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A mall date. The perfect date to go on when your beloveds don’t want to do anything nice because ‘you keep paying, Fabian, let’s do something free for once’, and when your beloveds are also foolish enough to think you won’t be buying them everything they look at.
Unfortunately, they wised up to his tricks quickly, so he’s currently banned from entering the bookstore. Which, fair, they would probably need the Hangvan to get all their purchases home if Fabian bought every book they wanted.
…he loves his nerd partners.
But now he’s left standing awkwardly, leaned up against the tiny wall between the bookstore and the spell components shop next door, tapping away at his crystal and trying not to look like an abandoned pet. He’s not even paying attention to what he’s scrolling through, more focused on what people think of when they see him.
Fabian glances up for a moment to check, just to soothe his nerves- surely no one really cares, right?- but he immediately locks eyes with someone.
It takes him a moment to even process who he’s looking at- he hasn’t seen her in months, after all. But when Mazey turns away, it clicks, and without thinking he’s stepping away from the wall. “Mazey!” he calls out.
She’s startled, obviously. How can he blame her? Considering the last time they spoke, he only said maybe three words before bolting, and that was after months of avoiding her… this is a pretty big change in attitude.
But he owes her, he thinks. More than owes her an explanation and apology. “Mazey,” he says again, stopping only a few feet away. “I, ah…” As much as he owes her an apology, he definitely didn’t plan one.
“Uh… hi,” she says, just as awkward.
Which… kind of helps, actually. At least they’re both uncomfortable right now. “I- how have you been?” he tries.
“…pretty good,” Mazey answers after a short pause. “I’m staying with a friend during Spring Break, so…”
“Great, that’s great.” Fabian pockets his crystal, just to have something to do while he tries to get his words together. “Mazey, I- need to apologize.”
She blinks at him. “...yeah. I think I’d really appreciate that.”
Fantastic! He perks up a little- sure, it would have been fair if she walked away, but he’s glad she didn’t! “I’m sorry for… ghosting? I feel like that was a bit worse than ghosting. Uh, I’m sorry for literally running away whenever I saw you. And also the ghosting your messages. My general demeanor at the time.”
Mazey seems to relax a little as he babbles. She even lets out a small laugh. “Yeah, that wasn’t… great. Can I ask why you-”
“I’m glad you asked,” he interrupts. “I, ah- I recently came to terms with something about myself, that, I had no idea about at the time but definitely hindered- sorry, I’m talking around- I, I’ve realized that I’m asexual.”
Fabian has come out a few times since he told the rest of the Bad Kids. At first just to Cathilda, then the more fringe members of the Bad Kids, then it was some fuckhead freshman that made crude comments about him dating two people, and that led to it spreading further- actually, it’s a little surprising it hasn’t gotten to Mazey yet, Playk knows, and she used to be friends with Mazey, but- oh, whatever!
“I, ah, just sort of panicked when our relationship started heading… that way, and I didn’t know why or what was bothering me and I just sort of,” Fabian waves his hand aimlessly. “Ran from it. Literally.”
He doesn’t look at her for a moment, a small pit in his stomach, but when he finally makes eye contact, she looks surprised- but that’s all. Nothing worse. “Oh. Oh, wow. Okay.”
“Okay?” Fabian asks.
“I mean, I just assumed it was because I’m trans.”
“What?” Fabian asks, incredulously. He’s completely taken aback by the accusation. “Why on- no- absolutely not- that never even crossed my mind! How could I discriminate against-” He’s being a little overly defensive here, maybe, but the thought is appalling! And frankly, confusing! “What is there to discriminate against, I mean, who wouldn’t want to be a girl?”
Mazey blinks at him, looking surprised. “What?”
“What?” he repeats back. It’s pretty straightforward to him. Obviously he’s not transphobic towards anyone, obviously, he’s just saying, you know, he never thought twice about how he was dating a trans girl, it just makes sense.
“…Fabian,” Mazey says after a moment. “I don’t know how to tell you this, but most guys don’t think ‘who wouldn’t want to be a girl’.”
Fabian pauses at that. That’s another thing that seems straightforward to him- girls are pretty, who doesn’t want to be pretty? But, ah- hm. Hm. “You know what?” he says when she just keeps looking at him, clearly waiting for some sort of reaction. “I don’t have the bandwidth to think about that, presently.”
“Yeah, okay,” she agrees too easily. “You still have my number, right? Feel free to call whenever you do. Have the bandwidth, I mean.”
“Oh!” He’s surprised by the offer. “It’s- fine to call you?”
