“I said they should venn into amphibious forms and swim out to see the Outer Banks, but Mom just smiled and said maybe.”

“At some point, InstaThere is probably going to be offering body swap services. It’s going to be expensive at first, but I’ll probably be able to get you a big discount. You’d just need to find a — um, a trans woman to swap with you... But she probably won’t want to swap if you’ve been taking male hormones or had a mastectomy.”

On and off that day, I thought about that Missing Child poster I’d seen and what Mom and Dad were feeling and thinking about all this. Did they know I was trans by now? They almost certainly knew I’d venned into a girl body at least once; they’d have heard from Tim’s parents by now, even if the police hadn’t told them about the details of their investigation and what they’d learned from Meredith and Sophia.

“Well, it’s only around five or six times a day now instead of almost constantly. That’s better. But it’s still plenty bad.”

The party was sprawling down the lawn towards the harbor, splashes of bright colors against blue skies, scudding white clouds and a crystal clear view of the Boston skyline. It reminded me of the dream I had taken across the threshold into morning. It had been years since I had seen that dreamscape, but there it was, whole and healed and perfect: me, making a graceful dive from a wooden pier into a deep, pristine lake, surrounded by snow-capped mountains, pine forests and the clearest air in the world. Wearing a lime-green one-piece and curves that were, finally, all my own.

“She already knows, Cami. I talked to her.”

I must have looked as astonished as I felt. Though he was uncomfortable, he didn’t look away.

“It was a couple days ago. Before we made love. I knew what I wanted, but I was so afraid that I would hurt you, somehow. Especially because of your issues with PTSD. So I talked to Fiona. She’s your dragon. I figured if she thought there was any likelihood of a problem, she would wave me off. She . . . ah . . . well. She didn’t.” He was blushing, bless the man. “She also wasn’t surprised.”

“Can we talk without the police listening?”

He continued to glare at me, until suddenly his expression changed completely and he simply looked like he’d been hit by a locomotive. “Fi IS saving the world, jackass,” I said conversationally. “And you’d be the first to agree that the world can spare a lawyer or five. So stop being stupid, will you?”

awyers can usually find trouble to get into. COVID’s a disaster, and disasters breed lawsuits like prize bitch spaniels breed puppies. I doubt I’ll see the inside of a courtroom anytime soon though. So, I decided.”

She said, “Decided what?”

I opened my hands and showed her the bottle.

“That girl I saw earlier was you?” Tim demanded, looking aghast.

I slipped back into the apartment that had been my sanctuary for these incredible months of change, and suddenly, so very suddenly, wasn’t. Life was just coming at me too quickly.

"Assuming the tests come back clear, you will need to make a choice. Do you want hormone therapy that will make you appear more masculine or more feminine?”

“You know about hell, I suppose?” she asked.

I thought of my upbringing and said, “It’s been mentioned.”

She responded, “I expect they’ll give you a refresher course.” I could only nod.

A couple in their forties went in the machine just as we got in line, and they came out again a few minutes later; the woman was younger and prettier, wearing a much more expensive-looking outfit, a dark blue dress that Meredith said looked like silk. The man was a wolf or wolfhound; the woman put a collar and leash on him and led him out toward the parking lot, probably to avoid trouble with the mall cops, police and animal control until they got home.

“Okay,” I said. “What you heard was a transwoman talking to a friend. A friend who needs some comforting, and I don’t intend to let her down.”

“I know this is only going to be for a couple of hours, but it’ll be a taste of what you can have all the time, later on.”

"I’d love to see you. But I want you to know something before you decide. I am a trans woman."

I’d pretty much given up on trying to convince myself I wasn’t trans by that point. I was still trying to convince myself that a girl body, whether human or dragon, was a “nice to have” rather than the burning need it had soon become once I’d started thinking about it.

A young man discovers a genie hidden in an old piece of furniture and takes the opportunity to wish for his deepest, darkest secret, but he may not be ready to accept the consequences of his wishful thinking.

Were some trans women lesbians, if that was the right word for it? The parental control software wouldn’t let me find out and I couldn’t ask anyone.

Wings

part 1 of 62

This story is set in dkfenger's Trust Machines universe and is a sort of sequel to my Pioneers, though I think it stands alone tolerably well. Thanks to dkfenger for opening up his fascinating universe for other authors to write in.

Thanks to ChiriVulpes, clancy688, dkfenger, Nicole, and Rellawing for feedback on early unfinished drafts.

Thanks to clancy688, dkfenger and Fiona for research help.

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