Reunion chapter 1

“H… hey Adam.” I don’t recognize the voice, which sounds like a teen girl’s uncertain greeting. The tone sounds like they are trying to be a mix of gruff and casual, but not quite pulling it off. I had been taking a walk through the outdoor mall, getting some shopping done. I step to the side, so other pedestrians don’t bump into me when I stop, and look around for the source of the greeting. Only one person is looking at me, though more than a few people are looking at them. Even if people have gotten used to a new form - literally - of normal after The Event, an arachne still draws attention, mostly due to their somewhat sensational reputation, and good old fashioned arachnophobia. The arachne looks young, dressed in dark jean shorts as well as a white hoodie. Their short, unruly hair and eyes are a dark brown. The spider body, thorax and abdomen are a glossy black, with red markings on top of the abdomen. I don’t recognize them at all, but that doesn’t mean much anymore. People who were affected by the mysterious Event were often very radically changed: in species, apparent age, and physical sexual characteristics. I remind myself that their gender hasn’t changed, just what’s on the outside. It’s a distinction that’s very important if you are trying to be respectful, and I always do. Not because your average arachne is terrifyingly dangerous when they want to be- though people would be smart to remember that- but for the simple reason that I try not to be an ass. Emphasis on the trying part, I am nowhere close to perfect. Though you would think I was the scary one. The arachne shifts itself about, body gently shifting back and forth a bit on their long legs, looking like they are trying too hard to be casual. They give a weak half wave of their hand. “Oh, hello…” I start, and desperately try and think of something witty, “ …new world, who dis?” Good enough. They snort, looking a little relieved at my half-wit, “Really dude? Really?” “What?” I ask. “Just… Fuck, man, you got older, but you really didn’t change.” “Change since… when?” I prompt, trying to not sound pissy and failing a little bit, “I’m sorry, but I get the feeling at least one of us has changed a bit since we last met.” They shift again, awkwardly, “Oh, uhh, right, dude. It’s me… Daniel. Uhhh, Daniel Greene?” I spend a second blinking. Not because I don’t remember Daniel, you never forget your first best friend, but because I haven’t seen them in twenty-five years and they barely look thirteen now. No matter how much you know all the ways The Event changed people, its still hard to look at someone who looks like a pre-teen and accept that they may be forty. “Dude. You’re staring.” Daniel growls. “Holy shit… Daniel?” My brain finishes rebooting, “Ffffuuuucccck. It’s been twenty five years. I’m surprised you even recognized me.” Daniel snorts, looking me up and down, “Man, really? Same eyes, same dented chin, and have you seriously not changed your hair style in over two fucking decades?” Ouch. “I… I like to keep it simple.” “Yeah, you’re still plenty simple all right.” Daniel snarks. It’s Daniel, all right. Different voice, different species, different genitalia- about which part of me is extremely curious, which feels wrong on a few levels- but it’s still Daniel under the skin… and chitin. I break out in an excited grin, and have to hold myself back from trying to envelope Daniel in a massive hug. I missed him (them, I correct myself) a lot when their family moved away, and we just… fell out of contact. Daniel smiles too, some of the tension leaving their expression. “Well, damn Daniel,” I pause to laugh, “let's find a place to sit down, catch up, and re-introduce ourselves. If you have time, that is?” Daniel smiles, “I’d… yeah, that sounds great! Coffee?” I smirk, “Won’t that make you…?” Daniel looks embarrassed, “Oh, yeah, fuck I… I just forget sometimes, you know?” “Nope!” I state with a grin, “but you can tell me all about it over, I dunno, a milkshake?” “A milkshake? Are we fucking ten?” Daniel says, then immediately grimaces. I stare at Daniel, face carefully blank. They sigh, shoulders slumping, “... yeeeah, yeah. Sure. Ok.” I start heading for the nearest golden arches, Daniel quick on my heels. Daniel tries to walk beside me, but eight legs takes up a lot of walking room, and it’s an old sidewalk - one of the ones that was designed for two humans to walk side by side. Luckily, everyone gives arachne plenty of room. “So… uhh… shit, man,” Daniel starts awkwardly, “are you… uhm, gonna ask?” “Ask what?” I reply, much too innocently. I know exactly what Daniel is talking about, but I’ve made it a point to never ask some people some things. I’m much better at saying weird and light hearted quips than asking awkward questions. I can feel Daniel’s legs dance around me, as they try and pull in close enough to mumble, “You know… what… you know…” “Ok, yeah, I know. Do you want to tell me?” I reply, quietly. “Fffuuu… I