Shifting Allegiances (Camilo x OC)

~five~

It was Sunday when Elian woke up, which was convenient as they hated work. They planned on wandering the square with Verónica, maybe buying something nice for themself or their friend. Possibly a new notebook. Their current one was almost out of pages.

They slipped on normal clothes and smiled at the orange dress again hanging in the part of the closet for their skirts and dresses. Sometimes it made them upset to see the feminine garments, but often they found they could enjoy the objective beauty.

They walked downstairs and had a small breakfast. "Watch yourself around animals, mija," Abuelo warned.

"Mije por favor, Abuelo."

"Mm. Just be careful, with this new gift..."

"Si Abuelo." These many secrets kept from their Abuelo wouldn't work out in the long run. In the end, Elian knew that their Papa would snitch on them if it grew to be too much. But they'd cross that bridge when they came to it.

Elian met Verónica near the market. Verónica waved and called, "Hola chice!" (chee-kay, the -e instead of -a or -o is gender neutral).

"Oye muchacha! What's your plan for today?" Elian asked

"I dunno, don't have a lot to get. You?"

"I need a new notebook. And probably some pens."

"You go through paper like I go through hairpins, and that's saying something. Honestly dude."

"Si, si. At least I didn't spend money on the arepas yesterday, so I can afford it."

"You STOLE the arepas. From a Madrigal. I still can't believe you," Verónica said, shaking her head.

"Hey, he stole them first, okay? That makes it all fine, obviously." Verónica was leading them through the market.

"Whatever, Elian."

Elian looked around. "Where are we going, Verónica..." they said with much trepidation.

"Nowhere important. Come on."

"Ooooh, I don't like the sound of that, Verónica. Where are we going."

"Doesn't matter. We're here."

Elian looked around and-- Yup. They were near la Casita, and Dolores was collecting a huge stack of arepas on her plate. Verónica pulled Elian closer to the stand. Mirabel rushed over and started chatting with Dolores, until one of the triplet's husbands came out and called to Dolores

who shifted back into Camilo. Elian glared at Verónica who gave them an evil look out the side of her eye as she struck up a conversation with Mirabel. Elian rolled their eyes. "Why do half our interactions include arepas?" they asked Camilo, deciding that that would be better than trying to ignore him. Not that they wanted to, anyway.

God their Abuelo would be furious when he found out.

He noticed them and smiled. "'Cause I like them. Almost as much as I like you." He gave them a quick glance and raised an eyebrow. "Today...?"

"In between. They/them pronouns." It was nice to have someone ask. Most people just didn't care, except for Verónica, who had learned to decipher it by the voice depth and clothes.

"Very well then, niñe bonite. How are you?"

Elian opened their mouth to respond when Camilo's father interrupted. "Camilo! Is this the girl you were dancing with last night? You know Abuela wants to meet her." Elian winced at the misgendering. Camilo noticed and frowned, but Felix went on. "Come, come! You may join us for brunch. I'm sure Abuela would love you there."

Camilo started in, "Papa, I don't know--"

"Nonsense, mijo. You know when Abuela wants something. Come, come. What's your name, niña?"

"It's Elian. And may my friend Verónica come as well?" If they were going to dine with la familia de Madrigal, their best friend was coming too.

"Yes, of course! Come on. Get a plate of something from the stand." He gestured to the food. Verónica and Elian exchanged looks and filled small plates, then followed Felix to la Casita.

"Sorry about that," Camilo said sheepishly. "Abuela can be very driven, and no one likes to deny her."

"I noticed," Elian said dryly. "Well, this should be fun."

The hearing lady walked up next to them. "Hi, Elian. I'm Dolores. Nice to meet you after hearing you for so long."

"Hey Dolores, likewise. And yeah, I'm a great person to know." They approached the table and Elian sat between Verónica and Camilo, near the head of the table.

"Oh, it's you!" Señora Madrigal addressed Elian, who smiled pleasantly back. "I had hoped you would be able to come over, but I didn't expect it to be so soon! What's your name, niña?"

"I'm Elian. And at the moment I prefer niñe." They looked challengingly up at the matron.

"Pardon?" she asked, frowning slightly.

"My suffix changes day to day. Last night I was a niña. Now I'm in between, so niñe."

The matron's face changed. "That's not a thing, child. If you are a girl then you are a girl."

"Respectfully, Señora, that's not necessarily true. I am who I am. right now I'm in between."

Senora Madrigal drew herself up. "I will not have my son fraternizing with a girl who goes around parading as a boy. And an 'in between' as you call it, does not exist."

Elian stood up with their plate. "You are wrong," they said simply, and left.

Verónica gave Mirabel an apologetic glance and stood up to follow Elian. "They are who they say they are," she said, glaring at the matron. Señora Madrigal frowned deeply at the two teens as they walked out.

A/N

yaYEET we stan trans and homophobic parents
I lie
they suck
my dad is transphobic :/ it's a party
All yall with bad parents remember one day you will be old and stable enough to cut them out of your life, you don't owe them anything
until then hang in there
enjoy the story