1.09 – Out and Outed

A little over a year later, the siblings found themselves seated together in their favorite booth back at Au Naturel, the same one they usually took. The spot gave them a perfect view of everyone who came and went, without causing a fuss—ideal for their favorite activity while there: People-watching.

Even though they didn’t engage with anyone as Goonie had asked, it was still fun to observe the patrons. Over time, it had become Leo’s favorite way to pass the time.

Ever since the ‘Davis incident,’ Leo had developed a keen eye for spotting the more mysterious-looking customers, especially those who looked like they could be living double lives as villains or heroes. Quinn had become her co-conspirator in the game, offering her own theories.

As their server dropped two iced green tea lattes onto their table, the two grinned up at the woman they knew well. Natalie beamed back, reaching to tousle Leo’s unruly, thick mass of hair, now significantly longer than it had been a year ago. “You two still up to that rude staring-at-the-patrons game again? It’s fine as long as you don’t pester anyone again,” she teased, planting a hand on her hip and wagging a mock-admonishing finger at them.

Quinn’s grin widened at the familiar mock-chastisement. “Heck yes! Check this out: there’s this extra creepy-looking guy with a huge beard and sunken eyes! He’s gotta be, like, an ex-rocker from the eighties or nineties!”

“No! He’s definitely a supervillain!” Leo’s voice was loud and eager, as if the thought of a villain appearing on their watch thrilled her. “He’s gotta be, like, a Necromancer or something super cool and sinister!”

“Oh crap, he’s looking our way!” Quinn yelped. “Hide, hide, hide!” she whispered, her eyes wide in mock panic.

Natalie rolled her eyes, suppressing a giggle as Leo ducked under their table, her expression one of sheer terror at the thought of facing a fearsome raiser of the dead. Quinn, meanwhile, hummed in satisfaction as she took a sip of her latte through the included straw. “Yet another crisis averted. He’s gone now.”

Leo poked her nose out from under the table, eyes wide as she searched Quinn’s face. “Really?”

“Oh! It was someone else, my mistake! He’s—”

Leo squeaked, disappearing back under the table as if the world’s greatest villain was still after her.

Quinn covered her mouth, trying to stifle her laughter, while Natalie looked away, clearly trying to distract herself from the antics. “You know, if they can hear you, this—” she began, but was cut off.

Without warning, Leo leapt from under the table, brandishing a fork and knife like weapons, ready to face whatever threat had dared approach their table. The entire restaurant paused to stare at her, and then, slowly, the realization sank in: there was no supervillain. Leo, in full heroic mode, had merely been duped. She looked around at the stares, blushed furiously, and shot Quinn an indignant glare over her shoulder.

Quinn couldn’t hold it in any longer, laughing softly. “Sorry, little goody two-shoes. Didn’t think you’d take it so seriously.” She tilted her head, her voice dropping into playful teasing. “Are you that desperate to find a villain to battle? That would actually be kind of scary. You don’t even have any powers. Or were you planning on picking some up along the way?”

Leo stared at her sister for a long moment before answering, voice earnest and almost too serious. “I read about powers falling into heroes’ laps all the time! I mean, yush! If that’s my fate, I wouldn’t complain. Even if I didn’t get any, I’d still protect you and Goonie, and everyone else here!”

She placed the fork and knife back down, proudly sitting up as though her destiny as a hero had been set in stone.

Everyone around them went back to their business, chuckling softly, some fondly, others with mild amusement. For the regulars at Au Naturel, it wasn’t uncommon to witness the Ramses siblings playing their strange little games, especially since they hadn’t caused trouble for half a year.

“Come on, kiddo. Sit your butt down and have some of your latte.” Quinn scooted over, patting the sofa-like seat. Leo flashed a sunny grin, eager to return to her drink.

As Natalie moved over to service another table, Quinn's tone grew a little more serious. “So, sis… I guess this means you’re finally—”

“MINT!” Leo interrupted, eyes lighting up. A splash of minty flavor had been added to the latte, making it just a little different from their usual. She grinned like she’d discovered a treasure.

