Tex walked up to the office ten minutes early to see that Junji was pacing outside the door with his phone up to his ear. After giving Junji a quick wave, Tex slipped into the office and closed the door behind him.

He sat down on the couch and pulled out a book.

"Yes, I was looking to disguise myself." he heard Junji say from the other side of the door.

Tex bit his lip. He knew he shouldn't be eavesdropping, but it wasn't like there was a lot of background noise.

"The leading republican nominee." Junji continued.

Tex could just barely hear a muffled voice on the other end, although he couldn't make out any words.

"Yes, I can pass as a woman. "

Tex turned the page of his book.

"Thirteen billion dollars? That sounds reasonable. Yes, you as well."

A few seconds of silence passed.

The door cracked open, and Junji stepped inside. Tex's eyes drifted above his book just in time to see Junji turn off his phone and put it back in his pocket.

"Hello." Junji greeted.

"...Howdy."

"Why are you wearing a tie?"

Tex touched the blue flannel tie he was wearing over a dress shirt that was just a tad too loose.

"No reason." he answered.

Junji didn't look convinced, but he didn't seem like he cared enough to question it.

"May I request a favor?" asked Junji.

"Request away." Tex replied.

"Ying is getting over a cold and wishes for me to come to her tomorrow instead of the other way around."

"She wants you to come to China?"

"No, she wants me to come to her jet."

"Ying has a jet!?"

"We've been over this."

Tex pushed his glasses up his nose while he recounted their conversation in Hong Kong.

"I was hoping you would drive me to the meeting once I'm done." Junji continued. "It's a bit away, and the bus I would need to take no longer comes after four thirty-nine."

"You don't wanna just pay for a train ticket?"

"I don't have money."

"You just spent thirteen billion dollars."

Junji's brow wrinkled in confusion.

"That money is for business." he explained.

Tex's first consideration was to lend Junji the ten dollar local train fare, but he quickly realized that picking up Junji meant an excuse to be late to Bianca's meeting and put off seeing her even longer.

"Sure." Tex promised. "I'll pick you up."

"Thank you. I understand that this will be a disservice, so if you'd like, we can make an agreement of how I will repay you."

Junji pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket.

"No, Junji, that's weird." said Tex.

Junji put the paper back in his pocket.

"Very well." Junji replied.

The door opened once again. Tex looked over to see Tala and Barton.

"Hello." Tala greeted.

Tala had been the one to call the meeting, although she hadn't given a why. Tex watched as she took a seat at the table and opened her laptop.

Barton sat down next to her, but all she opened was a newspaper.

"What's going on?" Junji asked.

"The red dot's back in Japan." answered Tala.

While Tex forced himself off the couch, Tala pulled out the Pain Finder Thing. He plopped down in the chair on her other side and took a look to see there was indeed a large red dot in Japan.

"I would prefer not to go to Japan." Junji stated.

"Why's that?" Tex wondered.

Junji didn't reply, although Tex quickly realized the answer was obvious.

"We could just get someone else for the trip." Tala suggested. "Who do we know?"

"Lida could go." Tex offered.

"No." Barton said from behind her paper.

"Does Lida want to watch people get tortured for an hour?" asked Tala.

Tex twisted his mouth to the side.

"Barton could do it, and Lida could do Barton's job." he replied.

"No. " Barton said from behind her paper.

"She knows how to use a gun."

"You know what? I'd be fine with her coming."

"Really?"

"As long as you don't come."

No one seemed content with the idea, and Tex realized it was probably for the best. He didn't want Lida to see him curled up in a vomit-covered ball.

"What about Marta?" followed Barton.

"Marta's dead." Tex replied.

"What do you mean, Marta's dead?"

"I mean, Marta's dead."

"What the hell. How long have you known?"

"Few months."

Barton gave Tex a look of disbelief.

"Come on." Tex said. "Maybe you'd know if you weren't reading them papers all the time."

"Don't take this away from me." Barton replied with a jab of her finger. "Reading the paper is most of my personality."

Tex did his best to snatch the paper from Barton. She kept an iron grip on it, but Tex managed to tear off a few pages.

"Hey!" she yelped.

Along with Tala, Tex scrambled to read the pages.

"Whoa." said Tex. "Two people get murdered in Chicago for every baby that's born?"

"Uh, everyone knows that." Tala replied. "What I didn't know was thirty-three percent of Americans still think being gay of sexual is a choice."

Tex frowned.

"That's all?" he wondered.

"Any study that claims a percentage like that is absolute nonsense." Junji spat.

"Thirty percent doesn't seem that unreasonable." Tala said.

"Any study that claims anything is absolute nonsense."

"Oh, but you can just claim that?"

Tala's words seemed to make Junji reconsider himself, but not enough for him to back down from a battle he'd initiated.

