I kept my gaze on the table, my hands shaking when I heard Casey’s voice followed by soft laughter. Slowly, I looked at Thomas and he was glaring over my shoulder at Casey, his fists balled on the table.
“What’s going on?” I whispered.
“I’m waiting for a specific sign from Ichika but I’m starting to get really fucking angry watching him touch her arms and shit. I should have warned you. I look like my dad Killian but have the same temper as my father Theo. Everything goes red when I’m mad.”
“You don’t need to get angry on my behalf,” I hesitantly covered his hand with my own, “it’s okay. I’m a big boy. I can take care of myself.”
Thomas took a small breath and nodded before flipping his hand over and squeezing mine, the warmth of his skin flooding me and I pulled away as though I had been scalded.
“Sorry,” he whispered, his gaze never leaving Ichika and Casey.
“You’re going to make them look over here if you keep staring so intensely and our cover will be blown,” I grabbed a menu and held it up as though I was going to order, “do the same as me.”
Thomas groaned but copied, breaking the glare he was giving Casey for a moment to look at me, “what are you going to do?”
“Give him back this,” reaching into my pocket, I pulled out a promise ring Casey gave me when we graduated high school, “it was his promise to love me no matter who I was. Obviously, with the amount he misgenders me, he doesn’t give a fuck. He never… never did,” I wiped my nose, feeling ashamed.
“There’s nothing wrong with you,” Thomas smiled.
“Yeah well, I don’t enjoy being called baby girl when…”
“When you’re a boy. I'm not stupid, Sparrow. It’s okay,” he whispered, “I knew.”
“Oh,” clearing my throat, I turned my view back to the table, “is it that obvious?”
“No,” he laughed gently, “not at all. I’m just observant. You carry tampons in your bag, they’ve fallen out in our class before. I can see your sports bra, and I’ve seen you adjusting your binder. I find you fascinating, so I’m one of the few people if not the only one who has realized.”
“And you still want to be my friend?”
“I have two dads, two great uncles, an asexual aunt, two grandfathers, and a lesbian sister. It would be strange if I cared when I have an open family.”
“Yours sounds like mine,” I blushed, “but we can talk about that later.”
“You want to spend time with me?” Thomas smiled brightly.
“No.”
“Sure,” he rolled his eyes before gasping, “alright. It’s go time.”
Thomas quickly pulled me up and pushed me toward Casey and I slowly walked over, playing with the small promise ring he’d given to me a few years ago.
“Casey,” I whispered and he looked at me in shock, “I… I have nothing to really say to you. I… just wanted to give you this,” I set the ring on the table, “and to tell you that we’re… done. 3 years gone in a snap.”
“Aero, I’m so sorry! I… I’m just curious about what’s out there. Who is out there,” Casey smiled at Ichika and she climbed out of her seat before she came over to me, “what the fuck are you doing!”
“I knew,” Ichika spit out at Casey, flipping her tawny waves over her shoulder before putting her hands on her hips and glaring at him, “I honestly thought you were cheating on me until my friend showed me proof that you’ve been with Sparrow for years. You’re a liar, Casey Tucker. How dare you cheat on him!” she gestured to me, “he’s a bit grumpy but a caring guy. Always helped me with my classwork until I realized who you were.”
“Well, I’m not gay,” Casey got to his feet, staring down at me and I took a small step away before Ichika grabbed my arm and pulled me back to her side, “and you’re not a boy.”
“I am,” I narrowed my eyes, “I’ve known since I was 4. You knew too. You knew me before I started my transition. If you couldn’t stand it, why didn’t you just dump me?”
“I figured you were just being influenced by your family,” he shrugged.
There was a pat on my shoulder and I turned to find Thomas, his face twisted in anger as he stared at Casey.
“You… transphobic, homophobic, piece of crap. What the hell is wrong with you? You led Sparrow on for years… Why did you even come to California with him?” Thomas growled.
“Huh? Sparrow can’t do anything on his own. He begged me to come and I just couldn’t tell him no. Plus… I was kinda hopeful if I came he’d at least give it up for wasting 3 years of my life.”
“That’s the longest you’ve gone without misgendering me,” I snorted, wiping a tear from my cheek, “I… I’m done with you, Casey. I don’t need you. I don’t have any of your shit in my apartment so… take the ring and go. Don’t worry. You won’t see me again,” tossing the ring on the table, I turned my back on him.
Suddenly, my shoulder was grabbed tightly but before I could react I found myself wrapped in Thomas’ arms, standing a few steps away from where I was, and when I turned my head I watched as Ichika smacked Casey across the face, his eyes now wide.
“Sparrow is our friend now. Go,” Ichika pointed to the door and Casey scrambled away.
Coming to my senses, I shoved Thomas away from me as hard as I could, “don’t touch me.”
