“Uh.” I blink. “That’s a wheelchair.”
“That it is.” Lucy offered.
Silence.
…
“And it’s my wheelchair?”
“I don’t think anyone else in this house needs one.”
I groaned. “Sorry, I’m just a little… surprised. Why would you guys get me such a nice wheelchair?”
“Because you need one?” She blinks at me with a smile. “And why not have something good?”
“... I guess that’s fair.” I mutter. “But still, we don’t even know how long I’ll need it…”
“Doesn’t matter.” She waves off my complaints with a grin. “I know you aren’t used to these kinds of gestures, but I hope you can get used to them soon. You’ll have a lot more fun that way, but I know it’ll take time. So for now? Hop in the wheelchair!”
Completely caught off guard by her words, I just stammer out an agreement. “I, uh, y-yeah. Sure.”
“Here, let me help.”
Pushing the pristine white contraption towards me, Lucy parks it right next to my seat before gently pulling me out from under the table, and moving my confused body to the mobile chair.
I have to admit… It's comfortable. Keeping myself from wiggling around in it proves to be a little hard.
A glint appears in Lucy's eye and she gives me a grin. “Hehe. I see you like how it feels?”
“Y-yeah,” I try to nod and keep my embarrassment hidden. “It’s comfy. T-thank you.”
“Aww, you can thank me later when Sam and Sena get back. For now, let’s go watch some tv? And maybe later we can put that chair to use.”
“What do you me- Whoa!” I yelp when Lucy shuffles behind me and begins to maneuver us out of the kitchen.
“Smooth?” She asks during our short trip down the hallway.
“Y-yeah. It’s so much better than the ones in the hospital. N-not that those were bad! Just that this one’s… different.”
She puts a hand on my shoulder right as we park next to the couch. “You’re allowed to complain about things, Yun.”
“I-I wasn’t… t-this one’s just a lot better.” Saying so, I avert my eyes while I move from wheelchair to sofa.
Lucy didn’t respond to my hasty excuse, instead she just put a hand on my shoulder and sat next to me. It was… comforting. I think.
My adoptive mother clicked through a few streaming services before randomly clicking on one. She couldn’t decide what to watch though, so she asked me a simple; “Movie or show?”
“Uh, movie I guess…”
“Genre?” Another few pages scrolled by.
“A-action?”
“Ooh! It’s been a while since I’ve seen a good action movie…” Even more pages scroll by. “How abouuuutttt… this one?”
The movie she’d stopped on was from a decade ago, but apparently held up well enough to warrant its stay on this service.
“I remember when this came out, Sam and I went to see it in a theater.” Lucy said with a wistful smile. “Not the greatest date choice, but I dragged him with me to see it.”
I balked at her words. “Y-you invited him out on a date to watch a movie about big monsters fighting people in giant mechs?”
“Yep~.” She grinned. “I was always a big fan of action, adventure, and fantasy stuff. This movie also had sci-fi elements, but I didn’t mind. I was happy enough with, as you said, big monsters fighting big robots.”
“I… isn’t that something that, y’know, guys would want to see?”
Lucy gave me a knowing look while clicking on the movie and pausing it. “Likes and dislikes don’t have anything to do with gender. You like what you like, and you don’t like what you don’t like. I was often called a ‘tomboy’ back in high school, while Sam was a little softer back then. At least by other people’s standards.”
“Huh…” Picturing Sam as anything but an ex-military man… is weird.
“Just some food for thought, sweety.” She clicked the play button. “And for what it’s worth? I agree. Sam doesn’t seem that way at all now, hehe. Now, shall we watch this movie?”
“Nn.”
Lucy and I ended up watching a few movies together and eating a light sandwich lunch during one of them. Overall, we just had a pretty lazy couch day. I’d enjoyed the first movie, the second was kinda okay, and the third was really good. The first was the big robot one, the second was about a group of deep sea fishermen going out to a dangerous section of the ocean and consequently facing nature’s wrath, and the last one was a romance featuring some college kids. It was pretty cliche, but I still liked it.
When the third movie ended, I was slipping in and out of consciousness. I guessed my body was still pretty exhausted from everything that's happened. When Lucy noticed, she scooted over and laid me down. A motion that was not really needed but I found myself enjoying. Something about the way she just… did it, struck a chord in me. So, after murmuring a soft thanks, I fell asleep with a blanket being settled over me.
Waking up to Lucy gently shaking my shoulders, I jolted a little and nearly shot up. Luckily a hand kept me steady.
“You’re alright, Yun.” She murmured. “I was just waking you up.”
“I-is something the matter?” I asked, rubbing my bleary eyes. I’d been doing that a lot lately.
“No, but Sena will be home pretty soon and we wanted to see if you’d like to go shopping?”
I blinked. “But I can’t wal- ah.”
“Yup.” Lucy grinned. “Wheelchair testing time?”
“S-sure.”
Swapping my seat to the chair, Lucy pushed me back to my room where there was a basic outfit laying on my bed.
“Huh? When did that get there?”
“I put it together after you fell asleep on the couch.” Lucy shrugged. “It’s not much, but it should be comfortable enough. Are you fine with wearing it to the mall?”
Taking in the outfit, I nodded. There was a long sleeve black shirt that looked pretty baggy, white sweatpants, some calf high black socks, and underwear.
