Maybe Mercury as trans woman then? Preferably in a post-story situation, like bad guys are gone good guys won etc etc cuz the alternative is her situation being with Salem, Tyrian, and Watts, none of which are great people.
(I mean, to be fair, while they're not great people, Salem would probably be the one to accept Mercury being trans without issue. One more girl to add as a pawn for maiden powers? Why not? Tyrian... I dont see him as transphobic but he'd probably come up with more problematic ways to be a pain to Mercury. Then there's Watts who'd be transphobic while using Mercury for experiments on how to quicken the pace of their transition. Though, I cant see a timeline where Mercury doesnt end up transitioning before Salem's defeated. So, have this fun little thought)
Mercury held up the skirt of Beacon’s uniform in front of himself as he stared into the mirror. He still wasnt entirely sure why he asked Cinder if he could keep it. Maybe it was just a reminder of the “friends” he made there with Ruby and Jaune, maybe it was just a fond memory of seeing Cinder let down her facade when she joked that this would be part of his uniform, either way, it was one of a few things he kept just before Beacon fell. Something he had forgotten about until he finally unpacked his things while waiting for Cinder to recover.
Which led him to still question why he chose to stand here with the skirt in front of him. He knew that part of it was curiosity to see how he’d look in it, after all Cinder did joke that he’d look better in a skirt than he would pants. However, hiding his prosthetics was a priority while at Beacon, so he never dared to put them on. But now that he didnt have to worry about that anymore.
Mercury slowly pulled his pants down and replaced them with the skirt, pulling it up over his metal legs. A smile slowly crossed his lips as he swished his hips around. “Maybe she was right,” he said to himself.
“Cinder doesnt seem to be getting any better-” Emerald paused as she opened the door to Mercury’s room. “I’m… not interrupting anything, am I?”
“I know we spent a few weeks in the same dorm, but why cant you knock when coming in while we’re here?” Mercury asked as he pulled the skirt off and put his pants back on. “But no, I’m not.”
“You sure? I can come back when you’re finished playing dress up-”
“I’m not playing dress up!”
“Then why were you wearing a skirt?”
Mercury had wanted to give a retort but found the words not leaving his lips as he tried to find an answer. It was just to see if Cinder’s joke was right, wasnt it? “Maybe I just wanted to see how it felt to wear one. An assassin needs to be ready to wear anything for a fight.”
Emerald rolled her eyes and closed the door. “Alright, spill it, why did you want to keep it?”
“Alright, fine, Cinder’s joke about a skirt looking better on me got to me. So I tried it on to prove her wrong.”
“And you liked it.”
“I did not!”
“Merc, we’ve been partners for a few years now and you’ve never smiled when trying something on before.” Emerald sat down on Mercury’s bed. “This is more than just looking at a joke, isnt it?”
Mercury let out a sigh and sat down. “I always wondered what life would be like if I was a girl. I mean, I’m sure I’d still would’ve turned out the same way, beat by my dad and trained to kill. But I thought I tossed those feelings away. Then when Cinder found me, I thought about tell her. Then we went after the maiden and then we went to Beacon, so I never really had the chance, but now I… I guess I wanted to explore that.”
“Then why not start becoming a girl?”
“I cant do that! Tyrian will torment me, Watts would probably use me for whatever experiments he works on, Hazel would treat me more like a kid than he does, and Salem… she’ll probably just use me the same way she’s using Cinder.”
“She’s not using Cinder-”
“She is and you know it.” Mercury sighed and leaned back onto the bed. “Besdies, even if I wanted to, I dont have the medication for it.”
Emerald smiled at him. “Then we’ll steal some when we go to Haven.”
“We wont have time-”
“Then I’ll steal it for you.”
Mercury sat up a bit. “And you’d do that… why?”
“Cinder saved me, so its only fair I try to save someone else.” Emerald looked away to hide a blush. “Besides, whether you agree or not, we’re friends.”
“Fine, but dont ditch us just to steal some. We’ll still need you.”
Mercury took a sharp breath as she administered another shot to herself and tossed the needle away before stretching out for some training. After Salem was defeated, she found herself alone. Emerald was off who knows where, Cinder had disappeared, and she was still wanted. Not that anyone had an accurate picture of her anymore, all the wanted pictures still had pictures from before she started to transition. And while she still looked enough like herself for anyone to be suspicious, they were still looking for a man and not a woman. Not that she had been a man for months.
Still, she had to admit that Emerald was right and being herself was still better than what she was doing before. She took a deep breath and slowly let it out as she closed her eyes and focused on the wind. She smiled a bit as she felt her hair tickle the back of her neck as the breeze picked up, slowly moving her legs to make sure everything still felt right.
Mercury paused as she heard a twig snap and opened her eyes as she looked in the direction of the sound. Her breathing went quiet as she waited for movement, sure it was just a grimm that wandered a bit too close. She readied herself for a fight until she saw green hair through the trees and bushes.
“Mercury!” Emerald called out. “Finally, I found you!”
“Em?” Mercury asked as she relaxed. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Trying to make sure you’re okay.” Emerald walked over towards him with a smile. “I lost track of you after everything with Salem.”
“Because I’m still wanted.”
“I actually brought someone who could help with that.”
