Anya elbows me gently, “I’m sorry, I couldn’t hear you. You keep getting quieter!”

“I would,” I say slightly louder and then duck my head.

A moment later, Anya takes my hand. Her hand is warm and strong. I’m sure I’m blushing.

“You’re adorable, you know,” Anya says. “Is this your first date or has it just been a while?”

“It has been a while, but it’s the first date where we’re both girls.”

“Oh. Oh! Wait…now I’m confused. Do you mean you dated guys or you were the guy? Because you were always a girl, right?”

“I don’t know. I just meant that the last date I was on was extremely heterosexual and I was supposed to be the guy. That one didn’t go anywhere, just like the time before that or the time before that. I’m starting to think maybe I wasn’t very good at being a guy.”

“Yeah, probably not,” Anya agrees cheerfully.

We’ve arrived at where I was thinking for our supper spot. There’s a low wall and an informative plaque about the view. I point out the well-worn track around the wall and we follow the path a short distance down to a rock formation. There’s a natural terraced series of rocks down to an outcropping that juts out over the river far below.

“Oh wow, I had no idea this was here!” Anya says.

“It’s pretty cool, isn’t it? I’m not sure how comfortable I am going all the way down there”—I point at the rock sticking out—“but this is still a great view. Wanna go a little farther?”

“Sure!”

Anya climbs down to the next level and turns to offer me a hand. I lean over to take it, but my foot slides on loose gravel and I tumble down, landing hard. Pain shoots through my left ankle, which collapses. I manage to keep from cracking my head on the rocks, but the wind is knocked out of me.

“Oh shit! Don’t move!” Anya says anxiously.

I suck air into my lungs and take a couple breaths before I’m able to talk. “I think I’m okay,” I gasp. “Just a little banged up.”

“Shit, I’m so sorry I didn’t catch you!”

“Yes, how dare you not anticipate my wipeout?” I say drily. “Give me a hand up?”

I take Anya’s hand and I’m fine until I try to put weight on my ankle. “Fuck, that’s not happening,” I grunt. Anya carefully sets me back down.

“May I?” she asks, kneeling near my feet.

I nod and Anya gently pokes and twists my ankle. I whimper a few times.

“What’s the verdict, Doc? Will I ever play piano again?”

“I think it’s just a sprain, but a nasty one. I saw a lot of them when I played soccer. You should eat your sandwich before you try to heal it, though.”

“Before I what? That’s an option?”

“Totally! It’s a huge benefit of shapeshifting. You’ll need to go carefully, though, so let’s see about getting you home. Put your arm around my neck?”

Anya squats next to me and before I know it, she’s picked me up off the ground. She takes a somewhat longer and safer way back up than when we came down. I’m surprised at how sure-footed she is while carrying my entire weight, which is likely equal to hers. I feel very safe in her arms. When we’re back at street level, she gently sets me on a bench.

“Be right back,” she says and heads back down, soon returning with our sandwiches. She sits down next to me and hands me mine. It’s somewhat the worse for wear, but is still inside the bag and presumably intact, or at least close enough.

Anya is scowling at her phone. “Fucking hell, I installed all the ride-share apps when I was traveling a while back and now I can’t remember which ones I actually used and have accounts for.”

After a minute she announces that we’ll have a ride soon. We relax on the bench and soak up the late afternoon sun.

“I love fall, but I do miss the longer days,” I say in between bites of my sandwich. Anya mumbles agreement around a mouthful of food.

As we’re finishing our sandwiches, a car pulls up at the curb.

“I think that’s us,” Anya says. She jogs up to the car to confirm and then returns to help me. I lean heavily on her, since I can barely put any weight on my ankle.

Getting in and out of the car is an awkward and slightly painful process, but before long we’re back at my house. Anya gets me settled on the couch with a pillow under my left leg to take the pressure off my ankle. She gets me a glass of water from the kitchen and then perches on the end of the couch next to my feet.

“Healing can take a lot of energy. Even though we have so much control over our bodies, it’s a very different thing from shifting. You go to fast or try to do too much at once and you’ll use too much energy and take even longer to recover. You might not be able to heal it all up right away, but that’s okay.”

I nod.

“So do whatever you do to get ready to shift.”

I close my eyes. “It’s like a map of my body made out of glowing lights,” I say.

“Good, now look for the injury.”

“It’s pretty obvious, my ankle is all fucked up inside.”

“Don’t try to shapeshift your ankle, because unless you can hold your concentration for a long time, the injury might come back. Try to see what your body is already doing to fix it.”

“Oh, that’s harder.” I narrow my awareness and I can feel that my ankle isn’t static, but there are processes at work. “Okay, I think I have it?”

“Now give it a little nudge to hurry along. It might hurt a bit.”

I do as Anya tells me, and sure enough, there is pain, like I’m experiencing the discomfort of healing is compressed into a shorter time. I push a little harder and the throbbing in my ankle increases but it’s not unbearable. I lose my concentration in a wave of familiar dizziness.

“Take a break,” Anya says as I open my eyes. “How does it feel?”

I wiggle my foot experimentally. “A little tender still, but a lot better. I could probably walk on it if I’m careful.”

