“So then,” Susie asked Luke and Lucy as they and their friends sat around their usual table in the Student Union bar. “Looking forward to Sunday?”

“Ooh, yes, I’d almost forgotten about that!” Priya giggles as the twins’ blushes deepened.

“…Maybe a bit,” Lucy mumbled.

“Maybe even less than that,” Luke sighed. “Tough to get excited about your birthday when you know your presents are gonna suck.”

“Sorry if we’re putting a dampener on YOUR birthday, Gav,” Lucy said to the young man who was exactly one day young than her and her brother.

“No, I know you two have to put up with a lot of shit,” Gavin replied with a sympathetic smile. “So yes, I don’t mind sharing my party with you, hehe!”

“Might be our last chance for a while…” Kieran said, giggling and grimacing as he was showered with jeers from the other occupants of the table.

“Just for that, YOU can get the next round!” Lucy ordered, smirking as the young man slunk off to the bar.

“Heh… he’s not wrong, though,” Claudia said quietly, before grimacing as the jeers turned toward her. “And yes, I’ll get the round after Kieran. But, you know, everyone’s so terrified of this virus, even my mum’s said I should stay in Durham at the weekend and only go home during the holidays, you know?”

“Reckon we can persuade mam and dad to do the same?” Luke asked Lucy, who giggled into her drink.

“Worth a try I suppose,” Lucy said, before sighing. “But at least we’ll be back here on Monday, no matter what happens.”

“Though not wearing the summer dress mam will inevitably have bought me,” Luke snorted.

“I thought you said things have been going better there?” Kieran asked. “Since what happened at Christmas, I mean?”

“Well- yes and no,” Luke replied as he thought back to the months since Christmas.

Even though his mother had been happy to return the dress and shoes she gave him for Christmas (and he was more than grateful for the money), Luke still felt uneasy for the remainder of his Christmas holiday, as though he’d crossed a line with his parents that there’d be no going back from. Right up until the twins has returned to university at the start of January, their parents had handled Luke with a lot more caution than they had before- but both twins were quick to notice that the same could not be said for Lucy. As far as Paul and Sarah were concerned, Lucy was still the same tall, handsome boy they’d imagined she was throughout her childhood, happy to talk about football and girls and be 'one of the lads'. However, Luke was no longer treated as 'one of the girls' by his mother, and while Luke was glad to have that weight off his shoulder, his family’s uneasiness around him quickly replaced that source of stress with another, different one.

Every time Luke spoke with his parents after the new year, he had one simple thought in his mind: ‘they know’. Luke could tell during every phone call that they his parents were being careful with the pronouns they used, with their choice of words and even the way in which they said them. And while Luke felt that the behaviour should make him more confident about coming out, in actuality it had the opposite effect- that if he ‘confirmed their fears’ he’d be condemning himself to being disowned, and worse yet, might also be condemning Lucy to the same fate. Luke knew that while Lucy was as committed to her feminine lifestyle as he was to his masculine lifestyle, she would almost certainly have more to lose by coming out. It was ‘acceptable’ for a girl to wear the jeans, hoodie and brown boots that Luke was wearing- it was not ‘acceptable’ for a boy to wear the black leggings, short denim skirt and ballerina flats that Lucy was wearing, to say nothing of her make-up or hair accessories.

Meanwhile, Lucy had also noticed the change in her parents’ attitude toward her brother. While she felt excited for him, she also felt guilty about being worried for herself. In the six months since she’d started university, she’d come to embrace her new feminine lifestyle more and more. She’d quickly become close friends with both Priya and Claudia- almost as close as she was with Susie, while she enjoyed her dance class more and more with every passing lesson. Most of all, though, she loved the acceptance she received not just from her friends, but from her professors and the vast majority of her fellow students. While there were still those who greeted her with childish giggles wherever she went, for the most part Lucy could go about her business at the university without being harassed or bullied simply for being who she was. She’d even caught the attention of a few of the young men at the university, though she chose not to pursue any of this ‘interest’, as she reasoned that she would have enough ‘difficult questions’ from her parents without further complicating matters. Lucy didn’t envisage herself coming out to her parents any time soon, even though that was, according to their counsellor, the twins’ final hurdle standing between them and their ultimate goal of receiving the hormone treatments that both were eager to start.

Beginning the process of medically transitioning had been the twins’ ambition for several months, but they knew the process would not be quick even once they’d begun their treatments. However, regardless of how eager they were and how long they had successfully lived independently in their new genders, the final ‘hurdle’ remained in front of them, and to the twins it seemed insurmountable- even more so than their studies (in which the twins were both averaging a 2:1 grade) or the threat being posed by COVID-19. All the twins knew was that when they did start HRT, they would do so the way they had always done everything in their lives- together.

“Well, either way, we’ve still got Saturday night to look forward to!” Priya cheered, earning cheers from her friends that loudened as Kieran returned with their drinks.

“Is anyone else coming on Saturday?” Claudia asked. “Or is it just us ‘magnificent seven’?”

“I’ve got a training session tomorrow afternoon so I can ask if any of the footy team are interested,” Luke said.

“Anyone other than Barnes, at least,” Gavin snorted to the general agreement of the table.

“What is that guy’s problem, anyway?” Susie asked.

“Ugh, I dunno,” Luke spat. “Unless you’re white, straight and cis, you’re something to be laughed at, according to him. He’s like every school changing room ever, all rolled into one.”

“Don’t forget ‘able-bodied’,” Gavin snorted. “I’ve heard he was talking shit about the Paralympics a while back, like how it’s not a ‘real’ sporting competition.”

“Why does the uni even put up with him?” Priya asked.

“Because he’s scored 38 goals in 21 games,” Luke sighed. “A lot of people reckon he’s good enough to go pro, but just can’t get into a club’s academy.”

“Can’t imagine why, maybe they interviewed him?” Susie joked, earning giggles from the table.

“Anyway, let’s not talk about morons like him,” Gavin said. “Any other cool people we can drag along to my- sorry, OUR party on Saturday?”

“All the other cool people I know live in London,” Priya sighed. “And I’ve heard a couple of them are feeling under the weather too, so- yeah. Travelling from London to Durham and back is probably the most idiotic thing you can do under the circumstances.”

“And the next round after me is on Priya!” Claudia teased, earning an eye roll followed by a giggle from the Indian girl.

“Ahh- fair enough,” Priya giggled as the drinks continued to flow.

Later that evening, the twins, accompanied by Susie, returned to Lucy’s room, where they tried to distract themselves with reading for the following days lecture- however the upcoming weekend quickly ended up proving to be a greater distraction.

