Stace and I were both smiling the entire walk back home from our shopping trip. He was carrying a couple bags full of new clothes, shoes, and a few other things he needed. And I had a couple bottles of wine we picked up, because the two of us planned to celebrate tonight. Or commiserate, depending on how the rest of our Sunday went.

When we got home my tall dark and handsome boyfriend took the wine from me as well, then stood next to me while I fished my keys out of my purse. I was just unlocking our door when I heard one of the upstairs neighbours coming down from the second floor, and I silently prayed that it wasn't the gung-ho dude-bro guy. Sadly that prayer went unanswered.

"Woah! Foxen!" he exclaimed as soon as he caught sight of the two of us.

He stopped and looked us both over with a wide smile. I was expecting some derisive comment, or maybe he'd accuse us of breaking in since we looked nothing like we did before the weekend started.

He was still smiling though, and to my surprise he asked "It's Stace and Meg right? You two are looking good!"

Stacey was just as shocked as me, he frowned at our neighbour and asked "How the hell did you recognize us?"

"Isn't this your place?" the guy asked as he gestured to the door I'd just unlocked. "I'm in the unit above yours. We've been neighbours for a couple years now, dude. Who else would you be?"

Then he asked, "None of my business, but what's with the new looks? Woah, wait, don't tell me! You're both trans?"

"It's totally ok if you are!" he added quickly. "No worries from me, I'm an ally all the way."

Stacey and I exchanged a look, but it felt like neither of us knew how to react to the guy. He seemed like the same dude-bro as always, but I realized I'd never really talked with him before. I pretty much assumed he was a jerk and did my best to avoid him.

"Um, yeah," Stace finally replied. "Look Mike, we're kind of busy? We've got a lot going on, it's been a hectic weekend and both Meg and I have a bunch of stuff we still need to deal with. Maybe we can catch up some other time?"

I didn't even realize Stacey knew the guy's name, I'd never bothered to learn it. And that thought left me feeling like I was the asshole for being so prejudiced myself, with all the assumptions I'd made about our upstairs neighbour.

Mike nodded, "Yeah sure, sorry I didn't mean to hold you two up. I get it, it's been a busy weekend for everyone. My roomie finally figured herself out yesterday too, now she's off with her new girlfriend. Anyways I won't keep you two. Catch you later!"

With that he continued on his way out the front door, while me and Stace just stared for a few more seconds. Then we finally continued into our apartment. I took the wine bottles from him and tucked them away in the fridge while he went into the bedroom to put away his clothes. Then we both met back in the living-room.

"So that was weird," Stace commented. "I was sure he was going to freak out. I mean, we look like two strangers breaking into the downstairs apartment right? How'd he guess it was really us? And why didn't he ask about the ears and tails?"

I agreed, "Very weird. He didn't even comment on our magical transitions? But he knew we were trans, he knew it was us."

"He even knew my name was Meg!" I added as that hit me with a bit of shock. "I know I never told him that, only like three people know that name!"

After a few seconds Stacey suggested, "He lives right above us, maybe he's overheard us talking? Or he could have heard me call you Meg out in the hall or something, I've been using your new name for a while now cutie."

"Yeah... Ok that makes sense," I nodded slowly. It didn't explain the other questions though. I slumped down on the sofa with my floofy tail wrapped around on my lap as I commented, "He said his roommate figured herself out? I guess she must be trans as well? I've only seen them once and I assumed they were masc."

My handsome foxboy boyfriend sat next to me and slipped an arm around my shoulders as he replied, "Same. Pretty cool though. I guess it's true what they say, us queer folk flock together."

I rolled my eyes, "I think that saying's more about friend groups isn't it? Like how could we flock together with other queer people if we don't even know who they are? Let alone that they're queer. I didn't even know that guy's name, and I sure don't know his roommate's name either."

Stace shrugged, "I don't really know Mike, but we say hi if we see each other in the hall. I think he works as a courier or something? He keeps odd hours though. And I've only met his roommate once or twice. No idea what their name is, I always got the impression they were kind of shy and quiet, kept to themself."

"Anyways," he added before I could respond, "You and I still have a lot of things on our to-do list for this afternoon, right? I'm going to send an email to work, I'll let them know I'm taking a sick day tomorrow, and inform my manager and HR that I'm trans and tell them about the new pronouns. Then I think I'm going to email my parents."

I cringed slightly, "Yeah... I guess I'm going to do the same. Or at least I'll email work and let them know I'm not coming back. Then I'll update my résumé and start looking for some places I can send it."

My boyfriend gave me a gentle squeeze, "You should tell your parents cutie. Send them an email and warn them at least. If you like, after I've written to mine I can help you write to yours."

"Thanks Stace," I sighed as I leaned my head against his shoulder. "You know I've been dreading coming out to them for a while."

"I know Meg, you've been putting it off for the last two months. You have to do it sooner or later though hon, and considering what we both look like now I don't think there's any point in postponing it any further," he replied softly.

We cuddled for another few minutes, but eventually he let go of me and got up. "I'll be at my desk. Let me know if you want some help writing your folks. Or if you'd like some moral support."

I thanked him, but didn't follow him into the second bedroom we used as a home office. Instead I got myself a drink then opened up my email on my phone, and finally started tapping out an email to my boss.

Unfortunately I didn't get very far before my confidence ran dry.

First I wasn't sure what to say or how to say it. Then I started second-guessing whether or not it was ok to quit via email or if I should do it in person. Except he wouldn't recognize me, which was one of the reasons I wanted to quit in the first place. Then I started worrying about whether or not I should quit before finding a new job, which led to even more worries about whether anyone would hire me once they got a look at me. I was positive some folks would freak out, or they'd think the ears and tail were too weird or that being part fox would mean I wasn't able to do my job right.

