“The carpet is a bit… threadbare,” I admitted.
Elliot turned to look at me. “Where can I put this?” he asked.
I picked up a stack of papers off the in-progress table and moved them over to my desk—they were the report sheets I’d have to fill out for the next thirty swabs from the dog, with a stack of papers for all the particulates from the badger that I was also going to compare against the dog’s. “Here,” I told him. “We can use the office chairs.”
I rolled one of them over for him—we had four, so I didn’t even have to take Lacy’s or Roger’s—then snagged my own.
Elliot unpacked several boxes, and I could smell fish. “Perch,” he said.
The same thing we’d had on our first date.
My box full of fried fish came with a huge pile of thick-cut steak fries and a little cup of coleslaw, while Elliot had gotten mashed potatoes and gravy, along with a container of baked beans that smelled like they’d been made with ham or bacon.
“It’s good,” I said, taking a bite of the perch.
Elliot nodded, quiet.
“What?” I asked him. Something was clearly bothering him.
“Do your coworkers not know you’re a shifter?” he asked me, and there was an odd edge to his tone that I didn’t understand and couldn’t quite read.
“Some do,” I replied. “Why?”
“You wore a mask,” he said.
I shrugged. “It’s mostly habit,” I told him. “You should wear one while doing lab work and at crime scenes anyway—because of other pathogens, but mostly so that you don’t inadvertently contaminate the evidence by sneezing on it.”
“Ah,” he said, and he sounded less stressed.
“Also, Smith warned me that the police chief was not… supportive of shifters,” I admitted. “And while I’m not going to lie about what I am, I don’t need to borrow trouble.”
Elliot’s lips pressed together slightly as he chewed.
“That bothers you?” I asked him.
“It’s your choice,” he replied flatly.
“But?” I didn’t want to fight with him. But I also didn’t want him to keep things from me. And I didn’t want to keep things from him. Lying, whether overtly or by omission, wasn’t a good basis for a relationship.
He let out a long breath. “I—don’t like it when people conceal who they are,” he said slowly, and I got the impression there was something important behind this. “Although I understand why you might not want to advertise it, given the… circumstances.” His fingers pulled at a piece of fish. “It’s your life,” he said softly. “You should be the one to decide who to tell.”
“Noah feels the same way,” I said, my voice just as soft and serious. “He wears his Hands and Paws shirts to the grocery store, even. I never understood why—honestly, I still don’t. But, as you say, it’s his choice.”
“It doesn’t bother you that people don’t know who you really are?” he asked.
I shrugged. “I don’t know who they really are, either,” I pointed out. “If they’re shifters, maybe, or Arcs. Or if they have kids or spouses. Their hobbies. I don’t know anything about them, really, other than what they bring here.”
He blinked. “That—is a good point.”
“Like I said,” I told him, scooping up a plastic forkful of coleslaw. “I don’t lie about who—what—I am. I just keep it to myself until it becomes relevant.”
“I suppose that makes sense,” he said slowly. “I—guess I have an advantage, working for myself. I don’t need to please a boss or avoid bigoted coworkers.” Then he looked up at me. “Did I force you to out yourself?” he asked me, a furrow on his forehead.
I shrugged again. “Like I said, I’m not going to lie about who I am,” I replied, then I wondered whether I’d just done somethinghedidn’t want me to do. “Is that okay?” I asked him, fear risingin the back of my throat that I’d done something to damage our barely-there relationship. “We didn’t—we haven’t talked about whether we were going to tell other people.” And now I felt guilty about telling both Noah and Quincy.
Elliot looked startled. “No—that’s not what I meant,” he said, and I could see color darkening his cheeks. “I’m pretty sure the whole town knows I’m gay. And I—” He squirmed a little. “—I do want people to know… about us, I mean.”
“So that was okay? That I told Ronda?” The fear was subsiding.