"Consider it." Junji started. "How would you even figure that out?"

"A survey." Tala replied.

"You would have to correctly assess the number of people in each demographic in the country so you could create a ratio to determine how many of each you should interview. Then you would have to travel miles to find the participants."

"You could just use the internet."

Junji frowned so hard his eyebrows inched closer together.

"You've bested me." he sighed. "I retract my case."

"How many people did they interview?" Tex asked.

Barton grabbed her paper back.

"They interviewed four Caucasian males," she read, "two African American females, and three Asian American females who all worked at an Arby's in Jefferson, Missouri." she read.

"We could do that." Tala replied. "One hundred percent of us believe it's genetic, so one hundred percent of Americans think it's genetic. Then we get ad space revenue."

Tex raised an eyebrow at Tala's words, and the other when no one disagreed with them. Tala's eyes squinted with confusion upon noticing his face.

"What?" she wondered.

"None of you think it's a choice?" asked Tex.

Tala's eyebrows darted up into her bangs.

"I thought so until you said that." she replied.

Tex bit the inside of his mouth.

"Do you actually think it's a choice?" followed Tala.

Tala's tone was more startled than condescending, but it made Junji scoff anyway.

"How are you surprised?" Junji asked as he folded his arms across his chest. "Of course he believes it's a choice."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tala asked.

"He grew up on a farm with nothing but twenty miles of empty highway and three tumbleweeds for every person."

"And?"

"He probably believes that middle easterners sacrifice every third newborn and that democrats are only pushing transgender activism because they want the government to own our genitals."

"Oh, come on. That's just insulting."

Tex pursed his lips and looked down.

"How is that insulting?" Junji replied. "I didn't paint these ideologies as inconsistent."

"You're totally writing off farmers." said Tala. "How can you not see that?"

"I've no quarrel against farmers! I probably believe in an equal number of fabricated things."

"Hey, I don't believe--both those things." Tex stammered.

"I didn't say you did. I said it was probable."

"Uhuh."

"I will show you, it's quite simple."

As he spoke, Junji used his phone to pull something up on Reddit and placed it on the table.

“After observing the identical nature of these maps,” Junji started, “and considering republican’s relationship with—”

"Ugh." Barton groaned. "I remember, New Mexico went purple that year."

"It's purple states you don't like?" Tex wondered.

"Centrists are like quails. They take so long trying to figure out which way to cross the street, that--"

Barton smacked her palm with the back of her other hand.

"A car hits them." she finished. "Only thing the dumbest people in the world got in common is they all live in New Mexico."

"Junji, that map is sixty years old." Tala noted.

Junji grabbed his phone back and typed something into the search bar. A moment later, he placed it back on the table with a map of the data from the election just a year prior of 2068.

It looked almost exactly the same, save for the subtraction of Texas.

"Man, the dumbest people are in New Mexico again." Barton said in awe. "Must be a gas leak or something."

"That is the stupidest--that is the worst--" Tex stammered. "How could you--"

"Thank you." Junji cut in with a clap of his hands. "Thank you. Dallas. For making my point."

"Oh, Junji gets to make a point." Tala huffed. "What about my question?"

"What question?"

"Do you really think it's a choice?"

To Tex's horror, Tala's eyes were on him.

"I'm not--I ain't saying it's a bad choice." he managed.

"Jesus." said Barton. "It's genetic, dumbass."

"You think it's genetic? Then how come you hate gays?"

"I don't. I think they're hilarious."

"Oh, come on. Since when."

"Look, it's simple. If gays wanna get married and be miserable like the rest of us, I say let them."

Tala vomited on the table.

"Whoa!" Tex yelped.

"I'm sorry." Tala choked. "That joke was just so bad."

It took a while to collect enough paper towels to clean up Tala's vomit, but they managed. Although they did move to the other office once they'd finished.

"What were we talking about?" Junji asked as he took a seat on the floor next to Tex.

"We went on a bunch of tangents." answered Tala. "Tex didn't answer my question."

"What question?" Tex wondered.

Tala touched the space between her eyebrows and rubbed.

"How could someone think it's a choice." she replied. "Like, conceptually, I don't understand that."

As terrified as Tex was to ever give his opinion on any social issue, he supposed his coworkers had never attempted to castrate and exile him in the past.

"What's not to understand?" Tex asked.

"I never had to make a choice when I was growing up." Tala explained. "There was never like, a prompt or anything."

Tex had never been more confused.

"Course it's a choice." he said. "You choose who you bone outta your own free will, don't you?"

"I don't see what that has to do with anything." Tala replied.

"That's got everything to do with it. Everybody's got temptations--though I ain't saying it's a bad thing--"

"Just give your weird opinion."

"I get thoughts sometimes. I don't act on them."

Tala winced for a heartbeat before opening her mouth back up.

