>>”Maybe someday you will. A lot of artists start small and build up, and clothing is an art form too.”

Javier smiled a little at that observation. His father was certainly an artist in the designs he made. Javier thought of himself as more of a craftsman, but who knew? Maybe superhero designs were going to become their own art niche one day.

>>”The city is expensive and even finding a pretty small apartment had a lot of bills. I’m lucky we get what we do or I couldn’t afford it. My parents were the ones who moved us here and now that they’re gone it seems a lot less manageable.”

Zaid seemed young. Not that Javier was that old himself, but he still remembered starting out in the city. Even with the help of his parents, it was not easy to find a place in New York one could afford, next to all the other criteria for what a living space should be. For physical mutants like Zaid, that had to be especially taxing.

>>”if doesn’t feel so great, especially here. But you’ve seen the alternative. I don’t enjoy being treated like a department store toy and being poked at instead.”

"People are not great with physical mutations" Javier agreed with a nod. Understatement of the year. "But that's... I mean, sorry you have to keep them hidden. I think they look cool."

>>”I think they look cool.”

Zaid was surprised. People had sometimes called his ears cute, but never cool. He always felt like he was stuck in permanent cosplay, attracting attention he wasn’t exactly looking for. Although he HAD made the best Judy Hopps ever for Halloween. It was great until a trick or treater tried to pull on his tail. Dang little kids! ”When I lived in Japan it was easier. They were more understanding. But who knows, maybe with time it’ll get more normal here... or, I just have to get a tough looking hat and an ear piercing, and make it look intentional.” Despite his suggestion, it was pretty clear a hat would not make him look any tougher. He was like that rabbit from that kids movie, trying to lead an army of evil animals and doomed to look adorable.

”If I ever need a tailor though, I know where to go! Although, pants can be a little, uh trickier.” he felt his cheeks starting to warm. There was the always awkward situation his tail presented. Heck, if he ever got a nice suit, would he even want his tail showing?

Javier said things out of politeness all the time - that was just how he had been raised, and how he managed the anxiety of people not liking him. But for now, he was actually telling the truth. People might have made fun of a grown man having bunny ears, but in terms of a natural mutation, it was fascinating.

>>”When I lived in Japan it was easier. They were more understanding. But who knows, maybe with time it’ll get more normal here... or, I just have to get a tough looking hat and an ear piercing, and make it look intentional.”

"Well, New York is a good place for that." he noted. Small town America would have been a lot harder to blend in than the city where basically everyone was weird somehow.

>>”If I ever need a tailor though, I know where to go! Although, pants can be a little, uh trickier.”

Javier smiled a little at the compliment. He enjoyed using his tailoring skills to help mutants, a lot more than he enjoyed using his mutant powers to fight crime. The next comment made him blink, though.

"Um... I mean..." he had the ears, it stood to reason that he might have other hare parts too, right? "You have a tail?..."

It was true, while New York has its share of idiots like any city (including the batch who picked on him earlier) there was a certain amount of tolerance. His coworker was a good example, although she generally wanted to dress him up like a doll and use his ears to garner tips. She meant well, though. She let him stay in the back most of the time and wear his hat, despite her own desires to parade him to the world. ”I think that’s why I stayed here even when it got expensive. Despite its flaws, it’s one of the closest things to home I’ve found. And going back to Japan now would be difficult without my parents, anyway.”

He sipped his tea, ears relaxing with the comforting taste. There was a difference in a sad, droopy ear and a ‘oh stars, I forgot how awesome tea is!’content set of rabbit ears.

He was glad he didn’t take a second sip though when Javier pieces together the bit of information about his tail. He would have choked a little if he wasn’t prepared. ”Oh yeah, I guess I kinda figured you heard them comment on that. I mean, I’m a bunny, so it’s not like a cat tail at least that’s always in the way, but uh, pants aren’t exactly designed to let anything extra....thru.”

Oh look at the tea! He hurried his face in the cup while his cheeks burned red. Stars and aces why did his mouth keep going when his brain said enough?! One should not talk about their tail with strangers!

