Page 16 of Love Limits

Zhong tapped Ash’s shoulder. If you set up the tiles for everyone, I could get you some food.

OMG. That was a Daddy getting them food while they got to play with the tiles. Right? Right?

It felt like Zhong was looking after them and flirting with them. Of course it could just be courtesy, but... Thank you, they signed adoringly, gazing up at his broad form as he towered over them.

He matched their expression. No problem. What do you like?

I eat everything and I’d love anything you got me. They let themself sink into a dopey grin. I’ll make sure to eat everything, they couldn’t help adding.

Zhong looked like the answer pleased him. Yup, definitely a Daddy. Had to be.

Once they got the tiles set up, Ash snuck a peek upward. Landon and Dustin had settled onto the couch, gazes locked together and fingers flying in their own intense world.

Ash looked away, not wanting to eavesdrop. But they noticed that Landon looked a bit nervous. Hopefully he would relax. Ash really wanted to spend time with this group again.

Instead, he watched Zhong.

The maybe-Daddy was carefully picking out one or two of each item and arranging them on a plate. Was Ash imagining it, or was Zhong making the selections with more care than most people would?

In between, Zhong kept glancing at the lovebirds on the couch, looking alternately concerned and pleased. It was like he was watching over Dustin, which was adorable. A kind of Daddy move, even if the other man was a Dom.

Zhong poked Dustin’s leg on the way back from getting his own plate. I thought this was supposed to be game night, he said with easy affection.

Oh, sorry. Dustin finally focused on the rest of the room. He turned to Ash. Thanks for getting the board set up.

Ash shrugged. No problem. They loved games, and they were kind of fascinated by all of the dynamics in the room, so they didn’t mind at all.

Youngest goes first, Zhong said.

Ash was pretty sure that whoever chose a tile that was earliest in the alphabet went first, but Daddies let the youngest go first, right? How old is everyone? they asked.

It turned out Ash was younger than Landon by a year, while Zhong and Dustin were a few years older.

You’re twenty-nine? Zhong asked, incredulous.

Yep. I think my age is difficult to figure out because of my gender. People who think I’m male always think I’m younger than people who think I’m female.

Zhong squinted at them for a moment, considering. It wasn’t the same appreciative look from earlier, more a look of curiosity, and Ash braced themselves for the next question. So often it was “which one are you really?”

How do you prefer to identify? Zhong asked instead. Major props there. Dustin told me a bit, but not that much.

I’m… how did you sign that again? They turned to Landon. I loved that sign.

Landon perked up. Oh, yeah. GENDER. They circled their heart with a letter G, a lovely sign that denoted a feeling or characteristic instead of the usual masculine or feminine signs along the side of the face. FLUID. They hopped two curved fingers between two places on their forearm.

Well, that was cute. The sign had evolved since the last time they saw it. Landon was now using it more to indicate their two different binary genders.

I love it. Ash kissed their fist. Then they turned to Zhong. So I’m more genderqueer like this. They signed GENDER and then snaked their two curved fingers around all over the place. But mostly just this. They settled their person indicator in the middle of their forearm. It was wonderful how flexible ASL was for describing things like this.

If you’re voicing, Ash added, I use they/them pronouns.

Zhong shrugged. I don’t voice often, but I’ll remember.

That was pretty much the best reaction they could have gotten. Enough interest to establish their gender identity, and then taking it for granted. They could go on forever about how annoying it was to correct people all the time or the path they’d taken to get here, but they were much more interested in playing Scrabble with their new friends.

Everyone bent over their tiles and Ash finally focused on their own hand. Mostly vowels and a V. They didn’t even need to look at the board to know that they needed a five-letter word with the V at the beginning or the end to get them the double-letter score as well as the double-word score.

And there it was. They proudly played V-I-D-E-O and quickly tallied up the 26 points.