"Okay, but being gay isn't about who you fuck." said Tala.

"What's it about, then?" Tex asked.

"It's about who you're attracted to. You could be attracted to men but only sleep with women. But you'd still be gay."

"I don't agree with that."

Junji rubbed his temples.

"Okay. But do you think the amount of 'temptations'--" Tala asked with little pinky quotes, "--people feel varies? Maybe on their inherent biology?"

"...I don't know." Tex admitted.

Barton snored. Tex looked over to see she'd fallen asleep.

"I guess I don't really care that much." Tala shrugged. "And Barton brings up a good point, I still need to find out who our target in Japan is."

Tala got up from her spot by the desk and left so quickly that Tex's head spun. He'd completely forgotten about the reason they'd met up in the first place.

"I am sorry I can't go to Japan." Junji said once Tala had shut the door behind her.

"Don't worry about it." Tex replied. "Ain't a big deal."

"Thank you. I'll see you tomorrow."

Junji waved goodbye as he left. Tex looked at his phone and groaned when he realized how late it was. He'd gone down to Arkansas the day before to see Lida and give her a key, and she'd promised to visit him the next night as thanks.

He was happy to see her, but he wasn't sure if he had the energy.

"Night, Barton." he muttered as he left the office.

Tex jogged to his building fast to escape the rain. He didn't see Junji once along the way, which was confusing considering Junji had only left about thirty seconds before him.

He could only assume it meant Junji hadn't wanted to go home after the meeting.

Lida was sitting cross-legged on his couch when Tex got home. She was doing something on her iPad, although she turned it over when Tex took a seat on the coffee table in front of her.

"Howdy." she greeted.

She was smiling, although her eyes were still on the backside of her iPad.

"Hey." Tex replied. "You sure let yourself in."

"Forgot how fast the train was. Can you blame me for not wanting to wait in the rain?"

"Guess I can't."

Lida replied with a tiny snicker and gave the end of his tie a tug. Tex leaned forward just far enough to put a finger on her iPad.

"Were you busy?" he asked.

"I'm always busy."

"Money laundering?"

"...Look, you can't just not launder money."

Tex hopped off the coffee table. He took a sideways seat on his couch, supporting his back with the armrest that opposed Lida.

"How you doing?" Tex wondered.

"Doing alright. How was work?"

"It was fine. We didn't have enough to do."

"Shoot. You can always help me with my work."

Tex let out a nervous whistle.

"No way." he replied. "I ain't never helping you with your work again."

"Just like you said in 2042..." Lida trailed off, a smile ghosting over her mouth.

"Hey."

"And thirty-eight, and twenty-nine--"

"Hell are you talking about, twenty-nine? We met in thirty-seven."

"Nah, we met again in thirty-seven. We had second and third grade together."

"You're crazy."

Lida jabbed her finger at Tex with one hand and unlocked her iPad with the other. Tex watched as she began to sift through files.

"Whatcha looking for?" asked Tex.

"Video evidence. My mama just sent me a flashdrive a while back, and I remember seeing something.”

It took Lida about thirty seconds to find what she was looking for. But by the time she had, it was no longer necessary.

"Nah, wait, you're right." Tex said with his eyes shut. "We both had Mrs. Meyers, but then you moved away till Los Angeles attacked. Yeah, I remember."

"Wanna watch it anyway?"

Lida patted the seat next to her.

Tex flicked up his brow and scooted over, offering his knee as a resting surface for the tablet.

"Don’t see why not." he replied.

Lida pressed play.

By the time they were five seconds in, Tex realized there was no picture. But there was audio, made apparent by the shuffling and tapping of tiny feet.

"Lift me up before anybody sees!" he heard an invisible Lida order.

"You should direct." Tex said to current Lida.

Lida chuckled and smacked him on the arm.

Thankfully, footage popped into view on the iPad as the camera capturing the video was pulled out Lida’s pocket. Tex eyed the upside-down picture on the screen to see a lopsided version of himself, wide-eyed and four feet tall.

He couldn’t have been more than seven.

"Ah, man, look at me." he muttered. “Didn't even remember we were friends."

"We were--associates." Lida replied.

“You sweet on me back then, too?”

Tex was hit in the arm once again.

The racks of toys in the shot implied the video had been taken at a department store. The camera was focused on a wall of various Magic the Gathering card packs that Tex could just barely remember.

"Are we--are we shoplifting?" Tex realized.

"Yeah. We used to steal Magic cards and sell them to the six graders."

The camera fell out of focus as past Lida started to climb the racks to get to the top row, but Tex reached out before she could get far.

"No, we shouldn't take the master packs." said tiny Tex. "Just take the standard like everyone else."

"Why wouldn't you want the master packs?" Lida replied.

"Cause they're a lotta money. Grown-up collectors buy them, and Mr. Fernandez says grown-ups pay him most of his money."

