Work Text:
It was almost like any other day at the Sakuragi Lab.
This time however, Gou was looking through his and Ash’s shared closet. Clothes had been piling up and there was barely any space for new ones. It was a rather small space to begin with.
Gou’s eyes eventually landed on a cardboard box, neatly hidden between the freshly washed shirts that were tossed down there in a hurry.
With little to no effort he lifted the box to place it on the table. His curiosity as a researcher took over as he opened it carefully.
What he didn’t suspect were three dresses, folded and placed next to each other. Was there something else below?
Delicately Gou grabbed the outfits and put them on the table next to the box.
Then his sight went back to it’s content.
A few wigs were there. One long and blond. He never saw anyone wear something like this. Was Chloe pulling some kind of prank on him? But she wasn’t the kind to. Neither was his other friend.
And Ash would never come up with something like this, too.
Noises from behind the door made Gou react quickly.
His weight shifted to cover up what he had found, his face putting on the most innocent look one can have after finding something inappropriate.
The door opened.
Ash looked at Gou with confusion: “Is everything alright?”
“Uh- yeah! I mean, why wouldn’t it be…”, the researcher laughed nervously.
But soon he stopped with a sigh: “I found this in the closet.”, revealing what he had been hiding.
The other boy’s eyes widened as he grew embarrassed: “Yeah so… That’s actually mine.”
Gou didn’t actually register what Ash had said and simply nodded insecurely.
Short legs carried the trainer over to unfold one of the dresses: “It’s been a while but when I was traveling with some other people I ended up having to disguise myself as a girl more than once. That made me so uncomfortable…”, he chuckled with a reminiscing grin: “And another time I had to dress up as one of the maids at a café. It was embarrassing but looking back on it also kind of fun. So from time to time I still wear them.”
A gulp came from Gou’s dry throat. There really was a lot he had missed out on when it came to Ash’s adventures.
“Does anyone else know?”, curiosity took over.
“No, You’re the first to find out. Well, next to my mom.”
Gou blushed at the thought he held an important secret now.
"I'll try to keep it that way..."
"Thanks!", Ash grinned widely, appreciating Gou's consideration.
Eventually however they ended up packing the outfits back into the box and hiding it beneath the shirts from before.
After all, it was getting late and they head to bed soon.
Gou was still awake below the sheets of his top bunk while Ash was fast asleep below.
His thoughts raced with uncertainty.
Before this he always thought these kind of clothes were more directed towards girls. And in no way did he ever want to be seen as one.
But now? Maybe he was wrong. Quite possibly he had always feared something for no actual reason.
Maybe... maybe he could try out wearing something more feminine?
"Chloe! Can I borrow you for a bit?", Gou huffed out of breath.
The following day the morning class ended up being free time for the students. And so Chloe sat in the dining room scrolling through her phone as most of the others were still eating.
A tad bit confused she glanced up to Gou: "Yeah, sure."
Chloe got up and walked over to her friend.
Quickly leading her around the corner Gou began to whisper: "So... this probably sounds extremely random, but..."
"Oh, if you want to tell me that you fancy Ash and you need my advice, that's already very obvious."
His face turned bright red as he put his hands over her mouth: "Shush! Well, yes, but... that isn't what this is about. Something happened... and...", Gou's voice ended up as a small mumble: "...now I'd like to try out wearing a dress or a skirt..."
For the girl it finally clicked: "Alright. Then let's head upstairs. I don't have much time left though before I have to leave.", her expression representing a soft smile.
A wide grin formed on Gou's face as he turned around to run back to his room, Chloe right behind him.
"Ok...", Gou breathed: "How does it look?"
The school dress Chloe was wearing before adorned his stature. Now she was sitting on the chair with baggy clothes from Gou.
It took Chloe a few seconds to process: "Actually... it looks really good. How do you feel about it?"
Gou spun around once while looking down before deciding: "I like it!"
He giggled as he made the dress move more.
Chloe ended up joking: "Do you want to show Ash? Like this people might confuse you for a girl."
This struck fear into Gou's eyes. His movement stopped as his demeanor dropped. A stare was directed towards his friend: "No. I don't... want to be seen as a girl again."
He shrunk into himself, a sudden ache in his gut rendering him defenseless.
Tears started to roll down his red cheeks: "Not again..."
Chloe was overwhelmed by the situation. Yet she tried her best by kneeling down beside him: "Shhh... Do you want to talk about it?"
Gou nodded slightly, sniffling.
"Then... Were you really seen as a girl before?"
Another nod.
"Do you want to explain why?"
Now Gou turned his head towards Chloe: "I-... I'm trans."
The confession took Chloe a bit off guard: "Oh uh... Well, I still see you as a boy. And the others are too."
"Yeah...", he wiped away a few tears: "it's probably difficult to notice considering I started to represent myself as a boy very early on. Probably another reason why it was so difficult for me to make friends..."
"Hey, don't say that...", Chloe rubbed circles on the boy's back: "I became your friend!"
"Yeah, only after you noticed that teacher talking to me, pretty much scolding me for not fitting in.", a small laugh escaped Gou's dry lips.
"Well yes, but you have to consider that I wasn't exactly aware of your existence before that.", a small bump to his shoulder indicated towards the playful tone lingering in her voice.
The atmosphere in the room brightened after joking around a bit.
After a bit each wore their respective clothes again, the small tear stains on the school uniform not bothering Chloe.
About to leave Gou spoke up: "Uhmmm... Could we keep this between us? I know Ash would be fine with me wearing more feminine outfits but I don't know about the others... And also... you know..."
With a soft smile like before she reassured: "I promise. I'll keep it to ourselves for as long as you need."
"Thank you Chloe...", Gou went in for another hug: "You're really the best friend I could ask for..."
"Next to Ash?"
"Yes... Next to Ash.", He rolled his eyes but smiled at her remark.
And so Gou had figured out a bit more about himself.