Work Text:
Riley wakes up in pain. It's a familiar type of pain, though. One that—due to some fucked up biological reason—occurs every month. He groans as he sits up, his stomach already complaining to him about the knife jab to his intestines. He takes a deep breath right before a second wave of agony overtakes him. Riley collapses back into bed, sighing. This is what he gets for refusing to take birth control, huh? If only it didn't cause so much dysphoria…well, this causes dysphoria too, just with signifcicantly more pain. Maybe he should talk to his mom about it. But before that, he has to get out of bed.
Okay, let's try this again, he thinks to himself as he sits up once again. There isn't an instant stab of pain, which is good, but pain still fires off like bullets in every part of his body as he gets out of bed. Should he be getting out of bed like this? Well, he doesn't have much of a choice. World doesn't stop just because he's menstruating, as much as everyone who does (inlcuding him) wishes it would. Riley drags himself to the bathroom to get ready for the day, the mindless routine taking his brain's focus away from the pain, if only for a few minutes.
Bzzz. Bzzz. Bzzz.
Riley frowns. That must've been his phone, or a very sick bee. He takes a gamble on it being his phone and stumbles from the bathroom. Yup, it's his phone, judging by the way it's subtly shifting on the nightstand. He walks over to grab it, tilting his head.
Why in the world is Chase calling at this hour?
He answers the call, bringing the phone to his ear, "Hey, Chase."
Chase's chipper, Kiwi-accented voice shines through the other side of the call, "Goodmorning to you too, Riley!" He laughs loudly, "Just calling to double check that you're on shift today, yeah?" Riley glances over at his calendar, and holds back the groan that wants to escape him. Work. Today. How wonderful. He's going to be so great at serving customers while he's bleeding out.
"Yep, I'm on shift today. Is it just you and me?" Please please please don't let it be so.
"Nope! It's you, me, Tyler and Ivan! An all boy's shift, mate, how's that for a fun day?" Chase laughs again, somehow even louder this time, and Riley has to admit that it's a little infectious. And the rush of happiness he feels from being part of the 'all boys' shift is a nice cherry on top. Well, until a cramp comes to ruin the fun. He makes an audible noise of pain, pressing his free hand to his lower abdomen. "You alright, Ri?"
Shit.
"Perfectly fine, Chase." Riley sits back on his bed, taking a deep breath. He can get through this. He can get through this. He's fought monsters while on his period, he can certainly make it through a work shift. "I just slept a bit wrong."
"Gotcha," Chase says, but it's obvious to both of them that he doesn't really believe it. Fear spikes through Riley—what if he finds out? What if he realizes he's not…not really a part of the guys on the team? Chase, despite their differences, has become one of his best friends, and he doesn't think he could survive losing him. No, no that won't happen. Chase is great, he wouldn't ditch him just because he's different compared to other guys. "Well, see you in a bit, then!" It's Chase's own words that drag Riley out of his spiral, and he lets out a breath.
"Yeah, see you in a bit, Chase," Riley replies, and the call disconnects. He gets up to finish his morning routine, though that small bit of fear remains.
The shift was alright, nothing much of note besides the odd break Riley had to take when the cramps became too much to bear. Now, Chase and him were closing up the Dino Bite Cafe. Ivan and Tyler had gotten called to deal with a monster alongside Shelby and Koda, so it's just the two of them. Riley's in charge of wiping down the tables, which is an easy enough task, even with the stomach cramps. Unforunately, his chest is starting to hurt from binding, too. Seriously, can this day get any worse?
"Hey, Riley, mind coming over here for a moment?" Chase says, waving him over. Perplexed, Riley follows, even as Chase starts walking into the storage closet. The feeling of confusion shifts to one of worry. Why is Chase getting him alone? Is something the matter? Did he say something wrong during the shift? Chase shuts the door to the closet, and turns to face Riley. Yet, there's no accusations, no confrontation, all Chase does is wordlessly come over and feel Riley's forehead with the back of his hand. "How are you feeling?"
Oh, it's a wellness check. He's done this plenty of times for Tyler and Chase—they're both of the same mind of pushing themselves too far, especially when they're sick. Chase probably mistook him rushing to the bathroom with needing to vomit, which is a fair assumption all things considered.
"I'm alright, Chase, I'm not sick or anything,"
"Okay, if that's the case, what's with the several times I've caught you running to the bathroom clutching your stomach?" Chase crosses his arms, an eyebrow raised and his head tilted. Riley isn't getting out of this without a good explanation, so he settles for a half-truth.
"I've been having stomach cramps all day, I went to the bathroom when they were especially bad so no customers would see me," He explains. Mentally, he hopes that's good enough for Chase, but he still doesn't budge from where he stands. Drat.
"Stomach cramps are usually a sign of illness, Ri," Chase's face softens, "You don't need to lie to me, you've beat enough sense into me and Tyler about working when we're feeling like shit for me to realize what it looks like."
Riley sighs. Unfortunately, he has incredible friends. Usually he appreciates it but right now it is really annoying. Riley considers what Chase said, though. You don't have to lie to me. Maybe it would be alright to tell him the truth? Chase's worried gaze hasn't shifted, and the team are going to find out eventually…so why not tell his best friend?