dunno… ffff…” Daniel takes a deep breath, “ok. Fuck. Yeah. I’m… Dani, now. Like. With an I. Like… a girl.” The Event sparked a lot more conversation about transgender people, for obvious reasons. I eyeball Dani… her… thinking about some of the debates and questions brought up about people affected by the event. “Now? Or were you always Dani?” I say, absolutely determined to keep my tone that right mix of compassionate, serious, and respectful. “I… uhh, dude.” Dani mutters. I will never get over how surreal it is to see an arachne look socially uncomfortable. Their attitude is expressed by their entire body, so their legs and abdomen kind of curl up into themselves when they feel awkward or embarrassed. It actually looks pretty cute on Dani, though I’m not going to tell her that. “I was always Dani.” It was coming out as pretty common that the people that changed gender during the event were often openly or secretly trans as humans, so I am not shocked. “All right, Dani.” I keep it simple. Dani uncurls a bit in relief, apparently happy enough that I have no desire to make a big deal out of it. Which feels off to me, because seeing as we hadn’t even spoken in forever, I wouldn’t expect Dani to even care about my opinion that much anymore. Then again, I’m not in the best position to understand what Dani has gone through. We get to the great glass and yellow plastic land of fast food we are searching for, and I nod my head towards a small back corner that has the most open space as well as a few tables that don’t have chairs bolted around them, “Grab a seat. What ya want?” “Chocolate.” As I order, Dani finds one of the folding beach chairs that are stored at the side of the restaurant. Not every store or restaurant keeps extra chairs that’d be comfortable for different body types, but fast food was quick to make things comfortable for anyone who wanted to spend money. Dani unfolds her chair by a table of comfortable height, straddling the chair with her legs and resting her abdomen on the back rest. It is actually surprising how well it fits her anatomy. I come out with the drinks and pull up a chair before too long. “Sooooo…” Dani says, letting out a long breath, “might as well get it out of the way…” I sigh dramatically, “Ok, sure… I did gain some weight… and a bit of grey hair. But, I didn’t go full comic book guy, so I think I’m doing pretty good for forty.” Dani looked exasperated, “Really, dude?” I shrug, “What? Are you really that eager to talk about…” I make a vague gesture at Dani, “ all that? I… ok, that sounds a bit dick-ish. I mean. Fuck.” I sigh, “Ok. I am curious. But… every single time you probably talk to someone from before the Event, I bet you spend an hour going over the same questions, right?” Dani nods, “Every fucking time. Boobs, legs, webs, having a pussy.” I nod back, “And I don’t… well. Fuck. I do care about that. But… I don’t want to treat you like… like… ah, god damnit. You were my best friend growing up Dani. I just wanna know how you are doing. That's the only thing that’s important.” It is extremely silent and awkward for a moment. Dani doesn’t look me in the eyes for a long minute. “You know what? I’m doing good.” Dani takes a moment to think about this, no longer just avoiding my gaze but instead lost in thought. “There’s a lot about this that’s a pain in my giant black ass,” she says, shaking the abdomen in question for emphasis, “not the least of which is getting carded fucking everywhere.” She rolls her eyes dramatically, “Thank god they don’t card for coffee.” “They are actually talking about enacting a law to change that for arachne, after the Kuruso incident,” I point out. Dani looks both alarmed and irritated, her legs twitching and making a rapid series of taps on the floor, “Mother fucker. Really? Fuck. Figures some bitch got to go and get drunk and ruin it for the rest of us.” “But, anyways,” she takes a long sip of milkshake, “yeah, lot of things, pain in ass, but. That’s more because of other people. The world we live in. This?” She twists her torso a bit, so she can pass an arm dramatically over herself. A ripple goes over her body as she does so, limbs flexing from pedipalps to abdomen as she does so. “This feels right. It’s the first time ever I’ve felt so natural in my own skin. It's almost scary how comfortable it feels.” She shakes her head, “Like, is this what being a cis person feels like?” I shrug, “Well, I’ve never felt like my body was off, so, no sense of it being suddenly right I guess. I just don’t think about it really.” “I always wanted that,” Dani sighs, a hint of envy in her expression, “but, still, this is nice. Even kinda awesome at times, it’s like I even have super powers!” It takes every ounce of smarts and willpower I have not to hum the old spider man theme song. My great struggle to restrain myself is immediately noticed by Dani. She stands up, her legs unfolding around her chair as she does so, one of them