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Toma was the first one at the cinema. He’s just waiting for Yuu to show up… for their date. First date. Because Toma asked them out and they’d said yes. Which will hopefully lead to a second date, as long as Toma isn’t his awkward self and Yuu doesn’t break up with him for someone better (someone more like his brother).
That is, if Yuu even really shows up.
Toma immediately berates himself after the thought. Yuu would never do that to him. They’re Yuu! There’s not a mean bone in their whole body.
He’s just… nervous. Even though Maki told him he had nothing to worry about with an odd amount of confidence, his racing pulse thinks otherwise.
Toma’s thoughts are interrupted when there’s a soft tap on his shoulder. He turns around and a very pretty girl is in front of him. She looks like she’s waiting for something. Her smile and eyes look familiar…
Because Toma knows those features.
“Yuu?” he breathes.
Yuu nods, long hair bobbing.
Toma looks them up and down. “You look…” He notices how Yuu’s smile tightens at the corners, shoulders tensing. “Really nice,” he finishes.
Yuu’s shoulders relax, their smile loosening. “Thanks,” they murmur, glancing at their shoes. They look back up, tone soft and shy, “Should we get some popcorn before the movie?”
“Oh, uh, sure,” Toma replies.
He offers to pay the same time Yuu does and they bicker, until the cashier says he should pay since he’s the guy.
After the movie, Toma walks Yuu home because when they were about to split ways, he saw two men staring at Yuu and he wasn’t comfortable letting them walk home alone in the dark.
They’re both quiet, walking side by side, but the question nags at Toma’s mind until he can’t keep it in anymore.
“Why did you dress up like that?” he asks.
Yuu flinches so sharp, Toma regrets it. “Do you not like it?” they ask, rubbing their hands on their bare arms. It’s cold.
“I meant what I said. You look nice,” Toma says. His guilt subsides when the fear slides off of Yuu’s face. “I just want to know… why?”
“I thought…” Yuu trails off, slowing to a stop under a lamppost.
Toma stops beside them.
“That people might look at us strange if I came as anything else,” they explain, shivering. “I figured you’d be more comfortable if people thought I was a girl…”
Toma frowns. He removes his sweater. He’s used to the cold (his bedroom is always cold) and he’s wearing long sleeves.
“I don’t care what other people think,” he says, draping his sweater over Yuu. He tries not to think it’s too cute when Yuu jumps at his touch. He looks them in the eye and tells them from the bottom of his heart, “I like you, Yuu. I want you to be you.”
Yuu’s eyes shimmer. Then they look down. They look up uncertainly. “Then… do you mind if I take my wig off?”
“Of course not,” responds Toma.
Yuu smiles. “Good…” they say and pull their wig off. Their hair is a little frizzy, but Toma thinks it looks perfect. Yuu sighs in relief, stuffing the wig in their bag. “It was itchy,” they laugh.
They blink when they see Toma staring at them.
“What? Do I look weird now?” they ask.
“No,” Toma murmurs, “You still look nice.”
“Oh…” Yuu blushes. “Thank you.” They start walking quickly, and Toma takes long strides to catch up with them.
When they’re on the subway, Toma gathers up the nerve to continue the conversation.
“Can I ask you something?”
Yuu thinks and then nods. “Yeah, go ahead.”
So Toma asks, “What do you want to look like?”
Yuu frowns in thought once again, and it’s a minute before they answer, softly, “I guess…. I want to just look like… me. Not a boy, not a girl.” They watch the tunnel go by in the window. “I don’t want to be categorized. I don’t like being categorized. I feel like once people get that, especially my mom… I’ll be free to just be who I am inside, all the time,” they say.
Toma swallows, heart hammering against his rib cage. He reaches for Yuu’s hand.
“You can be that with me,” he says, “All the time.” He ignores the heat in his face and gently bumps Yuu’s hand with his.
He’s not looking, but he feels Yuu bump his hand back. Their fingers thread together, until they’re finally holding each other’s hands.
“Thank you, Toma,” Yuu murmurs. They lean to the left, until their shoulder touches his. “You can be that with me too. All the time.”
Toma thinks of how afraid he was to mess things up by, well, being him, before their date had even begun. But Yuu’s telling him they want him to be him.
Maki was right. He had nothing to worry about. (How was Maki always right about everything?)
After they get off the subway and out of the station—Yuu hugging Toma’s sweater around them closer at the night air—Toma calls upon his newfound confidence. He grasps Yuu’s shoulder and when Yuu turns, he leans up and kisses them.
They have a second date.