#yes I named it after a Diana Ross song bite me

[dwarrowdams]

I’m Coming Out

Eden and Ezra Hawke come out to their parents: Eden as some flavor of queer and Ezra as trans.

Set when they’re 8-9 years old.  Features Eden being loyal to the end and Malcolm’s dad jokes.

Eden and Ezra stood outside the door to the kitchen, about to undertake the most daunting task of their young lives.

They were about to come out to their parents.

“We've been waiting to do it,” Eden said, her voice low so that Malcolm and Leandra wouldn’t hear from the next room.  “We may as well do it now.”

“Okay,” Ezra replied.  “You’re still going first, right?”

Eden nodded.  She was scared, but she knew that her brother was even more worried than she was.  If speaking first could put him at ease, she would gladly do it.  Besides, it was getting harder and harder to hide the fact that she liked girls from her parents, particularly since so many of her peers were discussing their budding crushes on members of another gender rather than on their own.  

In addition to that, both she and Ezra had been concealing the fact that he was a boy for weeks now.  By now, Eden naturally referred to him as her brother when they were alone, but she had to tread carefully around others, walking the line between outing Ezra to everyone and misgendering him.  She’d learned to manage it well enough, but she could see how much it hurt her brother to be referred to in feminine terms and had promised to be with him as he told their parents that he was a boy.  She didn’t want to watch him go on pretending to be someone he wasn’t, especially since he’d admitted that pretending took quite a toll on him.

Eden poked her head into the kitchen and saw her parents sitting at the table and chatting.  “It doesn’t look like they’re doing anything important right now,” Eden whispered to Ezra.  “Hopefully it’ll go better if we don’t interrupt anything.”

“What if they say that I have to be a girl or I can’t live here?” Ezra asked.

“Then we’ll both go,” Eden said, tilting her chin up in defiance.  “We’ll find someone who lets us both be who we are.”

“But what if no one will?”

“Then it’ll just be us,” Eden replied.  “We can figure it out.  I know what plants are safe to eat and you can set traps.”

“I’ve only done that once,” Ezra said, his voice suddenly small.  “And I only caught a squirrel.”

“It’s better than starving,” Eden replied.  “But hopefully we won’t have to worry about any of that.”

Ezra nodded, inhaling deeply as he pulled his sleeves down between his thumbs, rubbing the material between his fingers.  The gesture might seem strange to others, but Eden knew that doing it kept Ezra calm and centered.

“Ready?” she asked.

“I think so,” he replied, clasping Eden’s hand in his as the two of them walked towards the table.

Leandra and Malcolm looked up as Eden and Ezra took their seats at the tables, spines straight and eyes forward.

“Mother? Father? We have something to say,” Eden said as she and Ezra adjusted themselves in their seats so they were facing their parents.

Leandra and Malcolm looked at their two oldest children before sharing a look of worry.  Clearly, they knew that something unusual was happening if their usually lighthearted twins were approaching them with such gravity.

“Go ahead,” Leandra said.

Eden looked over at her brother.  He nodded, his lips curving up into the briefest of smiles that urged her to speak.

“I...I like girls,” she murmured, her voice so soft that both of her parents had to lean forward to hear her.  “I don’t know if I just like girls or if I like other people too, but I definitely like girls.  Like, like like girls.”

Leandra and Malcolm each wrapped an arm around Eden, pulling her into a hug that was somewhat hindered by the presence of the table.

“Thank you for telling us, Eden,” Leandra said.  “I know it can’t be an easy thing to say, but your father and I are both glad that you did.”

“And we love you so much, no matter who you love,” Malcolm added before reaching over to ruffle Eden’s hair.

Eden smiled, taking her seat again before turning her attention to Ezra.  “Do it now,” she whispered.  “This is a good sign.”

Their parents turned their attention to Ezra.  “Did you have something else to say, sweetheart?” Leandra asked.

Ezra stared at them for a few seconds, his blue eyes wide with fear before Eden gently laid her hand on his arm.  “Go ahead,” she said.  “I’ll be here for you no matter what.”

“Okay,” he replied, a shaky smile crossing his face.