brushing against my own leg as she does. She then leans forward over the table. “Seriously, dude? I’m like, really strong now. Like, here, arm wrestle. Right now.” She slams her elbow on the table, hand up and fingers flexing, a broad and predatory grin plastered on her face. “Dude, I know how strong arachne are,” I state flatly. “Just try me dude!” She beckons with her other hand, leaning forwards more, “I just wanna show you. I won’t even fight back, just see if you can move my arm.” “Come on man,” I protest wearily. “Just try it, chicken shit!” “I’m too old for this shit,” I groan, but I lean forward and reach out. The eager anticipation in Dani’s face turns to shock as I wrap my hand around hers. I quickly take advantage and try and slam her hand to the table, but it locks up just before it hits the table, like I hit a steel wall. “Fucking dude? What the hell?” Dani stares at me in shocked disbelief, though not because she is in any way struggling against me. She’s got my hand locked in place with a grip of concrete. “Why. The fuck. Is your hand so soft?” she states, shifting her grip slightly so our hands rub together. I can’t meet her gaze, and manage to pull my hand free, thanks in large part just how smooth my skin is, “I… just, dude. You’re making this weird.” “Like, did you actually change in The Event to a silken/velvet porcelain man or something?” she continues. I feel a spider leg poke at me under the table. “I just have really soft hands, ok?” I state, flustered, “I don’t work with my hands much, and I play a lot of video games. And, well… fuck, I don’t know.” She shakes her head, the look of fascination on her face fading as it finally occurs to her that she is not being cool. “Hey, whatever man. It’s all right, I mean, most girls would love to have hands that soft. Like, what lotion do you use, or…” My flat gaze bores into her, and she falls back into her chair in a way that looks almost like she’s deflating, “Ok, shuuuting up now.” I rub my palm self consciously. I know I have soft hands, but Dani pointing it out like that is just uncomfortable. Especially when she does it at the same time she’s demonstrating that she could easily overpower me. Before the Event, I had never really known what it was like to feel physically intimidated by a girl. I’m just tall enough, and have the right build that despite my lazy lifestyle, I’m naturally stronger than a lot of women… human women. Realising that a lot of the new species that popped up could be bigger than me or smaller than me and can still fold me like laundry was a very new experience. I can’t say it's entirely scary, as I’m smart enough to know that you don’t have to be powerful to be dangerous. But, well… The Kuruso incident had inspired a lot of debate… and badly written erotica. Almost as if we’re in sync, Dani and I both grab our respective milkshakes, our noisy sips an uncomfortable harmony. I look at her. She looks at me. We squint at each other a moment. I sigh. “... I don’t use any lotion. My weird super power is just being super smooth. Like, I ate the Sube Sube no mi or something,” I offer to ease the mood. The anime refrence breaks the tension, and Dani just smirks “Dude, you watch anime now? Shonen anime?” On that, I am one hundred percent unashamed, “Fuck yeah I do. Though, I notice you caught that reference pretty quick.” “I’m a girl,” she states, matter of factly, “ you’re a forty year old man. You should be, like, watching the news and reading up on the stock market or some shit.” “I can do both,” I fire back, “what about you. You’re a forty year old woman. Isn’t shonen anime for boys?” “Fuck you, Zoro’s hot.” Her gaze loses focus a moment, “like… really hot.” I do my best not to react to this revelation, putting the realisation I’ve just had in a box at the back of my mind. Reflexively, I try and quip, “Fucking anime. Setting unrealistic standards for us guys to live up to.” “You’re saying that about One Piece? One piece? The anime champion of twig waists and balloon tits?” She glares at me. I glare at her. Tension floods the air, until suddenly we both start speaking, each of us rapid fire listing off characters who’s insane level of attractiveness is clearly unfair to our respective genders. I know I cannot win fairly. I don’t plan to. A few moments in I start throwing curveballs into my list, “Doflamingo, Brooke, Bon Clay, Shrek, Buggy, Crocodile, …” “Mistress Shyarly, Pudding, fucking… wait, did you say fucking Shrek?” Dani almost shrieks. “He is the most attractive anime character. Reddit took a vote, and it was unanimous.” I declare proudly. She folds over the table, laughing uncontrollably at the absurdity of it, “Fucking Shrek?” I do my best Fat Bastard impression from Austin Powers, “Oh aye. He’s dead sexy. Just look at his sexy boh-dey.” One bit of wisdom I have picked up: If you can’t beat them with your brilliance, baffle them with bullshit. I have honed this skill to a fine art over the