Seven-year old Lida let out a sigh that was condescending enough to make thirty-eight year old Tex wince.

"So, it's perfect." she explained. "No one else will get them and then we'll be the only ones selling them."

"Who cares if we're the only ones? Get the standard."

"God, you're so stupid. If we're the only ones, we can get as much happy powder for it as we want."

"What the hell is happy powder?" current Tex wondered.

Lida let out a snort.

"Kool Aid powder mixed with sugar." she answered. "We used to barter with it."

"We’re not gonna do this, Lida."

"Oh, what are you gonna do? Hit me?"

Tiny Tex pouted.

The rest of the video went exactly as Tex would have expected. Lida took over recess, Tex refused to resort to violence against a girl, and Mr. Hernandez went out of business.

"Goddamn." Tex said once the video had finished. "You started young."

"Guess you could say that."

Lida put her tablet in sleep more while he spoke. As Tex recalled the video, he realized there was something he'd neglected to ask.

"Hey, I got a question." he stated.

"Uhuh." Lida replied.

"What is it you do?"

"What do you mean?"

"In the black market. What do you trade?"

"Oh. I do pimping."

Tex's lips parted with a breath of surprise.

"You're a pimp?" asked Tex.

"Well, yeah." Lida answered.

"And you're alright with that?"

"Don't see nothing wrong with it."

"How could you just--whore out a lady like that?"

"Not just ladies."

Tex made no attempt not to let his disapproval write itself on his face.

"The money to build our hometown was all cause of whores, you know that." Lida followed with a frown. "You voted in favor of legalization of prostitution every year we lived together."

"Yeah. That way they won't need pimps."

"I treat them right, they treat me right. They got rights, they can quit anytime. What, you think I smack people around?"

Tex chewed on the inside of his mouth for a few seconds of silence. He didn't feel much better about it, but he was pretty sure she'd beat his argument fair and square.

"Shoot," Lida continued, "I could make a lot more than I was now if I didn't have a heart."

"Really now?"

"Sure I could. Hell, you know how many zeros I could add to my income helping people stay hooked on opioids?"

Tex supposed he didn't have any grounds to be upset. So with a little sigh, he did his best to relax the muscles in his back.

"You're right." said Tex. "Sorry for getting fired up."

"It's alright. Didn't think you were too bad."

Tex wasn't sure, but Lida looked surprised that he'd backed down so easily.

"Mind if I ask another question?" he asked. "I won't make a thing out of it."

"What's that?"

"What are you doing for Junji?"

Lida turned her iPad over to the front side and glanced down to the piece of tape she'd placed over the camera.

"Couple things." she replied. "Somebody doxed the Wells on drone footage. I sent Tagawa to some people who got ahold of the tape."

"Who're the Wells?"

"They're the couple that run the biggest pedo ring in the country."

Every muscle in Tex's chest seized up at the thought. But still, his curiosity doubled.

"Who doxed them?" he pushed.

Lida winced.

"Not sure." she answered. "But damn, I don't envy him."

"What happened?"

"The guy got caught. Gonna be a long time before they let him die."

Tex's eyes opened wide as every hair on his body shot up towards the ceiling.

"Why would you say that?" he hissed.

Lida glanced over at Tex and flicked her brow upon noticing his expression.

"Cause that's what happened." she replied.

"I don't wanna hear about that."

"But it's what happened."

"Alright, so what? I don't wanna hear about it."

It did little to revert Tex's state when unmistakable disapproval passed over Lida's face.

"I don't understand why this upsets you so much." said Lida.

"I don't understand why it don't upset you."

"You just gotta push it back sometimes. Ain't hard."

Tex had been trying his whole life to push things back, but he'd never been as good at it as he wanted to be.

"You have to learn about stuff if you wanna make things better." Lida followed. "He's being tortured, and the least you can do is hear about it."

Nausea began to creep down to Tex's stomach. He combated it in the only way he could think of, by bolting off the couch, by going to the bathroom, turning on the cold water, and shoving his head under the stream.

Tex sighed in relief as the red in his vision gradually dimmed.

He felt able to pull his head out after about thirty seconds. As he toweled through his hair, his heart sunk with the realization that Lida was right. To morally compensate for the guilt he felt about his outburst, he made a note to hate himself.

Lida was waiting outside the door, but he barely noticed.

"Tex. I'm sorry." she started. "I didn't want you to--"

"Mmh."

"...Where you going?"

"I'll--see you later."

It was all Tex felt he could say without breaking down. He left his apartment with no goal in mind and ended up at a bar two blocks down.

He couldn't remember the last time he'd been to a bar by choice. Still, he remembered how to order drinks, mingle, cry, and watch porno in the bathroom.

When Tex woke up the next morning, he was in an apartment, but not the same one he'd remembered leaving.

