“Yeah,” Coral said. “Like Nightingale. She was originally Nachtigall, since there was another hero named Nightingale at the time. But that other Nightingale faded into obscurity and everyone started using the English version. There’s other examples, too: Goblin and Kobold, Crow and Corbeau, Metamorphosis and Henkei, and so on.”

Eric tapped his chin. “I should ask my mom about that. Hang on.” He pulled out his phone and tapped out a quick query with some of the words he could remember. Even if he was reasonably fluent in Cantonese, that didn’t mean he knew every word.

“Is that really a good idea?” Coral asked.

He looked up. “What do you mean?”

“Well, wouldn’t it narrow down your civilian identity?”

Eric shook his head. “What, so I should conform to European culture?”

“You’re going to be a villain. You want to associate yourself and the people around you with that? But it’s your call.” They put their hands up in surrender. “Clueless white person here.”

“You might have a point,” Eric said. With current events, Asian people – and Chinese people in particular – weren’t very well-liked by the masses. He could see his dad using a Chinese villain as an excuse to demonize Asian people. Not that he really needed an excuse for that. “I’ll think about that. Check out some other options.”

His phone lit up and he took a peek. The top choice was translated as Jatmin. Not quite the feel he was looking for.

“Anyway, I think that’s about all we can do tonight. Unless you want to brainstorm some ideas for crime and profit.”

“Not here,” Eric said, glancing around. There was still nobody by them, but the restaurant was beginning to fill up. “Honestly, I think we’ve been more open than we should.”

“Maybe a little,” Coral said.

There were still fries on the table, so they might as well stay. “So maybe we should get to know each other? I mean, if we’re going to be partners, we should know stuff.”

“True.” Coral looked down. “So where…? You said you moved here a year ago. Where from?”

“You were going to ask where I was from?” He was more amused than annoyed.

“I thought that might come off the wrong way.”

Eric nodded. “I’m from Pennsylvania. My mom lived here when she was a kid, so when she and my dad divorced, we moved back here.”

“Didn’t want to stay with your dad?”

Eric shuddered. “He was a white supremacist.”

Coral raised their eyebrows. “But…” They gestured at Eric. “Why?!”

“I don’t know. He didn’t get really bad until a couple years ago, so maybe it’s recent? I can remember some really weird things he said when I was a kid, though. Whatever the case, he crossed all sorts of lines. Like telling me he’d disown me if I didn’t get surgery on my nose and eyes to look white. Eventually my mom and I got fed up and left.”

“Good,” Coral said vehemently. “Screw that guy.”

“Yep. What about you? Who’s your family?”

“They’re dead to me,” Coral said. “They were religious in the really bad way. Then they found out I was genderfluid and bi and things got really bad. They were talking about conversion camps at one point. I pretended to see the light until they sent me to college, and then I escaped. Sometimes they send me messages. Half the time I suck and ruined their lives forever. Other half, they miss me so much that it’s killing them that I’m gone. Sometimes in the same message.” They shook their head. “So I don’t have a family now.”

“Ugh,” Eric said. “I’m really glad my mom was supportive. Well, she tried to be supportive until she got it right, at least.”

“That sounds like a story,” Coral said, propping their head up.

“Yeah,” Eric said, grinning. “So when I told my mom I liked guys, she didn’t know what I meant at first. Kinda got sexuality mixed up with gender.”

“Oh no…” Coral looked like they were holding back giggles.

“I came back one day to find that she’d basically set up a private gender reveal party. Huge pink banner saying She’s A Girl across the living room and a bunch of gifts. Pink razors, girl-branded shampoo and stuff, and some perfume.”

Coral laughed. “I mean, if you had been trans, that would have been awesome.”

“Yeah. I cleared it up pretty quickly, though, and she hadn’t told anyone. Oh, and she got me some dresses. They were actually my size, too.”

“Oh?” Coral raised an eyebrow. “Did you look good in them?”

“Of course I did,” Eric said. “Here.” He went over to Coral’s side and pulled up the photos on his phone.

“Ooh,” they said. “You rocked those. Very sexy.”

Eric could feel his cheeks heat up. “Thanks. I don’t still have them, though. Mom ended up taking them back. That’s her.” He swiped to another picture, where he had his arm around her.

“Aw. I wish I had a mom like that.”

“Well…” Eric grinned. “She’s pretty friendly. I think if I introduced you as my partner, she’d adopt you on the spot.”

Coral looked deeply amused. “Is that your way of proposing to me?”

“Maybe.”