#trans!conductor

This story is a sequel to the following drabble: https://a-fic-in-time.tumblr.com/post/176127922325/i-have-2-requests-you-can-pick-either-of-the-two. Feel free to give it a read before moving on to this one.

Conductor sat outside with a pack of cigarettes in his hands. There were some minor electricity issues in Dead Birds Studios, so he either had to wait in the dark or stick around outside.

Just a few days ago, DJ Grooves had discovered Conductor’s little secret: his previous name, Chelsea. A name and gender that he had left behind many years ago. Ever since then, Conductor was found in two places: on set or in his office. He stayed far away from DJ Grooves and any of the penguin actors.

He pulled out a cigarette from the pack and grabbed a lighter from his pocket. Conductor flicked it on, looked up, then saw DJ Grooves directly in front of him. Conductor quickly put down the lighter. “Why are you staring at me?”

“You can’t just keep avoiding me like this?” DJ Grooves responded. “You do know that I don’t mean any harm, right? I’m fine with who you are - happy even! I just want to talk.”

“You lost your privileges to talk when you went snooping through my stuff!” Conductor exclaimed.

“I wasn’t snooping! It was an accident.” DJ Grooves took a step forward. “Why do you feel the need to hide who you are, darling?”

Conductor raised his free hand up and motioned it towards DJ Grooves. “Do not take one more step towards me.” His voice seemed a little more shaky. “I don’t want to talk about it, okay?”

DJ Grooves took a deep breath, then look down to the ground. After a few moments, he looked back up and motioned his left flipper to the seat next to Conductor. “Fine. I won’t talk about it anymore. Will you at least let me sit next to you?”

Conductor looked up at DJ Grooves, his expression shifting multiple times, from anger, sadness, then finally to apathy. He scooted to the side, leaving more room for DJ Grooves to sit.

DJ Grooves nodded his head and slowly went to sit next to Conductor. He kept his gaze forward, but looked over when he saw Conductor trying to light his cigarette again. His hands were shaky.

Conductor’s breaths become heavier as he fought back a bout of emotions. He held his hands together to keep them from shaking. “Y-you... you didn’t tell anyone, did you?”

DJ Grooves shook his head. “No, darling. It’s your secret. Who am I to tell?”

Certainly!

Conductor walked out of Dead Bird Studio. It was nearing midnight and most everyone else had already gone home for the night, but he wanted to stick around to get some additional editing done on his film.

It had been a week since he started his film with the studio and he was finally starting to settle. However, he hadn’t exactly gotten close with anyone. His assistant was alright, but not somebody he’d want to hang out with on a regular basis.

Or reveal his little... secret.

Conductor still felt very closeted and didn’t like the idea of hiding his identity as a trans male. But it never came up in conversation and he was never comfortable blurting it out to anyone. It just felt so... unnatural.

The owl director pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his suit pocket and lit one as he went over to a bench to sit down. He took a deep breath after releasing a puff of smoke.

“You know... it’s been a week and you still haven’t said a word to me.”

Conductor recognized the voice almost immediately. He doused the flame of his cigarette onto a metal pang on the bench. “There’s nothing that needs to be said.”

“Oh, don’t be like that.” A penguin came to the left side of the bench and stared at Conductor for a moment. “It’s not my fault that someone conned us by selling two identical deeds to the studio.”

“You should’ve known better,” Conductor said under his breath.

“You should have, too...” DJ Grooves took a deep breath. “May I sit down?”

Conductor paused for a moment. He looked over at the penguin for a moment. This was the most he’s seen of him all week. He grumbled to himself before scooting over to the right.

Grooves smiled a bit before sitting down next to Conductor. “... My name’s Darrel James Grooves, by the way. I don’t think we were ever on a first name basis before.”

Conductor looked down to the ground. “Conductor,” he muttered. “My name’s Conductor.”

“Oh, that can’t be your real name, darling. That’s an occupation.” Grooves hung his head back and looked up at the stars. “I actually got to take a look at the deeds the other day. I believe I saw the name Chelsea on yours. I can’t say I ever saw a gentleman like yourself with a name li-...”

“Clerical error!” Conductor exclaimed, cutting Grooves off. “Just a... clerical error. T-they... when I told them my name... they thought it was Chelsea. I-it’s Wesley.”

Grooves stared at the owl for a moment. He was very confused, wondering why someone so rude and callous was suddenly nervous and stuttering. Was it because of the clerical err-...

... Why would there be a clerical error? I gave my name in writing. Why would he give his name verbal-...

