Work Text:
People always say that words can’t hurt you. But Hozumi knows that they can. Words can cut deep and leave you suffering mentally, to the point he would rather the person just punched him rather than leave him emotionally scarred.
When he was a kid and came out as trans, everyone was so horrible to him. They misgendered him, the simple use of the wrong pronouns and honorifics making him cry. Back before the KGB Incident, everyone on the Stride team other than Heath and Kyouske resented him and called him a ‘girl’ and ‘deluded’ when the others weren’t around to protect him.
And now…
“Girly boy.”
He’s trying to stretch before he has to run and complete his relay, when his competitor says two horrible words.
“Girly boy.”
He keeps calling him that. He doesn’t know Hozumi is trans (only his parents, a childhood friend and the five other members of Honan Stride know), but he has picked up on his short height and all of his features that don’t look masculine enough, all the things that give Hozumi dysphoria. And it is hard to focus on the race, and the moment he is away from everyone after the race, he cries.
“Girl.”
“Weirdo.”
“Fake boy.”
“Just a deluded girl.”
“Girly boy.”
All of them hurt. Words have always hurt.
There is a saying in English that goes:
Sticks and stones may break my bones
But words will never hurt me.
And it is one of the most patronising things he has ever heard. It invalidates anyone who has ever dealt with verbal abuse from other people. Because words are powerful.
Which is why he likes an alternative version of that saying instead goes like this:
Sticks and stones may break my bones
But words will always haunt me.