Ezra turned his attention to his parents before he spoke.  “I’m a boy,” he began.  “I tried really hard to be a girl because that’s what everyone thinks I’m supposed to be, but I can’t do it.”  He sniffled and blinked away tears.  “I can’t be a girl because I’m a boy.”

Eden reached out to grab her brother’s hand.  “It’s okay,” she whispered, pulling him as close as their separate chairs allowed.

She turned her face to their parents, her eyes wide as she watched for any sign of their reaction.

Leandra blinked a few times.  “Oh,” she said, clearly surprised.

Eden stood up, putting her hands on her hips defiantly.  “If you tell him he can’t live here unless he pretends to be a girl, then I’m going too.”

“Hold on, sweetheart,” Malcolm said, laying a hand on Eden’s shoulder.  “No one’s going anywhere.  Your mother and I are going to take care of you, no matter what.”

“Of course we are,” Leandra chimed in.  “I’m sorry if you thought otherwise—I was just surprised, but I’d never turn either of you out.  I love you far too much for that.”

“So I don’t have to leave?” Ezra said.

“Of course not,” Leandra said, leaning over to give him a hug.  “You’re our son and we love you more than we could ever say.”

Ezra beamed.  “Thank you so much,” he said, releasing his mother from his arms before leaning over to hug Malcolm.

“It’s literally the least we can do,” he replied before leaning forward to kiss Ezra on the forehead.  “We’re certainly not about to send you away just because we were mistaken about your gender all these years.”

“I was wrong too,” Ezra said.  “I didn’t know why I hated dresses and sewing and being called ‘she’ or why my old name made me feel icky, but when I figured out I was a boy, it made sense.”

“And we’re so glad you are,” Leandra replied, reaching over to squeeze Ezra’s hand.

“Do you have a name you’d like us to call you, son?” Malcolm asked.

“Ezra!” he said as his face stretched into the biggest grin he could manage.

“And do you have a middle name yet?” Leandra asked.

Ezra chewed his bottom lip.  “I forgot about that,” he muttered.  “I spent so long picking a first name—and Eden did too.  She helped me try what names I liked, but I forgot to try middle names.”

“How about ‘Elijah?’” Eden suggested.  “I remember you liked that one too.”

Ezra nodded enthusiastically.  “Then we can both have E first names and E middle names!”

“It’s like we’re twins!” Eden joked.

Ezra groaned.  “You’ve made that joke a million times, E.”

“Father always laughs,” Eden said in defense, gesturing to Malcolm—who was indeed chuckling at Eden’s joke.  “It’s because he has distinguished taste.”

“It’s because he’s your dad,” Ezra muttered.

Eden shoved him playfully.  “I think it’s both.”

Malcolm looked over at Leandra.  “About time someone in this family complimented my distinguished sense of humor.”

Leandra rolled her eyes.  “If by ‘distinguished’ you mean the sorts of jokes only a father finds funny, then yes.  Quite distinguished.”

Malcolm sighed in mock exhaustion.  “At least Eden appreciates my jokes.”

“Only because you have the same sense of humor,” Ezra said.

“That is true,” Eden said.  “It’s almost as if we’re related!”

Ezra and Leandra groaned.

“Maker help you two,” Leandra teased.

“You love it,” Malcolm replied before leaning over to kiss her.  “Now you two had better get to bed.”

“Wait just a minute,” Leandra said, raising a hand signaling Eden and Ezra to stop.  “Is there anything else you need tonight, Ezra?”

“I want to get rid of my dresses and skirts,” he said.  “Eden can have them—or Amaryllis can if they’re too small for Eden.  I just don’t want them in my dresser anymore.”

Leandra nodded.  “Can you and Eden handle that?” she asked.  “Bring them to me when you’re done and I’ll see what we can do.”

Ezra nodded before hurrying down the hall to his and Eden’s room.  Eden began to follow him, but stopped before she got very far.  “Can I help?” she asked Leandra.  “I want to use some of the ones that are worn out to make pockets for my dresses!”

“Of course, sweetheart,” Leandra said.  “But not tonight.  You and your brother need to get to bed soon.  Just worry about gathering the dresses and then it’s off to bed for you two.”

