A sharp rap on my door pulled me out of a light half-sleep. Sitting up and wiping the drool off my face, I blinked the sleep out of my eyes. The sound of rain and smell of petrichor filled my small room.

A soft snore rattled behind me. Looking over at my bed, I saw that Tristan was passed out under my covers, my pillow over his head. He'd shown up when a heavy rain started around midday and had fallen asleep almost immediately.

The pitter-patter of rain outside had been so soothing, I got tired too, but, not wanting to wake him up, I'd drifted off in my desk chair while reading some book about dragons that Arden had given me weeks before.

There was another rap on the door.

"Coming," I said, trying to be loud enough to be heard but quiet enough to avoid waking Tristan. I padded over to the door and cracked it open. One of the older templars stood in the hallway.

"Morning, Alex."

"Morning, Jorn. What's up?"

"It's my day off, so I thought I'd be sleeping all day, but it looks like we're leaving to patrol the villages later. Ro-Saleh said he wants to talk to you before we leave, so here I am."

"Sorry, man. That's rough." Jorn and I weren't close, but we'd trained enough together to be friendly. He was an old face around the temple and acted like everyone's semi-sleazy uncle. Despite that, he was well-liked by nearly everyone, but he was lazy as hell and didn't hide it, often saying that laziness was the virtue closest to the Goddess's heart.

"Right now?"

"Yeah, we're heading out in the next few hours. You probably should get on it."

What about Tristan?" I glanced back at him right when one of his hairless legs kicked out from under my covers. Despite his clear growth spurt over the past year, he never seemed to get more manly. Poor guy.

He looked past me. "Ah, I see..." Grabbing my wrist, he pulled me out into the hall. "Shut the door. I've been dying to ask you something, but the mixed blood is always with you."

Mixed blood? I shut the door until it was only open a crack. "Ask away, you big weirdo."

He smirked. "So, you and the waif?"

"The waif?"

"Tristan."

"Oh. Yeah? What about us?"

"You two... I figured something was going on between you, but seeing it is a different thing. Not bad. Not bad at all."

What the hell was he talking about? "I don't follow, Jorn."

"It's not that complicated, my friend. Obviously, Tristan came clean, and you two figured some things out."

"Figured what out? Spell it out for me, Jorn. I'm dense."

He moved closer and threw his arm over my shoulder. "Tristan's come a long way over the past year. Finally hit the change, and right when you showed up, too." He wiggled his eyebrows at me. "That only happens to her kind for one reason. And, word is, you stay up late getting 'tutored' night after night. It doesn't take much to piece things together."

"I don't... what?"

His grin faded, and he squared his shoulders. "Look. You don't have to play innocent. We're both grown-ups here. I'm happy for you. For you both. And you seem like a great guy. I don't have any worries about you. But I'll tell you this: that one's as pure as they come. If you harm a single hair on that mixed blood's head, I'll cut your balls off and feed them to the hogs. And I'm not even close to the worst you'll face. Renard'll string you up by your ankles and use you for target practice."

Oh... Oh! "No! No. That's not what's happening."

"Come on, boy..." He sighed.

I shook him off. "No, really. It's not like that."

"What do you mean? You two aren't..." He left the sentence hanging.

"No, definitely not. We're just friends."

"You sure about that? You two spend an awful lot of time together." He nudged my ribs, a big grin on his face. "Tristan doesn't spend that much time with anyone else, save for Na-Ya and Maven. And I've seen those blue eyes hovering over you. Those are lovers' eyes."

I stepped back. "I'm sure. And I'm sure it's mutual."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that."

"Well, even so, Tristan's not my type."

"Oho, look at you. What's your type, then? You got a thing for blonds?"

"No."

"Ooh, redheads? That's my type. Love 'em."

I shook my head. "No, I love black hair. Love all hair, really. Dated a girl with dyed purple hair once, too. I just prefer women."

He stared at me. "What?"

I stared back. "What do you mean, what?"

"I mean, what do you mean you like women?" He scratched his forehead.

"I'm attracted to girls. Women. Maidens. Ladyfolk. You know, with the long hair and the high voices and the pretty eyes." And the hips. Couldn't forget the hips. Where the hell was he going with this?

He pointed toward my door. "Yeah. That's what I was saying, too."

This conversation wasn't making any sense. "Then why would you say all this? Tristan's a man."