“Having difficulty concentrating?” Susie asked Lucy as they flicked through their textbooks.

“What makes you think that?” The tall trans girl replied.

“Well for one thing, you haven’t turned a page in over fifteen minutes,” the ginger-haired girl replied, earning a sigh from her friend.

“…Okay, maybe a little,” Lucy said with a tired moan. “Dunno if it’s the alcohol or, like, Sunday, but my mind’s all over the place tonight.”

“Mine too,” Luke sighed.

“Do you- do you two want to get to bed?” Susie asked. “Maybe some sleep will help, we WERE in the bar for a while…”

“Nah, I’ve not been sleeping much lately anyway,” Luke replied with a yawn. “And ig- ignore THAT. I’ll probably be yawning all evening. And all day tomorrow, heh.”

“As long as you don’t yawn through Gav’s party!” Susie chuckled, barely suppressing a yawn of her own.

“OUR party,” Luke reminded his friend. “Though we’ll probably need another one after Sunday, heh.”

“Well- assuming the worst-case scenario, anyway,” Lucy said, grimacing as her brother frowned.

“Care to explain what the BEST-case scenario would be?” Luke asked.

“That we come out and get accepted by our parents, maybe?” Lucy replied.

“Wh- really?” Luke snorted. “You think that’s actually likely to happen?”

“You asked for the best-case scenario,” Lucy said with a shrug.

“I meant ‘realistic’ best case scenario,” Luke retorted. “And yes, I know, I know, we have to come out before we can get hormones. I just- ugh.”

“You don’t think you’re ready yet?” Lucy whispered, smiling sympathetically and giving her brother a gentle hug as he simply nodded and moaned with pain.

“Dunno that I’ll ever be,” Luke moaned. “But I know, I- I just can’t go back to being, well…”

“To being ‘me’?” Lucy asked, smiling as her brother chuckled.

“Just like you can’t go back to being ‘me’,” Luke said. “Ugh, I- I dunno. I just feel sometimes like I’m living in some kind of fantasy world and it’s gonna come crashing down at any second, you know?”

“Better than anyone,” Lucy sighed.

“Well, lucky then that you’ve got friends to remind you that this IS reality,” Susie said warmly. “And on Monday we’ll be right back here as normal. THIS normal.”

“’This normal’ being ‘talking about coming out and not actually coming out’,” Luke sighed. “And ‘not being on hormones’, and ‘constantly being paranoid about our parents finding out’.”

“Well, if you wanna be pessimistic about it, sure,” Susie shrugged.

“I- ugh,” Luke spat. “You- you’re right, Susie, I’m sorry. Guess I’m just more tense than usual, heh.”

“We both are,” Lucy sighed. “Another thing we always do together, heh.”

“Just wish it wasn’t always,” Luke sighed as he picked up his textbook and tried in vain to concentrate on his work.

The following morning, the twins woke up at their usual time and followed their usual morning routine, both of them tired at the end of the week and due to their anxiety costing them hours of sleep- something that didn’t go unnoticed when they rendezvoused with their friend before their first lecture.

“Hey,” Susie said softly. “You guys sleep okay?”

“As well as we normally do,” Lucy replied with a barely suppressed yawn. “Happy we’ve got no classes this afternoon, heh.”

“I’m only gonna be running around a football pitch for an hour and a half instead,” Luke chuckled. “Though training rather than a match, so- yeah, heh.”

“Whereas I’ll be squirming around a dance studio for an hour, heh,” Lucy said, blushing as her brother and her friend giggled. “What? It’s good exercise, you know.”

“I’ll stick to the gym if you don’t mind,” Susie chuckled as she led her friends into the lecture hall, both twins grateful for the distraction both of the lecture and their friend's teasing.

Forty-five minutes later, after carefully packing away several pages of notes, the twins accompanied the rest of the class to the department’s computer lab, where the class was tasked with modelling the complex chemical structures they’d learned about in the lecture. As had become the norm, the class were split into pairs, however following the first week, Luke & Lucy's tutor had 'encouraged' them to work with some of the other students. While Luke paired up with Susie (as Lucy and Susie had worked together during the previous seminar), Lucy scanned the room for any free seats, smiling when she happened upon a free seat next to someone she'd worked with before- and with whom she'd enjoyed working.

“Hey Phoebe,” Lucy said as she approached the tall blonde girl. “Is- is this seat free?”

“Sure,” Phoebe replied in her soft Seattle accent. “Still not allowed to work with your brother, then?”

“Aye,” Lucy replied with a dramatic sigh that made the American girl laugh. “But I don’t mind, I mean, I came to university to make new friends, heh.”

“Same here,” Phoebe said quietly. “Whatever side of the ocean they live on, heh.”

“Yeah,” Lucy said, before grinning. “Hey Phoebe, are you- are you doing anything this weekend?”

“…Well, it’s not like I can just get the train home,” the American girl chuckled, before smiling sadly. “Chances are I won’t be going home anytime soon at all if this virus keeps going the way it is.”

“Yeah,” Lucy sighed sadly, before biting her lip nervously. Even though she knew Phoebe, there was a large gap between knowing a person and considering them a friend- and Lucy was sincere in her desire to make new friends. Lucy hoped that Phoebe was, too, and even though they’d never hung out outside of class, Lucy felt optimistic. She just hoped that Phoebe wouldn’t have a problem with having a transgender friend- a feeling of paranoia that had prevented Lucy from seeking out new friends in the past. “But, you know, before then, umm… it- it’s actually my birthday on Sunday. Well, mine AND Luke’s, heh.”

“Oh, happy birthday for then, then!” Phoebe giggled. “Nineteen?”

“Yep,” Lucy replied. “Well, um, mine and Luke’s birthday is on Sunday, but a friend of ours’ birthday is on Saturday, so we’re having, like, a triple party tomorrow night, and, well, if you want to come along, maybe…?” Lucy bit her lip as she saw the American girl’s eyes widen and an anxious look spread across her face. So much for making new friends, Lucy thought to herself.

“Well, umm, I-“ Phoebe stammered. “I, umm, think you- think you should know, like, I- I’m not, like, interested in- in girls, I mean, as I know you identify as a girl, but-“

“Oh- oh shit, no,” Lucy exclaimed, blushing with embarrassment as she inadvertently drew the attention of several of their classmates. “I- I’m not, like, asking you ‘out’ out, I’m just- like, as a friend, I- ugh. Shall we start again?”

“Probably not a bad idea?” Phoebe replied, her own cheeks turning a deep red.