“Yeah,” she says pleasantly, before seeming to realize something. “I mean- I have a boyfriend right now, so I’m not really looking to pick up where we-”
He didn’t even think of that. “No, no,” he waves his hands almost frantically. “No, that’s- I mean, I’m sure you’re as wonderful as when we were dating but- no, sorry, I- I also have a boyfriend!”
Somehow, she looks more surprised by that than his… unusual choice of words a few moments earlier, before something seems to click into place. “Yeah, that… okay. Can I ask- is it Riz?”
…even if she’s right, some part of him doesn’t like how easily she guessed it. “It is- but, it’s a little more complicated than that, ah…”
“Because of the ace- thing-?” Mazey starts to ask, but her eyes drift past him and she cuts herself off. “Or… that?”
Fabian turns around to follow her gaze- Riz and Adaine are hand in hand as they leave the bookstore. There’s only one book between them, and he sighs- even if they wouldn’t let him come in to buy things, they could have at least taken a little gold from him to fund a few purchases. “That,” he confirms, his voice warm. “I’m dating both of them, actually.”
“Huh. Congratulations?” she says, a little uncertainly.
He smiles. “Thank you,” he says, despite the waver in her voice. “I’m quite happy.”
“Good.” Mazey sounds a little more sure this time. “I was supposed to meet my friend at the food court, I’ve got to go, but- it was nice to see you.”
“You too!” He’ll be sure to text her sometime. About whatever, not just, uh- that topic he’s not going to think about right now. “Have a good one,” he says before returning to his partners.
“Was that Mazey?” Riz asks, cocking his head to look past him as she walks away.
“It was,” Fabian confirms as he takes Riz’s free hand, linking their fingers together. It’s a bit awkward, with their height difference, but he doesn’t mind it. “She’s in town for her college’s break, and I wanted to… clear the air, as it were.”
“Just clearing the air?” he checks.
Fabian can’t help but grin, and he squeezes Riz’s hand. “Yes, just clearing the air. What, are you jealous?” Adaine snickers, and Riz huffs- because they know he is. Fabian’s quite the fan of it, actually- other than the way it makes him bitier. There’s only so many times Kristen will tolerate being asked for heals over very preventable holes in his neck.
“Shut up,” Riz says, nudging him hard, but he doesn’t let go of Fabian’s hand. “Where are we going next?”
“I don’t know, The Ball, the point of a mall stroll is to wander without a plan,” Fabian says, not for the first time today. “We meander, we see if there’s anything we want-”
“You try to buy it behind our backs,” Adaine finishes for him.
“I mean, I would buy things in front of you if you let me.”
“You’re going to spend your entire fortune on us,” Adaine says. “Not that I’m really complaining. But sometimes it’s nice to buy things myself, Fabian.”
He doesn’t get that in the slightest, but he won’t keep arguing. He’d rather not sour their date. Not when there are better things to do. “Ah, look at that,” he says, pointing at a shop window. Inside is a large, very round frog plushie.
“Oh!” Adaine is immediately delighted, letting go of Riz to duck right into the store. Fabian glances down at Riz, only to see him smiling sappily after her. It’s adorable, and he pulls Riz along to head inside after her.
She’s lifting the frog- it’s so large, she can barely carry it. It also has a pretty harsh price tag- reasonable for its size, maybe, but definitely not in her budget. Fabian is already taking out his card. And his crystal, because that will not be easy to get home on the Hangman. They’ll need Gorgug’s help after all.
“Fabian,” she says, as soon as she spots him. “You have to get me this.”
What an immediate one-eighty. “Absolutely, dearest.”
Riz snorts. “‘Dearest,’” he mutters. “You’re so over the top.”
“And you love me for that, darling,” Fabian says, finishing his text to Gorgug and taking the frog from Adaine. He’s so, so kind to his partners for not mocking the way they both flush a bit at the pet names. One day they’ll get used to them.
He pays for the plushie, and Adaine immediately takes it away again. She seems content to carry the huge thing through the mall, which is fine with him. He’ll make sure she doesn’t walk into anything, throwing an arm over her shoulders as they leave the store.
Fabian is… so grateful for this. That, despite everything going sideways- which, to be fair, mostly his fault, he can own up to that, he’s an adult- he’s in a good place. Physically, obviously, being between Adaine and Riz is a pretty great place to be, but also just… emotionally? It’s great to put to rest that uncertain dread that haunted him ever since he first slept with Aelwyn. It’s great that he can talk to Mazey and just- tell her why he was a wreck during their relationship.
It’s great that he has two partners that have been with him through all his worst moments, that he can tell anything to.
“Hey, would it be weird if I were a girl?” Fabian asks.
“What?”
“What?”