Khai rose with the sun, feeling good about the day ahead. After breakfast, he met Han at Yang’s house, and the two of them took Minh off her hands so that she could run errands. Khai and Han took Minh to go play with the other kids in the district. And together they had fun making glass trinkets for the kids, combining their fire and earth magic.

“Argg!” Han said, letting his glass solidify. “It just doesn’t act right.”

“It is more fluid,” Khai grinned. “Not good at all types of earth?”

“Rock shouldn’t be so liquid,” Han said, pouting.

Khai laughed. “But what about lava?”

Han rolled his eyes. “You’re the one who uses lava, not me!”

“Hmm, what’s this?”

Khai turned to Yang, smiling widely. “Hello! You’re back.”

Yang smiled. “Some of my errands require waiting.”

“We were making glass,” Han said, showing her some of the pieces. Khai matched his sheepish grin.

Yang laughed. “A little more practice, before you can get that dragon right,” she said. She picked up a misshapen glass dragon and reformed it herself. The kid who requested it clapped her hands and gave a shriek of glee when Yang passed it over.

Khai nudged Han. “Why aren’t you as good as Yang?”

“Maybe if you kept the glass hotter it would be easier to shape!” Han retorted.

Yang gave them a handful of metal coins. “Why don’t you two have lunch together?”

“I—I really can’t accept this,” Khai stammered, wide-eyed. “I have savings too—”

“Think of it as babysitting compensation,” Yang said, patting Khai on the head. “Now, off you two go.”

Khai blinked when Han grabbed his hand and tugged him up.

“If Yang says so, you listen,” Han said, winking.

Khai huffed a smile. “I can definitely see. We’ll be back soon, Yang.”

“Take your time,” Yang said pointedly.

Han gave a jaunty wave, and tugged Khai further.

“Where are you taking me?” Khai asked, trying hard to ignore the fact that they were still holding hands. He didn’t know if Han was queer or not. He didn’t want to assume.

And then there was Khai’s secret...even if Han was queer, he still might react badly if he found out. But Khai should tell him about Mai, before it came out in even worse circumstances. But the thought made Khai feel sick.

Han’s grip tightened, his fingers curling properly between Khai’s.

“Hey,” Han said lightly. “What’s wrong? The sun is shining, and I’m here. We’re headed to one of the markets. Best meat ever.”

Khai looked back at him. Han’s gaze was steady, and his inner life-flame was steady, if a little brighter than usual.

Khai breathed, and shook his head lightly. “You’re right. I shouldn’t be worrying. But are you sure it’s the best meat over? A few years ago, I had this amazing slow-cooked, fatty off-the-bone.”

Han chuckled. “That, and more.”

The market turned out to be filled with people Khai realised that he knew. People he had treated, or friends or family there-of. Many of them were regulars at Thon’s tea shop, co-gossipers with Thon’s grandfather. A number more were friends with Yang.

“No, no, no,” they would insist. “We are not taking money from you, Healer Khai.”

“Have some! You’ve got to keep your strength,” they would say. “And eat some vegetables. My grandfather said you insisted on eating more of them.”

Han would grin knowingly, as Khai’s cheeks got hotter and hotter as he thanked the vendors profusely and accepted the food.

Together, they found an empty space, and Han moved earth up into a makeshift bench; food across the laps as they shared a dozen different dishes.

“If I wasn’t a mage, I would be a cook,” Han declared.

Khai laughed, feeling warm and giddy. “You can be one of those cook-mages. You don’t have a fire affinity, but you could make it work if you try hard enough.”

“Or you could help me,” Han grinned. “We made a great team with those glass things. If you could infuse fire in them, we could even sell them to the upper class.”

Khai snorted. “You’re terrible at finesse though. Jin would be better at it.”

Han pouted. “Do you like him more than me?”

“I—” Khai looked away. “You can’t blackmail me like that,” he grumbled. “Jin’s more of Raah’s friend anyway. And you were the first…you’re my closest friend.”

“UMM, we really could try to sell something,” Han quickly said. “Then you could purchase more expensive medicine ingredients. My dad’s a merchant, I definitely know what I’m talking about. He taught me business, before we found out that I was a mage.”

Khai glanced at him, lips twisting. “How is he? And your mother and sister? Last time…” Last time, his sister had misgendered Khai, and his mother had insulted all those in Han’s company.

Han’s face soured. “My father found out about my friendship with Quy. He’s pleased about that. Connections and favours and all. But Quy’s had his eye on me.”

Khai cringed. “I’m sorry that I can’t offer you connections and favours—”

Han gave an exasperated huff. “I never wanted it in the first place.” His smile turned fond. “We’re friends. Not two men brokering a deal.”

“Oh.” Khai bit his bottom lip. “But what do you want?”

“Have you heard of metamaterials?”

“Oh. Yes,” Khai said. “A more durable material than glass would be nice. I’ve broken many medicine bottles in my time. And flame resistant materials would be helpful.”

A smile bloomed across Han’s face. “There are so many experimental and magic-made materials. If we did it right, we could have less house fires, build buildings higher, making more durable everything.”