“Okay,” Lucy whispered. “Phoebe, would you like to come to my birthday party tomorrow?”

“Yes please,” the American girl hastily replied, before sharing a giggle with her new friend. “Ahh… I am SO sorry, like, I dunno what I was thinking when you- yeah.”

“Yeah…” Lucy chuckled. “Maybe let- let’s just put that to one side, heh.”

“I don’t even know if you, like, ‘like’ girls…” Phoebe mumbled.

“In fairness, I don’t know that about you, either,” Lucy retorted. “Don’t even know if so-called ‘gaydar’ applies to trans people, but- yeah. I don’t even know that about myself for certain. I look at you and all I think is ‘I really wish I had your- well, figure, heh’.”

“What, really?” Phoebe asked. “’Cause, like, you have to be at least two dress sizes smaller than me even though you’re taller. I was SO depressed when I came over here and found that what’s a size 12 in America is, like, a 16 over here. Or a 12, 14 or 18 depending on which shop you’re on, like, can you PLEASE tell your shops to, like, be consistent?”

“Heh, I wish,” Lucy laughed. “And for the record, this skirt’s a 14 but my top- that I’m wearing underneath my hoodie, my t-shirt, like, that’s a 16 too, so- yeah. No disguising my shoulders with make-up, heh.”

“You do a good job,” Phoebe said. “Like, of make-up, and- well, presenting as a girl, I mean.”

“Thanks,” Lucy whispered.

“Oh- oh god,” Phoebe moaned. “I- I didn’t say something I shouldn’t have done, did I?”

“S- sorry?” Lucy asked.

“’Cause, you know, we’ve not spoken much,” Phoebe babbled. “I’m never sure what I should or shouldn’t be saying, like if there are any topics I really shouldn’t talk about to a trans person, or-“

“Honestly, I took it as a compliment,” Lucy chuckled. “I’m assuming it was meant as one?”

“Well, of course,” Phoebe replied, her cheeks reddening again.

“Then there’s no problem, really,” Lucy said, before sighing. “And it’s not like I’ve not put my foot in it a few times too, heh. One of, like, our ‘group’ is Indian- well, British, actually, she was born here, but you know, ethnically Indian?”

“Oh, is that the girl with the scholarship?” Phoebe asked. “I think she’s studying economics or something like that?”

“Yeah, that’s her,” Lucy said. “The amount of times I put my foot in it, but she was okay with it…”

“Well, we learn from our mistakes, I guess,” Phoebe chuckled. “Kinda in the wrong place if we’re not able to do that, heh!”

“Yeah,” Lucy said, earning a warm smile from her new friend.

“So, umm…” Phoebe said. “Are you- are you doing anything after class? And I’m asking as a friend, not as, like, anything else, heh.”

“Got my street dance class after,” Lucy replied with a sympathetic smile. “Though if you’re not doing anything…?”

“Ah- no, I REALLY don’t think so,” Phoebe chuckled. “My parents signed me up for ballet class when I was 8, and- yeah. THAT didn’t last long, heh!”

“That’s more dance experience than I ever had growing up,” Lucy snorted. “My- well, Luke took ballet for a few years. As you might imagine, not his fondest memory.”

“I bet,” Phoebe whispered. “Well… I can watch, I suppose.”

“I’d like that,” Lucy said with a smile, happy that she’d made another friend- and more importantly, another friend who'd unquestioningly accepted her for who she was.

After the class was over, the students dispersed, with some heading to the cafeteria while others headed back to their rooms to relax. This latter group included Lucy, who smiled as she pulled on the leggings and trainers that made up her street dance 'uniform', but she let out a sigh as she pulled on her crop top. In her day-to-day life, Lucy routinely wore a top that gave her chest additional 'shaping' for many reasons, most of them personal. While it was mainly to maintain an outward 'projection', another major reason was that it gave Lucy confidence- confidence to be the person she truly wanted to be, to project the image of the teenage girl she truly felt she was deep down inside. The more people focussed on her, the less likely they were to notice her height, or her broad shoulders, or her masculine jawline and her many other masculine features. However, Lucy quickly learned that the ‘padding’ was impractical for dancing, when she was in constant movement- as were the ‘pads’ themselves. Reluctantly, at her instructor’s advice, Lucy had agreed to attend the lessons flat chested, which had ultimately made Lucy start to dread the lessons that she’d enjoyed so much to begin with.

Nonetheless, she still had a wide grin on her face as she rendezvoused with her friends outside of the girls’ locker room, though even this served as another reminder to Lucy of how she was 'different' to the other girls. Lucy tried to draw comfort from the fact that the university’s covid rules meant that none of the other girls had changed in the locker room either, but it did little to distract her from her anxiety- or the fact that she was the tallest of her group of friends by a clear nine inches.

“Hey Lucy!” Priya said with a grin. “Did you have a good morning?”

“Had a busy one, heh,” Lucy replied. “Lecture went on for AGES, then we had to model loads of stuff on the computer, which also took ages, so- only just got out of there, heh.”

“We’ve been doing reading all morning,” Claudia said with a tired smile of her own. “Historic economic trends, that sort of thing.”

“It’s pretty interesting in small doses,” Priya mused. “After a while, though, your brain just sort-of starts to ‘slide off’ the words and they stop sinking in, heh.”

“I’ll have to take your word for it,” Lucy chuckled. “I mean, I got a 7 for my maths GCSE so I’m not, like, useless at it, but- yeah. What you’re describing is a bit too ‘theoretical’ for my liking!”

“The module on cryptocurrency looks like it’ll be ten times worse, though,” Claudia sighed. “But oh well. At least NOW we can just relax and enjoy the weekend, heh!”

“And not just a weekend, but a party weekend!” Priya giggled, her laugh intensifying as Lucy squeaked excitedly.

“Yep!” Lucy giggled, forcing herself to focus on the party itself rather than the confrontation with her parents that she knew would inevitably occur the following day. “I invited another person along from my course by the way, I’m assuming that’ll be okay?”

“Well, it’s Gav’s party, so he’s the best person to ask!” Priya chuckled. “Though I don’t see why it’d be a problem. You can never have too many friends, right?”

“Too right,” Lucy said, giggling excitedly as she followed her friends into the dance studio. Despite her stress, Lucy was determined to focus on the positives in her life- and Priya and Claudia were two of the biggest. Secretly, she hoped that Phoebe would be too...