Javier grew up in New York. despite his social anxiety and... general anxiety, it was a place he loved to call home, and a place full of interesting people, many of whom were actually nice to mutants (and introverts) like him. Take Booker, for example. Okay, maybe San Francisco or Austin would have been even better for a physical mutant, but Javi was sure those had their specific setbacks as well.

>>”I think that’s why I stayed here even when it got expensive. Despite its flaws, it’s one of the closest things to home I’ve found. And going back to Japan now would be difficult without my parents, anyway.”

Javier nodded. Japan seemed to be an important place for Zaid... and so was whatever happened to his parents. Javi did not want to pry, but the information offered about the tail, that was a whole different matter.

>>”Oh yeah, I guess I kinda figured you heard them comment on that. I mean, I’m a bunny, so it’s not like a cat tail at least that’s always in the way, but uh, pants aren’t exactly designed to let anything extra....thru.”

He had a bunny tail.
That had to be a tailoring nightmare in the age of skinny jeans.

Zaid seemed embarrassed to talk about his tail. Javier noticed that, and also buried his face in his cup.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to make this awkward. It's just that... just that I work with mutants a lot and I can see how a tail... might be a problem. I mean, in terms of tailoring. Not like... um"

Zaid tried to calm his embarrassment. Yes, Javier was a stranger but he also helped him out. And speaking to a possible tailor about your tail was a bit of a necessary awkwardness to overcome. Especially considering he really could use the help. He had ruined one too many jeans trying to make a manageable gal without completely splitting the seams. He was not gifted with sewing skills,. That had always been his mom.

”It’s fine, I mean, if it wasn’t too ridiculous to deal with I could actually use the help sometime. Now that I think about it. My work with a pair of scissors would make Tim Gunn mortified.” Zaid could hear it already: ‘Can I be honest with you? I’m not sure if you we’re making room for your tail or designing a pair of chaps.’

He temporarily choked on his tea at the mental image of the judges assessing his sewing skills. Stars, there were reasons he wore hoodies. ”Uh, what would you charge for that specific type of altering?” Herbal tea down the windpipe! Sweet cheese and crackers, that hurt!

Javier worried he might have said the wrong thing. Then again, he basically spent his entire life worrying about that every time he opened his mouth. There was no set etiquette for talking about one's none-human appendages. Was a bunny tail considered a private part? Who knew?

>>”It’s fine, I mean, if it wasn’t too ridiculous to deal with I could actually use the help sometime. Now that I think about it. My work with a pair of scissors would make Tim Gunn mortified.”

Javier chuckled a little, relieved that he did not upset his guest too much. Zaid looked a little jumpy, and Javier recognized some of the signs of anxiety that he had to deal with himself on a daily basis.

>>”Uh, what would you charge for that specific type of altering?”

Now, there was a question he could easily deal with.

"Oh, I don't think it would cost that much. Making a... um, hole, that's easy, I'd just need some measurements. If you want a new pair of pants actually tailored to... uh, hide it, that's another project, but I don't think that would be too hard either. And I'm more than happy to try."

It was odd for Zaid to be around someone as awkward as him. He didn’t have to stress as much because Javier worried for him. It was lucky they managed to complete this conversation at all, considering they both tried to avoid making the other uncomfortable. Maybe it was the tea easing their nerves. There was something therapeutic about having a cup of tea in your hands. Some people thought alcohol was liquid courage, but Zaid relies on caffeine for that.

”Next pay day I may have to bring some pants by then. I have a couple pairs I have wanted to wear but haven’t had the courage to cut.” With good reason, given his sewing skills. ”During the summer is the only time I may need a more discreet pair of shorts. But winter gives me my jacket for extra coverage. And uh, less stares.” he finished his drink, feeling much more relaxed now. Getting advice on silly things like clothing took a weight off his shoulders. He had been frustrated by clothing for awhile, and it felt nice to know someone out there was willing to help.

”You’ve been really kind. I appreciate it more than you know. This city has kept me on edge a lot, and I didn’t realize how much I needed a friend.” he blurted it out without thinking, then blushed and his ears dropped, worried he said too much.

