Work Text:
Cooper's always known he's different, really - it's hard not to notice your body stands out from everyone else you seem to encounter.
He's never quite enough for either camp, but his father raised him as a man, and it's all he's known. It's not like he's particularly uncomfortable with the role.
It's a little odd to finally meet his elder sister, proud in her female identity, yet has a body much like his own, and his brother, who looks just like him in more ways than not, and think... Right, so what the hell's going on here?
"Uh, hey, your majesty?" Cooper says awkwardly, trying to get his sister's attention.
She laughs and turns to him. "It's just Lizzie," she corrects him with a smile.
"Sorry! Lizzie," he repeats, nodding. "Sorry. Figuring this out." He sighs, tail twitching nervously behind him.
Lizzie glances down at him. "You seem worried," she says.
"When am I not?" Cooper mumbles, sitting down beside her and wrapping his tail around himself tightly. "But yeah, I am."
The idea that maybe he's been wrong this whole time is a heavy weight on his mind. "Male" is all he's ever known, even if it was a default pick from a clueless and not-so-well-intentioned caregiver. It's… A little scary to think about beyond that. Weird to try to imagine himself any other way.
"Can I ask you a weird question?" He says quickly.
"Hm?" Lizzie tilts her head, gills twitching. "Yeah!"
"We look, uh…" Goddamn it, how the hell does he explain this? "Like, the way we're built - we're similar, aren't we? Human guys and girls are a lot more… Different from each other?"
"Oh!" Lizzie laughs. "I forget you were raised around humans, to be honest. Uh, yeah!" She smiles reassuringly at him. "Us ocean-dwellers, we don't really do that whole, sexual dimorphism thing," she tries to explain. "Everyone's just kind of… The same, right? And we grow into our own chosen roles in society rather than having one assigned to us based on what our body looks like."
Cooper nods. He thinks he understands. Keyword: He thinks. But it's insightful nonetheless.
"I think I get it, yeah," he replies after a moment. "Thanks."
A moment of silence passes.
"I was told I was just… a guy. All my life," Cooper says finally, "I think it was just what was easiest for my 'dad' to deal with." He makes air-quotes around the word 'dad' and rolls his eyes. "Dude never gave a shit about me, I don't even know why he decided to take on my burden in the first place."
"You're not a burden," Lizzie interjects.
"No, don't get me wrong," Cooper quickly elaborates, "I don't view myself as one - but Thala definitely did, is what I mean."
Lizzie seems to study his expression. Cooper shifts awkwardly under her gaze, fiddling with his claws.
"And now you're not sure if the way you've been living is right," Lizzie says. "You wonder if you've been forced into a role you wouldn't have chosen if you were raised here."
Cooper blinks at her. "Are you a fuckin' mindreader?"
"No!" She retorts quickly, looking mildly annoyed. "It's just the logical conclusion!"
"Chill!" Cooper says, laughing. "Relax. Good lord." He regains his composure quickly. "But yeah, pretty much. I dunno. It's not like… I dislike being seen as a guy or anything, it's just like… I feel like my agency has been taken away my whole damn life."
Lizzie nods, listening carefully, though she doesn't say anything.
"I dunno, I think it's less that I worry I'm wrong and more that I wish I could come to that conclusion myself rather than just… Taking what's assigned to me." Cooper sighs, looking away. "I feel like, for most of my life, I've barely found time to be myself. I've always had to be what he wants me to be."
"I think that makes perfect sense," Lizzie says. "You want control, you want to choose for yourself. It's less 'I was forced into the wrong role' and more that you were forced into it at all."
"Exactly!" Cooper replies, tail swishing behind him.
He's starting to figure out what that 'out of place' feeling has been his whole life. Everything clicks into place, and in that moment, Cooper decides he's going to define his own path in life - whatever that may be.