While his sister was getting ready for her dance class, Luke was alone in his room getting changed into his football kit, but still feeling many of the same emotions as Lucy. Where Lucy padded her chest, Luke bound his down, but for the same reason- to project the image that he was indeed a man. Where Lucy had allowed her hair to grow, Luke had kept his short. Where Lucy had been meticulous about removing body hair, Luke had allowed his to grow untamed. And where Lucy had kept her distance from the girls’ locker room (even before covid), so had Luke from the boys’ changing rooms- but for a different reason. Despite encouragement from Luke and their female friends, Lucy had chosen not to change in the girls’ locker room for fear that it would make the other users of the room uncomfortable. Luke, however, was wary of using the boys’ changing rooms for fear that it would make HIM uncomfortable.

While he enjoyed playing football and got along with many of the other members of the team, there were also those who continued to mock him both on the pitch and off. Luke had to face regular ‘teasing’ such as teammates blaming a poor performance on it being ‘the wrong time of the month’, and while Luke tried to not let it get to him, or tried pass it off as harmless banter, each insult stung him more and more until all he wanted to do was curl up in a ball and cry- which he knew was the worst possible thing he could do under the circumstances.

Like Lucy, Luke tried to focus on the positives in his life, especially his social life, but this proved to be difficult even when greeted by a friendly face at the exit of the changing rooms.

“Hi Luke!” The smiling face of James Thorn, captain of the university team’s A team, said as he led the other players out onto the training pitch. “You alright?”

“Not bad, thanks,” Luke semi-lied in reply. “You?”

“Can’t complain,” James replied. “I’m heading home straight after this, actually. Figured I’d go and see my parents while Boris still lets us, heh.”

“Oh- okay,” Luke said, trying to hide his disappointment that he wouldn’t be able to invite his friend to the party. However, the tall young man quickly sensed the change in Luke’s mood.

“You okay?” James asked.

“Hmm?” Luke replied. “Umm, yeah, I just- heh. I’m going to see my parents on Sunday as well, and- yeah.”

“Ah,” James said, having long since been made aware of the twins' history with their parents. “Not something you can get out of, then?”

“Nope,” Luke sighed as he and the team began warming up. “Especially as it’s our birthday as well.”

“Ah, happy birthday for Sunday then!” James chuckled. “Got any plans? Like, non-parent plans, anyway?”

“It’s Gav’s birthday tomorrow as well, so we’re kinda having, like, a joint party,” Luke replied. “Would’ve invited you if you were around.”

“Ah, okay,” James said. “Well, maybe next time, heh!”

“Yeah,” Luke chuckled with a grimace. If there IS a next time, Luke thought to himself. If I still am ‘Luke’ 365 days from now- or even 3 days from now…

2 hours later, Luke and Lucy, both tired and sweaty from their exercise, congregated outside the student union bar with their friends, all of whom were relaxed- but excited- ahead of the weekend.

“That was a LONG week,” Priya said with a sigh as she relaxed back into her patio seat and stretched out her tired legs.

“Not as long as the weekend’s gonna be,” Luke said, before sighing and smiling sympathetically. “I- I’m sorry, I just- ugh. Always stressed when we go back home, and there’s no escaping this one, heh.”

“I wish there was more I could for you guys than simply keeping my fingers crossed,” Claudia said quietly. “I mean, I was just scared enough coming all the way to uni, but you- all of you- have made it so that I’m not scared anymore, if that makes any sense.”

“Perfect sense,” Lucy said softly. “And it’s not like you haven’t done the same for both of us, heh!”

“That’s for certain,” Luke said. “I’m gonna be so glad to come back on Monday, heh.”

“Your parents aren’t THAT bad,” Susie reminded her friend. “I have met them, remember?”

“Well- true,” Luke conceded.

“And if they have learned from what happened with the dress at Christmas time…” Susie mused.

“Also true,” Lucy said. “But, like, that’s still two days away. What’s everyone’s plans for tonight?”

“Sitting here and trying not to melt,” Priya replied.

“Pretty much that,” Claudia chuckled. “Might call my boyfriend later, seeing as I won’t see him this weekend, heh.”

“Ah- sorry ‘bout that,” Lucy mumbled.

“Nah, I don’t mind, honestly,” Claudia said. “If he didn’t have to work- in Coventry, like- I’d probably have invited him up here, heh.”

“It’d be pretty cool to finally meet him,” Priya mused. “You do tend to talk about him a lot…”

“Oh- no I don’t,” Claudia mumbled. “Maybe a bit, you know? I figure that the more I talk about him- heh. We REALLY didn’t want to go down the long-distance relationship route, but I didn’t get into Warwick, and there was no way I was going to turn down Durham, so- yeah, heh.”

“Well, he’d better go to sleep every night thinking about what he’s missing!” Susie said, smirking as the blonde girl blushed.

“Oh, he does, I make sure of it, heh!” Claudia giggled.

“How about you, Priya?” Lucy asked. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you mention a guy- or, like a girl, or- heh. I’ll be blunt: do you have anyone waiting for you back down in London?”

“Well- not unless you count my sister, heh,” Priya chuckled. “I’ve had boyfriends, but- yeah. This is a bit TOO long distance for me. But I’m okay, like, I- I’m here to learn and to have fun. BOYS can wait. No offence, Luke.”

“None taken, I think,” Luke chuckled.

“We actually have, like, a forfeit,” Priya said. “Me, my sister and our friends. Anyone who brings up boys in a conversation- like, unprovoked- has to send a selfie to the group of them with a pair of tights on their head.”

“That’ll be kinda difficult for our group,” Susie said. “What with there being three boys as part of the group. And the fact that I literally have zero pairs of tights with me here at the uni, heh!”

“I’ll let you borrow some of mine,” Claudia teased, giggling as the ginger-haired girl gave her a playful shove.

“While we’re speaking of boys, though,” Lucy said, “where are Kieran and Gav?”

“They were at football practice as normal,” Luke replied with a shrug. “Probably just, I dunno, showering or something.”

“Even though they were only watching and not playing?” Priya asked. “Though saying that, I could definitely use a shower… and a nap…”

“I won’t take that personally!” Susie retorted, making the Indian girl blush.

“Sorry, sorry,” Priya chuckled. “And to answer your next question, no, I don’t have a fever or a cough, and yes, I’ll buy the next round of drinks after Claudia, heh.”

“Good,” Luke snorted. “Heh, almost wish we WERE in lockdown, then we wouldn’t have to worry about Sunday.”

“Don’t tempt fate like that!” Susie chastised her friend. “We’ll be fine, this whole coronavirus thing will be over in a month, tops.”