“Okay,” Eden said.  She turned towards the hallway, but immediately turned around and ran to give her mother a hug.

“Thank you,” she murmured into her mother’s side.  “We were so scared.”

“I can only imagine, darling,” Leandra replied.  “I just hope you know that your father and I love you and Ezra very much.  We’d never turn you out for being who you are.”

Eden nodded, giving her mother a final squeeze before heading towards her and Ezra’s room.  She exhaled in relief, glad to have the secrets that she and Ezra had carried off of her chest.

“Ready to get rid of some dresses?” she said as she poked her head into the room.

Ezra looked up from his dresser drawer, a big smile on his face.  “I’ve been ready for a long time,” he said.

[alysses123]

@homoeroticsubtextinspace made me do it

1. Do you ever doubt the existence of others than you?

Well now I do! But seriously, no not ever.

2. On a scale of 1-5, how afraid of the dark are you?

3 I’d say. Feel uneasy but not terrified

3. The person you would never want to meet?

Idk, no one in particular I guess

4. What is your favorite word?

In english I love arson, idk why. In french (my native language), couette

5. If you were a type of tree, what would you be?

I love oak trees but I’m not one, i’d say more of a plum tree

6. When you looked in the mirror this morning what was the first thing you thought?

Shit I messed up my eyeliner

7. What shirt are you wearing?

Simple black one with long sleeves

8. What do you label yourself as?

Small

9. Bright room or dark room?

Bright room! With sun! or plenty of lamps!

10. What were you doing at midnight last night?

Definitely sleeping!

11. Favorite age you’ve been so far?

8. I feel like all of my childhood happened when I was 8. 

12. Who told you they loved you last?

My boyfriend I think. We’re quite cheesy actually

13. Your worst enemy?

Capitalism and how it makes us feel bad for being human.

14. What is your current desktop picture?

It’s Mtg art! Slimefoot the stowaway! Loooove it so much!

15. Do you like someone?

Plenty of people! I like my friends, most of my family, my boyfriend, the cat at my place, random people...

16. The last song you listened to?

Honestly no idea

17. You can press a button that will make any one person explode. Who would you blow up?

I’d have said the orange blob but @homoeroticsubtextinspace said Bezos and honestly? Mood.

18. Who would you really like to just punch in the face?

Me personally I wouldn’t like punching someone. However I would love to see nazis punched in the face.

19. If anyone could be your slave for a day, who would it be and what would they have to do?

No slaves, bad thing to enslave people.

20. What is your best physical attribute? (showing said attribute is optional)

My hair! Love it! Especially when I dye it on shave it!

21. If you were the opposite sex for one day, what would you look like and what would you do?

I would look like a very average guy I think, Not short nor tall, a bit on the skinnier side, brown haired… Well like me but as a guy.

Idk. I guess I would want to have sex because it must feel different when you have a penis.

22. Do you have a secret talent? If yes, what is it?

Not really, I don’t want to hide my talents!

23. What is one unique thing you’re afraid of?

Slugs. Hate them.

24. You can only have one kind of sandwich. Every sandwich ingredient known to humankind is at your disposal.

Bread with some cereals, goat cheese, figs, honey, pepper. 

25. You just found $100! How are you going to spend it?

Buy useful stuff for our home. Maybe curtains.

26. You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere in the world, but you have to leave immediately. Where are you going to go?

I don’t want to travel by plane! but I’d say Iceland, looks beautiful.

27. An angel appears out of Heaven and offers you a lifetime supply of the alcoholic beverage of your choice. “Be brand-specific” it says. Man! What are you gonna say about that? Even if you don’t drink booze there’s something you can figure out… so what’s it gonna be? 

Uuuuuuuuh…. Idk. I like infused rum so I’d say HSE.

28. You discover a beautiful island upon which you may build your own society. You make the rules. What is the first rule you put into place? 

Don’t hurt others.

29. What is your favorite expletive?

Fuck. I also use Putain in french but I don’t particularly use it

30. Your house is on fire, holy shit! You have just enough time to run in there and grab ONE inanimate object. Don’t worry, your loved ones and pets have already made it out safely. So what’s the one thing you’re going to save from that blazing inferno?

