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Jeremy had come out as bisexual to their best friend (and now boyfriend) when they were 15. Jeremy knew Michael would fully support them, but the fear was still there. When Michael had came out as trans back in elementary school, Jeremy never understood why he was so afraid, but now they knew firsthand just how nerve-wracking it could be.
Now Jeremy was faced with the task of coming out yet again, but this time they had no clue how Michael would react.
Jeremy was nonbinary.
They had realized this a few months prior after coming across the definition in a youtube comments section, and had no clue how they could ever come out to Michael. They had been dating for nearly a year now, and Jeremy felt like they were lying to him. Michael had only ever liked boys. He liked Jeremy because he thought they were a boy. Would Michael even believe them? In all their years of friendship, genders outside the binary had never come up. There was no telling how Michael would react. Michael’s trans, but that doesn’t mean he’ll accept there are more than two genders. Michael is an amazing person, and Jeremy didn’t really think he would ever be like that, but the possibility was still there. God, how could they do this?
“Jeremy? You okay man? You’ve been pretty quiet for a while.”
Jeremy flinched at being referred to as “man”, their boyfriend's voice pulled them back to reality.
Flashing a wobbly smile in Michael direction, Jeremy nodded. “I’m fine! Just… thinking, I guess.”
Sitting down his controller, Michael sighed. “You’re obviously not fine, Jer. I care about you babe, I can tell when you’re nervous about something.”
Taking a deep breath, Jeremy broke eye contact, hiding behind their hair as they twiddled their thumbs in their lap. “I-” They choked back a sob, trying but failing to speak as tears started to spill onto their now clenched fists.
“Shit, Jer?” Eyes widening, Michael quickly moved to Jeremy’s side, setting his hand on their quaking shoulder. “Can I…?” He asked, spreading his arms out for a hug. Jeremy only nodded, silent tears rolling down their face.
Jeremy just sat in their boyfriend’s arms for what felt like hours, but was probably only a few minutes before they managed to slow their tears enough to speak.
“Micheal?”
“Are you alright Jer?”
Pulling away and taking a few shaky breaths, Jeremy finally spoke. “I- I have something to tell you.”
Calmly, Michael nodded. “You know you can tell me anything babe. I love you.”
The confusion was evident on Michael’s face when Jeremy shook their head. “I love you too, but…”
“Jer,” He started, smile faltering as Jeremy trailed off. “I love you. Nothing will change that. You really don’t have to tell me if you’re this nervous-”
“I’m not a boy.” Jeremy blurted, their hands immediately shooting up to cover their mouth. But just as Michael opened his mouth to speak Jeremy quickly interrupted with “But I’m not a girl either!” before standing to bolt from the room, eyes once again welling with tears.
Before Jeremy could make it to the door Michael had already grabbed their wrist, stopping them from fleeing the rejection they knew was come. “Babe, it’s alright, this doesn’t change anything. I still love you.”
Jeremy quickly whipped their head back around to face their boyfriend, eyes wide. “You- I- What?” The tears were coming back, but Michael pulled them in closer and they both knew it would all work out.