“Is that your professional opinion as a biochemist?” Priya teased the ginger-haired girl, who rolled her eyes in response.

“Only if you tell me, as a professional economist, how to become a millionaire,” Susie retorted, earning giggles from all of her friends at the table. “Ah… I dunno, though. I mean, they've already suspended the premier league, and the grand prix was cancelled last weekend, though that was in Australia, so- yeah...”

“Well, as long as tomorrow’s party isn’t cancelled, heh,” Claudia chuckled. “Think we’ve all earned a party after this week!”

“Definitely after the last six months,” Luke said, exchanging a knowing glance with his sister. Before anyone could say anything further, though, the table was interrupted by a text message alert from Luke's phone.

“Who’s that?” Lucy asked, nervous that the message might have been from one of their parents.

“Kieran,” Luke replied. “Gav’s not feeling well so he won’t be down tonight, and it doesn’t look like he’ll be at his party tomorrow as his mum’s coming to pick him up.”

“Is it- you know…?” Claudia asked hesitantly.

“It’s more likely to be his existing, well, ‘thing’ flaring up,” Luke sighed. “Kieran didn’t say anything about a cough.”

“Poor guy, though,” Lucy said with a soft sigh. “He must be gutted about missing tomorrow night. First, like ‘proper’ student birthday party and all that…”

“Well, there’s no point in having the party now, is there?” Luke mumbled.

“Uh- yes, yes there is,” Priya retorted, pointing at the twins. “Two good reasons for having the party, and I’m sure Gav would agree.”

“Well- I guess,” Lucy shrugged. “Assuming dad doesn’t come to Durham a day early again or whatever.”

“Ugh, don’t even joke about that!” Luke moaned. “Ugh, I dunno, I just- I want to get the weekend over and done with, you know? I’d rather have the party afterwards, heh, that way I can actually, you know, enjoy it, rather than- well, you know.”

“Rather than be stressed out all night?” Lucy asked, smiling as her brother nodded. “I know exactly what you mean. And, well, this just means one thing, doesn’t it?”

“And what’s that?” Luke asked.

“We’ll have to party even harder tomorrow night!” Lucy cheered, earning grins from her friends and a tired, nervous smile from her brother as the drinks continued to flow.

The five teenagers remained at the bar until late that evening, before heading back to their dorms and almost immediately falling asleep. None of them were early to wake up the following morning, but all eventually dragged their tired, hung-over bodies out of their beds and convened for a late breakfast in the cafeteria. However, despite the alcohol they'd consumed the previous evening, neither of the twins slept much, such was their anxiety about the impending weekend.

“Morning, you two,” Susie said as Luke and Lucy approached where she was sat along with Priya and Claudia. “Sleep well?”

“Ugh, eventually,” Lucy sighed, taking a long sip of her coffee. “Heard anything from Gav this morning?”

“He’s posted on Facebook,” Susie replied. “He’s on the mend, but really disappointed at having to spend his birthday shut indoors, not seeing any of his friends.”

“We were thinking of sending him, like, a video message later on,” Priya said. “When we’re all a bit more ‘awake’, heh.”

“I was about to say,” Luke said in a teasing voice. “That’s a very, well, ‘petite’ body for the amount of sambucas you were drinking last night!”

“Especially as you’d been exercising immediately beforehand!” Lucy teased her friend.

“…So I felt like, you know, cutting loose a bit,” Priya mumbled, before sighing and giggling. “Won’t be doing that again for a while, though!"

“Me either,” Claudia said with a sigh, before smiling as the sixth member of their ‘gang’ approached.

“Hey guy and gals!” Kieran said in his soft Manchester accent. “Sorry I was absent last night, I just- I just thought Gav should have someone stay with him until his parents got here.”

“You’re a good friend,” Lucy whispered, giving Kieran’s hand a gentle squeeze. “And you’ve not missed much- well, not this morning, anyway! We only just got here ourselves.”

“We were talking about sending a video message to Gav,” Priya explained. “Just to wish him a happy birthday, you know.”

“Ah, he’d definitely like that,” Kieran said with a smile. “And to answer your next question, he did mention the party last night, and he is insistent that it goes ahead without him.”

“He does seem like that kind of guy,” Claudia mused. “Always thinking about his friends, that sort of thing.”

“Well, you can never have too many,” Priya said with a knowing smile. “What time’s the fun starting tonight?”

“Seven o’clock, same as always,” Kieran replied. “Was going to be in Gav’s room, I don’t mind you all cramming into mine, heh!”

“We’ll be there,” Lucy said with a smile. “Assuming I can shake this damned hangover, anyway…”

“You’ve got nothing planned for this morning or afternoon, then?” Priya asked.

“Doubt I’d be able to concentrate on anything,” Lucy sighed, before letting out a long moan. “I know, I know, I can’t live my life like this, getting all panicky about the prospect of simply seeing my parents.”

“WE can’t,” Luke said softly. “But there’s nowt we can do about it right now, so- yeah.”

“Apart from try to distract ourselves with coursework and parties, heh,” Lucy said with a grin.

“Which we’re more than happy to help with,” Priya said, mirroring her friend’s smile. “The parties, that is. Got enough coursework of my own to worry about!”

“Same here,” Claudia giggled. “For both things, heh! And as it’s MY birthday in two weeks, I’m expecting a massive party as well, heh!”

“And we’ll finally get to meet this boyfriend of yours!” Priya teased her friend. “And two weeks after that you’ll all hopefully get to meet my sister for her 18th!”

“Assuming she won’t mind a bunch of strangers gatecrashing her party?” Lucy asked.

“Well, she knows the saying having too many friends,” Priya retorted with a smug grin that earned a cheer from the assembled group, even though inside, Luke and Lucy's anxiety levels remained high about the following day.

Logically, both Luke and Lucy knew that in all likelihood, they would return to the university the following Monday and carry on with their lives as normal. However, they also knew that every time they met up with their parents was another occasion on which they could be ‘found out’. Another occasion where their world could come crashing down, where they could find themselves without any parents- or worse yet, without a course to go back to, or any ability to be the people they'd been for the previous six months. Ever since Christmas, Luke and Lucy knew that the odds of successfully keeping their parents in the dark about their true selves was getting lower and lower- however, with no other options open to them, they simply had no alternative but to carry on as they were- regardless of how anxious it made them.