His head didn't feel great.

He was curled up on a couch in an empty living room, and his entire body was soaking wet. With a grunt, he rolled over and stepped onto aching feet to find he was in an apartment that was the same style as his own.

An unlocked tablet sat on the coffee table. Tex leaned over it and took a look to see if it could help him figure out who'd taken him in.

The toilet flushed. A moment later, Tex looked over his shoulder to see that Tala had stepped out of the bathroom.

"Hello." she greeted.

"Hey." Tex replied as he rubbed the crust out of his eyes. "Hell am I doing here?"

"You got drunk last night so I let you stay over."

"Why am I wet?"

"I dumped water on you so that if you peed, you wouldn't have to find out."

"...Why'd you pour it on my whole body?"

Tala blinked.

"I dunno." she replied.

"And how did you know I was drunk?"

"You messaged the group chat last night saying you didn't want to come home. I was the only one still up."

Tex supposed the explanation made sense.

"You also sent some of your poetry." followed Tala.

"Was it good?" Tex asked.

"No."

"...Oh."

"Yeah, I was really embarrassed for you actually. I had to jump through a bunch of hoops to get the app to delete your messages so no one else would see them."

"Thanks."

There was a noise as the bathroom door opened again. Sean stepped out a second later, although Tex wasn't sure how.

"Hey Tex!" said Sean.

"Oh, hey--Sean." Tex stammered.

"How's it going?"

"Alright."

"So, uh, which fight did you and Lida get into?"

"Which one?"

"Yeah, which one of the two?"

Tex groaned and rubbed his temples. His whole body was sore, and he longed for a shower just for the warm water.

"Hell are you doing here, anyway?" he asked.

"Sean's my boyfriend." answered Tala.

"Is that what we are?" Sean wondered.

"For the moment. I like to choose a new label every couple of days."

"Sounds like a system." Tex muttered.

"Yeah. Funny thing is, though, we actually have a really stable relationship."

Tex wasn't sure why, but it was at that moment that he remembered his promise to Junji. He pulled out his phone and looked at the time.

It was almost four thirty.

"I should get going." he said as he got to sore feet. "Thanks for letting me crash here."

"It's fine." Tala replied. "But maybe, like, get a therapist."

Tex grumbled as he walked past Tala and made his way into the bathroom so that he could pee for a solid minute. He tossed some water at his face while he washed his hands, but it didn't help much.

When he pulled out his phone to text Junji that he was almost on his way, he discovered a new file icon saved to his phone labeled Where is the Hair .

He gave it a click.

Where is the Hair?

lifes little question

like

why do

women in pornos always got their

tongues out when

they come

a man

with the body of a god and the face of

an inbred dog pounds into her

shrieking like apes

the two of them

the camera does a zoom on his asshole

why

i am not aroused

Tex was unsure what Tala hadn't liked about his poem.

He left the bathroom after putting his phone back in his pocket. He then shut the door behind him, although it only stayed closed for a moment before opening back up from the inside.

Sean stepped out of the bathroom.

"Sorry, forgot my shoes." Sean explained.

"How did you--When did you--" Tex stammered.

"Can I give you some advice?"

"...What?"

Tex was only very uncomfortable when Sean put a hand on his shoulder and stared down to his brain through the centers of his pupils.

"It might not ever go away." said Sean. "But that doesn't mean you shouldn't do it anyway."

Tex's brow twisted with confusion.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"Oh!" Sean replied, his eyes snapping open. "Oh, sorry, got ahead of myself and gave you the wrong advice. The advice I meant to give you was to end your comically terrible relationship."

Although Sean's answer made no sense, Tex felt that he didn't have all the information he needed to understand it yet.

"Lida's fine." Tex said.

"Never said she wasn't."

Tex scowled.

"Well, I'm fine too." he replied.

It was Sean's turn to look confused. Tex sighed and stepped away from the conversation.

"Catch you later." Tex muttered as he finally managed to exit Tala's apartment.

The walk to his car wasn't fun, considering that he didn't have time to change out of his damp clothes. The twenty minute drive was even worse, although he managed to make it without having to pull over into the emergency lane and hide in the side woods to simultaneously vomit and shit at the same time more than twice.

Tex found the address in an industrial, open-ended part of the city. There was a lot of parking available, considering it was a runway.

There was no jet in sight when he stepped out of the car. The only thing he could see was a security guard standing in the center of the concrete plain, who waved Tex over upon noticing him.

"Name?" the guard asked.

"Uh, Dallas Tex."

"Checks out."

"There supposed to be some kinda plane here?"

The guard lifted his hand to the side and pulled on what looked like nothing. A moment later, a hatch opened up to reveal just a sliver of the inside of a jet.

The sliver hung in the air. Tex blinked a few times, wanting to make sure his eyes were working properly.