“Uh.” I blinked, gazing at the weird garments. I knew what they were but… “What are those?”
Lucy pointed at the black sports bra and panties combo. “Underwear? Ah. What kind did you use to wear?”
Looking at the under things made me feel weird. I know I wanted to embrace what I actually am, but… for some reason a part of me couldn’t stomach it. “Briefs.”
“I can call Sam and ask him to get you some, if you don’t want to wear thes-”
“No!” I blurted, before cringing back. “S-sorry. I, uh, I don’t know.”
“It’s completely alright if you don’t want to.” Lucy gently smiled. “I know how hard of a time you’re having.”
“I-I, I want to try. But I feel weird.” I admit.
“Bad weird? Or just weird?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well, how about you try them on and then see how you feel?” She offered. “I can leave the room while you do.”
“Uh, sure.” I nodded. “I’ll try to be quick.”
“Take your time. I’ll be right outside the door if you need anything or any help.” Lucy explained with a sympathetic smile, walking out of the room. “The bra’s a sports bra so you don’t have to mess with any clasps or buttons, but it could still be a little tricky.”
“Okay.”
Well, now that I’m alone, I can get started I guess. Stripping off my shirt was easy enough, so I tossed it on the floor and wobbled over to the bed. Plopping down, I stared at the black fabrics.
Sighing, I picked up the sports bra and looked it over. “Hrm.” The thing was weird and it looked like it’d be snug, something I wasn’t looking forward to. I didn’t want anything to feel like those wrappings anymore. My skin crawled just thinking about it. Saying screw it, I slipped the thing over my head and managed to tug it down over my chest. Unfortunately, it reminded me of the bandages for a few moments as I sat there and felt my breathing get heavier. Just when I thought I was about to start wheezing…
“Yun? Everything alright?” Lucy called out from behind the door, snapping me out of my panic.
“Y-yeah! Just g-give me a minute.”
Once we quieted down, I realized I wasn’t panicking anymore. I felt weird, but not skin crawling and stomach churning weird. Rolling my shoulders and twisting my abdomen lightly, I tested how the sports bra felt and nodded in satisfaction.
“Next…”
Pulling the black shirt on was easy, and I could tell they chose a long sleeve to cover my scars. I wondered if I’d have to wear long sleeve shirts and long pants forever… So be it. It’s whatever, next article of clothing. I pulled my pajama pants off and grabbed the panties, slipping them on before I could think too much about it. They had elastic bands, so whatever weight I’d lost wouldn’t mess with these when I got it back as they hugged my body. This felt pretty similar to briefs, just shorter and more revealing. Though they were underwear so that fact didn’t matter. After that, I stepped into my white sweatpants.
Looking across the room, I spotted a mirror and checked myself out. I looked… like a pretty girl. My skin was pale and my face looked a little sickly, but I was recovering so it made sense. Without any makeup on and my hair falling down, there was no trace of androgynous or masculine traits. “I’m done.”
Creaking the door open, Lucy peeked inside and smiled. “Look’s good! Do you like it?”
“I uh, yeah. I think so.” I nodded and watched as she walked in to gather my discarded pajamas. “The bra feels odd but I’m getting used to it.”
She nodded. “We’ll have to get you a few sets like what you’re currently wearing until your body gets to the point it’s supposed to be at. We aren’t sure how much your chest will grow, so we shouldn’t go for any fancy underthings until later.”
“Okay. I don’t think I’m ready for that anyway.”
After getting dressed, Lucy placed a pair of sneakers about my size near the front door that I’d wear until we bought some new ones. I think they were a pair of Sena’s since a lot of our measurements were pretty close. Though I didn’t discount the possibility of them being Lucy’s either. Now we were just waiting in the living room for Sam to pull up with Sena as Lucy let a random channel play on the tv.
I was just nodding off again when Sam unlocked and entered the house, quickly followed by Sena. “Good afternoon you two.” He smiled while setting a briefcase down on a coffee table.
“How was your day?” Lucy asked, standing to give her husband a hug.
“Good, we can talk about that later though.”
“Yuuuun.” Sena whined, flopping down next to me. “I missed you today.”
Giggling, I scooched over to give her some room. “You too. I was sleeping for most of it though…”
“She was.” Lucy agreed. “Right before you guys walked in she was about to fall asleep again.”
“Dr. Gray was right then.” Sam commented.
“About what?” My friend tilted her head.
“About Yun needing her rest. She said sleeping and general rest was a top priority, so it’s good she’s getting enough.”
“Hm. Good. Maybe we should just nap the rest of the day away?”
Lucy snorted. “You wouldn’t be able to go to bed tonight. Besides, we have plans.”
“We do?”
I blinked. “Didn’t they tell you?”
“Uh. No?”
“Really? I could’ve sworn we did…” Sam muttered. “Anyway, we’re going to the mall!”
Sena’s squeal just about shook the building with how loud it was. “Really?! So that’s what the wheelchair’s for!”
“Y-yep.” He popped his jaw. “Honey, our daughter really takes after you in so many ways…”
Both of them snapped their heads towards the ex militant. “Oh?”
“I-in the good ways!”
“Nice save…” I muttered as the two glared.
Thanks for the chapter