Their thin nostrils flared. “You asked me to study tonight.”
“You said you were busy,” he countered.
“Well, I might have exaggerated the abundance of activity in my schedule.”
Dex blinked. “Huh?”
With a huff, Cya crossed their arms over their torso and jutted their chin. “I lied.”
“Oh.” His mouth spread into a grin, and their neutral expression soured, lips thinning into a hard line. “So lying is, like, a thing with you, huh?”
“No,” they denied far too quickly.
“Sounds like something a liar would say,” he teased.
Raking a hand through their hair, they released a whistling exhale through their nostril slits. “If studying tonight isn’t an option, I can—”
“Nah, it’s fine.” The headlights of the approaching tram appeared over Cya’s shoulder, and he pointed to it. “You riding the tram with me or is your driver coming?”
“I told Hemersyn I would travel with you.”
“Cool.”
He hiked his bags higher as Cya wrapped their coat tighter around themself, the breeze sending strands of their green hair dancing over their angular face. Standing this close, he smelled the warm, herby perfume of their shampoo mixed with incense, and he breathed in the calming scent, letting it fill his lungs.
The tram screeched to a stop, and the doors creaked open. Since he was a gentleman, Dex stepped to the side, motioning for them to board first. Except, Cya wasn’t a girl. Oh shit, him acting chivalrously was probably invalidating their gender.
“Wait, no!” he barked, making Cya jump at his sudden outburst. “You can’t go first. I have to go first or else it’s a hate crime.”
“A hate crime?”
He nodded vigorously. “Yeah, or at the very least, a micro-aggression.”
Expression twisting in confusion, they cocked their head at him. “What’s a micro-aggression?”
“My chivalry,” he confessed miserably. “I was trying to be polite, but I don’t want you to feel like I’m treating you like a girl, because you’re not one. But pushing you out of the way to go first also feels like the wrong thing to do. And I know it’s problematic to make it a big deal and draw attention to it, so I’m freaking out about that too!”
He turned to the tram driver in hopes they could impart some wisdom, but the Septopod simply tapped the clock with one tentacle. “I got a schedule to keep. You kids boarding or not?”
“Definitely boarding,” Dex said, eyes swiveling between Cya and the open door. “Do you want—like, should I or should you—uh, what would feel the most validating—”
Cya’s right eye twitched. “Just get on the godsdamned tram, Dex.”
“Yup, okay. Roger that… cap-ee-tan.” For some reason, he saluted them, and they rolled their eyes with a long-suffering sigh.
After storing his gym bag and backpack in the racks above the seats, Dex sat beside the window while Cya gracefully lowered themself beside him. The hem of their tunic rode up slightly, revealing more iridescent green scales, and he was, once again, tempted to touch them to see what they felt like. He fisted his hands in his lap instead.
“Sorry about…” He gestured toward the tram door.
With a tilt of their head, they adopted an over-the-top oblivious expression. “Whatever for?”
He winced, and they softened slightly.
“Would you have done the same for Gem? Or Rusty? Or one of your friends?”
He shrugged, then nodded because he probably would have done the same for other friends, regardless of gender.
Cya dipped their chin. “Then why would I be any different?”
