Work Text:
"Wil?" A clearing of the throat, and then a gentle murmur, "I'm trans."
Wilbur blinks, then looks down at the person in his lap. He can't say he expected this; well, the coming out makes sense with hindsight, he supposes, but he can't say he expected his friend to decide now is the best time to come out to him.
His heart is racing, but as much as he wants to scream at the top of his lungs in cheer and excitement, one look at his friend makes him try his best to drown out his urge to jump off of the couch and bounce off the walls, to the mild annoyance of his downstairs neighbors.
"So, wait, just making sure-- you're... a girl?" is what he chooses to say.
There's a breath of relief, then a gentle smile. "Yeah, just..." Then Wilbur -- with his knowledge of every feature and facial expression that ever appears on his friend's face -- recognizes the smile as the one used to cover up any signs of nerves. "I know, it's probably confusing, maybe a bit weird..."
It's such an old, familiar sentiment, and coming from the blonde teenager -- Wilbur's heart aches terribly at that.
"Hey," he murmurs lowly, grabbing a hold of the hand that's nervously running through blonde locks of hair. "It's okay," he tries to say, a gentle reminder that he's always been a safe place for the younger.
"You probably don't understand," comes the mumble that stumbles out of those lips.
"You're safe," Wilbur chooses to say. "It's okay," he repeats. "How-- do you have a name? Pronouns?"
A soft exhale, as shoulders relax. "Oh, um... she, probably? I think? And... Clementine."
"Clementine," Wilbur echoes.
He graciously pretends not to notice Clementine let out a small sigh -- almost a sob -- of relief.
"My parents call me Clem," she blurts out.
"Well, Clem." Wilbur leans down to press a kiss on her hair. "Thanks for telling me."
Then, because he has no tactical grace -- or really any way to let it slip into the conversation easily: "Me too."
Clem's head jerks up, looking at him. Her eyes are so wide, blinking once and then twice. She looks almost dumbfounded.
"W-wait, really?" She gapes. "Why didn't you-- why would you...? Warn a girl, would you? Maybe you should have started with that first...!"
Wilbur can't help but giggle at her. She's still her, no matter her gender or her presentation or anything else. She's still...
His little ray of sunshine.
"In my defense, I forgot, kind of." Wilbur's glance drifts away. "I transitioned in every way I wanted to, years ago."
Clem lets out a noise of understanding, then grabs a hold of Wilbur's hand, squeezing it softly. "Hey, I know you don't need to hear this, but-- Thanks for telling me too."
"My dearest Clementine," Wilbur hums lowly, squeezing her hand back. "Anything that comes from your lips, I'd love to hear."
MUSIC - TRENDING
My Dearest Clementine
Content creator Wilbur Soot releases a song called My Dearest Clementine