Oliver had considered malingering, and it was for such a silly reason. Really? This is how far you'll go to avoid change? The newly hired supervisor Guy at the restaurant, Cody's replacement, had started a few days ago. Oliver, disliking change, was almost prepared to call in sick at work so he did not have to follow his routine and go in for his coffee at the restaurant. He could easily not go to the restaurant after work and find something else to occupy the time before Darren picked him up, but that was still a breach in routine. Calling in sick, however, meant he could follow his sick day routine and not have to deal with change.

However, Oliver forced himself to go to work, and afterwards go to the restaurant. If he ever wanted to get over this fear of change- no it wasn't fear, just a mild aversion, yes, not a fear- yes if he was going to get better at this, he needed to tackle the problem head on and deal with it like the grown man he was, who wasn't afraid of change or new people.

Guy and Heather welcomed him with their usual warmth, and Oliver made them coffee, and a cup for himself, adding some mint syrup into his own, an excessive amount compared to normal to combat his nerves.

He mostly stayed on his phone, occasionally chatting with Heather when she was free, but then his attention was caught by Guy, seeing him follow all of the safety procedures to perfection, which put the new change and Oliver's nerves about it at ease, at least momentarily. And then he glanced at Guy again, doing a double take. How could he not have noticed before? Was it because Oliver was subconsciously avoiding eye contact due to his aversion to change? Next to Guy's supervisor badge were 'he/him', and Oliver noticed that Heather also had her pronouns on her badge, as did the other staff, a new addition, it seemed. But next to Guy's badge were also two other badges, the pride flag and the trans flag.

Oliver couldn't help staring, not out of rudeness or judgement, but more out of admiration. He had never felt completely safe coming out to anyone about his sexuality unless the other person was also queer. Despite the country being safer for gay people, there was still a small percentage that was still a threat to them. And trans people were still struggling to fight for their rights. Yet, here Guy was, proudly and unashamedly displaying to the entire world his identity, to strangers, not knowing how he would be received, with love, hatred, or indifference, something that Oliver could never imagine doing. In every workplace Oliver had been to, he kept his sexuality a secret. It wasn't like someone would target him, or attack him, but there were still microaggressions to watch out for, and the way people perceived him, that his sexuality came first in his identity, and not just one thing amidst a list of thousands that could describe him. And then there was the whole concept of coming out; why should he feel the need to? It made it seem like a dark confession, revealing that he wasn't 'normal', that he was abnormal, and everyone needed to know about it. Oliver would try and argue that this was the reason, that his sexuality should just be casually brought up when appropriate like talking about past and current relationships, but it wasn't.

He had been beaten up the last time he had worn a pride flag. As rare as it might have been, that one incident had nested deep in his mind and wouldn't leave. That fear of people knowing, those coloured flags that marked him as different, seemed almost like he was making himself a target again.

Guy finally caught Oliver staring at the pride badges and sighed, leaning on the counter. "I assume you have questions?"

"What?" Oliver snapped out of his thoughts and straightened, then panicked. "No, I wasn't-" He stopped himself and cleared his throat. "I was just wondering how... how you can so easily wear them?"

Guy stared at him, one brow raised, as if working Oliver out.

"I still feel hesitant to come out to people," Oliver explained further to assure Guy he wasn't being transphobic. "So, I was just wondering how you can have the... the courage to wear the badges. Are you not afraid of what people think?"

"Well, yeah, I am," replied Guy, which surprised Oliver. "Don't know who could be a bigot, but the way I see it is that I love myself more and rather be me than hide away." He shrugged. "If someone has an issue with that, with how I am just existing, whatever, I've grown some pretty thick skin."

Oliver paused. "That's it? Just get thick skin?"

"Well, no, it's just something you learn to deal with. I find dealing with it with kindness also confuses them, makes them seem more like the bad guys, and they generally leave you alone after that. It won't work in every situation, and I can't say that you'll always be safe, but I have never been happier than not hiding away."

Oliver nodded, biting his bottom lip in reflection.

"But some of my other trans friends are the opposite," Guy continued. "They're happier if people don't know. It's up to you how you see your identity, and if people knowing about it will affect it. You don't have to feel the need to come out; it's your own business."

"I don't know if I want to," said Oliver. "I'm out to friends and family, but I don't know about work."

"Are you worried about how they will treat you?"

Oliver shook his head. "There was another gay coworker there who was treated fine, and had no problems."

"So why do you feel like you can't?"

"I guess it still just feels like a secret, since I'm taking such lengths to hide it, using gender-neutral pronouns when talking about past partners. It sometimes... just feels like I'm adding more stress to myself by keeping it a secret."

"So, you think you'll feel calmer if you told someone?"

"I don't know."

"Well, there's no rush. Maybe just telling one coworker will put your mind at ease."

"Just one..." Oliver nodded. "Sounds manageable." He would just have to find someone who wouldn't tattle, and then decide for himself how he felt and if he should tell more people.

"I like your name, by the way," Oliver said, smirking as he motioned to Guy's name tag.

"I see the humour in it." Guy grinned. "Also frustrates the transphobes even more since they don't know what to call me. It was between Guy or Ryker."

"Star Trek fan?" Oliver guessed, seeing the somewhat resemblance in Guy's appearance to the fictional character.