“Sit still a second, you hyper little monster!” Quinn laughed, shaking her head. “So this—” She fixed Leo with a serious look, trying again to stay on topic. “This means you’re finally coming to my school—ack!”

Leo had snuggled up to her, interrupting the conversation in the most typical of ways. “You’re such a needy creature!” Quinn laughed, but tried to keep her focus. “Seriously though, why did you want to go to my school of all places?”

Leo fidgeted, flushing a little as she fumbled with her latte. She finally answered, a little embarrassed. “Um—it’s more fun with you! I always have the most fun when I’m hanging out with you, sis! But—” she trailed off, looking away.

Quinn pursed her lips, eyeing Leo closely with a conspiratorial look. “Leo, are you still sure you wanna—be my little sister? Have you changed your mind?”

“YES! N-no! Don’t ask me two questions!” Leo shot back, shaking her head rapidly, sticking out her tongue. “I absolutely wanna be a girl!” she declared, her voice full of determination.

Quinn smiled and nodded, though she couldn’t shake the feeling that something else was on Leo’s mind. She whispered, voice soft but serious, “In that case, I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but Mama’s arranged a special appointment for you, if you’re still serious. I didn’t know much about it before, but as your responsible older sister, I looked it up online.”

Leo’s eyes sparkled. “I know. Goonie talked with me about it and told me everything.”

“Did she really? Everything? She pretended it was a big secret with me!” Quinn pouted, taking a sip of her latte in mock offense.

“Yeah… I know all about what it means,” Leo said matter-of-factly. “I can be a real girl and I won’t have to take that medication anymore, just a different kind! ... Kind of. All I have to do is have some needles sometimes, and swallow a coupla pills every day. It’s probably icky to be poked, but I really want it, even if it hurts!” She said it all in a rush, her face ultra-serious despite the absurdity of her words.

“Y’know, I heard that trans people sometimes face health problems because of the medication they take later in life. You have to keep that in mind before you set your mind in stone,” Quinn said, tilting her head. “Even if it might mean having a shorter life, is this really what you want?”

Swallowing, Leo fidgeted, chewing on the thought for a long moment. “Yeah. Goonie told me about that too. She was the most worried about me. She even told me all about how people might treat me if it turned out badly, or if… even if I got to be the prettiest girl on the curb… they’d still…”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, punk,” Quinn cut in with a laugh, grabbing Leo and giving her a noogie. “You still gotta compete with me! So I guess you told her yes?”

Leo nodded, pouting as she rubbed at her tousled hair. “I know. What I think is, people have to be happy, or life sucks. Being a girl will make me smile. Even if my life was shorter, like if I became a superhero and I could die saving people, fighting villains—I can handle that. It’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make.”

“Whew… totally deep.” Quinn leaned back, her voice dropping into playful sarcasm. “Who knew I had such a… studious little sister.”

Her little sister’s earnestness and cuteness nearly made Quinn swoon, but she fought it off. “Y’know, on top of that, I really feel that it’s gotta be destiny. You always were a cute tyke… I mean, seriously… I could totally imagine you being more girly than you already are—way more than me already. Not that I care,” she laughed, teasing.

Leo beamed at the compliment and shrugged, sipping her latte with a tilt of her head. “You really don’t care at all?”

“Heck, no!” Quinn rolled her eyes and quickly shifted gears. “Tell me, have you thought about what name you’d want? If you’re gonna be a girl, probably shouldn’t go by Leo anymore, huh? I was thinking, if it’s really destiny, ‘Destiny’ would be a great name. What do you think?”

Leo chewed on her lip for a moment. “That’s kind of… I don’t know… preppy? Conceited?”

“That’s a huge word for you!” Goonie called out from across the room as she came over to check on her kids. “I see you went and spoiled the big ‘surprise.’” She grinned at Quinn, whose smile instantly collapsed into a pout, followed by a glare.

