Chapter Text
Tori had it all, and everyone knew this. She had her army, she had her countries, she had her people and most importantly, Tori had her Tamara. Her sweet, sweet Tamara. The only thing that made it possible for her to feel, and to love.
She used to rule with an iron fist, unphased when she had to shed people’s blood, but her Tamara made her change. Change the system, change the rules, and even change how Tori treated herself. She had also tried to change the rule that everyone needed to address Tori as ‘Red Leader’, but that was the only thing that Tori had refused. If worse came to worse, her identity would therefore be kept safe, allowing her to go undercover in a measly second. She had the only documents with her name on it, and only a few people (Paula, Patricia and Tamara- maybe Matilda and Ell could count?) actually knew her name.
Needless to say, Tori was extremely happy. For once, even her personal life was going well. Her army were now very tightly knit, and they finally liked Tori as a leader, despite the bloody past they had had with her. Never had she had a place in which she could fully be herself.
However, this did not mean that the reputation she had of herself beyond her base walls was demolished. Everyone still feared her, as no one had experienced her change in heart except for those who she considered her comrades. They still thought she was a bloodthirsty ruler, with one terribly destroyed moral compass. She couldn’t blame them; the same purpose drove her on. She still wanted a communist society, and Tori decided that creating more destruction could overthrow the mess that the capitalist society had already created. Then she could build everyone up after she won- a fresh new start for everything.
Tori were content. She was satisfied.
Then why was this shit still bothering her?
Tori and Tamara had left the base walls for only a certain amount of time, only to visit England and discuss the future of that country. She had expected the paparazzi there- it was an occurrence every time she decided to leave the haven of her base. Tori usually asked her guards to escort them away, and it kind of confused her on how so many people were that desperate for information and gossip, to risk their lives with probably the most dangerous person alive at the time. Tori had gotten used to it as time passed, but she never was able to conclude the reasoning behind it.
Anyways, she (and her gorgeous, black-eyed Tam) stepped out of the plane, and were immediately bombarded with questions. Tori was too tired to even call for her staff, and she decided to just deal with it. Stuff like, ‘What are your thoughts on the UK’s peace treaty?’, or ‘Which country are you thinking to conquer next?’ were shamelessly screamed out. The usual. However, only a minute into the explosion of questions, she heard someone ask something that completely made her skid to a stop in her tracks.
‘Is the rumour true that you’ve gotten your assistant pregnant?’ A tired-looking woman had burst out. Tori breathed in sharply.
The surrounding people must have detected her reaction as they all silenced quickly, allowing their microphones to turn to her.
What the fuck.
How in the hell was she supposed to even get her girlfriend pregnant? In what world?
“Excuse me?” she finally choked out.
“S-sir… There’s a rumour that your assistant is pregnant with your baby… Would you care to c-comment on this statement?”
Sir?! They thought she was a fucking man! With a dick! She could physically feel the silent, hysterical laughter of her girlfriend from the back of her shoulder where the woman with vision goggles was standing.
“No! I will not comment on that! Guards!”
She had no idea if she felt offended, shocked or humoured. How in the world? Could they not see her features? Tori had immediately assumed that everyone knew she was a woman, but now knew that as her gender was never specified with the term ‘Red Leader’, that actually, her army probably thought she was a man with the lack of context and pronouns.
But how? She clearly had the physical attributes of a woman- with very large breasts, perfectly accentuated curves that made up her figure and a busty behind. Her face also was sculpted into the form of ‘feminine’ itself. The rest of the day flew by her feet as she tried to comprehend what had happened when she stepped foot into the country. She was so, very distracted.
When she reached her hotel at the end of the day, Tori immediately headed towards the long, body mirror in the luxury bedroom that dominated the space. Like she could care less how expensive the place was- if it got the job done then it was satisfactory. She focused.
Tori was dressed in her everyday clothes- a thick, red sweater, covered in an extremely volume-filled trench coat, made up of the darkest blue fabric she could find. Her legs were covered in a thick layer of straight trousers, and her shoes were flat and specifically made to support how much she moved around. On her face was no visible makeup, but simply horrifying scars from the incident with the harpoon and her robot. She was glad her right arm wasn’t visible most times, as it only brought her back to the persistent memories of her old friends and the life she lived. A hood also donned her head. This is when she came to a shocking realisation.
Yes, she looked like a man, and yes, the world was completely convinced she was one.
The thick layers of clothes that she persistently wore covered up any hint of her breasts or her behind, straightening the prominent curves that caressed her always. The hoods she always donned covered up the length of her soft hair, giving the illusion it was snipped short, or at the very least, up to her neck. The scars painted on her face showed a man with a traumatic past.
Tori sighed with her heart in her throat; her self-esteem was completely crushed. She liked her femininity, and her body- and it stung that she didn’t actually resemble who she thought she was. She was so in her thoughts that she didn’t realise the somehow thuds of a person behind her.
Tam snaked her slender hands around her neck, her sleeves covered in the tight, body con dress that came down to her ankles for a formal look. No wonder nobody mistook her gender.
“Commie, it’s not that bad…” It was like she could quite literally read into her mind. Tori decided to try throw her off anyways.
“What is not that bad?” She replied in a thick, Norwegian mumble.
“C’mon, you literally look like a kicked puppy, moron. I can tell the comment from the morning offended you.”
Urgh. She hated how Tam could dig into the dark depths of her mind with a simple kick of the dirt beneath her feet.
“Okay, fine. The comment may have affected me a little bit, but it’s nothing to be worr- “
“Yes, it is, dumbass. You can’t just wallow in your misery. Just show them that you are a female, then your little emo phase will clear up. Along with the rumours that I’m pregnant.” Tam began laughing immediately after she finished her sentence.
“You say that as if it is easy to just go outside dressed in a pretty outfit and my hair out like before, Jehovah. I do have the confidence; I must say I was the next best dressed after Matilda. But you do realise that these people I have been leading, intimidating and even killing think that I am a man. As soon as I tell them that I am simply a woman, they will start criticising me. I thought I was one of the lucky ones- turns out that I have accidentally created another identity that I am currently living through!” Tori practically whimpered, finally letting her guard down. Her rambling session sucked out all the breath inside of her, causing her to just crash into the soft pillows of the nearby, double bed.
A short silence followed her words, until Tamara finally spoke up.
“You haven’t created another identity, idiot. You are still the same fucking person as before. You did these things with the mentality of your female brain, and your female tits. Just because others think you have a dick doesn’t mean the impact you had on everything doesn’t count. In fact, it counts more! Because it shows that you have the guts to declare that yes, you’re a woman, even with everyone’s corrupt way of thinking about femininity.” Tam turned to Tori with a pause, she breathed in, thinking about what she would say next.
“We’re all just people- I think those stereotypes are scram in the end, you don’t need to change in any way- and it better be only my opinion that you care about too. Plus, what else are you going to do? Keep convincing them you’re a man? You could just make a statement and leave it at that.”
Her words worked her way in to her mind, making her legs turn to jelly and her body untense to the passion in her voice.
“Fine Tamara, you win. Ask Paula to get my suitcase of extra and old clothes. I am glad that I keep that shit around, love.”