years. “Damnit, you’re still such a huge nerd,” she says after her laughter eases up, wiping a tear from her eye. “What can I say? I went with what worked,” I say with an air of modesty, “I mean, it doesn’t exactly cause the women to run after me screaming, but I’m doing fine.” “Shocking,” she states, before taking a long, very casual sip of her milkshake, “so, you have a girlfriend then? A wife? Two and a half kids and a dog?” I can’t even look at her, “Well… no. Not… so much.” Milkshake, save me, I suck it down as if it’s the antidote to my shame. It’s not, though it is very tasty. I can just barely hear a tapping from Dani’s direction over the noise of my drink emptying. “Really? No one? Not even a secret, saucy crush?” She’s practically purring, she sounds so smug. I sigh, “Not so much. I’m… well, you don’t meet many girls where I work or when playing magic the gathering.” The embarrassment is killing me, so I try to deflect, “What about you? Anyone special in your life?” She makes a face, her lips twisting wryly. I notice her pedipalps, which have been folded neatly under her most of the entire encounter, twitch, unfold, and flex open just a bit, before tucking back into place. “I had a few attempts. Some that felt… close, or fun, before The Event. It was hard, because, well, its really hard to… well, you got to love yourself too, right? And I didn’t.” Her distant look must have been focused on the past, and her body idly pantomined a picture as she talked, curling into herself slightly one moment, abdomen sinking down sadly, “ I went to therapy. Did a lot of talking. Put myself out there eventually, and was able to be upfront as being trans. Found a guy, really nice person, good at communicating. Things were going slow, but well. Then…” “Boom! This,” she drew a circle with her cup to indicate her… well, everything. I leaned forward, fascinated. “Well, that was an exciting day. Darren… my boyfriend, panicked. He ran, hid in the bathroom. I was pretty disoriented, because, well… it was like waking up from a dream, but my past life was the dream? This… me… was more real than what came before. The sense I had always gotten in my own skin that things weren’t right suddenly made so much sense, because it WASN’T right, and it just felt so good to finally be ME. I fuckin’ cried man, I was so happy.” Her joy and satisfaction in that memory was well reflected in her smile, and in the way she just melted into the chair. Hands and legs spent a moment sliding over her form, as if taking comfort in it’s existence. It was almost wholesome… expcept for the moment when one hand sensuously slid over her chest, and the other began to travel down to a valley left where her pedipalps were pulling open slowly. “Dani! You’re in public, “I hiss in a whisper, feeling a wave of embarrassment wash over me in a hot wave as I look away. An alarmed squeak erupts of her mouth, accompanied by a mixed slap/clack of her pedipalps snapping back to a more chaste pose. There is a few minutes of awkward silence, before I cough, “Well… I guess that’s why non humans don’t talk about the change much.” “Ff… fuck off, I wasn’t going to… listen. Just. When I realized everything changed, I just wanted to… confirm the installed hardware,” Dani explains in an low, embarassed growl. I clear my throat, “Uh huh. Moving on to what happened next?” “Well. I can’t say I was pleased when I realized I was going to live puberty, the sequel. Or that silk is really hard to get off of bedsheets…” “I’m sorry what?” I interrupt. “You know how it is, your body is going through changes, you explore yourself a bit, some white sticky stuff squirts out…” Dani smirks, raises her abdomen to spin just enough silk for me to get the idea, before a rear leg snaps the silk away. I sigh, “Stiiiill in a children's fast food restaurant Dani.” “A restaurant founded by a clown can have a sense of humour, Adam.” I become concerned that we should move our conversation elsewhere, before we get arrested for public indecency. Not that I had a better idea where to take the conversation. I am a little nervous about going somewhere private. The internet is flush with stories about arachne’s legendary appetites. They are apparently not quiet universally rapists, but were insistent, persistent, and possessed of a passionate love for teasing. Also, they were supposedly insatiable. As such, going to a private place with Dani seems ill advised on so many levels. Dani continues, unaware or uncaring about my internal debate, “So, long story short, thanks to the internet, social media, and the cops that Darren called in his panic, we are made aware that The Event happened. But… the relationship didn’t survive.” What else can someone say,” I’m sorry.” Dani snorts,” Fucking everyone is. Darren was nice, but… I think I was just in a relationship because I wanted one person to accept me, or love me, for who I am. Which wasn’t right, because I don’t think I loved him for who he was.” I