Chapter Text
They hugged for a few moments until Zane started to pull back. When she looked at his face, she could tell the hug was just what he needed.
The little bit of fear that was almost constant was now gone, leaving only a little shyness. Nya overall thought he looked much more comfortable, which was why she felt a little guilty for what they had to talk about next.
Now that she knew that her assumption was right, she needed to make sure all of her assumptions were right too.
She had been calling Zane “he” this whole time, but now that “he” was wearing more feminine clothing, maybe “he” would like to be called a “she”. Or maybe “he” would be more comfortable as a “they”. Now that Nya realized how much she had missed, she was going to take this ‘making-Zane-as-comfortable-as-possible’ seriously.
Nya thought this would be as good a time as any to start talking about labels and things.
“Zane, have you always thought about dressing more feminine?” Zane looked surprised by her question, and he tilted his head as he thought about her question. After a few seconds Zane turned back to look at Nya with a soft smile on his face.
“Well, I don’t know exactly when I starting thinking about trying more feminine clothes, but I know I didn’t always ponder on it as much as I have recently.” Zane then looked a little ashamed, and Nya thought he was thinking about all the times he must have stolen her magazines. Nya wasn’t going to pick on him for that though.
“Well, do you still feel like you would consider yourself a male? If it would make you more comfortable I could start referring to you as a she, or even a they if that feels more right.” Nya made her voice seem as soft and open as she could, she didn’t want to seem like she was forcing Zane to answer, but she would really want to know.
Zane then got that look on his face when he was going over some calculations in his head before battle. It only lasted a few moments before Zane turned back to her with a contemplative smile.
“I still feel like a he, and it’s not as though I am uncomfortable being in more typically male clothing. It’s just sometimes I feel like I would feel more at home wearing something more typically considered feminine.”
Zane then looked down at his skirt and ran his hand down one of the seams. “Some are really nicely constructed and I find them nice to have on.” Zane then looked back up at Nya with a little apologetic look to his smile. “I am not sure how to explain it more than that.”
Nya mentally shook her head. Just like she had her problems not being able to do everything, Zane has his problem of feeling like he needs to know everything as the teams ‘smart guy’. Well, let's work on one thing at a time. This was already the longest they had talked since… well lets just say it’s been a while.
Nya just gave him a smile back and said “Hey, it’s okay, you don’t have to try to explain everything that you feel. Sometimes you just feel a certain way and you can’t explain it and that’s fine.” Well, as long as they were talking Nya decided to ask about something that has been nagging at the back of her mind since she started noticing all of this.
“Why didn’t you bring this up before? I know it can seem kinda weird to talk about, but I would have let you borrow some of my clothes if you’d have asked. Heck, there's probably a whole stack that I don’t even wear.”
Zane possibly managed to look more sheepish and looked off to the side while he thought of his response.
“Well, there were already so many things going on and everyone is still getting used to this new way of life. I didn’t want to bother you when you all have your own problems, especially when it's not something serious.” Zane looked back at her with a small smile and gave a little shrug. “I have been doing just fine so far, so there was no need to get you all involved.”
And wasn’t that just classic Zane for you? Always putting others first and putting his own problems on the sidelines until they started killing him, and sometimes not even then! It had taken so long for Zane to come to them one night after a rough patrol to admit he was having trouble sleeping because of the death of his father. There had been a lot of tears and tea, and in the end they all ended up sleeping together on/around the couch.
He was doing much better now (as much as she could tell at least) but the thought of him hiding more things that were bothering him was not something that would stand. Nya couldn’t even count the number of times Zane had been there for them for one thing or another. No matter how big or small the problem was, Zane cared and gave them what they needed.
Nya was going to make this too-selfless-for-his-own-good nindroid that his problems matter too even if it took a hundred hugs and tea bags!
“Zane, I get it if you wanted some time to figure some things out on your own, but you shouldn’t feel like your problems would burden us. If something is bothering you we want to help you fix them. You already help us all so much, at least give us a chance to help you. And even if you feel like the guys would find your problems a burden, which they wouldn’t, you can come to me okay? We’re family, we love you, and families are there for each other. I don’t even want to think what would have happened if I wasn’t there to keep Kai in check.”
They both gave a little laugh at the thought. But it really was true, they all took care of each other and there would be a void if one of them wasn’t there.
They were back to smiling and Zane looked like some weight had been lifted off his shoulder. “I love you all too. Thank you Nya.”
She was smiling pretty wide now too. “You’re welcome Zane. Do you think you would want to talk to the others about this?”
Zane looked away again then looked back to her. “Perhaps not right now.”
“Alright, but you should tell them at some point.” Nya tried to give him that look that she was serious but she wasn’t sure how effective it was since she was still trying to rein herself in after all the laughing.
Zane seemed to get the hit because he just nods his head, still with a small smile on his face. “Yes, I know. But I don’t believe I am quite ready.”
Nya just gave him a playful smack on the arm “I get it buddy.” She then motioned back to their stalls. ”Now, how about we go pay for these clothes.”
And with that they walked out of the dressing rooms, with more understanding and the air just a little lighter. They pay for the articles and place them in a bag together. When they meet with the others neither mention the discussion in the changeroom or the fact that some of the clothes are a few sizes too big for her. They all talked and they both listened to the others stories of what they were doing while they were doing their ‘boring clothes shopping’.
There were some jokes about how Zane must have been bored being dragged around the store. That was met with a jab back about how it was a lot quieter without all the boys running around.
More laughter was had.
When they get back to the bounty, Zane decides that it would be best if all the clothes went into Nya’s room, with her digging out a section just for him in her drawer.
And if she added some items she thought would look cute on him, well, she wasn’t going to tell.