Into the Wild (Sean)

Sean did not possess either Anya’s or Riley’s skills when it came to food preparation. He was more than competent, and he enjoyed cooking and baking, but he would never be a professional. More than that, but he was fond of sampling foods that other people made and eating food out. Chinese food was a particular favorite.

It was quite easy to win him over with Chinese takeout. Plans that included Chinese food almost always gained agreement, unless he had a conflict.

As such, he had readily agreed to the visit with his friend. While Hart had volunteered to take care of the takeout, Sean had decided to tend to dessert. He had made chocolate pudding earlier, which he knew the younger man enjoyed, so he made sure that there was enough of that. To supplement, there were fruit tarts that Josh had made as part of his recent homework assignments; those should suffice. He had then set out plates in the kitchen for them to make themselves comfortable.

When Hart arrived at the house, the telepath went to the door to greet him, offering the younger man a smile. “Not at all. Please do.”

To that end, he stepped to the side, allowing Hart clear entrance. “We can set that down in the kitchen. How is Sloane?”

Once Hart was inside the house, Sean shut the front door and followed the younger man into the kitchen. The food’s enticing aroma made him hungry, and he immediately set about pulling two glasses down from the cupboard. “What can I get you to drink?”

The explanation wasn’t entirely surprising, and he listened carefully while Hart stammered a bit regarding Sloane. So she was well, which was good. But the pressures of dating a coworker were also difficult to navigate, and not everyone was able to find a balance, even if there was no professional rule that prohibited fraternization.

The vague lead-in, a substitute for a direct question, also wasn’t entirely surprising. Sean knew that Hart had once been a teacher, although they hadn’t discussed the matter explicitly. Furthermore, the younger man was familiar with the true nature of the school, due to his niece, his roommate, his circle of friends, and Sloane. He knew what he would be getting into, should he seek employment there. While Sean still had to hold his tongue regarding explicit school secrets, he could still speak freely on hiring policies and other treatment of faculty.

“They’ve treated me well enough that I’ve chosen to remain there for over twenty years,” he offered as his introduction. “There’s a certain cultural preference for hiring meta-humans, due to the nature of the school and the fact that there aren’t workplace protections elsewhere. But Hammel does hire baseline humans for most positions, if they show interest and pass the standard background check. So the fact that you aren’t meta won’t be a problem.”

Sean didn’t broadcast just how much he knew about his friends, coworkers, and other acquaintances due to the telepathy. Doing so only served to undermine their senses of privacy while creating few tangible, or intangible, benefits either to him or to them. He might act on information to which other people weren’t privy, but he rarely did so while simultaneously announcing that he was doing so.

That knowledge was why he couldn’t say that he was surprised by the question that Hart asked. Likewise, it was the reason that his response to him outing himself didn’t take the form of a simple I know.

It was the type of secret that was impossible to hide around him, but it was also better for everyone not to acknowledge it unless brought up by the other person. Hart had brought the topic to light, however, which meant that he was free to discuss it.

Bringing beverages over to the table, he then set about opening the cartons to reveal the delicious food inside.

“From a policy perspective, Hammel doesn’t discriminate,” he said, pushing a container of shrimp fried rice into the center of the table. “From a medical perspective, the insurance plan covers hormone treatment.”

The telepath opened the next container, smiling down at the dumplings he saw. “From a staff perspective, those who can’t accept people for who they are shouldn’t have a place teaching children to be accepted.”

“No, it shouldn’t be a problem.” After Sean set the glasses down, he sat in one chair across from Hart and handed out serving utensils to the other man. “I’ve been there for twenty-two years as a member of the faculty, and I spent six years as a student. We’ve had trans* students before, and we treat them the same way we treat the cisgendered students, which is to say, like human beings.”

That was his piece on the matter of equality and fighting discrimination. He and most of the other faculty had little tolerance for discrimination.

He then offered the younger man a smile, absolving him of any cause to be embarrassed. "We go on autopilot sometimes. But you can leave them out; I'll put them away afterward." For now, they could simply eat.

“They could choose not to hire you, I suppose,” the telepath agreed, since that was a theoretical possibility, and he was incapable of truthfully assuring him otherwise. “That would be an issue for the Headmistress and the hiring committee.”

Truly out of Sean’s hands.

“Have you felt out her feelings on the subject?” He asked, spooning some rice onto his plate before setting the paper container down. He realized that Hart hadn’t had a clear discussion with her, but that was what hypothetical questions were for, to feel out how other people felt and what other people thought.

Admittedly, Sean realized that he was in a unique position to not require such clumsy tools. But he could still recommend them.

Sean passed the container of dumplings over to his friend, waiting for him to serve himself before he would take his own.

He couldn’t say that he was surprised by the other man’s explanation. Most people tried to avoid discussing uncomfortable topics, even when it was in their best interest to open a dialogue with their loved ones. Certainly the telepath wasn’t in a position to give a full lecture on the topic, given the state of his personal life. He and Josh were hardly exemplars when it came to healthy discussions within the context of a romantic relationship.

Then again, if either one of them considered leaving his job and starting a new one, Sean hoped they would discuss it before applications were submitted. “I hope that she is understanding when you inform her.”

Sean then opened up the sweet and sour chicken to take a portion for himself. He was thoughtful as he served himself, before passing the dish to his friend. “Hammel isn’t like most other schools,” he said after the long moment of consideration. “Our students are already in a position of being discriminated against with no protections, and while that doesn’t necessarily mean that we’d be incapable of discrimination against other people, we do try to be accepting.”

Not merely tolerant, but accepting of what it was to be oneself, in all that entailed. “Our students can belong to any other group; so should our faculty.”

Sean opened the remaining dishes, prodding at those that interested him and then passing them on to his friend. Once his plate was filled, he set his napkin in his lap and began to eat.

Fresh Chinese food was so very enticing.

“We have an obligation to take care of children because they can’t take care of themselves. We also have an obligation to teach them to be the best adults they can be, to help them grow up well.” The telepath looked up from his plate, glancing at his younger friend. “That doesn’t mean that we don’t owe acceptance to adults too. Why should a trans* child receive acceptance that an adult shouldn’t? Age aside, we aren’t otherwise different. People need to be themselves and live their lives.”

Sean wasn’t naïve; he understood how the world actually operated. But he believed that there was a simple path to improving the world, which began with acceptance of his fellow human beings. He did everything he could to be a safe space for others and to, in turn, make Hammel a safe space as well.

“I think you should send in your resume,” he agreed with a brief nod. The worst that would happen would be for Yvette to deny him, but that would be based on other factors. “It’s worth applying.”

“You’re welcome.” With that, Sean turned to his food, taking the first delicious bites of the takeout. Warm and fresh, precisely what he had wanted.

He was silent while his younger friend vaguely described the situation, fishing for advice. The telepath was thoughtful for a long moment, weighing a conversation that he’d had many years ago.

Sean could imagine the poor luck that Hart had had with coming out. Sean had had difficulty himself trying to explain the telepathy, and that was with the other benefits he had as a cisgendered white man who was attracted to women (even though he was also attracted to men).

“It can be difficult,” he said after those few moments of consideration. “Admittedly, I have better luck than most people, since I don’t have to fret or wait for hints.”

Although that hadn’t been enough to prevent tragedy in his personal life.

“But I had a girlfriend once who was trans*. We’d discussed this multiple times, and while I can’t give names or descriptive details to respect her privacy, I remember the stories she told me about her romantic life. And I remember what she tried to say to me, although I already knew.”

The situations weren’t wholly comparable, but that was the closest experience that he had. “Do you have a timetable for when you want to tell her?”