feel a sympathetic pain at that, deep in my gut. Love is hard for everyone not in love. “Anyways, to finish up the recap,” Dani continued, literally shaking off the sad mood, “I tried some stuff, had a few short relationships with some people, but the town I was in wasn’t very non-human friendly. So, I scraped together some funds, and moved back here.” My milkshake was long empty, and I idly played with the cup, running my finger along the rim as I digested Dani’s story. “Why here?” “Oh, you knooow,” Dani hummed, her gaze casually taking a tour of the portions of the restaurant’s interior I wasn’t in, “good memories, wanted to see how it’s changed, the usual.” “I feel like this old place hasn’t changed that much, “ I say, thinking about the past two and a half decades. I spend a few moments talking about landmarks that might have mattered to Dani, but truth be told its very boring to me. Might be boring to her too: she listens politely, but fidgets restlessly. Maybe arachne aren’t used to sitting still. Her legs stretch out occasionally, her abdomen bobs up and down a bit, but she doesn’t yawn or look bored. I’m getting tired. I try stretch subtly… and my legs are stuck. Aww hell… I guess Dani is just as micheivous as ever. Luckily, she is also the same kind of prankster as the one other arachne I know. Customers at the Monster Girl Cafe really tend to stick around when Beth is working. “Say, Adam. I’m still kinda thirsty, wanna get something else to drink?” Dani says, voice dripping with innocence. I grin, “Sure, just let me… handle this…” I pull a pair of high end wire cutters out of my cargo pants, “I seem to be a bit tangled up.” Dani’s jaw drops, “What the….dude, you just carry those around?” “Always be prepared,” I say as I begin to cut myself free. “You were never a scout!” Dani protests as I ruin her fun. “But maybe I’m batman,” I say in a gravelly voice. “Batman has abs.” “AND is a master of disguise!” I reply, still in the gravelly voice, finishing cutting through her webs. I toss them back to her, a proud grin on my face. She just narrows her eyes, “No, seriously, why do you have wire cutters? Are you an electrician now?” “I have wire cutters because you aren’t the only arachne I know. And the other also finds it hilarious to tie people to random things when they aren’t looking. Or, at least she thinks its hilarious to tie me to things.” I take a moment to think about that, brow slightly furrowed. Dani cocks her head a bit, and her stance shifts slightly, “Really? Is she a coworker, or a family member?” “Works at a cafe I go to every once in a while, as a waitress. I wouldn’t say we’re friends, per se, but she’s friendly. Buut,” I sigh, “she’s in the service industry, and when tips are involved professionals are always friendly, so take that with a grain of salt. I’m pretty sure all the girls there are genuinely decent people though.” Dani looks thoughtful, “An arachne waitress? Is she from the famous Monster Girl Cafe?” I have cut myself out of the web, and somehow I still feel trapped. I worry that Dani’s train of thought is slowly arriving at the idea that I have a non-human fetish. Desperate, I try to play it casual, obfuscate the issue, “Their baker is world class. Some of the best pastries and desserts you'll ever try.” Dani says nothing, still looking thoughtful. I’m just trying hard to seem nonchalant. A part of my brain I will forever hate wonders if arachne can smell fear, or arousal, like some other non-humans. Dani smiles slightly, and says, “Maybe you can take me there sometime?” Play it cool, “I wouldn't have thought you’d be into maid cafes?” Dani’s smile becomes sly, her eyes narrowed and cunning, “Oh, everyone loves cake. Isn’t that what you go there for, Adam? The cake?” “And the danishes. Also the cream puffs,” I add eagerly, as if I didn’t catch her innuendo at all. Playing dumb is a move I am all too familiar with. “Sounds good to me, so when do we go?” Dani persists. I get the feeling that bringing Dani to the cafe is a trap. I don’t know why, but I feel like the girls will somehow conspire to push me into a more serious relationship with Dani. At the same time, I’ve been to casual about my patronage there, if I don’t take Dani, she’ll think I’m hiding something. What if she went there to ask about me on her own? Somehow, the idea of Dani talking to the maids without me there is terrifying on a level I don’t understand. On some level, I know I’m overthinking this, and being completely ridiculous. That reasonable part of me casts its vote toward just going, having a good time with an old friend. “Sure. But, if we want to avoid the worst of the crowds, its best to go later in the evening, if that’s all right. More of a dessert thing, also.” In truth, I just don’t want Dani to meet Beth, or worse, Serass. That feels like certain trouble. I feel like I’d have better odds with the night crew. “Sounds like a date” Dani proclaims. Somehow, I still feel doomed.