Khai had to smile as Han went on to describe the very more recent advances in material synthesis.

“—So, we could try to make something like glass. But instead of melting sand, we’d have to shift around and melt certain earths, though apparently it’s better made from earth-oil…” Han stopped, and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “That was a lot.”

“It was interesting,” Khai said firmly, smiling. He laughed a little. “Maybe I should have taken Chemical Structures after all.”

“My mother doesn’t approve it of it though,” Han sighed. “Speaking of things she doesn’t approve of...are you...”

Khai tilted his head. “Yes?”

Han’s eyes darted away. “Would you cut your sleeve?”

Khai sucked in a sharp breath. “Yes. I rise early with the sun. If I had to, I would do so. And you?”

Han had a wavering smile. “I can sense the earth’s vibrations. A light sleeper. If I had to, I would do so too. Khai, I—”

Khai wet his lips. The fire in his core reached out for Han’s sense of flame. Without conscious thought, Khai’s fingers brushed against Han’s cheek and jaw, hot in Han’s sudden flush.

Something crashed onto the ground. “Mai! What under the sun are you doing?!”

Khai’s heart jumped to his throat as fire flared out of his palms, arching up to singe his clothes. Quickly, he pulled the flames back before they could hurt Han.

“Woah, Khai, are you alright?” Han asked, brows drawing together in worry, a hand laying itself over Khai’s.

Khai shifted his hand, grasped Han’s fingers for a moment. “I’m fine. But—” Khai turned to none other than his aunt.

“You know her?” Han frowned.

“She’s my adopted aunt,” Khai said, trying hard to breathe and not panic.

Han touched his arm. “Khai...” he said.

Khai flinched when he caught the tight expression on his aunt’s face. Inhaled. Stood up and bowed. “Good afternoon. Auntie. This is my...close friend, Han. Han, this is my aunt, Healer Mage Tien.”

Han got up and bowed too. “Good afternoon, Healer Mage Tien.”

Tien inclined her head. “A word, Mai.”

Han gave him a frown, and Khai shook his head, and went over to his aunt’s side. “Yes?”

Tien’s expression darkened. “What about Colonel Maru’s nice boy? And what are you doing, consorting with a man without a chaperone?”

“I’m an adult,” Khai said quietly.

Tien shook her head. “It’s bad enough that your hair is short like a man’s, but to dress like this as well?”

Khai flinched and took a step back.

“Khai?” Han reached out.

“Mai,” Tien said warningly.

Khai’s head dropped as flames arched up his arms. “Stop it, auntie. Stop it.”

“Mai, are you throwing a tantrum?”

“Stop calling me that. I hate the name Mai.” Khai lifted his head. “My name is Khai, I don’t need a chaperone, and—and I’m not a girl.”

Tien had a look of disbelief. “Mai, I’ve seen you! I’m a healer, I would know! It’s this big city. Taesu. Queerness ails the people.” She advanced forward, healing flame spreading over her hands. Her voice became soft. “Let me help you, Mai. Let me heal you.”

Khai shifted into a fighting stance. “I’m not sick. I’m a healer, I would know,” he added, throwing Tien’s words back. “And you must be wilfully blind if you missed all the queer people back at Karashu.”

“Mai, the ailment clouds your thought.” Tien advanced.

Narrowed eyes, Khai crossed his arms, and bars of flame cut the air between him and his aunt.

Tien hissed, and sliced through the fire. But Khai was burning, and he called the fire back white-blue hot.

“Without me around, you’ve learned how to hurt people with fire, have you? Are you going to hurt me? Fire can either heal, or kill.”

“Oh, auntie,” Khai said, smirking. “I learnt how to fight back in Karashu. It’s how I could heal those aggressive diseases, how I could bring the weakest back to life. Because life is energy and you have to fight for it. And the mage who taught me...she was queer too.” Khai pressed forward, forced Tien back.

“And I left Karashu because I wanted to get away from you, auntie. Because I was right. You wouldn’t understand. You wilfully stay ignorant.” Khai smashed the flames together in a sharp crack of heat-implosion and extinguished them. “Disown me, Healer Mage Tien. And I will pay you back what money you feel I owe you.”

“You were never prone to dramatics,” Tien said.

“I’ve known for at least a decade! Half my life!” Khai shouted back. He was so angry, and he had told her—he may as well keep going, because he was done. Done with the grating words, done with trying to keep up with the pretense of ‘Mai’. “You never asked.”

Tien took a step forward, hands reaching out, slowly pulling Khai’s separating bars of fire apart. “What has gotten in to you? Did you accidentally imprint that patient’s male-thoughts onto yourself?”

Khai gaped at her. “You—you—” he spluttered. He shook his head. “I can’t.” His stomach was rolling, fire filling his tight chest. “I can’t talk like this.” He turned back to Han.

Han gave a half shake of his head. “I don’t understand…”

“My name is Khai...”

“Mai—” Khai’s aunt said something that Khai ignored.

Han grabbed his hand. “I know that.” He leaned forward. “Do you want to get out of here? The earth could just open up beneath us...”

Oh. Khai gave Han a quick grin. And the ground shuddered beneath them.

*