Briar tapped his foot, checking the time on his phone again. Today, he and Jesse were meeting up for the third time since they met two months ago, but as those first two times were over a month and a half ago, he was anxious. Nerves swam in his stomach like mini tsunami's threatening to overwhelm him and drown his earlier excitement, but Briar was determined to fight against the urge to go home and make an excuse to cancel.

Years ago he had been quite the social butterfly, enjoying nights out with friends and meeting new people at the array of clubs he had been part of. But as the years passed and he was almost always at work or home, his insecurities festered away and left him a socially awkward bundle of stomach cramps. 

And yet, underneath the current of inner turmoil lay an excitement so strong it shocked him at first. But since their meeting those two months ago, Jesse seemed to ignite this emotion and sensation a lot within the young man. 

Almost instantly, they had formed a routine of sorts. One where every single morning Briar awoke to voice messages from Jesse detailing their dreams from the night before- ones usually consisting of food, animals, forests and fairy godmothers. And they always made him laugh or smile, starting the day off well. And in the evenings, when his work had usually not long begun or was near finishing, he left tales of the funniest or weirdest thing he had seen that day.

'Nearly there!'

The text message made him giggle at the erratic array of emoji's after the words. 

Yeah, today's going to be fun. Stop getting so worked up. You've been excited about this for over a week.

"Beauty!" A voice yelled from across the street and Briar about combusted from embarrassment. For whatever reason, the little pink-haired terror had given him a nickname that he found very blush-inducing. And yet, it also made him smile. 

He had a nickname given by a friend. Of course that made him happy.

"Foxy!" he yelled back, looking up and pocketing his phone. Despite his friend's short and slim stature, they stood out among the crowd of people, bright coral pink hair and eccentric clothing drawing the attention of everyone around. 

Jesse ran across the street, uncaring of the car that very nearly turned them into road kill, and flung his arms around the taller man who hugged him back with a wide smile. 

"Hey good lookin', you excited?" they said after stepping back, readjusting their oversized pink jumper so it wasn't slipping down their shoulders. 

"Yes! I've been reading reviews ever since you mentioned this place and they're really positive". 

"Really? Yay! I was worried that it would only be popular because it's new but if it's as good as you're making it sound, we should have a good day. We fucking better, because I've been excited for this for ages so my expectations are sky high. Anyway, what've you been up to?".  

They walked together down the street, making small talk on how they had been. Briar learned that Jesse had been busy with work too, his small online business specialising in web design getting a sudden influx of clients since their last project for a big company gained a lot of attention. 

"How are your partners?" he asked. 

"They're good; Dev is busy with a new personal project. Which really just means he's tearing apart pieces of the house and having them rebuilt. I swear he does this like three times a year, like a ritual. Having an architect as a lover really isn't as peaceful as I'd pictured, you know, like I'd imagined he would sit in a rocking chair all day sketching with coffee stains on him. But no, instead one day we have a downstairs bathroom and the next it's a hole with scaffolding". 

"That would be pretty scary if you got up in the night and forgot. Or drunk- that would really mess with you".

"Tell me about it" they rolled their eyes. "And Quinn, damn, pretty sure he's an angel. He had left the window open and a bird- a fucking bird!- flew in and knocked over his easel. The paint was still wet as hell, too. But instead of getting mad about the commission potentially being ruined, he's nursing the bird back to health after it broke a wing. That man's heart is too beautiful for this world" they sighed dramatically. 

Briar laughed, imagining the chaos that must've taken place daily in that household. It sounded stressful but nice. As they neared the café, he found himself checking his phone from a message from his own lover but was yet again met with nothing.

Where the hell is he? Whatever, worry about it later. 

So after releasing a sigh, he smiled at his friend who watched him with concerned eyes then flung an arm over their shoulder. "C'mon- apparently they have customisable milkshakes!".

*************

Briar was in heaven. Kitten flooded, fluffy and adorable heaven. 