“Don’t push it then. That’s probably good for now and if it’s still bothering you in the morning, you can have another go.”

I change position and carefully set my feet on the floor so Anya has more room on the couch. She scoots over next to me. The room is getting dark, but the light switch is all the way over by the door and it doesn’t seem worth it to get up right now.

“That wasn’t exactly the kind of good time I like to show a girl on a date,” Anya says after a moment.

“I enjoyed it anyway, although some parts more than others,” I respond. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I’d still like to make it up to you.”

“Oh, you still can,” I murmur, leaning against her shoulder.

Anya rests her cheek on the top of my head. “How?”

I really want to tell her to just take me now, but I can’t quite bring myself to say it. “Be creative, but there are some ice cream treats in the freezer if you can’t think of anything,” I offer.

Anya pulls away a little bit. “Ice cream does sound nice,” she says, but then fixes me with an intense gaze. “But that’s not the only sweet snack around, is it?”

My heartbeat does an uncontrolled accelerando as Anya straddles my legs and leans in. She takes my chin in her hand and gently forces my face up. Our lips meet and she presses me into the couch. I relax and Anya firmly pushes me from my seated position until I’m lying on my back on the couch.

Anya holds herself over me, then very deliberately places her knee between my thighs and shifts her weight on to it, pinning me in my place by my skirt. She moves one hand to cup my face and slowly leans down.

I close my eyes, anticipating her lips once more on mine, but instead she lightly kisses my cheek, then trails along my jaw to my ear. I turn my head to give her better access, kissing her hand and wrist as I do.

Ever so lightly, Anya nibbles my ear and I completely melt. Her mouth works down my neck to my collarbone, alternating kisses and gentle bites, before returning briefly to my ear and then back to my lips as she turns my face back towards her.

I wiggle my ass on the couch until I come into contact with Anya’s knee. She laughs and presses it into me. I gasp and Anya takes advantage of that to slip her tongue into my mouth.

I moan.

Just then, there’s a thump at the door, then laughter.

I freeze and open my eyes. I feel Anya tense as well. The room is very dark now.

There’s another thump, the doorknob rattles, then two figures half fall into the room.

“Oh, it was unlocked,” says Dave as he flips on the light.

I shut my eyes tight and then open them one at a time. Dave is standing stock still by the door with his arm around the other person’s waist and they’re both staring at us.

“Uh, sorry, thought you were still out,” Dave says.

“I…hurt my ankle and we came back early? Sorry?” I answer.

There’s a moment of silence until the stranger says, “Introduce us!” in a stage whisper.

“Oh! This is my roommate Lark and her, um, friend Anya. Lark and Anya, this is Kai.”

“Hi, Kai,” I say, awkwardly trying to sit up until Anya gets the idea and climbs off of me.

“Hi, Lark-and-Anya,” says Kai.

I assume Kai is Dave’s crush. My eyes are adjusting to the light and I can see that they’re a slim person with dark hair in an undercut and a jaw that could cut glass.

“I’m Lark, this is Anya,” I explain.

“You two seem to be very good friends,” they say drily.

“Oh, you know, just gals being pals,” laughs Anya, now sitting beside me. I bury my burning face in her bicep. Kai giggles.

“Is your ankle okay?” Dave asks, claiming the couch on my side opposite Anya.

“Yeah,” I say, loosening my death grip on Anya’s upper arm. “Twisted it pretty bad,”— I check that Kai isn’t listening, but they’re cracking jokes about U-Hauls with Anya—“but it turns out I can kind of heal myself? Anyway, I’ll be fine, but we cut things short and came back here. I guess we kind of interrupted your plans?”

“No worries. I’m just glad you’re okay. Besides, it’s not like I really gave you anything to work with. Anyway, we were just going to watch Big Trouble in Little China because Kai hasn’t seen it.”

“Dude, I thought that was just an excuse to get me to come to your place!” says Kai.

“Well, maybe I was hoping for something in addition to the movie, but it’s a good movie!” Dave protests.

“You’re too pure,” Kai says.

“It’s a cult classic for a reason,” Anya adds.

“Okay, so Dave didn’t mention he had lesbians at his house,” says Kai. “I was expecting some personal time with him, but I’m always down for movie night with the LGBT’s.”

“I’m not a le—” I start to say. Anya looks at me. “Oh, wait. Never mind.”

“Aaaand there’s the realization,” Anya says.

“Oh man! Both of them just caught the gay?” Kai asks Anya incredulously. 

“Isn’t it adorable?” she says.

“I’m pretty sure the movie is on the network drive and there’s ice cream in the fridge,” I say quietly.

That proves sufficient to distract Anya and Kai. Anya gets ice cream while Dave gets the movie cued up. I take the opportunity to slide to one side of the couch because I’m feeling a little overwhelmed and don’t really want to be in between two people. Anya sits next to me and I lean on her shoulder.

“Oh no! I have to sit between the cute guy and the strong lady!” Kai says dramatically before forcefully wedging themself between Dave and Anya.

Dave starts the movie and I relax against Anya. She puts her arm around me and I’m asleep before Jack runs over Lo Pan with his truck.