His head tilted to the side. "You think..." A smile split his face. "Hooo boy."

"What?"

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"You really are dense."

"Okay, so spell it out for me."

Jorn laughed. "The waif's a girl." Slapping my shoulder, he added, "Well, she's a woman, now."

"That's not..." Is that why Tristan never got more manly? That voice I'd been ignoring started shouting at me again.

Chuckling, he said over his shoulder, "Ro-Saleh's waiting for you by the statue. Don't keep him too long." The knight snickered as he walked away, his footsteps echoing lightly on the stone floor.

I watched the man go. What the fuck?

Turning around, I reached for the handle and froze. I could hear Tristan yawning behind the door. Taking a deep breath, I opened the door and stepped into my room. Not wanting to look at my friend, I sat down to pull my boots on.

I couldn't be that dumb.

"Hey..." Tristan's voice was heavy and filled with sleep.

"Hey." I kept my eyes on my boots.

"I was so close to falling asleep." He yawned again.

"You think you weren't asleep?"

He sighed. "No. It takes me forever."

"You were snoring."

"I do not snore!" His already high-pitched voice went three pitches higher.

I chuckled. "Okay, buddy." I finished with one boot and started with the other.

"I heard a knock. Everything alright?"

Pulling my second boot's laces tight, I stood up. "It was Jorn. He said I need to go talk to Ro real quick."

"Anything important?" I saw him stretch in the corner of my eye.

"I don't know. They're heading out to the villages to do some patrols. Ro wants to talk to me before they leave." I went to walk past the bed, but Tristan's hand grabbed my wrist.

"You okay? You seem off."

Finally, I looked at him. His sapphire eyes were peering out at me through his long eyelashes. "I'm fine. Really."

He shook his head. "No, you're not. Talk to me."

I tried pulling away, but he gripped tighter. He wasn't taking no for an answer. "It's stupid."

"I'll be the judge of that."

"Um... Jorn said..." He had to have been fucking with me.

"Jorn says lots of things."

"Are you a girl?"

Tristan's eyes widened. His face grew redder and redder until the tips of his ears flushed crimson. "I... Um... Yes?"

I felt my face heat up. "Oh." I'd never been shy around women or anything, but this was... something else.

She bit her lip. She? She. "Is that a problem...?"

My face grew hotter. "No, I think that's great... I just..." A wave of irritation washed over me, replacing the awkwardness completely. "Why the hell didn't you say anything?!"

Her eyes flashed. Throwing my hand aside, she spat back, "Why should I?!"

"It's normal to correct someone when they're wrong, Tristan."

"I did! Like, twenty times! You never got it. You just nodded and pretended to understand!"

"You should have tried again! You knew how shitty I was at your language. I needed all the help I could get!"

"Well, I'm not the idiot who assumed wrong when we first met in the first place!"

I thought back to that first night. I did assume. Shit, I guessed wrong the literal first time we spoke. How embarrassing. "I'm sorry... Back then, you looked so—"

"So what?!" There were thunderclouds in her eyes, now.

Gangly. "You looked kind of like a boy. I couldn't tell. You've changed, is all."

"That happens when people reach the change!" She swung her legs off my bed, stood, and thrust a finger in my chest. For the first time, our size difference realllly stood out in my mind. She barely came to my collarbone. "Why do you even care that I'm a woman, huh? Does that change anything?"

"Um..." Yes?

"Answer me!"

I flinched. "Uh... No?" Her thick brown robes were hanging loose around her neck. At the angle we were at, there was no way for me to miss the view inside. For once, she wasn't wearing another layer underneath. She was definitely a girl.

"Well, it better, not. You hear me?!" She stepped forward, pushing me back until my calf bumped my desk chair.

"Are you really so worried about that?"

"Yes!" She huffed. "You and I are friends. Best friends. And nothing changes that. So you get your head out of your ass, because you and I are staying in each other's lives. Got it?!"

"I, uh, yeah. Got it."

"Promise me."

"Huh?"

"Promise."

I could see something behind her eyes. Worry? Insecurity? "Of course, nothing'll change. You're my best friend. Nothing will change that."

She visibly relaxed. "Good."

Wait. What the hell? "But don't turn this on me! How is it no one in the temple let it slip that you're a woman, huh? I can't possibly be that dense."