He and Jesse were sat on the floor, kitties in their laps and panini's on the table next to them. The little fox had chosen a white chocolate milkshake with cookie and brownie pieces blended throughout. It looked disgusting but after being offered to try some, he could confirm it was surprisingly yummy if not a little too sickly for his palate. His own milkshake was a rather simple banana with whipped cream and salted caramel syrup drizzled on top. Oh, and some of the cookie pieces Jesse so graciously gifted him from their own beverage.

Again, he was in blissful heaven. 

"She's so cute!" one of the workers whispered loudly, very clearly looking at the little fox who just continued tapping the ground with an index finger, moving it away when a kitten pounced on it.

"What do you think they'd do if I whipped my cock out? Wait, no, they'd probably call the police. And I don't have Hollywood money or clout to get outta that" they snickered, leaning close so only both of them could hear. 

Briar was confused though. Because, maybe it was closed-minded to think this way, but when he looked at Jesse, he didn't see a girl. Or a boy. They looked very... androgynous? Was that the word he was looking for? Either way, that was why Briar had taken to referring to them, as, well, 'them'. But if they did identify as a particular gender, was assuming they didn't offensive? 

And thus started his silent spiral, concern over if asking for clarification was offensive and rude, if he was a terrible friend. Heck, he enjoyed wearing clothing from the woman's section and seeing his lipstick smudged after giving a blowjob- you'd think he would understand how to treat those different that the norm. 

"Hey, I was just messing- I'm not going to flash them and go down for sexual harassment. No need to look so constipated, Beauty" they- he- she?-chuckled, rubbing a kitten under the jaw so it raised it's throat for deeper scratches. 

"Um, I've been referring to you as, 'they'. Is that- is that okay? Or, um, do you have a preferred pronoun? In all honesty, I've never really had to think about this before...". 

"Oh, yeah, shit. I'm so used to my friends and stuff knowing since we hang around in the same circles, clubs etcetera" Jesse waved their hand in the air. "But yeah, I don't care what people refer to me as. They could call me a fucking garbage goblin for all I care, but most people use, 'he' or, 'they'. But I'm super cute so I get why people think I'm a girl. Bitches be jealous sometimes. Anyway, don't worry about it, I really don't mind. Just call me whatever you like and if I have a problem with it for some reason, I'll let you know". 

Briar could've been mistaken for a punctured balloon deflating, his relief visible in his slumping shoulders and deep release of breath. 

"Thank fuck, I was seriously worried I've secretly been a bigot my whole life but didn't know. I've just never been around genderfluid people. Although, honestly, you are super pretty so I get why they'd call you a girl. But you've also got a super cute Adams apple. But maybe women get those too, who knows. Like my aunt, she had a full blown moustache and jaw stubble, but she also had something wrong with her avaries". 

A few silent beats passed when it was broken by Jesse's sudden, loud laughter. 

Now, Briar would never say it aloud, but in all honesty Jesse had a very... peculiar laugh. Something in the sound reminiscent of a seal being stuck in a long tunnel, or sometimes it could've made a barking deer look around for another of it's kin. But as much as the sound made other people flinch and make faces, Briar found it strangely endearing. It was unique, much like everything else about the fox.

"Do you mean ovaries?" they asked, biting their bottom lip to keep from smiling.

"Yeah, sorry. I, um, I'm not the smartest" he confessed, wiggling his finger that a kitten was chewing on with tiny little teeth and gripping with playful claws, rolling onto it's back and wrestling with his entire hand. 

Cute...

"That's okay. I'm not the nicest person in the world or the most athletic. I can't cook for shit- unless you like poison disguised as mash potatoes- and when I sing, fairies die. We can't all be the best at everything and if your struggle is not being the next Einstein, that's okay". 

It's... okay? Never heard that before. He's so nice.

"How do you mess up mash potatoes? It's like, three steps. And three, basic ingredients". 

"You're welcome to come over some time and witness the carnage for yourself. But I'd suggest bringing some Imodium since we're down a bathroom right now. Oh, and I don't do the dishes but somehow use every single piece we own so, you'd be assisting on clean up duty". 

Briar found himself smiling down at the ground. "I'd like that". 

He really, really would.