"It has a chameleon device." the guard explained.

"Oh."

The guard stepped out of the way so Tex could slowly climb an invisible short staircase. He was at first surprised that Ying had gone to such lengths to protect herself, although it made more sense after a few more seconds of thought.

The inside of the plane was covered in yellow velvet. As strange of a sight as it was, Tex felt it was somehow familiar.

"...fail to understand why it's socially acceptable to lie to children with the excuse of Christmas cheer." said Ying's voice. "Teaching them that a grown man can fit down a chimney? I'm sure many children have died from trying to climb inside themselves and catching fire."

Tex looked over to see Junji and Ying's heads poking out the top of a large, square tub made of wood that sat about ten feet to his left. Although the rough surface of the swirling water covered them, Tex could tell that they only thing they had to clothe themselves were white washcloths draped over their foreheads, as well as the medical mask that Ying wore.

"Perhaps they will reason that Santa simply uses a theoretical technology to increase the density of his person and lower his mass." Junji replied.

A large book sat next to the two of them. Tex recognized it from the first time he'd met Ying as their list of illegal things.

"Hmm." Ying hummed. "I suppose I would find it acceptable to keep the act of teaching children about Santa legal, but only if they're also taught that Santa is equipped with some sort of mechanization that allows him to manipulate himself in ways we've not yet come to understand."

"Think that's called magic." said Tex.

Ying and Junji both looked over in Tex's direction. Ying didn't look particularly satisfied with his appearance, but she also didn't look surprised.

Junji waved.

"Magic is a--nonsense concept." Ying replied, momentarily cutting herself off to cough. "If magic was real, it would not be magic. It would be physics."

"...Guess that makes sense." Tex replied.

"Yes. That is why we've voted to make magic illegal."

After drying her hands on a towel, Ying opened the book for Tex to see. Tex stepped forward and squinted to see they'd written the word 'magic' down, right below square watermelons and right above uncontacted tribes.

"Perhaps magic should be used to categorize alternative physics." Junji suggested.

"Man, this is a great conversation." Tex said.

"Yes, we are having a nice time."

"Any reason you're having it in the bath?"

Two sets of eyes focused on Tex and let him know he'd asked the dumbest question anyone could have possibly thought of.

"We had the choice of being in warm water, or not being in warm water." Ying explained. "We chose to be in warm water."

"What are you, five?" asked Tex.

"This isn't even strange." Junji added. "Communal bathing is common in my country."

Tex felt his eyes widen with realization. After so much time, he'd finally come to understand why Junji was so lustful; Japan was an extremely sex positive nation.

"So that's why they make all them paintings of ladies with squids..." Tex muttered.

Ying coughed again. Her throat sounded raw.

"I'm going to the restroom." she said as she stood. "I may be a while, my intestinal tract has been irritated as of late."

As Ying left for a tiny bathroom at the other end of the plane, Tex invested an obscene amount of energy into trying to figure out where he'd be looking if he wasn't investing any energy into it at all.

"You ready to go?" Tex asked Junji once she'd shut herself in.

"If you insist," Junji slowly answered, "but I am very comfortable."

Tex looked at the time on his phone. They were already late to Bianca's meeting, but Tex didn't exactly feel ready to face her.

"Alright." Tex replied.

"Would you care to join me?"

As terrifying as the suggestion was, Tex's hangover and wet clothes had left him feeling dirty and sore enough to be tempted. He could feel the heat rising from the water, even though he was still a few feet away.

Although he wasn't about to get naked.

"Hang on." Tex said as he took off his shoes.

After removing his socks, belt, and all the contents of his pockets, Tex grit his teeth and stepped towards the tub. Junji watched with amusement as Tex lowered himself into the water and sat down on the bench.

Tex's muscles immediately began to relax as the warmth enveloped him. It felt strange to wear jeans under water, but it wasn't horrible. When his glasses started to fog up, he dipped them in the water and put them back on.

"You were supposed to shower first." Junji chuckled.

The tub was big enough that Tex had a good four feet of room between his toes and Junji's, and the jets that swirled around them kept Tex from being able to see anything of Junji besides the tattoos on his upper body.

Tex had never gotten a good look of Junji's tattoos with his glasses on before. He found himself fixating on a black and white snake that twisted around a series of red flowers under Junji's chest.

"Are you still afraid of me?" Junji asked, his voice thick with amusement.

"Only thing I'm afraid of is finding out you got a bigger penis."

The smile dropped from Junji's face. For a few long moments, it seemed like he was intently considering something.

"You alright?" Tex wondered.

"I am contemplating. It's--It's nothing."

"Contemplating what?"

Junji chewed on his lower lip with clear distress. Anxiety began to prickle under Tex's skin.

"You were going to find out eventually." he said as he pulled himself up and took a stand on the bench.

