By the time we got out of the tunnels and were back on the streets, Tristan was shivering. He must have noticed me watching him because he cleared his throat, which came out more like a wet cough than anything.


    "Don''t stare."


    "How are you holding up?" I asked.


    He frowned. "I''m fine." He pulled his cloak tight against the thick wet mist falling from the sky and didn''t look at me. That meant it was bad.


    "Let''s get you back and in a bath. The warm water''ll help."


    "Yeah... that sounds really good right now." Tristan''s eyes were unfocused as he looked around. "Do you know where we are?"


    "Not too far now." I guided us through an alley I''d walked earlier that day, then turned left. From there, I could see our inn in the mountainside. "There it is."


    "You have a good sense of direction. I had no idea where we were." Tristan smiled at me, then coughed.


    "Always did. Come on. Let''s get you warmed up." We walked the rest of the way to the inn. The warm air washed over us as we entered the large door. An older woman with golden curls and skin kissed by the sun... tower orb thing greeted us. I nodded to her and walked toward the hallway that led to our room. Once I''d made it to the hallway, I realized Tristan had lagged behind. Turning around, I walked up to him. He was three times as pale as he was when we''d left the dregs. I wrapped my arm around his narrow shoulders and guided him to our room. He was shivering terribly. I walked him as fast as he could walk to our room.


    "Sorry." He sniffed and let out a wet cough.


    "Don''t be stupid." I unlocked the room and led him inside.


    "Come on, get those wet clothes off."


    His face screwed up. "No. Not with you here."


    I rolled my eyes. "Oh, after a year of me being picked on for being a prudish earth man, you''re gonna be the first person to act shy here?" I realized as I spoke that Tristan had always been nervous about these kinds of things. He always kept his baggy robes on, and even in baths he sat outside the water until everyone else was done. Could he really be...?


    "No, it''s just..." He looked down at himself, then at me. I raised my eyebrows, but he remained silent. Okay, it was time to call his bluff.


    "You know what? Fine. Leave them on. Get sick."


    His only response was a series of wet coughs, then he fell onto his rock bed. "Too late..."


    Called my bluff real good.


    I sighed. "Alright, I won''t look." I turned around and listened to the sounds of clothing being shed. A moment later, his muffled voice sounded behind me, "I need help."


    "I thought you said not to look."


    "Can''t... reach... boots..." As soon as he finished talking, he broke out into violent coughing. I turned around and saw him doubled over, both hands covering his mouth. His brown robe was pulled up, revealing his thin waist and wide hips. His pants were down to his ankles, but they were caught on his boots.


    "I''m coming." I darted over and began untying his boots. As I did, I realized I was inches from his legs. Which were hairless. Smooth. Curved. Feminine. Realization washed over me like cold water.


    "Tristan."


    "Yeah?" He coughed.


    "Are you..." Was I really that much of an idiot?


    "What?" Another wet cough.


    "Are you a woman?" I looked up at her. She froze, the color drained from her face, and she refused to meet my gaze. For a solid minute she said nothing.


    "...Yes."


    All thoughts stopped. "You''re joking."


    "Why would I joke about it?" Her voice, which was quiet, fragile, trembled.


    "But... Wait..."


    She struggled to pull her wet robe off. I stood up and grabbed the rough cloth. She slowly wriggled out of her robe, leaving her in only a loose white shirt. I could see some sort of wrap around her chest through her wet shirt. She was definitely a girl.


    How had I missed all the signs? Her soft jawline, smooth neck, lack of facial hair, thin body, small wrists... Shit.


    "Why the hell wouldn''t you tell me?" I rubbed my face, unsure of what to say.


    "I... You just..." Her cheeks were flushed red. "You assumed when we first met, so I just…” She fell into a coughing fit.


    That''s why she wanted to change alone and she never bathed with anyone. “It’s okay. Come on. Let’s get you to the bath.”If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    I wrapped my arm around her waist, scooped under her knees, and picked her up. She didn’t resist. A moment later, we were down the hall and in the bath. The steam hit my face as I opened the door.


    “Here''s… fine…” She said with that lack of enthusiasm people feel when they’re sick and miserable. I didn’t let go. Neither did she. I carried her to the edge of the pool, kicked off my boots, and walked into the water, clothes and all, until we were both in the warm water.


    “Alex…” She coughed a few times, then looked at me. Her blue eyes shimmered in the steam.


    “Yeah?”


    “I don’t want things to be weird.” She frowned. “You’ve always treated me like a friend. I don’t want that to change.”


    I met her eyes. Now that the haze of misunderstanding had been lifted, I could actually see how much she’d changed over the past year. She wasn’t an awkward almost-teen anymore. She was a woman, even if I’d mentally blocked that out for so long. “I won’t.”


    She breathed. “Good.” Her arms, wrapped around my neck, loosened, and she leaned into me. “I want to keep being the ‘Awesome Duo,’ even if it’s a terrible name.”


    Her head rested against my shoulder.  “I wouldn’t change a thing. Don’t worry, okay?”


    She looked up at me and smiled. “When have you ever cared how I felt? Ass.”


    I laughed. “Hey, there’s a first time for everything.”


    “Ass.” She laughed, then coughed right in my face. I was definitely going to get sick.