However, the twins also made a point of trying to enjoy their lives as much as possible, and the student parties they regularly attended played a large part in that. After a lazy morning and afternoon of trying to distract themselves with coursework, mobile games and social media, Luke and Lucy felt themselves become energised as afternoon turned into evening and they began to get ready for the party- THEIR party. While it was far from the first party they’d attended since starting university, both Luke and Lucy felt they needed to make an extra effort for what was explicitly THEIR party. Rather than wear the casual clothes they usually wore to student parties, the twins returned to their dorms to change into special outfits they’d picked out for the evening ahead.

Luke smiled nervously as he combed his short hair into a tidier style than his usual scruffy mop. Ever since his sixteenth birthday, Luke had taken steps to keep his hair short- or at the very least, short for a girl. As he looked at his reflection in the mirror, though, Luke couldn’t help but sigh- as short and as masculine as he tried to make his hair, it didn’t disguise the very feminine-looking face underneath it. His thick but androgynous eyebrows didn’t help the 'illusion', nor did the fact that he hadn’t grown a single hair on his soft, smooth cheeks. However, Luke consoled himself with the knowledge that everyone who had been invited to the party would recognise him and accept him as a boy, even if he sometimes struggled to believe it himself. Nonetheless, he smiled as he pulled on his smart shirt, trousers and shiny black shoes, before liberally spraying himself with his men’s Lynx deodorant. However, despite the fact that he looked, sounded and even smelled convincingly masculine, he found himself envying his sister- she at least had the option of 'disguising' herself with make-up, while he had to rely solely on his own bare skin.

As she set about her make-up, Lucy found herself musing on how normal the action had become. She never left her room without at least a layer of foundation and eyeliner, sometimes adding eyeshadow, lipstick and occasionally even false eyelashes. However, as she applied her favourite light red lipstick, the young woman thought about how, in the past, she only ever applied make-up so as to blend in with the other girls, to appear as ‘normal’ as possible. Even at the many student parties she'd attended, she'd never tried to 'stand out', or show off an individual look. At a university where there were often many exotic and even wild make-up styles, Lucy’s look was comparatively plain- but not as plain as if she wore no make-up at all. Without it, there would be nothing to disguise her masculine jawline, or her nose, or the fact that she still had to shave her face every morning…

On this particular evening, though, Lucy very much intended to stand out from the crowd. It was HER party, after all- hers and Luke’s- and for once, blending into the background was not an option. As well as her lipstick, foundation and eyeliner, she liberally coated her eyelids with dark, smokey eyeshadow before teasing her thickest, heaviest false eyelashes to her natural ones. With her make-up complete, Lucy turned to her wardrobe to pick out her outfit for the night. As with her make-up, at previous parties she’d been comparatively casually dressed, often wearing the same clothes she’d worn to her classes or occasionally a fancier skirt or more low-cut top. Most of these fashion decisions were by necessity- unlike most of the other women at the university, when Lucy started her course the only clothes she had were the clothes she was wearing and what few clothes she’d been able to stash at Susie’s house. As she also had no part-time job, acquiring new clothes was not something she could do regularly, but she had gradually assembled a modest, yet stylish wardrobe, and her most recent acquisition was an outfit she was dying to wear.

While Lucy usually wore short or knee-length skirts to classes or in her room, when she saw the jumpsuit in the charity shop window, she knew she had to have it. Its long, flared legs, cinched waist and low V-neck suited her figure perfectly, as did its navy blue colour and wide shoulder straps. After making sure she was securely ‘tucked’, Lucy zipped up her jumpsuit at the back and smiled as she slipped her feet into a pair of black sandals with a blocky 3” heel- another charity shop find Lucy knew she had to have, especially due to how difficult it was to find any heeled shoes to fit her size 10 feet. As Lucy fastened the strappy sandals to her feet, she wondered if they had originally belonged to another transgender woman, or a crossdresser, and what that woman was doing now…

“Hello Miss Miller!” Susie said with a grin as Lucy opened the door and let her into her room. “I had a feeling you’d go with that jumpsuit!”

“How could I not?” Lucy replied with a smile. “It is MY night, after all.”

“Too right it is!” Susie giggled. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you looking so, well, confident!”

“And why shouldn’t I be?” Lucy retorted. “Like, this isn’t just a birthday party, it’s a celebration, like, of being ‘Lucy’ for six months. Six months more or less continuously. And while it’s not been completely plain sailing, I’ve not done a bad job of being a girl, have I?”

“Damn right you haven’t,” Susie replied with a warm smile.

“Okay, so maybe I’m not ‘filling out’ the jumpsuit- well, maybe not the right part of it, anyway,” Lucy continued. “But when I start hormones then, well, maybe.”

“Yeah,” Susie whispered, exchanging a glance with her friend as they remembered that Luke and Lucy still had a major obstacle standing between them and the hormone treatments they so badly desired. “Well, anyway, shall we crack open the booze or wait until the birthday BOY gets here?”

“Both,” Luke said with a grin as he let himself into Lucy’s room and greeted his friend and his sister with a tight hug each. “And thanks for wearing heels, Luce, as if you weren’t taller enough than me as it is!”

“Only ‘cause it’s a special occasion,” Lucy retorted, before squeaking excitedly as another familiar face entered the room.

“Hey, guy and gals!” Rick said with a wide grin as he greeted all three teenagers with hugs and air kisses.

“Hi Rick!” Lucy said with a giggle. “Glad you could make it tonight!”

“Oh please,” Rick chuckled. “As if I’m going to miss the birthday party of two of my favourite people? It’s a pity Gav can’t be here to make it a hat-trick, heh.”

“Aye,” Susie sighed. “But we’ve all sent him messages to let him know we’re thinking of him.”

“Good,” Rick said as he helped himself to a drink. “I’ll have a chat with him when he’s feeling better, just to let him know, well, the same thing you just said, hehe!”

“It’s weird how close to him I’ve become after only knowing him a few months,” Luke mused.

“Meh, you could’ve said the same thing about me,” Susie shrugged. “I mean, that’s literally what friends are for, isn’t it?”

“That’s what I always say,” Rick concurred. “Though in fairness I don’t have any friends who are literally lifelong, unlike you two- well, lifelong plus an additional nine months, heh!”

“Yeah,” Lucy said as she blushed shyly.

“I do, however,” Rick continued, “have a LOT of friends I’ve known for a few months- say a couple of years, give or take- who I’ve met through the LGBT society. And I hope you won’t mind, but I’ve invited them all along tonight?”

“Well, you’re a fan of Jamie-Lee Burke as well, aren’t you?” Lucy replied as Rick nodded. “I don’t need to tell you what she says about friends, do I?”

“Indeed you don’t,” Rick giggled as the room gradually started to fill with revellers.

