Chapter Text
Two hours ago, Caleb was texted about an "insurmountable mishap" by Zayne. After checking that Zayne was, in fact, not going to die, Caleb was headed to Linkon City.
Caleb: Can you tell me any more about this mishap?
Zayne: I'm not sure you'd believe me.
Caleb: You're acting like you've grown a third arm.
Zayne: Something like that.
Caleb: Excuse me?
Caleb was pulling up outside the building now.
Zayne wasn't one to express this much concern, so it could be anything from him needing help picking out a suit to a full-on existential crisis.
Ever since Zayne had learned Caleb had survived the explosion, he had called often, and for smaller and smaller things. Caleb hadn't realized how much he missed Zayne's friendship until after MC found him. They clung to each other now like brothers.
Caleb took the stairs two by two, rushing through the front entrance. This wasn't the Hunter's Association Building or Akso Hospital, but it looked like a medical area inside.
"I'm here to see Zayne." The receptionist checked him in, looking far too concerned for Caleb's liking. He followed a woman that looked like a librarian to a small room. She waved him in.
He opened the door to a myriad of people sitting, faces pale.
Caleb POV
"We didn't know who else to call, Caleb," MC started. I looked around the room in confusion.
"Where's Zayne?"
"He'll be here in just a second. He needed to go change clothes. That's what I'm trying to tell you." I nodded, giving her a look to continue explaining. "Simone and I were doing experiments with Zayne on a few subjects, just to see if we could heal them."
I cocked my head. "Heal them?"
"Yes. I used my Anhausen Class evol to enhance Simone's Micromodification evol."
"On living people?" I gawked. "Micromodification can change things at a molecular level. Like, items. Guns, tables, maybe even food. But people?"
"We weren't aiming for a person," MC said softly.
"What were you aiming at?"
"A rat. It has a terminal illness. We decided we would try to change its sex, since the disease is associated with only male rats." MC looked sheepish.
"Okay," I state plainly. "Where does Zayne fit into this?"
"We needed someone to read the results to understand what went right or what went wrong. He agreed to collaborate."
"Well," I shrug. "Did it work?"
Simone and MC look at each other sheepishly.
"Yes…" Simone finally says.
"It was a success then?"
"Yes. All reports came back with positive results, and the rat was cured."
"Why does Zayne sound freaked out then? Why did he call me?"
"I gave the evol too much juice, Caleb." I shook my head in confusion again. "I turned Zayne into a girl along with the rat."
I stare at her, waiting for someone to burst out laughing or say they were kidding. Simone and MC keep looking at me with worried eyes.
"So let's say this story is true," I start. "Just turn him back."
"It's true, Caleb. Also, it's not that easy."
"Why not?" I stand up straight from the spot I was leaning against the wall, looking at them back and forth.
"We have to study the rat… make sure it doesn't die from the changes. We don't know how well the experiment was conducted. What if its health takes a turn? What if we change Zayne back, and it kills him? We need to do more research."
"You're not joking." I deadpan.
"Nope." MC shrugs.
"Well. What the actual fuck." I run my hands through my hair. "Zayne asked me to come pick him up. So, what? I need to look after him for you guys?"
"He freaked out, Caleb. He said he didn't want anyone to see him like that. He only trusts you. So, yes. Look after him, okay?"
I shake my head. "Fine. Where is this new Zayne woman anyway?" I tease. A curtain is suddenly pulled from the back of the room, and it nearly jumpscares me. "What-"
I freeze. Behind the curtain is a small woman—a small woman who is undoubtedly Zayne.
I blink a few times.
"Are you just going to stare?" That voice. It's Zayne's voice… just a little higher. I wouldn't have really believed them if it weren't for him standing right in front of me.
"S-sorry. You just surprised me, is all." Zayne is wearing his regular dress shirt, tie, and all. No pants. Not that it matters now - the dress shirt is so long it covers down to his knees like a dress.
"You must have lost a whole foot of your height," I observe. "What are you, like 5'1" now?"
He scoffs at me. "I'm 5'2", Caleb."
"Oh yeah, sorry. I was off by an inch." He shakes his head.
"Let's just get in the car, okay? I don't want to stay here." I nod slowly, appalled. I watch him walk down the hallway. I quickly follow, looking back at a nervous MC and Simone.
The drive is dead silent as I try to decide what to say.
"Okay, so I need some information, yeah?" Zayne looks over at me with his signature blue eyes. I look away. "Do you still want me to call you Zayne? And should I call you a he, or do different pronouns work better here?"