As they started to slowly relax around each other, Javier was happy that they found something in common. Social anxiety was generally the bane of making new connections, but if two people recognized it in each other, it could also be a relief not to have to pretend they didn't have it.
The tea also helped.

>>”Next pay day I may have to bring some pants by then. I have a couple pairs I have wanted to wear but haven’t had the courage to cut. During the summer is the only time I may need a more discreet pair of shorts. But winter gives me my jacket for extra coverage. And uh, less stares.”

"Sure." Javier nodded "I'll give you my number, or you can stop by at the shop any time."

>>”You’ve been really kind. I appreciate it more than you know. This city has kept me on edge a lot, and I didn’t realize how much I needed a friend.”

"It's not always easy, with so many strangers, is it?" Javi agreed, finishing his tea too "It's easier to disappear, but also everyone is kind of in their own bubble... Especially when you have powers." he was truly lucky to have friends, and even a great boyfriend like Booker. Thinking of him brought up another thought. "Have you... uh, have you ever met an adapted?"

Zaid felt his ear twitch sideways in an almost doglike quirk of confusion. The term ‘adapted’ was a little unfamiliar to him, but he felt like maybe he heard it in passing. He didn’t watch much news, so a lot of large events went unnoticed. ”I feel like the word is familiar but I’m pretty sure I haven’t. It seems like an encounter I would probably remember?”

He glanced around for a trashcan to throw his tea bag in. He found it was generally rude to make someone else throw out your used tea filter. ”I can put this away... I don’t want to cause any inconvenience.” he was a boy but his upbringing made him well-mannered for the most part. His mom only had to tug his ear once for him to realize not to cross any lines around her.

”Don’t get me wrong, being left alone isn’t always a bad thing. I always found people to be a bit draining. I play video games online sometimes, and I see people at work, but crowds just feel... restricting. Like, do you ever go out and feel like your lungs are being squished and when you finally get home you can breathe? That’s how it feels sometimes.” That was a lot of words to suddenly say, but it felt good to admit.

>>”I feel like the word is familiar but I’m pretty sure I haven’t. It seems like an encounter I would probably remember?”

"Probably" Javi nodded "Mutant powers don't work around them. My... boyfriend is one, and it took some getting used to."

He could only imagine what adapted powers would do to rabbit appendages. He wondered if Booker had ever run into a physical mutant like that. He would have to ask, if he could do it without being awkward...

>>”I can put this away... I don’t want to cause any inconvenience.”

"Sure." Javier nodded towards the corner where the small table was with tea supplies, snacks, and a trash can. He would have offered to do it himself, but two awkward people being polite to each other usually resulted in endless apologies.

>>”Don’t get me wrong, being left alone isn’t always a bad thing. I always found people to be a bit draining. I play video games online sometimes, and I see people at work, but crowds just feel... restricting. Like, do you ever go out and feel like your lungs are being squished and when you finally get home you can breathe? That’s how it feels sometimes.”

"Like everyone is watching you all the time, forming judgments of everything you do, and once you made a bad first impression you will ever be a part of the group? Oh yeah, I know the feeling." Javier nodded with a small smile. Some experiences were common, human or mutant alike.

Mutant powers don’t work around them? Zaid’s ears twitched at just the idea. ”I’m not sure how I feel about that type of interaction. I am a bit attached to my ears at this point. Suddenly not having them or, whatever would happen, would probably feel like losing my arm.” or losing his tail. Heck, how did it feel NOT to have a tail?

”I think every relationship probably has things to adjust to, although not always someone who turns off your powers... but that’s cool you found someone!” he was almost a little jealous. Was there the right person out there for a bunny like him? He felt more at risk of attracting someone with all the wrong kink ideas.

After putting away his cup and throwing away the trash, he returned and put his hat back on. Javier did seem to understand him, which was comforting. Awkward people finding a friend in each other took an equal measure of silence and patience as it was. ”Well, at least with me you made a good first impression. I’m sure I’ll be back for tailoring help in the future, and maybe another cup of tea. It’s been really nice to meet you. he gave his best smile, tucked his ears away, and waved in a grateful manner before slipping out the front door and back to the slightly less cozy world.


-Fin