I probably spent the next fifteen minutes staring at my phone lost in thought, long after the screen dimmed then went dark. I knew it was my anxiety again, which fed back into itself as I realized that I still had anxiety issues. Even after the miracle magic transition, after getting the body of my dreams.

Eventually I managed to force myself out of it, and got to my feet. I shuffled into the little office to talk to Stace, or even to just be with him. I knew that would help me snap out of it, his strong arms around me would make the bad thoughts go away. I paused for a second when I found him relaxed in his chair, staring at an article on his computer about vulpine reproduction.

"I thought you were in here composing a difficult email to your parents," I mumbled as I climbed up onto his lap and cuddled against his chest.

Stace wrapped an arm around me and held me as he asked, "What's wrong Meg? You sound upset."

"Anxiety got me again," I sighed. "I started writing a resignation email to my boss and ended up worrying I'd never find work because I'm a freak."

"You're not a freak," he stated firmly, as he gave me a gentle squeeze. "You're gorgeous and smart and adorable and clever and cute and you have a good sense of humour and you're going to get an amazing job. You just need to believe in yourself Megan. I wish you could see yourself the way I see you."

I wanted to pout, but it was hard when his supportive words also made me want to smile. So I split the difference and sighed as I cuddled a little closer against him. And instead of dealing with the difficult stuff I decided to change the subject.

After twisting around so I could look up at him I asked, "Why were you reading about fox sex?"

His cheeks coloured as he replied, "I wanted to find out if arctic foxes and red foxes could breed. Um, basically for safety reasons? I can't exactly put on a condom when I don't have any hands..."

"Oh," I replied quietly as my eyes widened. "That's actually really good thinking. And um, what did you find out?"

He grimaced, "They can, but not... There's some issues. If it's ok with you, I was thinking of asking Kid_Chaos if they know about that side of things. Assuming they're the one who's creating those plushies, they ought to know exactly how they work, right? And I think it's important to find out a couple things. Like can you get pregnant in your fox form? And if you're pregnant in either form, what happens when you change?"

"Oh gods I never even thought about that," I grimaced as well. "The possibility of getting pregnant was just never on my radar at all."

Stace nodded, "I figured. And same with me, I know if I'd transitioned normally I wouldn't have to worry about getting anyone pregnant. But with magic, who know's what's possible."

"And there's probably a lot of women's health stuff you never needed to know before," he added. "I can help you with that. And I'm sure you'll help me with any men's health stuff I'm oblivious to."

"Yeah of course Stace," I agreed. "Thank you."

My mind started racing a bit though, as all those new topics started spinning around in my head. Could I get pregnant? Was I going to start having periods? And what would that mean for my fox form?

Eventually my boyfriend spoke up again, "As much as I'm enjoying cuddling with you Meg you're supposed to be writing your parents and your boss. So how about you go sit at your desk, turn on your computer, and I'll stay with you and help if you like? Or provide moral support."

I pouted, "Or I could go get my plushy, turn into a cute little fox, and forget about all that annoying human stuff."

"Sorry cutie," Stace gave me a gentle squeeze, "You can't escape that easily. How about I help you send some emails, then you can be a fox for the rest of the day if you like?"

"Fiiiiine," I replied with a very dramatic sigh.

I slipped off his lap and shuffled the few paces over to my own desk, where I slumped into my chair. I was still pouting hard as I woke up my computer then opened my email app.

Meanwhile Stacey rolled his chair over to my side as he suggested, "Let's get your parents out of the way first. After that, work will seem a lot easier."

"What about you? Did you already send your emails?" I asked while continuing to pout at him. "Or have you been looking at fox sex on your computer the whole time?"

"I already did mine. Sorry cutie, you're not getting out of this so easily," he replied with a smirk.

I sighed again, but with his guidance and support - and maybe the occasional hug, kiss, or ear scritches - I eventually managed to compose a coming-out email to my folks. A chunk of it was an apology for coming out via email rather than in person, but I explained that I'd changed a lot since the last time they'd seen me, and it wasn't the sort of thing that I could hide anymore.

Stace helped me with some of the wording, stuff he'd used in his own emails. It sounded pretty good, hopefully my parents wouldn't be too upset or angry with me. Either for being trans, or for doing all this behind their backs, or for not coming out in person.

And my boyfriend was right, after that the work email was a lot easier. Plus he reminded me how much I hated the job, and if I was quitting it didn't matter so much what my boss thought of me. So there was a lot less stress after all, once he helped me put it in perspective.

After that, with Stacey's encouragement I got on some job hunt websites and started looking around for any openings in graphics design. And while I was doing that he returned to his own computer and quickly composed a message to Kid Chaos, asking those questions the two of us discussed earlier.

The last work-related thing I needed to do was update my résumé, and Stace helped me again there too. Mostly with moral support, but he made some suggestions on wording and the best way to present my limited work experience.

Then I saved it as a PDF and sent it off to the handful of openings I'd found in my short search, and with that I was finished being responsible. At least for the rest of the day anyways.

As the two of us shut down our computers and left our little office Stace teased, "So were you serious about being a fox for a while? Should I go get your collar after all?"

My cheeks went red but I smiled, "Maybe...?"

PurpleCatGirl

If you're enjoying our work and you'd like to support us, please consider joining our patreon & get early access to bonus chapters, new chapters, and new stories!
https://www.patreon.com/purplecatgirl