Grooves looked at the details of the owl more closely. His suit hid it well, but there were some... features that were suddenly catching Grooves’ eyes. Something he didn’t notice before. “Wesley, huh?” Grooves leaned back on the bench and rested his arm on the bench right behind Conductor. “Well, Wesley. I can just tell that we’re going to be good friends.”

Conductor leaned against the counter, looking down at the sink. He took a deep breath before looking himself in the mirror again. All he saw were the feminine features of his face. “You can do this...” All he heard were the feminine features of his voice. “You can do this.”

He stood up straight, adjusting his tie for the millionth time and brushing off his suit jacket. “It’s going to be fine. It’s only... the first day of your career. First. Groundbreaking. Day. Yeah... that should go just fine.”

After several moments of hesitation, Conductor finally made his way to Dead Bird Studios and walked through the front door. He already saw several penguins walking around and he noticed DJ Grooves off in the distance. He wanted to say something snarky to his nemesis, but not today. Today had to go smoothly.

“You’re Wesley, right?” a voice said.

Conductor quickly shifted his view to an owl that was only a couple inches shorter than him. “H-huh? Yes?” Again, he heard the feminine voice.

“Wesley, the director?” the owl asked.

“It’s...” Conductor broadened up. He needed to feel bolder. “It’s the Conductor, actually. My name.”

“Conductor?” he asked. “Alright, then. I’m Trowler, your assistant. You need something, then you ask me about it. Your first set is all ready to go, and your cast and crew are waiting for you.”

Conductor nodded his head. It felt good; he had an assistant! And he had people waiting for him to make a movie. His movie. “Great. That’s exactly what I need. I, uh... let’s get started.” He started to move away, but then turned around. “Do you... notice anything about me?”

Trowler blinked. “... You have a thick accent.”

“Anything else?”

Trowler shrugged his shoulders. “Um... your eyes are hidden by your feathers. Must be hard to see that way. Now come on, they’re waiting for you.”

I’ll pick the latter of the two. And thank you, I really appreciate that. :)

This will be a sequel to this previous drabble: https://a-fic-in-time.tumblr.com/post/174712109065/the-writer-doesnt-know-if-you-saw-it-but-i

Conductor sat comfortably in the chair of his office, closing his eyes and kicking his feet up onto his desk. He just wanted a few moments to himself before heading out onto his set once more, but… a certain penguin had other plans.

The door slowly opened, revealing DJ Grooves on the other side. He held several letters in his left flipper, tossing a couple of them onto Conductor’s desk. “They finally rerouted all of the mail to the right address.”

Conductor groaned as he took his feet off of his desk and sat up straight in his chair. “It’s about time. If I had to go down to the post office one more time, I would’ve lost my peckin’ mind.” He grabbed the letters addressed to him.

“We might’ve waited a bit longer if you weren’t so vulgar with them, darling,” DJ Grooves said, chuckling. “They likely expedited the process in order to stop handling all of the crying from the postal workers.”

“I did not make them cry,” Conductor said as he tore through the top of one of the envelopes.

“Mmhmm, sure.” He looked down at the letters on Conductor’s desk, looking particularly at the name on them. “You really ought to get on the studio about changing your name, Chelsea.”

Conductor froze, feeling a sudden pain in his chest as soon as he heard the name. “I’ll… get right on that,” he responded in a much calmer tone than normal.

DJ Grooves frowned, taking a deep breath. He held a set of papers underneath all of the letters. He brought them up to the top before slowly placing it down in front of Conductor. “I, uh… I also must apologize, darling,” Grooves said in a soft, somber tone. “I wasn’t paying attention and I thought this was my copy of the deed when it fact it was yours.” The penguin feigned a laugh. “I was… a bit confused when I was looking through it and it said that the deed was signed to Chelsea… marked as a female.”

Conductor closed his eyes. The more Grooves spoke, the more he wanted to run away from the office. But it was so small… he wouldn’t get around Grooves. “It was, um… a clerical error, if you can recall.”

“I’m not going to buy that anymore, darling,” Grooves said. “If it’s… something you want to talk to me about…” Grooves put his flipper on the Conductor’s hand. “I know people who are like you too, Wesley. I understand.”

Conductor immediately brought his hand back, holding it underneath his desk. “I’d rather you just go. You went snooping through my stuff.”

“I wasn’t trying to snoop, Wes-”

“Just. Go.” Conductor said firmly, looking up at DJ Grooves.