Last November
Me:
Can I call you?
Jackson:
Sure. Can we do video? I’m trying a new form.
When they answered, I was faced with a female-presenting figure who bore a very, very strong resemblance to Janet Jackson. Just a little something was different about the face. Still attractive, but similar to how Jackson’s favorite male-presenting form was a slightly off version of Misha Collins.
I pushed aside my misery to focus on them for now. “Wow. You’re gorgeous. How do you like it? Have you been out in public like that yet?”
They tilted their head and made a so-so gesture with one hand. “I have mixed feelings.” Their voice was a slightly higher version of their usual tone. They were wearing a black halter top with big hoop earrings. Their hair was long, with light brown curls.
“Ask them about the boobs!” Nicky’s voice came from somewhere out of camera range.
Jackson turned to stick their tongue out, and I could see they were sitting at the kitchen table in Reno and Simon’s house.
Well, it was Jackson and Nicky’s house too, since they both lived there.
I’d only met Jackson and Simon in person.
Reno was a Seer, and Nicky was an Elf. The only one on the planet that anyone was aware of, just like Simon was the only vampire on the planet we were aware of.
And of course there was only one Jackson.
When they turned back around, Jackson angled the phone so I could see their chest. “These are always in the way.” They demonstrated reaching across their body and how their breasts rubbed against their arm.
“And they throw my balance off.” They cupped one breast with their hand and kind of lifted it as if evaluating how much it weighed.
Then they huffed. “But the breasts are nothing compared to this hair!” They scrunched a big handful of their hair and shoved it behind their shoulder. “It’s... everywhere!”
I coughed to cover a laugh. After my hellacious shift at the hospital, this was exactly the pick-me-up I hadn’t known I’d needed. “Have you tried smaller breasts and shorter hair?”
Rolling their eyes, they shook their head. “I wanted the full experience of the female form.”
I glared at them. “Women come in all shapes and looks. Even Janet Jackson. I don’t remember her breasts being that large, and she’s certainly had short hair sometimes over the years.”
They waved this away. “This form was inspired by Janet. It’s not a copy.” They glanced at where I assumed Nicky was sitting. “I wanted something completely different than the male-presenting form I’ve been using. I even made high heels, but I couldn’t walk so I changed those to flats.”
“Okay. Makes sense. But if you’re not comfortable in this form, you can try something else.”
Pouting, they sighed. “Fine.” They morphed into their usual male-presenting form.
I wasn’t quite sure why they never went for an androgynous look, but I hadn’t seen them with one.
They’d stopped using the “Ms.” part of their name a couple of months after I’d met them, but they’d never said anything specific about their gender identity or sexuality.
“You were right. This is more comfortable.”
I didn’t like their defeated tone. “Jackson, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t experiment more. Maybe you’d prefer a shape more like... like Pink. Or Michelle Yeoh, though she has long hair...” I was not in any universe going to google women with small boobs for Jackson to try out.
“Here.” Nicky’s hand appeared, his phone facing Jackson. “She’s tall, and her boobs aren’t overly large compared to her body.”
Jackson studied whatever Nicky was showing them, then nodded. They morphed again, and this time they became a not-quite-right version of Leslie Jones, complete with a much shorter hairstyle. They reached across their body and smiled. “This feels much better. I like being tall.”
“Good. It looks great on you.”
They peered at me through the screen. “You wanted to talk. I’m sorry I made this about me.”
“No, Jackson. I’m glad you let me see your new forms. I needed something positive today.”
Their eyebrows dipped down. “Let me go into my bedroom.” I had to turn away briefly as the camera swung around, pointing first at the ceiling then around the room.
Jackson was still wearing the halter top, and they had leggings and Converse on their lower half.
They left the kitchen, went down a hallway, and ended up in their bedroom.
They’d video called with me from this room before.
The walls were a soothing blue, and on the wall was a large framed Supernatural poster and a poster from what looked like another show or movie.
“Hey, Jackson, what’s that poster next to your Supernatural one? Is it new?”
They walked closer to the poster in question.
It said, “The Hex Files” and showed a tall ebony-skinned man with long locs and a large-breasted redheaded woman wearing a skimpy top and holding a circular metal symbol that glowed.
Jackson reached out and tapped the poster’s frame.
“Nicky introduced me to this show. It’s in its second season. I like it as much as Supernatural.”
My eyebrows almost hit my hairline. “Really?” I’d bet Jackson had seen every episode of Supernatural four or five times. “I’ll have to watch it.”
“You should, and then we can talk about it. The people online don’t always agree with my opinions.” They went over to the armchair by the window and sat down.
“I pity them.” I grinned as I imagined what Jackson wrote on fan forums. I was so glad I’d called.
“Tell me what’s going on.”
My smile fell. “I told you about the little magic carrier boy I healed the other week.” They nodded. “Well, my magic felt like it was topped up again, and since today’s the first day of my weekend, I thought last night would be a good time to try healing someone else.”
“It didn’t go well?”
I rubbed my face. “It didn’t go at all. I picked a human girl.
She’s seven years old, and she has a nasty lung infection, pneumonia with complications.
She doesn’t look good at all. I brought a mortar and pestle to work so I could grind up my hair and hide it in her cough medicine.
I used three strands of hair since she doesn’t have any magic of her own, but I didn’t want to give her too much and make her like me. ”
Jackson’s expression was sad. “It didn’t work.”
“No. Not at all. No change. What did I do wrong?” And could I fix it?
They sighed. “Manny, to heal someone who doesn’t already have their own magic takes a lot of your magic. When I healed you, I used an amount that was probably equivalent to you feeding that child your entire right foot.”
My heart dropped. “Oh.”
“I’m sorry, but you’re not going to be able to heal humans.”
“Damn.” The little girl’s name was Laramie. I hoped she survived her illness. I’d call and check on her tomorrow. For now, I’d have a large glass of whiskey and sleep the day away.