Luke and Lucy spent the evening drinking and dancing, but more importantly, simply relaxing and enjoying being with their friends. Both Luke and Lucy marvelled at the number of people- and not just people, but genuine friends who showed up. Even though there was never more than 15 people at a time at the party, and the majority of them hung out in the corridor or adjacent rooms, it was still more people than either of the twins had ever had at one of their parties. Both of the twins made a point of enjoying every second- especially Lucy, who made a point of dancing with every guy who came to the party, relishing every second of being treated as the woman that she truly was inside.

The party ended just after 1:30am, with Luke and Susie being the last to leave, though not before sharing one last drink and one last very welcome hug with Lucy. As she sat down to remove her make-up, Lucy sighed as she saw the boy that she used to be start to appear in her mirror. With her make-up on, Lucy had acknowledged that it had been easier for others to accept her as a girl, but as she removed it, she realised that the same could be said of her as well. The more she looked at her reflection in the mirror, the more she couldn’t help but see the same boy that had stared back at her for nineteen years- the same boy she would be forced to be for her parents’ benefit the following day. And while she comforted herself with the knowledge that she’d be back at university the day after, she couldn’t help but wonder that when she put on her make-up, whether it was the ‘real her’, or just a disguise to hide the ‘real him’…

When Luke returned to his room, he let out a tired sigh as he kicked off his shoes, unbuttoned his shirt and unfastened his trousers, before sighing as he sat down on the edge of his bed and slowly unzipped his vest. Luke let out a quiet, pained moan as the breasts that had been suppressed throughout the day hung loose, and while he was glad to be free of the physical discomfort, the sight of the soft mounds on his chest brought forth the same feelings that Lucy's face had for her. While Luke could ‘disguise’ that aspect of himself, like Lucy could with her make-up, unlike Lucy, the discomfort he felt while 'suppressed' was a constant reminder that he was not ‘anatomically correct’. Luke knew that he would be able to ‘bind’ again the following day and his parents would barely notice, but he would always be aware that he was ‘disguising’ himself, and that feeling would be made all the worse every time his parents called him ‘Lucy’, or ‘daughter’, or worst of all, ‘girl’…

Lucy was the first to be woken up the following morning, her head throbbing both from the excitement of the previous night and the sound of her phone’s ringtone blaring mere inches from her head.

“He- hello?” Lucy said in her soft voice, immediately wincing as she saw the caller ID too late.

“God, you’re sounding rough for this time of morning!” Paul chuckled down the phone at his oldest child. “No need to ask if you had fun last night, then!”

“Oh, umm, hi dad,” Lucy said, wincing again as she consciously lowered the pitch of her voice.

“Hello and more importantly happy birthday to you, son!” Paul said with a hearty laugh as Lucy winced again- both from the volume of his voice and his use of the word ‘son’. “I’ve just got into Durham and I’m parked in one of the multi-storeys, what time d’you want me to come and pick yas both up?” Lucy felt herself start to panic as she realised the confrontation she was dreading was imminent, but took a deep breath and calmed herself down as she realised she at least had a way of delaying it for a short while longer.

“I, umm, I’ll need to wake up Lu- Lucy, first,” Lucy replied, wincing once more at the use of her own name as her brother’s deadname.

“Aye, okay, I can find a coffee shop and wait somewhere,” Paul said. “Text me when ya both ready and I’ll come and pick yas up from the front gate. Is Susie coming too or has she already gone back home?”

“Umm, I dunno,” Lucy replied. “Is there any reason why Susie would come with us?”

“Well, aye, it’s your birthday and you’re gonna want to hang out with your friends, aren’t ya?” Paul replied with a chuckle. “I’ve got five seats in my car so we can swing by and pick up your friend Gavin as well, it’d be nice to actually meet him for once- well, while we’re still allowed to, anyway. I’d have treated yas all to tickets to go and see the match against Man City yesterday, if it had actually happened, like.”

“Well- yeah…” Lucy grimaced. “I- umm, Gavin, he- he’s not feeling well. It was actually his birthday yesterday, but he’s got, like, a medical condition so he had to go home early, and- yeah…”

“Ah, that’s a pity,” Paul replied. “From what you’ve told me he sounds like a nice enough lad.” Even though I’ve told you that he’s gay? Lucy thought to herself “We can always meet him another time, then. If Boris Johnson allows us to, anyway. Either way, we’ve got a load of presents at home that we’re itching to give the both of yas, so wake up Lucy and Susie and let’s get going, okay?”

“Well- okay,” Lucy said, trying her hardest not to sound resigned to her fate.

“And happy birthday again!” Paul cheered, before ending the call. With a loud sigh, Lucy composed a text message to her brother and her friend, both of whom were still asleep- albeit not for long.

“Fuck’s sake,” Luke moaned as his twin’s text message woke him with a start, his head pounding from the night before. Luke let out a long sigh as he read the contents of the message, before splashing his face with cold water from his sink and staring at his reflection in the mirror.

Even though he would wear no make-up or jewellery, even though he would wear baggy boy’s clothing and his chest binder, and even though he felt just as masculine as he did the previous night at the party, Luke still felt his stress levels rise. No matter how obvious it felt to him, or how much of a male image he tried to project, he knew that his parents would only ever see him as their daughter. He desperately wanted to grab them by the shoulders and shake them until they realised the truth, but he knew that wouldn’t help him, and would in fact cause more harm than good- not to him, or to their parents, but to Lucy. Luke and Lucy had promised each other that whatever they did, they’d do together, always, and both had implicitly included coming out in that promise. And yet, Luke knew that he couldn’t bottle up his feelings any longer, no matter how much his sister might need him to.

With his stomach churning, Luke pulled on his preferred jeans, hoodie and walking boots, making sure his chest binder was as comfortable as it could get before rendezvousing with his sister outside her room- where he was overtaken by a feeling of guilt.

Rather than the fancy jumpsuit and heels she’d worn the previous night, Lucy was also clad in a pair of jeans, a hoodie and her own men’s trainers. Her face bore no trace of the expensive make-up she wore the previous night, and her hair had been slicked back into as androgynous a style as she could manage.

“H- hey,” Luke whispered, trying his hardest not to cry at the sight of his sister with her hard-earned femininity stripped away. “You- you okay?”

“I will be when I’m back here tomorrow,” Lucy replied with a sigh. “Let- let’s just get this over with, okay?”

“Sure,” Luke whispered, giving his sister’s hand a gentle squeeze as they headed down the corridor, finding their friend waiting for them outside of her room.