“And who could-” Mercury’s words stopped as she watched Yang walked out of the treeline, her muscles tensed up once more. “I dont know what kind of trap you’re trying to get me into, but if you think I’m going to follow you and the bimbo-”
“Save it, I’m not here to fight,” Yang said as she held up her hands. “Emerald did bring me here to make peace with you.”
“And why should I trust you?”
“Because she convinced me you deserve a second chance.”
“I dont follow.”
Yang moved a bit closer and popped off her prosthetic, then she removed the gauntlet from her other arm. She paused for a moment as she looked Mercury over. “I know you started to look like a girl in Vacuo but I didnt realize just how much of one you’ve become.”
Mercury lowered her own fists, eyes still trained on Yang and muscles still tense. “If you’re here to make fun of me-”
“No, I’m not. I wanted to make you an offer.”
“An offer?”
“You help us clear out the grimm around Beacon and Oscar will make sure you’re pardoned for everything you did.”
“Just… clear out grimm?” Mercury’s body started to relax. “What’s the catch?”
“There isnt.”
“There always is. So, what is it? Need to use me as bait for the wyvern that’s still out there? Or maybe you’re hoping I’ll get killed by some grimm.”
Yang shook her head. “Ruby’s going to take care of the wyvern with Blake and Weiss. All we need you for is to help the rest of us clear out the rest of the grimm. That’s it.”
Mercury paused for a moment as she weighed out her options. “And if I run?”
“Then you run and we dont go after you.”
“I dont believe you.”
“You dont have to.” Yang sighed and offered her hand to Mercury. “Salem’s dealt with and I’m tired. But I promised Ruby I’d help out with this one last mission before I retire and start teaching at Signal. Emerald convinced me you’d be able to help clear things out faster and I… Ruby… wants to give you that chance.”
“Then why isnt she here?”
“Because she’s still hunting down Cinder,” Emerald answered. “Merc, you dont have to help-”
“Fine, I’ll do it.”
“-but it’d make things-” Emerald paused. “You will?”
Mercury nodded and went into her shack to pack her things. “I… owe Ruby an apology. And a date. But this is all I’m helping out with. Once the grimm are cleared out, I’m gone.”
Emerald smiled a bit. “And where will you go?”
“I… havent thought about it.” Mercury slung her pack over her shoulder. “But I guess I’ll have to figure something out once my name is cleared.”
“Then you can help us teach at Beacon! I know it’s not exactly going to be a glamorous job, but they’ll need a new combat instructor, and since you were trained as an assassin, you could teach them how to deal with bandits and rogue huntsmen-”
Mercury let out a soft sigh as she followed Emerald, no longer focused on anything she was saying. The thought of being free, of being able to start over, sounded enticing. A way to get out of her father’s shadow. She no longer had to be an assassin or a killer like Marcus had trained her.
Cinder is binding with bandages but Mercury walks in and after realizing what he's(or whatever you want him to identify as) seeing, takes them out on a shopping spree for new clothes.
Cinder quickly started binding their chest with a roll of bandages, wincing a bit as they felt the pressure of each wrapping. Today, they werent exactly feeling fem, and wasnt feeling quite masc either. Either way, they wanted to hide their chest and make themselves seem a bit flatter to help with their image. Once they finished wrapping their chest, they slowly reached back to try to tuck the ends into the wrappings to hopefully keep everything bound for the day. “Come on… I can do this…”
“Hey Cinder, you wouldnt happen to have-” Mercury stopped in the doorway and sighed as he watched his “team leader” trying to finish. “I thought you said you werent going to bind with bandages anymore.”
“I know… but I dont… have anything… else.” Cinder finished tucking the loose ends into the tight bind, wincing a bit as they breathed. “T-there. All better.”
Mercury shook his head and grabbed his bag. “Alright, finish getting dressed and then we’re going into town.”
Cinder looked at him a bit confused. “I thought we were going to watch Pyrrha spar-”
“And that was before you broke your promise of not binding like that again. You cant expect me to believe that you’re comfortable like that, can you?”
Cinder sighed and started getting their combat gear on. “I mean, its not that bad…”
“And you know what Salem will do if you get yourself injured before we can follow through with our plan.” Mercury sat his bag down on the desk and started rummaging through it, pulling out a few wallets that he and Emerald had pilfered from the previous weekend. “And besides, Emerald told me about what you did to help her with her own situation. So today, we’re going to get you an actual binder. I’d let you borrow one of mine, but I’m afraid it’d be too big.”
Cinder paused for a moment as they put their vest on, taking a look at Mercury. “You… wear a binder?”
“Do you really think I’d have thighs like these if I was born a boy?” Mercury asked in a deadpan.
“...I just thought you were a natural runner…”
“Fair point.” Mercury sighed. “The point stands, I’m not going to let you hurt yourself by binding with bandages. And then we’re going to get you new clothes.”
Cinder frowned a bit. “There’s nothing wrong with my clothes.”
Mercury finished with his bag and put it over his shoulder before walking off. “Never said there was. But I think it’s time I give you lessons in turning heads as a gender enigma.” He paused in the doorway for a moment. “And for starters, that vest with those pants? You’re a disaster waiting to happen.”
Cinder rolled her eyes and shoved Mercury through the doorway. “Whatever you say, diva.”
I discovered the merc trans girl au and Man I needed this. like I just want some positive trans girl fan fiction where they go shopping as a girl for the first time and stuff like that and that is exclusively this au and it only has 1 or 2 fan fictions