“Swear to God you’re the grumpiest person I know,” Thomas huffed, “you could at least say thank you. He had his fist raised. I was trying to protect you and Ichika beat me to it.”
“Ichika,” I whispered and turned to look at her, “I… I am so sorry.”
“Huh?” she looked at me confused, her gold eyes glittering in the light of the restaurant, “why are you sorry? You did nothing wrong. I’m not upset with you. In fact,” she smiled brightly and held her hand out to me, “I’m Ichika Tano."
“S… Sparrow Hartley,” I nervously shook her hand, “it’s nice to meet you.”
“Oh, so you’re nice to girls?” Thomas huffed.
“I’m nice if I have to be. She helped too,” I rolled my eyes at him, “anyway. We sorta made a scene in here… we should probably leave.”
“But I’m hungry,” Ichika whined, grabbing her purse.
“I know a much better place to eat,” I smiled at her, leading them from the restaurant.
We had been walking for a few minutes, Ichika and Thomas talking behind me when my phone started to ring. Pulling it from my pocket, I saw that it was my father Kai.
“Hey Dad,” I waved to Thomas and Ichika and they stopped walking, coming up to me, “what’s up?”
“I just wanted to check in,” Kai yawned, “we haven’t talked in a while. I know you look like Pa but you’re more like me than him. We used to be close, Aero. I miss my son.”
“I know,” I snorted, “I’m fine, Dad. I uh… just ended things with Casey. I’m attempting to be nice to the person who told me that Casey was cheating on me.”
“I coulda told you that,” a familiar voice called from somewhere near Kai, “he’s a bad guy, Aero.”
“Shut up, Uncle Isaac.”
“Make me, Kid.”
“Whatever,” I groaned, “is there something you needed, Dad? We were going to get dinner.”
“Ah yeah actually. Are you going to be able to come for Christmas? Vi is coming home to visit finally.”
“Really!” I smiled, making Thomas laugh, “shut up, Chip. Anyway, I can be there. Is Callum coming?”
“Yep. With his girlfriend. Who is Chip?”
“It’s not his actual name but he’s tiny like that teacup from Beauty and the Beast so that’s what I’m calling him. His name is Thomas.”
“I told you to call me Tommy,” Thomas sighed.
“Your name is Chip,” I clicked my tongue, “I refuse to call you by your name.”
“Whatever, Eeyore,” he pushed past me, his shoulder hitting mine and once again warmth scalded me, “if you don’t catch up, we’ll eat without you.”
“I was the one leading you!” I called after him and Thomas shrugged, “Dad can I call you later? I don’t want to miss dinner.”
“Of course,” Kai laughed, “try being nicer. You never know what you’ll find.”
“Not interested. Love you.”
“Yeah love you too.”
We hung up and I ran after Thomas and Ichika, catching up before they turned a corner. Ichika let out a small gasp and turned to look at both of us.
“Oh gosh. I forgot! I have homework due tonight. I’ll make it up to you, Sparrow!” she waved and quickly ran away from us, leaving Thomas and me standing there confused.
“She’s lying,” we said at the same time before looking at each other and I let out a quiet sigh, “do you still want to get dinner?”
“Sure,” Thomas smiled gently, “what do you like?”
“Um… I really like that place,” I pointed to a Nepalese restaurant called Momo’s House.
“Oh me too!” he beamed, “come on. I promised dinner was on me.”
“I have money! I can pay. You helped me after all,” we started walking again, now side by side.
“You pay next time,” he held the restaurant's door open and I sighed.
“There won’t be a next time.”
“We’ll see.”
Thomas and I took a seat at the small bar that faced out to the street, the only place in the restaurant for dining, and I started looking over the menu, chewing my lip. I really only ordered one thing when I came here, and Casey had always judged me.
“What are you getting?” Thomas gently nudged me.
“Aloo chana,” I pointed to it, my voice quiet.
“Oh! I’m getting the aloo gobi,” he smiled.
“Are you vegan?” my eyes grew wide as I looked at him.
“Mhm,” he nodded, “are you?”
“Yes,” I smiled hesitantly, “it makes eating things my Pa makes a little difficult, he bakes for my Dad’s cafe, but he did learn a few vegan cookie and cake recipes for me. I guess it was no different than learning to bake for Kai.”
“Kai is your dad right?”
“Yes and Shiloh is Pa.”
“Why did he learn to make something special for Kai?”
“Type one diabetic.”
“Ah! Got it,” Thomas nodded and went to the counter to order our dinner, returning with two glasses of water, “here."
“You’re a cheap date,” I laughed, taking a sip of water.
“Oh? You’re sure jumping back into dating quick,” Thomas winked and I stuck my tongue out at him.
“It was a joke. I don’t think I want to date again until I have my surgeries.”
“Give me a call when they’re done and I’ll take you out.”
“Shut up.”
“No,” he laughed, a bright twinkling sound that filled the tiny restaurant, “can we at least be friends? We live closer than you think.”