    I let her go. She floated to the far side of the pool and groaned as the warm water soaked into her. I took off my tunic and pants and did the same. For a while, we were quiet, except for the occasional cough from Tristan. Our eyes met once or twice, but clearly neither of us wanted to address the elephant. I broke the ice first.


    "So... how many people at the temple know?"


    She didn''t look up. "Lady Varga, Na-Ya, and Arden."


    I tried to word myself the best I could, but only one word came out: "Why?"


    Her sigh echoed off the water. "It''s complicated."


    "Complicate it for me."


    She looked up. Her blue eyes met mine. "You know about the war between Deneir and Nolei, right?"


    "Yeah. I made the mistake of implying Na-Ya was from Nolei once. She got pretty upset."


    "After centuries of war, things get weird." She looked back into the water. "There''s a reason Na-Ya never leaves the temple. The chance of her being mistaken as Noleian is too high. Contrary to what she says, she comes from there and has their features." She looked back up. Lifting her hand from the water, she gestured to her eyes. "And so do I."


    "What do you mean?"


    "Na-Ya is my cousin. My grandmother was an elf. She had a child with her first husband—Na-Ya''s mom, and my aunt. Later, my grandmother was captured by a Deneiran lord and had another child with him. That was my mom."


    I didn''t know what to say. "How did she get free?"


    "My dad came to this world, killed the lord, and saved my mom. They fell in love, did the thing, and had me."


    "What happened to your grandma?"


    "She died giving birth. Mixed-race births are hard on elven mothers. She didn''t survive it."


    "I''m sorry."


    "Thanks." She sighed. "I wish I could have known her."


    I let the words hang for a moment. "How did you meet Na-Ya?"


    "My aunt had been searching for her mother for years. When she saw my mom, she knew right away who she was. The two of them became close and settled outside of Llyn. Auntie taught Mom everything she knew about our people. Together, they sang to life a new grove outside of town for stray elves to live and rest."


    "So how did Na-Ya end up at the temple? And what about you?"


    "When Dad was alive and healthy, he protected the grove and Llyn. But he got sick. Bandits started moving into the forests and snatched people up. Na-Ya was one of them." She played with the water. "She doesn''t talk about that time much. I know she was about to be sold when Rennar and Ro-Saleh came. Rennar had been Dad''s companion at one point and answered a letter he sent. They took down the entire camp by themselves and rescued everyone. She always gushes when she talks about how Ro carried her in his arms that day. That''s when she decided to return to the temple with them, and when my dad learned he couldn''t protect me, he sent me, too. I was ten or eleven at the time, and I''ve been there basically ever since."


    "Sounds like a lot."


    "Yeah."


    "So why pretend you''re a guy?" I think I understood, but not entirely.


    "Even though I''m only a quarter, and I''m lucky enough to only have the eyes, Dad thought it would be best. Elven women are preyed on the most. And since elven children age slower and are androgynous, I''ve got away with it for a long time. I didn''t begin to change until the last few years, and it''s mostly been the last year that I''ve become..."


    "A woman."


    "Yeah."


    "That''s why you wear the baggy robes all the time and don''t bathe with others."


    "Yup."


    "But it''s not like anyone at the temple would have cared, right? You were safe there."


    "Yeah, I was."


    "So why?"


    "For a long time, it was a habit. But when I started to go through the change, I was planning to open up to everyone. It wasn''t like I could keep it up much longer anyway. But then you came. You guessed wrong, and I just kind of went with it. Not that I blame you or anything. You caught me at the absolute worst time. For a year, elves look... rough."


    I couldn''t help but laugh. "Yeah, you were pretty gangly."


    She giggled. "Ass." With a big smile, she continued. "We became friends, and I really didn''t want to make it weird. I figured we''d deal with it later." She looked up at me shyly. "I wasn''t wrong. This just isn''t how I imagined it going."


    "Yeah, me neither." I thought back to our time together. I really had been deluding myself. "Honestly, I''m not that surprised. There were a lot of times I noticed things about you that were off, but when I make my mind up about things—"


    "You''re a massive idiot who can''t change direction until you slam into a wall?"


    ''I was going to say I become singleminded, but yeah. What you said."


    "I am. You should listen to me more."


    "I''ll consider that. No promises, though."


    She shook her head. "Sounds about right."


    We both laughed, the sound of our voices bouncing off the stone walls. Then it got quiet. For a long time, we soaked in the water. It seemed to be doing wonders for her, and my aching muscles released the longer I sat. It''s amazing how much almost dying affects the body. For a long time, we sat like that, enjoying the shared space with one another.


    "Alex.''


    "Yeah?"


    "What class did  you unlock?"


    "Guardian."


    "Oh..." I looked up to see her gazing at me. A funny look was spread across her face.


    "That bad?"


    She shook her head. "No. It''s just... thanks."


    I smiled. "I wouldn''t change anything."


    "I know."


    Quiet again. "You cast spells during the fight. I assume you unlocked a class, too?"


    She blushed. "Yeah, I did. Priestess."


    "What did your system notification say when you did?"


    She turned bright red and looked away. She did that when she was lying. "That I understood the Goddess''s Word and unlocked the class."


    "Uh-huh. What did it really say?"


    "Nothing!" She splashed me from across the pool. "Let it go."


    "Sure."


    "It''s gonna get weird, isn''t it?"


    "At first, yeah."