All at once, Tex inhaled in astonishment and lost his footing on the floor of the bath. The bottom of his head dipped below the water for only a single second, but it was long enough for his inhale to be one of liquid.

Once he'd regained his balance, Tex turned around and propped himself up on the edge of the bath with his elbows so Junji wouldn't have to witness his coughing fit.

"Oh. " Tex sputtered. "That is--that is not a penis."

It took Tex about two minutes of deep breathing and half a blunt to calm him down. He didn't turn back around until Junji had lowered himself back under the water.

"My apologies." Junji repeated for the fifth time. "I should have told you in a more graceful way."

"It's alright. It's alright." Tex replied. "I'm sorry. Just really weren't what I was expecting."

"I understand. I'm assuming you have some questions for me?"

"Uh, I got a couple. Not too sure if they're appropriate."

"You will not offend me."

"Are--uh, are you a man?"

Junji's smile was bright as he started to laugh. Tex wasn't sure what he'd been expecting.

"I don't know what a man is." Junji answered.

"Well, you know what I think a man is."

"Why would I know that?"

Tex supposed that Junji had a point. The longer he thought about it, the less meaning he found in the concept.

"I have no Y chromosome." followed Junji.

"...Holy shit."

Truthfully, any personal prejudices Tex might have had were overshadowed by how utterly amazed he was that Junji existed.

"You mind if I ask a question?" Tex wondered.

"I do not."

"It's about--your--uh--"

"I'd figured."

Tex took a moment to collect himself. Still, he found himself stammering when he started to speak again.

"When did you--" he managed. "How old were you when--"

"My family was very wealthy. While I was still a fetus, my parents paid to check for problematic factors, such as heart disorders or a cleft lip. I transitioned before I was born."

Tex could almost feel the water around him cooling when his blood turned to ice.

"Was this a..." Tex trailed off. "Was this a gov--"

"No, it was a private company."

Tex breathed out a tiny sigh of relief as two thirds of his anxiety left him.

"Still. I don't really know how I feel about that." he admitted.

"Why is that?"

"Couldn't the machine be wrong?"

"Of course. I could've been a hermaphrodite and miscategorized as trans, or it could've been a fluke assessment. Or perhaps my mother simply thought she would get along better with a son."

"...But?"

"But I think nature could be wrong, some of the time. I pity any fool who claims to fully understand the process of--sexual determination."

It took Tex a long moment to search for the words he wanted, as he had no desire to make Junji uncomfortable. He then, however, remembered that he probably couldn't even if he was trying to.

"Let's say you're right." Tex started slowly. "That being--whatever you are is something people are born with."

"Alright."

"I still think it's something people gotta choose themselves."

When Junji replied, he looked quite thoughtful.

"It is likely that I would've had a more difficult time with surgeries post birth." Junji replied.

"Yeah, well, I dunno..."

"What are your hesitations?"

Tex found his thoughts too jumbled to put into words.

"Guess I'd just have to know more about--a lot of things." he answered. "All I really got going off is what you've told me. I ain't saying I don't trust you, but--"

Tex cut himself off when Junji started to laugh.

"It's alright." Junji replied. "I am not trying to convince you of anything."

"...Do you got an opinion?"

Junji touched his chin. To Tex's surprise, he got the feeling Junji had never thought about it before.

"I'm not opposed to the idea of creating a machine to better align ourselves in any sense." Junji started. "But I would have to know more about the specific machine that aligned me to give my opinion on it."

"You don't think a machine like that is dangerous?"

"Not inherently. I consider biology itself to be as much of a machine."

Tex wasn’t sure what to make of Junji’s response.

"I got a thousand more questions." Tex admitted.

"Ask away."

Twice, Tex sucked in a breath only to let it out. Finally, he managed to keep his mouth open.

"Does it work?" asked Tex.

"You'll have to be more specific."

"Do it bleed?"

"No."

"Does it--do sex stuff?"

Junji laughed for a moment before answering.

"Yes." he replied. "Very well."

"It looked pretty normal." Tex observed.

"Why wouldn't it?"

"I'd have thought the rest of you being a man might've made it work wrong or something."

Junji readjusted his weight under the water.

"The only thing testosterone does to a vagina is elongate the clitoris." he explained. "I, however, had mine surgically reduced to a standard size out of fear that it would get caught in my zip--"

"Oh, Christ. " Tex winced as his hands shot down under the water to cover his crotch. "Don't even say that."

Junji chuckled again as his eyes drifted to the wall. Tex followed Junji's gaze to see a digital clock.

"Did you want to go to the meeting?" Junji asked.

"Nah, I'm too stoned to drive."

"So be it."

Junji motioned for Tex to pass him the blunt, and Tex complied. Junji didn't look particularly uncomfortable, so Tex saw no reason not to keep going.