She snapped back. "You're an idiot, that's why!" Her eyes looked to the side. She always did that when she was hiding something.

I stepped forward, forcing her back a step. "No. You did something. Out with it."

She looked toward the ground and mumbled something I couldn't make out.

I placed my fingers under her chin and guided her head up. "Speak up."

"I told everyone not to say anything."

"Why the fuck did you do that?" So that's what Jorn meant about her coming clean.

A cloud passed behind her sapphire eyes. "I didn't want you to treat me differently."

My anger vanished. Did she really think our friendship was so shallow? "Tristan..."

Her name seemed to shake out some of the insecurity. "You took me on as your friend so easily. I never had anyone do that before. You were sweet and thoughtful, and I was comfortable with you right away. You made me feel seen. I'm not the most open person. It's not easy for me, and I didn't want to lose it."

"Why would you have lost it?"

"I was worried that you'd act different because of..." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Reasons. And once it went on long enough, it was way too awkward to bring up. So I decided to let it go and figured we'd talk eventually, when the time was right."

That made sense. I wouldn't want anything to change our friendship, and I couldn't imagine my life without her. "Well, I feel like an ass."

She frowned. "Don't. I should have come clean sooner." A smile crossed her face, and she laughed. "It would have happened soon, anyway. These stupid robes won't work much longer." She gestured down at herself, then placed her hands on her hips.

With the fabric pushed in, I noticed how wide they'd become. They would have put Devon's to shame.

Nope.

Look away, Alex. Don't be weird.

My eyes found the ceiling.

She huffed and punched my shoulder. "Don't make it weird!"

I laughed. "I'm not the one showing off my hips."

"Oh, fuck off. You know how many times I've had to see you with your shirt off? And it's not like the baths leave much to the imagination. You've been flaunting your bits all over the place ever since we met."

"Bits?" I'd always wondered why she never bathed with me... Shit! I'd been hanging dong with her for a whole year! "Uh, sorry. It's not like I was trying to show off or anything. I just got used to everyone here being so casual about it."

She blushed furiously. "Well, it's not like you have anything to show off..."

"Excuse you?" My pride challenged, I reached for my belt. "You sure about that?"

Her eyes went wide, and she looked at the ceiling. "You touch that belt, and I swear..."

"You sure? Because I just heard you say I've got nothing going on, and that's a serious challenge to my manhood."

She giggled. "Okay, that might have been an exaggeration." Slapping my hands away, she said, "Down, boy."

I laughed. "Yes, ma'am."

"Goddess save me." She sighed. "Do you know how long I've been dreading this conversation?"

"For over a year?"

Well, yeah. But it felt like decades."

"Makes sense."

"I'm going to kill Jorn."

"It's not his fault. He saw you asleep in my bed and assumed."

Her cheeks went red all over again. "What did he assume?"

"Well... You know... It's not that complicated..."

She scoffed. "What kind of woman does he think I am?"

"One who sleeps in my bed."

She smacked me. "It's more comfy than mine! And it smells nice in here." She looked away. "And I like spending time with you."

"Yeah, me too."

Her eyes found the ground again. "What a day."

"Yeah, I didn't expect today to go this way."

"Me neither."

There was a long pause. I normally hated those, but this one wasn't so bad. Her sapphire eyes found mine again, and she smiled.

After a few moments, I said, "Well, I guess I'll go talk to Ro now."

"Yeah, you should go do that."

"What about you?"

She sighed. "I think I'm going to stay in here and die on the inside."

I chuckled. "Have fun with that."

"Oh, you know I won't." She sat down on my bed, elbows on her knees, and cradled her forehead with her hands.

I stepped toward the door.

"Alex?"

"Hmm?"

"Even if the timing wasn't the best, I'm glad we talked."

"Same."

"Thanks for not making things weird."

"Thanks for being honest." I looked back at her and smiled. "Enjoy your existential crisis."

She nodded. "Thank you, kind sir. Enjoy your talk."

Stepping out of the room, I took a deep breath and turned to pull the door shut. As the door closed, I saw her flop back into my bed. Throwing my pillow over her head, she deflated like a balloon.

Latching the door, I turned and walked down the hall. With each step, I realized that, as much as I didn't want things to change, things were absolutely going to change between us. Hopefully, the changes would be good.

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