He visibly bristles. "Keep addressing me the same. I'm still a man, gender-wise. I guess." He pauses. "I mean, I do have a vagina now, though."
I nearly swerve the car as he nonchalantly tells me he has a pussy. I don't know why this has changed so much for me. It's still Zayne in there, down to his mannerisms. He's sulking - and sitting in my car with his legs wide open.
"Are you wearing panties… er, underwear underneath that?" I chide him. "You're sitting like, wide open."
He actually blushes at that, his legs folding together. "You make a good point."
"Well, don't be flashing people or anything." I'm blushing now, too. "Come live with me for a while. MC has some clothes at my place that might fit you." He nods at me slowly.
I let him bathe first, trying hard not to think about what he must look like to himself in the mirror. I cook some potato soup and set the table. He comes out in a t-shirt and skinny jeans. My jaw almost hits the floor.
Gods, he's hot. He's even prettier as a girl. His eyes are sharp and stressed.
"Come sit down. We'll eat dinner together." I swallow down these weird new feelings.
He sits and stirs his soup. "I didn't know what to do with my long hair. I don't know if I washed it properly. And everything feels so new. I just had to relearn how to urinate and how to wash myself. I feel ridiculous." He's pouting.
"I can help you dry your hair. I have a few products from MC to help keep it hydrated after a bath. You shouldn't wash it every day, from what I've heard." He nods.
We eat in silence for a moment.
"How are you feeling?" I ask gently. He eyes me warily.
"When I was first changed, I didn't know what had happened. Suddenly, I felt shorter. My pants… they actually fell. I was mortified. But when I looked down, my hips were fully covered by my shirt. I was in denial. Then MC and Simone screamed. I thought maybe I had shrunk or something." He pauses. "I guess maybe I have. I feel so small in this body." He stirs his soup slowly.
"Just a minute. I can't stand seeing you sit there with wet hair. You're going to catch a cold." Zayne nods. I get the hair dryer and stand behind him, drying his hair. I brush the long length, carefully removing any knots. He hums appreciatively, leaning into my touch.
I smile at how much this reminds me of MC and my childhood. I run my hands through his hair absentmindedly. He shivers.
"There. All done." I turn the dryer off, then get up and grab his cup to refill it with more water.
"I've never seen you be so attentive," Zayne observes. I shake my head.
"Only with MC, I guess. But you're my closest friend, so you're like family to me anyway."
He hums thoughtfully. "It must be because I'm a woman now, right?"
Thank god I'm facing away from him. My face gets hot. I will the back of my neck and my ears so as not to give me away. I hear Zayne chuckle behind me.
"You never were good at hiding things." I turn and glare. He is playfully pointing at one of his ears. "Your ears always give you away."
"Whatever," I huff. "Is this how it will be now? Are you going to make fun of me? I guess woman Zayne is a lot more playful."
"What if I was always this playful?" he muses.
"What ev-er. I know you better than anyone else, so I doubt that." He gets silent again. "What is it?" I walk back to sit down with him.
"I had to call out of work. I can't work like this until I turn back. I'm not used to-" He looks at his own hands, his legs, his chest. "I'm not used to these hands or this stature." I stop eating for a moment.
"We're going to fix this, Zayne. Just look at it as a vacation. I know how much work means to you. Look at it this way, at least you'll know more about your female patients, yeah?" He pushes his glasses up his nose, but they barely fit him now. "We'll order you some new glasses, okay?"
"Already done," he responds flatly.
"Damn, look at you. You always think of everything."
"I'm still me. Just…" He trails off, looking sheepish.
"Smaller, more approachable, cuter?" I supply, loving the way he gawks at me.
"Cuter?" He spits the word back at me.
"Yep, you're pretty cute like this. Guess I'll have to start calling you Pipsqueak now. And, I'll have to protect you from guys."
"Protect me from-" He looks down at himself again, shaking his head. "Surely they won't be that forward will they?"
I give him a long look. "Honey, you're not just any girl. You already looked like a male model. Now, all I'm saying, is that you look like the female version of that. So yeah, pretty hot." I put my hands up in mock surrender. "Just don't be invitin' any boys over to the house to experiment." I meant the last line as a joke, but something feels wrong the second it comes out of my mouth. I pause for a moment, watching his face. First, it scrunches up. Then, he looks like he's considering it.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Pisqueak," I tease. "You're thinkin' about what it would feel like, right? At least wait it out a bit. Don't give into the first man that comes onto ya."