“What do you mean?” I looked at him in shock as our food was brought to us.
“I live on the third floor of the Southgate Apartments. You’re on the second,” he took a bite of food, “we’ve walked past each other so many times but you never notice.”
“I…” looking down at my plate, I began to eat, refusing to look at him again, “I suppose we can try and be friends.”
“Do you have any?”
“Not really. I’m close to my cousin Orion. She’s my best friend. I was close to my brother too but he lives in Philadelphia we don’t really talk as often. I grew up mostly with Orion and my other cousin Delilah. I’m the baby.”
“Me too,” he smiled, “I’m actually the only other grandchild. My sister Kennedy had just turned 18 when I was born. My dad Theodore had been married once before he met my other dad Killian. Kennedy was from his first marriage. Her birth mother died in an accident. I guess Theo was only 18 when Kennedy was born. My parents got married when Kennedy was 17, and I was born a year later thanks to my aunt Cece. She was their surrogate. Oh, I do have a cousin though. His name is Dexter after my great-grandpa. My Uncle Elliot is a single dad. Also used Auntie Cece as his surrogate.”
“Is that the aunt you told me is asexual?” I asked with my mouth full.
“Mhm. She’s also aromantic. Never wanted kids of her own or anything. But she was happy to help her older brother and cousin so they could be parents. Hence, me and Dexter. Your family sounds bigger than mine.”
“Yeah… yeah, I have a lot of uncles. Two aunts. Then there’s my Titi.”
“Titi?” he looked at me confused.
“River, my uncle Isaac’s spouse, is non-binary. I guess my sister Violet was already 6 when my parents gained custody of her. Kai is her biological father. Anyway, they were trying to think of something for Violet to call River. They decided on Titi. It’s a combination of Tio and Tia as River is half-Cuban.”
“It’s nice. What are you?”
“Like my race? Uh, Scottish and Hungarian. I look like Shiloh. Kai is half Japanese, so Violet and I look nothing alike and Cal has the same mom as Violet so honestly… I look nothing like my siblings.”
“I’m Irish and Russian,” he finished eating, leaning on his arm to look over at me, “my bio dad Killian is from Ireland. He’s only been in America for… 24 years? Something like that.”
“That explains the hair and freckles,” I smiled, chewing nervously on my straw.
I don’t like how easy conversing is with him.
It makes me nervous.
“I could say the same about you,” he snorted, “what… what are you doing after this?”
“Nothing,” shrugging, I started to grab my things, “probably just watch a movie.”
“Can… I join? I’ll bring snacks…”
“Um,” taking my beanie off, I ran a hand through my hair, “s… sure,” I nodded, “but only one movie! I don’t like having company.”
“You’re the boss,” he saluted me.
We left the restaurant and walked back to our apartment building, Thomas talking as I stared straight ahead, doing my best to not listen, my heart racing.
Why did I agree?
I hate company.
He is really relaxing though…
That has to be why.
I got hurt today.
I didn’t want to be alone.
“Hey, are you okay?” Thomas pulled me to a stop, squeezing my arm softly.
“Not really,” I scoffed, “I just got out of a three-year, mentally draining relationship and now I’m trying to make a friend. I don’t really know how to feel.”
“I can distract you,” he whispered, stepping closer to me, “I don’t really know what to do but… if you wanted to I can…”
“Huh?” my eyes grew wide, “I’m not really comfortable with physical affection.”
“Huh!” he shouted, “no that’s not what I meant! Oh my god, I just realized how that sounded. No! I… I know a really pretty place I can take you to. It’ll help clear your mind. We’ll need to take my car but… it looks beautiful at sunset and… we can just sit there quietly.”
“Oh…” I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding and nodded, “s… sure.”
“Alright,” he let go of my arm and I started to follow him again, ending up next to a newer car, “graduation present,” he shrugged at my shocked expression.
“Are your parents rich or something?” I whispered, climbing in.
“No,” Thomas laughed, getting ready to close my door behind me, “but my dad is a veterinarian.”
Thomas shut my door and came running around, climbing into the driver's seat and starting the car. As we drove, I took in the view around me. I had lived in Berkeley for a few months now but rarely explored anything around me as I had no vehicle and preferred to be in my apartment.
“Where are we?” I gasped as he parked.
“Indian Rock,” Thomas smiled, “we gotta get up there,” he pointed to the top of a massive boulder and that’s when I noticed that there were small stairs carved into it, “if we don’t hurry, we’ll miss the sunset!”
We scrambled out of the car and took off, quickly climbing up the boulder. We were surprisingly the only people here and Thomas laid out his jacket, sitting on top of it. I did the same and sat a bit away, not wanting my personal space to be invaded.
“What do you think?” he smiled at me.
“I love it,” I sighed happily, looking out at the view, “thank you… Tommy.”
“You’re very welcome, Sparrow.”
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