Cousins

 If you give Lei a comfortable enough couch and enough time to think, they can keep a conversation until you drop to the ground. Sometimes, they provide advice like a god sitting peacefully in their temple, aiding mortals with their wisdom. Other times, they make instinctual speculations about nuclear fusion. 

    To keep a conversation with Lei, you need to know them well enough because they have a burning curiosity for some topics and no motivation for others. Few fall in between their curiosity spectrum, but none of them are at the very edge, either. Nothing for them is black and white, just very light and very dark gray. 

    Lei has been increasingly curious about my family in London. I only visited them once since I started college, so my memories were fuzzy. Despite this, I humored Lei. 

    "I have three cousins in London," I said, "Mattias, Katherine, and Gabriel. They're from my dad's side of the family." 

    "What are they like?” Lei said, hugging a throw pillow. 

    “Mattias is only 16, but he's pretty cool. Gabriel and Katherine are like my older siblings,” I said, “They also have nice friends. Kat introduced me to her friend, Victoria. She's pretty nice. Her brother is also super sweet.” 

    "What’s her brother’s name?" Lei pressed. 

    “Percy,” I said after a moment of hesitation. I met Percy when Katherine took me out to Victoria's restaurant. When he entered the restaurant, the first thing he did was smack a tall, freckled boy upside the head, shoved a phone in his face, and proceeded to scold him. 

     Paying no attention to Percy’s aggression, Katherine waved the two over. 

     “Percy’s your age,” Katherine had said, “he’d be a good friend.” I shot a skeptical glance at the other boy, who only smiled and nodded. 

     Of course, Katherine was right. Percy was a good friend, but we lost touch a year after I returned to California. 

     “I’d like for you to meet them,” I said to Lei, “I think you’d like Katherine. And Percy.” 

     Though Lei would get along with Percy just fine, I think their match is that other boy. I think his name was James, and I remembered his eyes lit up with fascination when he spoke about the things he loved. As I grew closer to Lei, the person that reminded me of them the most was James.

     The first similarity I’d noticed was when I told them I was asexual. 

     “Really? I’m aroace, that’s so cool!” Lei had said, their eyes lighting up. 

     “Really? My friend, Isabel, is grey sexual; that’s so cool!” James had said, his eyes lighting up. The only difference was that the glint in his eyes was the brightest when he mentioned Isabel.