Warren paced back and forth across his room, talking constantly, trying to hype himself up for what would arguably be the most difficult moment of his life. And he beat up Nathan Prescott, twice, in one week. In many ways, there was a kind of through line between those moments and now. He knew, he knew for ages, even if he wouldn't let himself realize it. The trying too hard, the posturing, all that stupid bullshit about being alpha or beta. He fucking hated it.

In some small way, he wondered if he had Mad Max to thank for this. If he managed to survive the next hour, he would have to thank her. He spent far too long pining for her, even as she began dating not just one but eventually three girls. And all while amazing Brooke was right there just waiting. If Max could be a big bad hero who got all the girls, then you didn't have to be some hulking badass to find your way in the world.

Was he in love with Max? Or had he simply wanted to be her? Well, there was the eternal question.

A knock at the door caused him to jump slightly. True to form, Brooke walked right in without forcing Warren to open the door for her. She'd never been fond of the whole gentleman thing, even if he apparently looked awesome in a bowtie. "Dude, that was a fucking real-ass text you sent me. What's the matter?"

Unfortunately, when you were in a relationship, especially once you got past the rose tinted glasses, the last thing you wanted was for your partner to suddenly get super serious. Like, three times outta four, that meant you wanted to break up. Frankly, Warren still didn't know how to make it clear he needed her to be there for him without her trying to jump the gun and assume that something terrible was about to happen. So he just fucking went for it.

"Um... I wanted to have like... one of those scary, serious sit-down-talk-type things. Because I trust you." He hoped that would be enough of a lead-in to keep her from having a heart attack. Brooke was as cool as they came, but she also hid a deep, terrifying temper. She was as scary as she was fun.

"Oh. Okay, um..."

"It's cool, it's cool, just... Come on" He took her hand and led her over to sit on the edge of his bed. A little over the top, but screw it, too late now. "I'm really not trying to freak you out, but this is something that does kind of affect you too." He paused and took a deep breath. You can't keep monologuing, idiot, just dive in. The more you build it up, the weirder it will be. "I think... that I might be transgender..."

"Okay." Brooke said, though rather than her casual 'everything's chill' voice, it was a little deeper, more solid, open even. And immediately Warren knew he'd been handling this like an idiot. He should have known she'd be down for anything that was going on. She was nuts about him. "Pronouns?"

"What?" Jesus, she was quick! His head was spinning. "Oh! No, I mean... I-I'm still just trying to figure stuff out. No, I have no clue what the fuck I'm doing. Just stick with like... he/him for now." The hand holding his tightened just a touch and he released a little sigh to try and calm himself back down.

"Alright then. Do you, like, need to talk about it or whatever? Sob story, that kind of thing?" This was something he really hadn't seen too much of from Brooke before, and yet at the same time it made a lot of sense. She was a genius scientist, like him. She didn't have time for bullshit bigotry and judgment, they were too busy rushing headlong into the future. She preferred details, facts, solid evidence. And most of the time, he was very much the same.

"Nah. I guess for some people it's like... this big huge sob story and they blame their parents and all their friends and it's all this heartache. I feel for them, but mostly it's more just a dull ache that something is off, like when you're wearing shoes that are a size too small or whatever."

"Mmmm, low dysphoria then. That must make things pretty interesting." His eyebrows shot up and he looked at his girlfriend with extreme confusion. It was one thing for her to be learned, but this was getting into scary-smart territory. "Dude, chill, we're practically the same person. When I'm not hanging with you, I'm probably researching something. Sometimes I get lost in a Wikipedia link-hole and three hours later I'm suddenly fascinated by a subject I didn't care about two weeks before. Back in November I got massively into queer stuff. I'm a fucking nerd. Like you." She laughed and leaned in for a kiss.

And the conversation went on like that for a while. Brooke didn't know everything, but she knew a lot, and she knew the right questions to ask. No, he didn't know what new name he wanted. Yes, he would totally switch pronouns eventually, and was eager to start hormones. Yes, he'd already joined like three different forums and was totally jealous of girls with killer make-up skills. No, he hadn't told anyone else yet.

"Not even Max, your almost girlfriend?" What had originally been some very real rage on her part eventually turned into respect, once she actually got to know Max better. And then, just a touch of respect as her harem grew and grew. At this point, it was mostly just a constant joke between all of them. She still liked to unnecessarily mention the phrase "go ape" around Caulfield when she got the chance.

"Not even Max. I mean, she's pretty clearly more into girls."

"You do realize what you're saying, don't you?" He felt an elbow poke into his side and he seemed to remember what they were just talking about. You know, the hour-long conversation they'd just had. Duh. He was a little scattered sometimes.

"Trust me, even I haven't totally wrapped my mind around this yet."

The one question he hadn't really expected, but appreciated the most, was the final one. "Wanna wear my hoodie?"

"Hell yes I do. Thanks" A moment later and he was comfortably snuggled up in her purple hoodie, which fit remarkably well.

Brooke wasn't the most touchy feely person in the world, but when she cuddled, she went whole-hog. The moment the hoodie was on, she was pressed tight up against him, giving a little nuzzle. "Hey. Whatever you figure out or decide, even if stuff changes, or you decide not to bother with hormones, or pretty much anything. You're not an alpha. You're not a beta. You are a goddamn Omega."

"You really know how to sweet-talk a girl, Brooke."