"You happy?" he pushed. "Being--like that?"

"I am happy." answered Junji. "All I care is that the people around me are attracted to me, and that I am attracted to the people around me."

"And you don't want a...?"

"I had the option of having one surgically installed in my adolescence. I turned it down."

"Any reason why?"

"Have you ever tried to sneak cyanide through the TSA up your dick hole?"

Tex had not tried to sneak cyanide through the TSA up his dick hole, nor did he plan to.

"Hey." he said. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. I'm pleased with your reaction."

Tex felt his eyebrow raise.

"What'd you mean by that?" asked Tex.

"Oh. I was worried you wouldn't care for me anymore."

Tex quickly clenched his teeth before his jaw could think about dropping.

He'd never taken Junji as someone who'd been clever with signaling or predicting the impact of his words even in his home country. Still, the simple tone of Junji's statement and the way he'd darted his eyes down just a second after muttering it was suspicious enough to make Tex feel guilty even though he didn't feel he'd done anything wrong.

"Christ." Tex muttered. "You really thought that?"

"I wasn't sure."

"Trust me, this was a cake walk. You having an ax wound ain't even the weirdest thing I've learned about you today."

It was only after he'd spoken that Tex realized he'd used several terms Junji had probably never learned, but the tiny, sheepish smile that passed over Junji's face indicated he'd picked up the meaning from context.

"I'm glad to hear it." Junji replied.

There was a sudden rattling. Tex looked over to see Ying step out of the bathroom.

She was still naked, although her hair was now wet.

"Oh, you two are still here?" she asked.

"Our apologies." Junji replied. "We were just leaving."

Junji stood up, and Tex followed suit. He forgot that he was still wearing clothes until he'd already gotten half way out of the tub.

Ying frowned.

"It is not a washing machine." she scolded.

"...I'm sorry." Tex replied, clothes clinging to his body.

"Here." Junji said as he opened his backpack. "I brought an extra."

Tex was handed a small lump of fabric that to his amazement, unfolded out to reveal a long-sleeved white shirt and a pair of athletic cargo pants. Ying still didn't look particularly happy with him, but she let him change in the bathroom.

The clothes fit better than Tex would have expected.

Junji had put all his own clothes on by the time Tex left the bathroom, but Tex still ended up getting left with Ying for a moment while Junji peed.

"So, uh. How's it going?" Tex asked as he collected his things.

"You will have to be more specific." she sighed.

"What are you doing--tomorrow?"

"I'm leaving for a two day presentation. I hope I will not still be sick for the presentation."

"Thanks. Here's some...here's some money. For the water."

Tex handed Ying a ten dollar bill, which she took with an indescribable expression.

Junji emerged from the bathroom. Tex waited patiently for him to put his shoes on and say goodbye to Ying. As they left the jet, Tex made a mental note to stop trying to get Ying to like him.

The air outside was cold, but Tex found himself surprisingly insulated.

"These clothes are real comfy." he noted as they walked to the car.

"You can keep them if you want." Junji replied. "I have others."

Tex didn't really want to drive, although he wasn't about to make Junji drive a car on the opposite side of the road as he was used to.

"I feel bad for missing the meeting." Junji said as Tex found his way onto the main road.

"It's alright. We're meeting again in two days."

"What for? That's not a Wednesday."

"We always have a little culture night the week after Tax day. It's a tradition."

"Ah."

They came to a red light. Tex did his best not to watch as the dog on the street corner next to them took a dump, but his eyes lingered in distaste when he noticed the dog was staring its owner in the eyes.

"Never got why dogs do that." Tex muttered.

"All pack animals do that. They're vulnerable to predators while defecating, so they watch each other."

"Gross. Glad we ain't pack animals."

"Did you never read about public toilets?"

The two of them ended up eating dinner together back at their apartment complex. Although Tex knew Lida had left for work, he still suggested they eat in Junji's room instead.

"...she shouted 'Not if we nuke you first!' and mooned all the Russians." Tex said as Junji poured whey protein on a slice of pork. "Anyway, they didn't send us aid."

“Why was Barton put in change of negotiations."

"We weren’t exactly organized."

Junji didn't reply in favor of chewing his food. As Tex scraped the potatoes around his plate, he realized he had one last bit of burning curiosity.

Although he didn't know how to ask.

"You, uh--" Tex started. "I got another question."

"Yes."

"You remember that time I got all mad at you for--taking Tala for a roll?"

"Yes."

"I've been wondering, how do two ladies even--"

Tex cut himself off in sudden realization.

"--and I ain't saying you're a lady--" he finished.

"What's your question?"

"How did you..."

Tex made little 'V's with both sets of fingers and began to smush them together.

"Oh, how we made love?" Junji asked. "We--"

"I don't wanna know!" Tex shouted as he ran out of the room.