My teddy bear I think? Idk, I don’t have a lot of belongings so everything I have, I love and want to keep.

31. You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be?

I don’t think I’ve lived a horrible experience. bad ones but not horribles ones. 

32. You got kicked out of the country for being a time-traveling heathen who sleeps with celebrities and has super-powers. But check out this cool shit… you can move to anywhere else in the world!

Uh… weird question but honestly it doesn’t feel very me, so I wouldn’t want to move out of France.

33. The Celestial Gates Of Beyond have opened, much to your surprise because you didn’t think such a thing existed. Death appears. As it turns out, Death is actually a pretty cool entity, and happens to be in a fantastic mood. Death offers to return the friend/family-member/person/etc. of your choice to the living world. Who will you bring back?

I think the deads belong with Death, it’d fuck up ones brain to see someone who isn’t anymore.

34. What was your last dream about?

A coat. I want to make myself one soooo bad.But idk how I want it to be, so it’s hard.

35. Are you a good….[insert anything you’d like here]?

porcupine? No, I’m a terrible porcupine.

36. Have you ever been admitted to the hospital?

Yeah 2 times I’d say. Once I fell off a horse and once I fell of a playground trapeze.

37. Have you ever built a snowman?

Yes! I like it but it doesn’t snow enough :(

38. What is the color of your socks?

Brown, they are handknitted by a friend!

39. What type of music do you like?

here are some stuff i like: 

Uuuuuuuh rap, funk, I really like the Cure, Florence and the machine, Devo, les Wriggles, Renaud (his old stuff because the new stuff is… bad. Really bad.), Zebda, Diana Ross, Earth wind and fire...

40. Do you prefer sunrises or sunsets?

Sunrise! feels magical.

41. What is your favorite milkshake flavor?

I don’t really like milkshakes :/

42. What football team do you support?

None.

43. Do you have any scars?

A few. One on my cheeks looks really badass but it’s from my cat. One on my leg from when I fell off a bike. A few burn ones because I’m not careful around hot stuff, and my work involves hot irons. A new one from a dog bite. And three inked scars (okay, they’re tattoos but technically it’s a scar) 

44. What do you want to be when you graduate?

I graduated  a few weeks ago, so I’d say I want to work in my field. 

45. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

More confidence! That’s all n.n

46. Are you reliable?

I think I am.

47. If you could ask your future self one question, what would it be? 

Am I cringy rn?

48. Do you hold grudges?

I can put up with a lot, but when I decide I’m done, we’re done.

49. If you could breed two animals together to defy the laws of nature, what new animal would you create?

A cat and a shark! 

50. What is the most unusual conversation you’ve ever had?

I have no idea. 

51. Are you a good liar?

I have major anxiety if I don’t feel it’s the right thing to do but I think I can pull it off quite well, I’m a good actress.

52. How long could you go without talking? 

Talking? a day or two if there’s no one around, even though I’d probably start talking to myself. Expressing myself via text or something? A couple hours, not much more n.n

53. What has been you worst haircut/style?

Fringe. Very bad decision.

54. Have you ever baked your own cake?

Yes, of course.

55. Can you do any accents other than your own?

No, very bad at it.

56. What do you like on your toast?

Cheese

57. What is the last thing you drew a picture of?

pants. Ugly, it was to explain something.

58. What would be your dream car?

None, I don't like cars.

59. Do you sing in the shower? Or do anything unusual in the shower? Explain.

No, but after the shower, I need to get most of the water off my skin before using the towel. Otherwise the towel feels too wet.

60. Do you believe in aliens?

I think there’s very little chance we’re the only living (whatever that means) beings in the whole UNIVERSE. That shit’s big.

61. Do you often read your horoscope?

No. I say I don’t believe in astrology but I know a part of me is like “what if”, so I try not to feed it ;)

62. What is your favorite letter of the alphabet?

A because it’s the first letter of my name.

63. Which is cooler: dinosaurs or dragons?

Oh hard one! Dinosaurs are cooler as in 90’s style cool, dragons are cooler as in badass col.

64. What do you think about babies?

Ugh.