Goonie chuckled, holding up her hands in mock surrender. “Sorry to steal your thunder.”

“You really did!” Quinn pouted dramatically. “I wanted to be the one to tell her! Awwwwww…”

“I already decided,” Leo spoke up, cutting through the playful tension.

Quinn raised an eyebrow, her impish smile returning. “Well, don’t keep us in suspense! What brilliant name did you choose? Was it maybe… Mistral?”

Leo faltered, eyes widening. Mistral? Was that a possibility? A very good possibility… She shook her head, dismissing the thought. “No—it can’t be that… Mama, my real mama—she named me after someone special—someone I never knew. My great-grandpa. Yours too, sis… It’s gotta be Leo, but like—it’s too—boyish—so we talked about it and—”

“Leona!” Goonie suddenly announced, spreading her arms wide in triumph.

Leo froze mid-syllable, then collapsed in a heap on the booth seat.

“You suck, Mama! First, you stole my thunder and now poor Leo’s too.” Quinn tilted her head and leaned over to hug the now-mopey Leo. “Are you okay? Is that the name you chose, or was that just another joke?” She didn’t really think it was a joke.

Leo shook her head, sighed, and then smiled softly. “You can’t complain too long. It’s a great name, and Goonie helped me with it! And—isn’t it nice? I can love my real mom and keep my name at the same time—but just—I can… I can be Leona!!!” Leo beamed as she announced her new name, almost as if none of the previous antics had happened. Or maybe she’d forgotten them already, but the moment was still full of joy.

Quinn laughed and wrapped her arms around her little sister. Goonie reached down to gently pat both of their heads. “The first appointment is tomorrow. The needles might be a little scary at first, but you’re going to be happy. My lawyer handled the rest of it and prepared your name-change papers. By the time you go back to school, you’ll legally be my little Leona.”

Leona chewed on her lip. “I don’t know if I’m ready to go to school yet—though I wanna go to Quinn’s school too.” She shrugged, sinking slightly into herself.

“You’ve been going to school until now—why not?” Quinn asked, genuinely curious.

“Cuz I don’t want—I don’t want people to see me changing—” Leona whispered, her voice full of uncertainty.

“Why not?” Quinn raised an eyebrow, puzzled.

“I just don’t. I don’t have many friends—none really—a few, but I just wish it was easy to be magically turned into a girl and have people forget I was ever Leo.” She chewed her lip, visibly uncomfortable with the idea.

Goonie nodded thoughtfully, her expression a little sad. It wasn’t an unexpected response, but it was still painful to hear. If people saw her change, she’d forever be ‘that’ girl who wasn’t born one. Kids weren’t always understanding of these things, and maybe Leona instinctively knew she’d have to face those challenges. Sometimes things didn’t go the way people hoped.

“My little sis,” Quinn said softly, smiling warmly and petting Leona’s hair. “It’s okay. Just take it step by step. We’re here for you.”

Goonie wrapped both of them in a warm hug. Leona sighed, sinking into their embrace, the comforting weight of it all easing her mind. She still sometimes thought about the inside of that musty old chest her dad had stuffed her into—memories that resurfaced now and then—things that had happened to her, things she had to come to terms with. But not now. Despite those dark memories lurking at the edges of her mind, these arms around her didn’t make her feel trapped. She felt free. Free as the wind, or perhaps like one of the fluffy clouds drifting through a calm blue sky above the city.

Despite its age and wear, San Isidro still held onto a raw sense of elegance. The tall Gothic and Victorian buildings reached up, grasping for the heavens in vain. Whether this was a symbol of human aspiration or something more Sisyphean really depended on who you asked.

Across the bay, though, gleamed a city of glass and steel, its towering skyscrapers sparkling in the sunlight. The well-to-do mostly kept to that glistening city, but there were still a few things you could only find in San Isidro.