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“You know how I asked if you were okay before?” Khai said a few moments into the walk.
Percy, whose gaze was trained on Lila, who had decided to tumble in the grass, nodded. “Mm.”
“I’m not trying to pry—though I am nosy,” Khai added, making Percy grin. “But I’ve been told I’m a good listener in multiple languages. I could probably even do a passable British accent if you want me to try.”
That made Percy laugh—then it made him want to weep. Instead, he swallowed past a lump in his throat and shook his head. “I recently…” He was going to say split up with someone, but he wasn’t sure if he had the right to claim that phrase. They’d agreed to try, but Wren had made his stance on relationships very clear.
Percy had accepted those words with his whole heart, and Wren hadn’t just fucked him that night. He’d been both dominating and tender. He’d made Percy feel secure and safe and hopeful. Then he’d crushed it all with a single message, and Percy couldn’t help but wonder if it was his fault because there was no way it hadn’t come out of nowhere.
Clearing his throat, he wrapped both arms around his middle. “There was a person. A man,” he added. “I thought we had more than we did. I tried really hard not to get hurt, but he left without telling me what I did wrong.”
Khai studied him a long moment, his head cocked to the side. “I don’t know your situation, but most of the time when shit like that happens, it’s a them problem. Not a you problem.”
Percy let out a bitter laugh as he watched Lila dance on a low curb. “That’s what he said. It’s not you, it’s me?” Blowing out a puff of air, he turned his gaze up toward the sky. Maybe they should have stayed to watch the stars in the big telescope. “It feels like a cop-out.”
“Because it usually is. That’s not an answer—even if it’s the very baseline of the truth,” Khai said.
Percy looked at him with a small smile. “Are you going to school to become a psychiatrist? Because you’d be good at it.”
Khai let out a laugh and shook his head. “No. I thought about it, but I have enough problems of my own.” He bit his lip, his hands twitching at his sides the way Percy had seen Wren do. Like mumbling in ASL. The fro-yo shop was ahead, and Percy thought maybe Khai was going to let the conversation end there, but then he spoke again. “I’m in love with someone I’m really close to, and I think he might love me back, but not the way I want.”
Percy winced in sympathy. “I’m sorry. I sort of know how that is.”
“Yeah,” Khai said behind a laugh. “He’s not unkind to me though. We’re best friends, and his situation is shit. I just sort of…worry that he doesn’t see me as a man.”
Percy’s brow furrowed. “Bloody hell, I am so sick of this idea that we have to be these big, toxic assholes to be considered manly?—”
“No,” Khai interrupted, this time with a genuine laugh. “I’m trans. I’m a trans man,” he clarified.
Percy blinked at him. He’d had absolutely no idea. “Oh.”
Khai rolled his eyes. “I know I pass with most strangers. I always had a deep voice, and testosterone made it a lot easier with all my vocal training. And I’ve been on HRT since I was a teenager, so it had years to cook.” He gave his chest a pat. “Some surgery, and voilà. Masculine agenda complete.”
Percy’s lips twitched in a smile, but it didn’t last. He stared at Khai in wonder because he was so many things Percy would probably never be. Ever. “Can I ask you something?”
“Please don’t ask me about my genitals,” Khai begged.
Percy recoiled in horror. “People do that?”
“You’d be surprised,” he replied flatly.
Percy grimaced and shook his head. “No, no. Nothing like that. I just…how did you know it was safe to tell me that?”
Khai’s brows shot up. “That I’m trans?”
“I’m a total stranger, and I’ve seen firsthand that not all gay men will accept it. I’ve seen…” He thought about his ex and shuddered. He’d been so terrible to the few gender-nonconforming people they’d run into out at the clubs, and Percy had always been both horrified and mortified about the absolute shite that tumbled out of Evan’s mouth. “Well, I’ve heard some things that were very unkind. I could have been one of them.”
“You could have, but you’re not,” Khai said. They’d reached the fro-yo place, and Lila was trying to get the door open, so he reached past her to help, and she tumbled inside before shooting to the little area with the cups.
Percy chased after her and grabbed one, kneeling down in front of her. ‘What flavor is your favorite?’
She hummed loudly and tapped her chin, then let out a happy noise as she pointed to the cookies-and-cream picture.
Percy grinned and filled her cup with enough to make her happy without pissing his sister off, then walked her to the little section with all the fruit. He could feel Khai hovering behind him, and he had a thousand more questions to ask, but he wanted to wait.
Percy let Lila get gummy bears, strawberries, blueberries, then a small drizzle of chocolate before walking to the register. He set her cup down and waited as Khai filled his own.
“I’m going to be a bit,” Khai said.