"Yeah, big Trekky." Guy laughed, then sighed. "Though some days I do wonder if I should have gone with Ryker instead, but seeing transphobes confused and frustrated does always make my day."

"A trans woman could go by Lady," Oliver added.

"Yes! Or Queen, or Dame, Duchess... just any kind of regal title."

"You could have gone Duke."

"Duke... damn! That is a good name." Guy let out a sigh. "Oh well, Guy is already on all of my documents. Can't be bothered to change it now."

Oliver's phone buzzed, and soon Darren's car parked outside.

"Thank you for the advice," said Oliver, picking up his stuff, ready to go.

"Not a problem, thanks for the coffee." Guy smiled. "Also, good luck with coming out to your workplace if you decide to."

Oliver smiled slightly, waving goodbye to Heather and Guy, and headed outside, getting into Darren's car.

"Alright, where do you want to go?" asked Darren. "Home or Kara's?"

Oliver paused, now remembering that his last therapy session was yesterday. He had been so focused on the change of Guy in the restaurant that he had forgotten about the change of having no more therapy sessions.

"Home, please," Oliver eventually replied.

"You got it!"

The drive home was mostly quiet, with Darren doing most of the talking and Oliver managing to respond as best as he could in his current state. When they finally arrived outside Oliver's flat, he hesitated to get out.

"Everything alright?" asked Darren softly.

Oliver turned to him. "Thank you for the lift," he mumbled. "I forgot that my last session was yesterday, so I forgot to message you. I appreciate you giving me lifts, but I can take the bus home since I don't have to go to therapy anymore."

Darren stared at him for a moment, then smiled and shook his head. "Nah, it's okay. I can still drive you, I don't mind."

"But I'm no longer going to therapy, and Miles hasn't been stalking around either. I can take the bus."

"Well, as I said, I don't mind giving you lifts from work. You don't need a creepy stalker or any other reason for it." He shrugged. "I can give you a lift."

"You don't need to do that; I can take the bus."

"I really don't mind, Oliver, I know how much you hate buses-"

"This doesn't feel like an equal exchange. I'm relying on you-"

"And I said I don't mind-"

"Let me at least pay you for the petrol-"

"It's diesel, and no, you don't need to-"

"No, I will pay you-"

"I'm not doing this for a favour, Oliver-"

"I know, but I can't-"

"I'm doing this because we're friends-"

"And this feels one-sided, like I'm taking advantage of your kindness-"

"I already said I'm doing this freely-"

"Let me pay-"

"No-"

"Then I'm just going to use the bus-"

"Oliver-"

"If you're not going to let me pay you back, I can't in good conscience-"

"Just let me drive you home, Oliver; you don't need to pay me back-"

"No, I'm going to take the bus-"

"Let me drive you-"

"No, I'm taking the bus-"

"Just let me fucking drive you, Oliver!"

Oliver flinched from Darren's raised voice, retreating to the side of the car, hands gripping his arms.

There was a pause.

Darren had been gripping the steering wheel so hard that there were now indents from his nails. "Sorry..." he mumbled. "I'm sorry for shouting."

Oliver swallowed, then said quietly, "it's okay," though he was unsure if it was. He couldn't move, not knowing if he wanted to escape the car or not.

"I just..." Darren brushed his hair back out of his eyes, and Oliver could see tears forming, his face flushed. He released a shaky breath before continuing, "it's fucking stupid, but I worry that you and Cody will be taken again."

Oliver felt his throat grow dry and hoarse, painful.

Darren looked at Oliver, in the in-between of crying and laughing. "I don't know if I believe you two yet about that monster, but I still have that fear of losing you both again... I remember back when Cody was missing for those few weeks, and then when I went to pick you up from work, and I couldn't find you, and you weren't responding to any calls, and I thought you had gone missing too like Cody..." Darren swallowed. "And you had... you had both been taken by... by the same thing."

Oliver wiped his eyes with his sleeve, head bowed, as he listened, remaining silent.

"I sometimes wonder if I had gotten to you quicker, maybe you wouldn't have been taken," Darren continued, staring straight ahead of him.

There was a pause.

"And it's stupid," he sniffed. "But I still fear that you and Cody will get retaken, or disappear and I'll never see you two again, so I pick you up from work every day, and I video chat Cody every day and... and at the very least, I know I got to see you both more, if it happens again."

And it could happen again, Oliver thought, thinking back to the monster's threat, or rather a calm promise that it would retake them all, take everyone until there was no one left. They could be taken today, in a week, a month, or maybe decades from now.

"If you really feel like you need to pay me back, then you can just buy me my drinks on Fridays when we're performing," said Darren. "Or if you still want to take the bus, would you be alright if I called you? Maybe not every day if that is weird for you?"

"I'm terrible on the phone," said Oliver, almost managing a chuckle. "You can drive me home still."

"Okay," Darren said softly, nodding. He let out a long shaking sigh, and wiped his eyes, his face bright red.

Oliver glanced over at him, tears still in both of their eyes. "Do you... want a hug?"

Darren turned to him, then nodded slightly, "Yeah, alright," his voice squeaked.

The two embraced, a strong grip on Darren's part, and Oliver could hear his fast-beating heart and trembling breath. Oliver only let go when Darren was ready, and the two apologised to each other awkwardly before saying goodbye.

"I'll see you tomorrow after work," said Oliver, getting out of the car.

"Thank you, Oliver," said Darren weakly.