What was becoming rather notorious now was that the Animalia virus is a ‘cure’ for homosexuality. But that was wrong for several reasons. For one thing, homosexuality is not a disease, physical or mental. And the virus doesn’t ‘correct’ homosexuality. Since sexual attraction to the same gender very rarely appears in animals, the Animalia virus gives people stronger mating instincts towards the opposite sex. But while it opens up gays and lesbians to heterosexual attraction, it doesn’t completely eliminate old preferences. At most, the converted Animalian is bisexual. Even so, plenty of former gays and lesbians still feel the stigma from their choices as humans.
Brawn was a good example of this. While he intended to stay with males, he quickly found himself falling in love with Snowflake. However, he wasn’t ready to commit to starting a family with her yet. Growing up as a gay guy had not been easy. There had people who had said hurtful things, the kind of things that tore at the self-esteem. Enough to make him doubt he’d be a fit father for any calves that Snowflake bore.
But now Brawn was considering another option. While he wasn’t sure if he could raise a calf of his own, adopting one, preferably an older child, would allow him to know if he had the parenting skills to take care of his own calves. While there are plenty of orphanages and foster homes that he and Snowflake could adopt a child from, their choice was rather unusual. Dan the four-armed young bull seemed like an odd choice, even among Animalians. But that isn’t so hard to understand when one knew how they met.
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Just because Brawn was doubtful about his father skills doesn't mean he was doubtful about his physique. He didn't rename himself Brawn for no reason. He was putting in a lot of hard work to be part of the IAC Bodybuilding competition. Which meant a lot of time at the gym lifting weights. He was already a very big bull and could lift more than four average men could easily. But there were a lot of strong Animalians in his weight class so the competition was going to be tough. The workouts were definitely very exhausting.
After he had finished his barbell reps, Snowflake sauntered over, her sports bra doing little to hide the bounce of her breasts. "Does my big thirsty bull want a protean shake?" she asked, holding up a bottle, "I made it special."
Brawn rolled his eyes and said, "You better have not made it another milkshake this time."
"Don't say you don't like my milkshakes," said Snowflake, making her breasts bounce more, "My milkshakes bring all the boys in."
Brawn let out a groan and said, "Joke's on you. Not any other guys here right now."
"There's one kid over there," said Snowflake, pointing.
Brawn turned to see a younger bull doing some dumbbell curls. It took Brawn a few seconds to notice that bull was doing four dumbbells at once. "Huh, you'd think I would have noticed that kid before," said Brawn.
"From what I hear at the desk, he tends to come when no one else is here," said Snowflake, "He's kinda shy."
Brawn was pretty certain why this four-armed bull was reclusive. He got up and walked over to him. "Hey there," said Brawn.
The young bull looked up with surprise, mixed with a little dread. "Oh, sorry, I disturbed you," he said, "I'll be out of here soon."
"Whoa, you didn't disturb me," said Brawn, "You looked a little lonely there..."
"Dan," said the four-armed bull.
"Ah, I'm Brawn. This is Snowflake," said Brawn.
"Nice to meet you," said Dan, careful to avoid looking at Snowflake.
Brawn sat down next to Snowflake and said, "Something bothering you?"
"No," said Dan, obviously lying.
"I'm not here to judge," said Brawn, "Must not be easy having four arms. They sound pretty useful, but you feel like you stand out."
"The other cows didn't like me," said Dan, "They kept biting at me."
"But that was before you were uplifted," said Brawn, "Don't you fit in with the kids at school?"
"They stare at me," said Dan, "They don't say anything me, but they keep looking at me."
"You talked with your mom about this?" asked Snowflake.
"My mom's still just a cow," said Dan, "Probably nursing another calf now."
"Wait, your parents weren't uplifted too?" asked Snowflake.
"No," said Dan.
"Then who houses you?" asked Brawn.
"Horizon Labs does. They're nice, give me a place to stay. I just need to help out a little with their tests," said Dan.
"That's...not the worse I've heard," said Brawn, "But I'm not sure that's a real home."
"Where else could I go?" asked Dan.
Brawn and Snowflake exchanged a meaningful look. Not right now, but they were definitely thinking about it. "Dan, you mind if we spend a bit of time with you?" asked Brawn.
"Why would you want to?" asked Dan.
"Because I know how it's like to grow up abnormal to everyone else," said Brawn, "At least you can have an easier time than I did."
Dan gave a tentative smile and said, "I guess I wouldn't mind hanging out."
Brawn patted Dan's shoulder and said, "I think you're in good hands now. Er, pardon the phrase."