“So I confronted mom,” Tucker said, absently drying a dish beside Iago, who finished rinsing the next dish and handed it to him.
“It’s about time,” Iago said. “She is way too old to pull off floral prints like that. And especially that tight.” He shuddered. “I may be asexual for a bit.”
“Unless we’re counting your hand, you may be asexual forever. And you’re not wrong about mom’s floral dresses, but that was not the confrontation I had.”
“Oh,” Iago said. “You mean about how she definitely voted for the bigoted train wreck currently threatening all of our lives and freedom from the White House. And how did that go?”
“Bout like you’d expect,” Tucker said noncommittally.
“So, soul-crushingly bad, then?”
“Yeah,” Tucker said, with tears in his eyes.
Iago was already there, moving Tucker’s head to his shoulder. “It’s okay,” he soothed. He stroked his brother’s back. “You should have told me. I could’ve,” he paused, “I would-‘ve…”
“You would have kept the peace,” Tucker said. “But we’ve been doing that for years. She’s not interested in peace; nobody like her is. They’re after conquest. They want to force us to live under Christian sharia, where people like me would be put to death, and people like I used to be would be forced to carry our rapist’s baby.”
“Jesus,” Iago said, a shiver of understanding running through him. “You could have told me that. I’d have been there.”
“And I’d have been sticking a wedge between you and mom. I didn’t want to make you choose… and I was afraid,” his breath caught, “I was afraid that she wouldn’t choose me. That she would care more about a baby I did not consent to making over me.”
“I’m not hurt,” Iago said. “And you’re probably right. But… I missed a lot of chances to be a better brother. I was thick enough I didn’t- I wasn’t supportive when you started to transition.”
“I know,” Tucker said. “You couldn’t see the difference between me becoming more masculine and just… slacking on my hygiene. But I also know you… it would have been better, if you weren’t so thick, but I could see what you thought, what you knew, what you understood. And your big, dumb heart always loved me, even when you were four steps behind literally everyone else in understanding who that was. Even mom figured it all out before you did; it took a while before she’d actually admit it to herself, but…”
“Yeah,” Iago winced, “that stings a bit. But I’m sorry I wasn’t more supportive.”
“Sometimes the most important thing isn’t that you’re there- but knowing that you would be if I called.”
“That feels more gracious than I probably deserve,” Iago said. But his brow wouldn’t unknit. “Do you think I was wrong, trying to keep the peace?”
“We both did,” Tucker replied. “We all did, really. I remember the knock-down drag-out her and I had over abortion. And we pretty much agreed to disagree. Things went largely back to normal. I think it’s human instinct to peace-keep, because without that, it’s hard to have ‘family’ in any sense of the word. Even with our friends now- we do little things to sand off our own edges. I know you don’t like dealing with your wet towels after a shower, but you do, out of consideration for the rest of us.”
“But what if doing that let her become who she is?” Iago asked. “What if we let her down, by not helping her be a better person?”
“No,” Tucker said, gravel in his voice, “she let us down. We’re her fucking children, and she has thrown in with our oppressors, our tormentors, with men who stormed our fucking campus to hold us at gunpoint, who confront us in the streets with hate and threats. It was her job to evolve, to be better, to help sculpt a better world for us. She didn’t just fail at that, she’s actively working to make things worse, for us specifically. She’s practically an anti-mom, at this point. And that is not on you, and it is not on me. She could have been better. She should have. She failed us. But that’s okay. Because she gave us each other. And she can’t fail that away.”
“I’m getting a real weird Luke and Leia vibe out of this kitchen right now,” Drake said from the opening into the living room. An instant later, Tucker’s towel hit him in the face.
“You’re right,” Tucker said, making a point to shoulder-check Drake as he passed. “Solo out.”