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“Shuichi? When am I going to stop being misgendered?” Kokichi wondered. They were honestly just wondering. Not even from a place of anger anymore, just a place of curiosity.
He was just so confused.
They couldn’t put it together, why was it so hard for people to respect him? Yeah, maybe memorizing pronouns can be difficult. But it can’t hurt to try! And it just seemed like no one was trying. It was messed up. It made them feel all messed up!
He had come out 2 weeks ago, as nonbinary and using he/they pronouns. It was a little bit of a lie, they guessed he went by more than he/they pronouns. But they weren’t exactly sure of all the pronouns he would like to use. So it was he/they for now!
And they couldn’t wait any longer to come out, it was painful not to.
He had an entire audience and everyone from the past killing games calling them a boy. And even worse, there were also rumors going around that he was actually a girl, obviously started by the people who knew them before Danganronpa.
But either way, everyone was wrong.
Kokichi’s nonbinary, he knows that for sure. They spent too long going back and forth on his identity to have any doubts.
But still, when they came out, he was still getting misgendered left and right.
Even the people who were fans of his misgendered them! He would still see posts calling them a cute boy or posts used overly gendered terms for him or posts accidentally spreading that rumor that they were secretly a girl by telling everyone to stop spreading that rumor. He didn’t hate their fans, some of them were cool, actually! But apparently, some either didn’t get the loud hint that was him posting a huge coming out post or they just didn’t care at all.
Even worse, the people they were in the killing game with misgendered him! They would use he/him pronouns for them excessively, never paying attention to the “they”. It was like nothing changed.
And then there were the inevitable transphobes, attacking his comment sections and their replies on every social media account he owned. Apparently a few of the past participants were transphobic too, so they made sure to drop comments as well. And since most of them lived in the Danganronpa hotel they were provided with, it was worse. They would very obviously avoid them, sometimes even giving him dirty looks and laughing behind their back.
It was exhausting and frustrating and Kokichi had ranted to Shuichi about it many times. Probably once every day since he came out. And even before that.
It was easy to rant to Shuichi, they trusted him!
They had been dating for only 6 months but it kind of felt like they knew each other forever. Maybe it was the fact that they were in a killing game together. Or maybe it was because all of their time was spent with each other and they were practically inseparable!
Shuichi was the one to encourage Kokichi to come out, which Kokichi was pretty grateful for. Despite the negative reactions he received, they really liked being out for who he was.
“Hopefully it will stop soon?” Shuichi guessed, though he was clearly uncertain. And that wasn’t an answer, it was wishful thinking. He just wanted to cheer Kokichi up.
Kokichi shifted on the bed they were sitting on, leaning their head on Shuichi’s shoulder. It was nice being able to be so close with him. Shuichi was like a ray of light in their otherwise dark life.
“How long did it take for you?” he asked. They knew about Shuichi’s story, about the constant misgendering and insults he received. But Kokichi never asked when it stopped, or at least when it slowed down.
Shuichi took a minute before he answered, “..Well, It didn’t really stop until Danganronpa. And it’s honestly only because no one knows I’m trans...”
Oh. Well there’s that.
Kokichi didn’t have that option, he already came out on every social media account they had...
Plus, by pretending he was cis they would just be misgendering himself.
It really sucked that Shuichi had to do that. Kokichi knew he was proud of being trans, he had a flag hanging up in his room! And he knew a lot about trans issues and he had a lot of advice to give...
But Kokichi also knew how hard it was being in the Danganronpa spotlight. It was a wide group of people watching all of them and some people really sucked. That much became obivious over the past two weeks.
“I’m sorry that you have to hide like that, Shu.” Kokichi sighed.
Shuichi lightly shook his head, careful not to disturb Kokichi’s head on his shoulder, “Ah, it’s okay. I was thinking... of coming out soon anyways.”
Kokichi lifted their head up.
“Really?” he exclaimed.
“Yeah, I just don’t feel like hiding anymore.” Shuichi explained, a sweet smile on his face.
It was good he would be coming out, that he felt comfortable enough to! This was exciting!