"Alright, alright. The truth is, I feel like shit because I'm currently on my period," Chase blinks in surprise, but Riley continues on, shifting his gaze to look at the floor, "And yeah, you're probably like 'guys don't have periods', but the truth is…I'm trans." Riley holds his breath, bracing for impact in case it all goes awry. The nugget of fear left over from this morning transforms into a ginormous creature that latches onto Riley's heart and drags it down into his stomach. Silence suffocates the room for some time, before Chase breaks it.
"Are you serious?" Chase says, yet his tone doesn't match to the one usually accompanied by those words. In fact, he sounds…happy? Riley glances up just to confirm and yup—Chase is beaming ear to ear. Now it's Riley's turn to blink in surprise. "Dude, I didn't know there was someone else like me on this team!"
"What?" Riley is purely dumbfounded, what in the world did Chase mean? 'Someone else like me'? Is he…oh my god. Is Chase also trans?! As if Riley isn't shocked enough, the next thing Chase does is take off his apron and his shirt. Like, genuinely. Chase is taking off his shirt in front of him. Riley looks away, face burning.
"Mate, look, I'm trying to show you something!"
"This is not the time to show off your muscles Chase,"
"That's not—come on, Ri, just look!" Chase demands, and Riley relents. At least he'll get a glance at Chase shirtless. As his eyes land on Chase's bare torso, his eyes widen as he notices very familiar scarring on his chest. The scars are shaped like crescents, resting right on the underside of his pecs, and Riley just keeps looking between them and Chase's face.
"You're…"
"Trans, too," He finishes for him. Tears fill Riley's eyes, and he rushes forward to hug Chase tightly. The kiwi stands there for a moment, before eagerly returning the hug. "You're not alone, Riley. Never have been." He whispers, and that just makes Riley hug him tighter. Chase just lets out a soft laugh. Riley's crying, but he doesn't even care. His best friend, the person he looks up to (sometimes), is just like him. Plus, Chase's skin is really warm, which helps with the cramps…if only a little. The hug ends, and Chase still has on that incredible smile.
"Hey, Chase, can I ask a favor?"
"Of course, mate, anything,"
"Can you help me take my binder off?" Riley asks, slumping into Chase, "My chest is starting to hurt…"
"How long have you been binding, exactly?"
"I'm not answering that."
"Riley!"
"When could I have taken it off? We were busy the whole shift and this thing is evil!" Riley protests, crossing his arms, which just sends a jolt of pain through him. "Oh, ow ow ow…"
"Alright, come on, let's get you out of this thing," Chase says, turning Riley around and working to unzip the binder. Riley lets him fiddle with it for a bit in silence, but eventually his curiosity wins out.
"Chase, if you're only 18, how did you get top surgery?"
"Ah, that would be thanks to my incredibly supportive mother. Who also just happens to be a nurse with connections a doctor who specializes in it." Chase explains, finagling the zipper down halfway, "I've been on T since…16? It's been great! Mainly because it helped to lessen the agony of my period."
"Lucky you," Riley grumbles as Chase finally frees him from the binder. He takes a deep breath in, his lungs rejoicing at the ability to have more than a small bit of air. "Thanks."
"Anytime, Ri," Chase states, giving him a thumbs up. Riley chuckles. It feels like a weight is lifted off his shoulders, and not just because the binder is off. He'd finally told someone on the team, and it didn't go horribly! Hopefully the others are just as accepting, the main worry is Ivan…it might break his brain, actually. Explaining to him what a cell phone is was hard enough, so maybe he'll hold off on that for a while. "So, want to head back out there so I can make you a warm towel?"
"That would be incredible, thank you," Riley says, already fantasizing about the relief. As they reach the door, he realized something very important. "Chase, you should probably put your shirt back on."
"Oh! Yeah, that would be a good idea," He laughs, collecting his shirt and apron from the floor and quickly putting them back on. "Come on, you deserve some sit-down time." Chase leads him out of the closet and to one of the booths of the cafe. Riley sits, but before Chase can leave he grabs his best friend's wrist.
"Um, would you mind sitting with me?" Riley asks. He can feel his cheeks heat up as Chase takes smiles and nods.
"Sure, mate! Lemme just get ya that towel first," Chase hurries off to the kitchen, and a smile forces its way onto his face. Chase really is a great friend. Maybe he'd be just as great a—nope. No. Don't entertain that train of thought, Riley. Chase comes back with a towel and lays it across Riley's lower abdomen. Relief floods his body as the pain dampens, and he lounges back in the booth with a sigh.
"Oh this is wonderful…" Riley says, scooting over a smidge to let Chase into the booth. The kiwi sits down, their bodies flush against each other. It provides another source of warmth against Riley, and he briefly wonders how Chase can wear so many layers when he already runs this hot. Must be a New Zealand thing. Riley closes his eyes, enjoying some much needed peace after the hell of a day he's just had to go through. He's looking forward to all the future moments like this, now that he truly has his best friend on his side. Things were going to be alright.