“Hey, you two,” Susie said gently as she gave the twins a gentle hug each. “But first, happy birthday, heh!”

“I doubt it, but okay,” Luke snorted, forcing a smile on his face as Lucy sent the text message to their father and the three teenagers headed to the main gate of the university.

When they arrived, it didn’t take them long to spot their father, who was stood by his car with a wide grin on his face.

“Now then, you two!” Paul beamed as he exchanged loving, yet awkward hugs with both of his children. “Happy birthday!”

“Thanks, dad,” Lucy mumbled as he got into the passenger seat of the car, while Luke and Susie slid onto the back seat.

“And thanks for coming along, Susie,” Paul said. “I figured that while it was still legal to, like, hang out with your friends, these two would appreciate it.”

“No problem Mr. Miller, thanks for the lift!” Susie chuckled. “You think we’re definitely going to be locked down, then?”

“Meh, maybe I’m being paranoid, but I dunno,” Paul replied with a shrug. “My work is really paranoid about this whole covid thing, if you’ve got even a slight cough you get sent home for the day. But, then again, I’m not a doctor, and there’s a lot of things- like, about covid- that I don’t understand but, you know, have to accept as a fact.”

“My mam’s the same way,” Susie said. “Actually said it might be safer for me to stay home if someone in the uni- like, the WHOLE uni- gets sick with it, but, like, that’d be really impractical, trying to learn from home. Especially in chemistry, where a lot of it is, like, hands on.”

“Well hopefully you’ll be able to use some of this hands-on work to come up with a cure for this thing,” Paul chuckled. “Though don’t worry, I’ve got you better birthday presents than just Bunsen burners and test tubes!” I doubt it, Luke thought to himself as the car headed home.

Just over half an hour later, the car pulled up outside the Millers’ home and the three teenagers got out, Luke and Lucy exchanging a supportive glance as they entered the living room, where their mother was waiting for them along with a large pile of presents. Much to the twins’ surprise, though, they couldn’t immediately tell whose presents were who’s, as unlike in previous years, they had all been wrapped in identical black and white stripped wrapping paper.

“Happy birthday, you two!” Sarah said, giving each of her children a long hug. “It seems like forever since I last saw either of you!”

“It was Christmas, it was literally less than three months,” Luke replied.

“Well, it feels like we have a lot longer to make up for,” Sarah said as she gestured to the pile of presents. “Hence these!”

“Well- yeah, thanks!” Lucy said with a forced giggle of excitement. “Who- whose pres-“

“Now we’ve done things a little different this year,” Paul said, interrupting his child. “We know you usually take it in turns, but Luke, we want you to open your presents first.” Luke instinctively started to reach toward the pile, before realising that his father had actually meant his sister. Luke hesitantly sat down, his anxiety levels continuing to rise as his sister reached for her pile.

“O- okay,” Lucy said, taking each gift as it was handed to her by her father. Lucy carefully unwrapped each present, revealing men's clothing, deodorant sets and the other presents she always inevitably got for Christmas and her birthday. With each gift she unwrapped, Lucy feigned her gratitude, but what she and Luke couldn’t help but notice was that several of the presents were being set to one side by their father- both twins assuming that those presents were intended for Luke. Or 'Lucy', as the labels would inevitably say.

After Lucy had finished unwrapping her final present, a new electric razor, she sat back in her seat and tried not to feel deflated by yet another disappointing birthday. She prepared to feign interest yet again (but tried not envy) in the gifts that Luke was about to receive, but much to the surprise of all the teenagers, the twins’ parents suddenly became nervous, fiddling with the presents instead of handing them over.

“R- right then,” Paul said, taking a deep breath to compose himself. “Lucy, we- we’ve done something a bit different with your presents this year. We- we want you to know that if we’ve got this wrong, we can always take everything back and exchange it, we’ve got all the receipts, that’s not a problem. But, like, you- you never tell us what you want, what you, like, REALLY want, so we- umm…”

“We’ve- we’ve used our instincts,” Sarah said as she nervously handed over Luke’s first present. “Again, tell us if we’re wrong, please, but- but also, please, please tell us if we’re right.” Luke hesitantly took the package from his mother, but gasped with shock and almost dropped it on the floor when he read what was written on the label.

“What, what is it?” Lucy asked quietly, gasping as Luke showed him the label.

‘To our OTHER son on his nineteenth birthday.’

Lucy felt herself become overwhelmed with emotions as she read the label- on the one hand, she was excited, ecstatic even to see her brother final be recognised for the person, the MAN that he was. But there was one word on the label that Lucy couldn’t look beyond- the word ‘other’. In their focus on Luke, they had seemingly been ignorant of the change in Lucy herself- but why should their parents have suspected that something was ‘amiss’ about her? She’d carefully hidden her femininity from them, never worn the clothes or the make-up she loved so much, never acted in the way that had become increasingly natural to her… However, Lucy recognised that an opportunity laid before both of them, an opportunity that might not present itself again.

“…S- so?” Sarah asked, her hands trembling. “Did- did we get it wrong?” Luke bit his lip as he looked toward his sister pleadingly, almost as though he was seeking permission with his eyes. When Lucy simply nodded, Luke turned back toward his parents with a look of pure fear on his face.

“…No,” Luke replied firmly. “You- you got it right.” The look of relief on his parents’ faces was soon mirrored on Luke’s own face as nineteen years of anxiety seemed to melt away in an instant. He had been not just recognised, but accepted by the people who mattered more to him than anyone else- anyone other than his twin, anyway, to whom he shot a sympathetic look, only to smile when Lucy simply nodded again.

“Well- well, then go on and open it!” Paul chuckled, his smile widening as Luke tore open the wrapping paper to reveal a Lynx Africa gift set- an identical one to what Lucy had opened mere minutes before, further sinking the trans girl’s heart.

“Well, then,” Paul said with a nervous giggle. “I guess I’ve got two sons now, haven’t I?” Luke opened his mouth to reply, only to pause as he once again looked toward his twin. However, rather than nod, Lucy said two simple words to his brother.

“Together,” Lucy whispered. “Always.” Luke nodded and gripped his twin’s hand as she took a deep breath.

“Actually,” Lucy said, surprising the room as she shifted to the same voice that had become second nature to her over the previous six months. “You- you don’t have two sons. Luc- Luk-“ Lucy paused as she alternated between her twin’s deadname and current name, realising that neither would be appropriate in the situation- not until she said what she had to say, anyway. “My twin isn’t the only person around here who’s transgender. I- I am too.”

TO BE CONTINUED