But as proud as Kokichi was for him making that decision, they could guess what would happen when he came out.
And he would probably cause a fight on Twitter if someone misgendered Shuichi. They already did kind of start a few but it would be a war if Shuichi needed defending. He would not hesitate to pull every insult they had out on those transphobes!
He took Shuichi’s hand, “Shuichi, I promise I will singlehandedly beat anyone who hurts you. Just say the word and-“
“K-Kokichi! You don’t have to do that!” Shuichi denied, though he was smiling really brightly.
Kokichi squeezed his hand, “But I want to! I’m like your knight in shining armor!”
No matter what Shuichi said, they had too many protective instincts to just let this slide. He was willing to cause a huge danganronpa contestant scandal in order to make Shuichi feel safe and accepted!
“I,I’ll protect you too. I kind of started a fight in your comments yesterday...” Shuichi revealed.
Kokichi laughed, putting their head on his shoulder again. He had saw that, Shuichi spoke really intelligently when he was upset. Compared to Kokichi, who got irritated quickly and didn’t want to waste their energy on these people (he always did anyways).
Shuichi continued, “And I’ll talk to everyone else here about getting your pronouns right. I know that bothers you. And I’ll, I’ll post something about respecting you. Again. I’ll make it more, uh, aggressive? That might-“
Kokichi interuppted him, “Shuichi, you don’t have to do that.”
Sure, Kokichi loved protecting Shuichi and giving him as much affection as possible, but as soon as it was returned they got...overly flustered. He’s sure Shuichi had noticed how easily they blush by now.
“But I’m your knight in shining armor too” Shuichi quickly flirted.
Kokichi almost melted.
Yeah he got misgendered every single day and there were transphobic comments surrounding them everywhere on the internet but...If Shuichi was willing to put aside his anxiety of how people perceive him just to be Kokichi’s knight in shining armor, then that’s good enough for him. They know how hard it is for Shuichi to deal with his anxious tendencies and the fact that he was willing to try just for Kokichi...it meant the world.
Kokichi wrapped his arms around Shuichi, snuggling into him. They were half cuddling, half trying to hide how red his face was.
“Damn that’s like, really sappy” they whispered, despite his thoughts being much more sappy than anything Shuichi would say.
“You said it first!” Shuichi protested.
“Yeahhh. But it’s cuter out of your cute mouth.”Kokichi flirted, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. They pulled away to marvel at the adorable sight that was Shuichi Saihara’s blushed face before quickly hiding his own blush once again.
Shuichi took out his phone, a little difficult due to how Kokichi was clinging to him.
“Whatchu doing?” they wondered.
“I was, going to defend you, like I said I would.” Shuichi explained,”I don’t want people hurting you anymore.”
Aww. Sweet. And usually when Shuichi got an idea in his head, he wouldn’t stop until he did it.
Still, Kokichi’s smart enough to know that Shuichi didn’t sleep much last night. He was up late in the comment section, his latest reply from 4 am. And his eyes had been almost closing the whole conversation, no matter how much he tried to hide it.
Kokichi lifted his head up, nuzzling into his neck instead. “But you don’t have to do that right now..”
“But-“ Shuichi started.
Kokichi interrupted, “No, we’re taking a nap right now! And there’s nothing you can do about it.”
Shuichi sighed in defeat, “...You noticed I was tired?”
Kokichi nodded, “I notice everything.”
It was true, Kokichi was practically an expert on Shuichi by now. They could know everything he was thinking just by glancing at him. Well maybe that was an overreaction, but still!
Shuichi smiled, giving in quickly and welcoming the offer.
They cuddled with each other, as close as could be, both closing their eyes and waiting for sleep to take them.
It wasn’t the first time they’ve taken a nap together, and it was not going to be the last.
Kokichi didn’t know what was going to happen tommrow. Probably more mean comments, more transphobia.
But hey, they had Shuichi! They had each other. And no matter what, they weren’t going to let go.
So...it would be okay, wouldn’t it? The two of them could face this together.