There was a soft KER-CHUNK of the door closing. Whoever was coming up behind him wasn't trying to be sneaky, but wasn't trying to disturb him either. Considerate. He didn't move. Nope. This was comfy, and the stars were amazing tonight, and whoever it was, they were not going to shake him from his -

"Hey, Tedd." Or they were.

"Nanase." He closed his eyes. His - scratch that, Tess' cousin. She wasn't exactly the first person who he expected would come to find him. To his surprise, she didn't say anything else at first - she just took another step and lay down next to him on the grass, staring skyward. The silence stretched onward, no real sound but crickets and the distant hum of the highway - and if you lived in Moperville long enough, that last one didn't register much.

Tedd had lived there all his life, even if that life hadn't really been long yet.

"Is this where you try to reassure me that it's all going to be okay?" Tedd finally said. The words came out snarky, but not bitter.

"I'm not great at that." Nanase admitted quietly. "I think it will be, but it's going to be weird. Just... basically setting up your life..."

"Yeah." Tedd agreed, hands folding across his stomach. A few seconds passed.

"Are you okay with this?"

"That is a really, REALLY broad question."

"Okay. So... from the top." Nanase rolled over to look at him directly. He could feel her eyes on him, even if he was deliberately not looking at her. "Are you okay with being a boy?" Oh.

Well.

Not the question he expected.

"Yeah?" Tedd frowned. "I think... I think I'm not going to feel like a guy every day. There are going to be days when I want to be a girl, and we have a solution for those days in the basement, but as a sort of default state of being? I can work with this. Helps that I'm heckin' cute as a guy."

"True." He could literally hear Nanase's smile in her tone. Made him feel a little warmer.

"I could be wrong. I could just... be a girl up there. But, um. I... might..."

"It's okay if you don't want to talk about fine details." Nanase squeezed his shoulder. He nodded once. That wasn't his thing to talk about. Tess' issues were a part of who he was, but that didn't mean he could spill it so easily. "And losing your boyfriend?"

"Elliot was never my boyfriend. He's Tess'."

"You have years of memories that say otherwise."

"I..." He trailed off, shaking his head. "I'm going to have to be okay with it, aren't I? I mean, the only other options I have are getting in a polyamorous relationship with Elliot and my... sister, legally speaking, or trying to steal him from her. We're probably not perverted enough to try the first one-"

"Never thought I'd hear you say those words."

"You ARE going to tell me how you figured out Tess has all those fetishes, aren't you? She was convinced no one knew."

"I saw her browsing history, and I follow her fanfiction account." That stunned Tedd for a few long seconds, but he recovered alright.

"Um. Well, yeah. So - I don't know what I'm going to do. Oh, and I'm not enough of a jerk to try the second option there."

"I think I know what you want to try, though."

"...yeah." He let out a breath. "Yeah. I don't know if she'll be interested."

"You know she's bi."

"That's not why I'm worried." Tedd finally turned to look at Nanase. All 200+ pounds of her, all curves and softness and thick muscle beneath, a body that looked like a bodybuilder had developed an intense love affair with cooking pastries. "It's because it's me, Nase."

"Cuz. You're awesome. Stop second guessing yourself."

"You barely know me."

"None of us really know you yet. But from what I've seen so far? I think you qualify." She scooted over, pulling him into a hug - picking him up to do so. He didn't resist. Nanase was strong enough to haul him over her shoulder and pull him inside if he gave her any sass, and the hug was really nice.

Maybe he could do this. He could go along with his dad's asinine backstory for him. He could get used to a basement room and carving out a new life. Maybe... hell, maybe he could be more open with his interests. He was a guy, guys were supposed to be a little pervy when they were his age. Unfortunate double standards were a thing.

Yeah.

Yeah, he could manage it.

Tedd Verres stood up slowly, taking one last look at the stars before going in. For a minute, his uncertain gender identity, status as a magic clone, and uncertain footing with people that he'd known all his life... well. It would be a lie to say that it didn't seem to matter as much. It all mattered exactly as much as when he'd walked out back to get some space. It was still damn near overwhelming.

But in that moment, he was just a bit more sure that he could cope with it all.

Tedd followed Nanase back inside. His father was on the phone, arranging details of his new life. Tess was sitting in Elliot's lap on the beanbag chair, fretting quietly. Tiffany was talking to both of them, probing with what was probably troubleshooting and making sure that any obvious questions about her past could be given some kind of an answer. Justin and his soul patch were in the corner, staring at him, making sure that everything was okay with him and Nanase (because of course he was playing Papa Wolf right now), and...

And there was Sarah, just waiting.

He took a few steps forward, and extended a hand.

"I don't think we've been properly introduced yet. My name is Tedd Verres."