He looks up at me quickly. "I wouldn't." He huffs. "I just-" He squeezes the bridge of his nose now, like he always does. "Just, listen for a second."
"I'm all ears."
"Being straight doesn't mean the same thing in this body, does it?" I raise my eyebrows. "I was only into women I think, but as a woman-" He chews his lip. "Am I a straight woman?" He stares up at me, like I'll have the answer for him.
"Pips, I have no idea. I mean, sexuality and gender and sex… they're all just parts of an equation right?"
His eyes get big. "Can I get pregnant?" I can't tell if he's saying this with more wonder or horror at the idea. "This is an incredible opportunity to know exactly how far our lab results can go."
I nearly slam my fists against the table, standing up. "Jesus, Zayne, I'm not going to allow some random man to come in here and fuck you to knock you up." He is looking up at me appalled. I sit back down abruptly, blush creeping up my neck. "Shit. I'm sorry. It's just this whole… thing. It has me on edge. Like, I'm more protective of you or somethin'." I run a hand through my hair, shaking my head. "That's my bad… I-I don't have a claim to you or anything. I just want you to be okay."
He's staring at me again, a tiny smirk on his face. He takes another bite of soup.
"You're enjoyin' this, aren't you, Pipsqueak?" I huff, playfully turning away. "Gettin' me all riled up or somethin'."
He watches me while he takes a bite. "I've never seen you act like this. It's like an experiment in and of itself." I roll my eyes.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Enjoy it while it lasts." I take another bite.
"What if I stay this way forever?" I almost choke on my soup, looking up at him. He shrugs. "Or, I'll stay this way so long that this amusing behavior of yours will stick."
"It wouldn't bother you?" I stare at him. I hope I'm not going to offend him. He doesn't seem to mind.
"I will graciously accept living however. I was born a man, but who knows? I bet I'll be able to turn back. What will my sex really change for me anyway?" I blink at him.
"I wonder if I would feel the same?" I poke my bottom lip with my forefinger. "Maybe. I guess it depends on a lot of things."
"Like what?"
I consider this. "Like, if I had a partner. Would they still like me?"
He looks into his soup. "Is love so fickle like that? I guess it could be for some. I'd like to think that once I fell in love with someone no form of them could ever make me like them less."
I pause, watching him again.
"Do you not want to be friends anymore, Caleb?" I almost gawk, my eyes get wide.
"What? Why would you even say that to me? Of course, you're still my friend. My closest friend, Zayne."
He nods, slowly getting up from the table. He walks around to my side of the table to stand over me. I swallow thickly. His eyes are piercing me. "You look like your heart is about to jump out of your chest," he says in that slow, meticulous way. He's too smart for his own good. "Are you forming an attraction to me?"
I can already feel my face getting red. Hell, I can feel my whole neck burning at this point. I want to dispute that idea immediately, but he doesn't look… disgusted or anything by the idea.
"It's a yes, isn't it?" he continues. "You're a straight male. You like women."
"It's not just-" My voice nearly cracked as I blurted my words out. Fuck. What am I trying to say? "I don't just like any woman."
"So, it's just me, then?" I feel like I'm melting down. He's smiling at me with that tiny smirk that Zayne is known for. "I'll keep that in mind."
"In mind for what?" I'm trying to relax my body. This is Zayne we're talking about.
"Just think of it like an experiment. I see the way that MC wraps you around her finger." He's teasing me.
"Yeah, well, you're not my sister. So don't lay it on too thick, honey." I purr the last word at him, and he freezes for a moment. I cock my head at him. "What?"
"I'll keep that in mind as well," he rushes out. "I need to sleep. I feel exhausted suddenly."
I jolt a little at that. "It's not some side effect, is it?" I stand up and touch his forehead with the back of my hand, feeling his face. He blushes. "Are you feeling okay otherwise?" I'm huge compared to him; he's even shorter than MC.
"Y-yes, just disoriented."
"Tell me if you need me, okay? I'm right here. I will do anything to help you. Come and get me, even if it's the middle of the night, yeah?" His eyes get a little big, but he nods. "Tell me if anything happens to your body. Like, if you get your period. We have pads and tampons under the sink here. Or if you need something else, I'll figure it out."
He nods his head quickly. I let him rush off down the hallway to bed. This whole night has been bizarre.