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Puar had never really been like the other girls in "her" family, "she" supposed.
Sure, "she" liked the occasional cute thing. But usually, when they were gushing over dolls or watching shows with ponies, Puar was out playing in the mud or pretending to be a fearsome desert bandit.
Puar would admit, "she" had some emotions to unpack about "her" parents.
Mom was very clearly annoyed by her "daughter's" abnormal behavior and would frequently make this known. Dad tried his best, but it was clear whose side he would take even in the most unfair of arguments.
Puar never felt like anything was good enough for Mom. "she" had graduated top of "her" class at Shapeshifting Academy, damn it! Mom didn't even show up. Didn't she see how much that hurt?
Puar could still distinctly remember what the last straw had been.
Puar stared at himself In the mirror. Himself. Being a Shapeshifter had advantages. He had transformed into a male human. Just to see what it was like.
…It felt so right. It had to be right.
Heated words were exchanged that day when Puar broached the subject. Dad tried to appease his wife, but it was clear Puar had gone too far this time.
Puar was thrown out and he never looked back.
Despite how much he insisted He didn't care, that he would live his Truth from now on, it wasn't that simple.
Puar had Shapeshifting powers, being male despite his default body was probably infinitely easier for him than anyone else in his position. But that fear of rejection lingered. Mom had her faults and Dad enabled them, but they weren't terrible all the time and they were still his parents. That sort of thing affects a child.
And so Puar decided he could be himself in private. Pretending to be female couldn't be that hard. He had done it for 9 years already.
X
Meeting Lord Yamcha would probably be a deeply terrifying experience for most, Puar mused looking back on it. While wandering the desert, Yamcha had loomed over him as he slowly passed out from the heat, cleaning his sword.
Puar always kind of wondered if Yamcha had been intending to kill him and had Changed his mind for some reason, But they wisely came to the silent, mutual agreement to not broach that subject.
Anyways, Puar woke up in a comfy little hideout.
"Ugh.. what happened?" Puar mumbled.
"You clearly have never been in a desert before and wandered through one of the hottest ones in the world. You do the math, girlie." The young lad before him shrugged.
Puar had to bite his tongue at the word 'girlie'. Sure, he had saved him from Dying, but that didn't automatically make him a good person. This guy could be wanting a free servant for all he knew.
"What were you doing here anyways?"
"Eh, I'm homeless and always kind of liked the desert. This was the closest one. Though… yeah, not my smartest choice."
"Well, you can stay here, if you want. For a day or two."
…A day or two turned into six months, Puar proving himself to be pretty handy with repairs to Yamcha's bike and using his Shapeshifting to trick people. It was also clear Yamcha had been deeply lonely and they both needed company. So it worked out.
Still though, Puar found it hurting when Yamcha would occasionally make a tomboy joke. Not just for the obvious reasons, but also because Puar felt like he was Deceiving his only friend.
But that nagging reluctance to Be open about his true gender Never really went away.
After all that, life was a blur of action and crazy antics. They had met A trio of travelers who turned their lives upside down. Funny how Oolong could still drag him into stuff so many years later.
They had experienced heartache, loss, evil being triumphed.
And through it all Puar still kept quiet on his true identity.
By now, it was like second nature to him. Pretending he was female was as easy as any Shapeshifting disguise, he told himself. It was a lie of course, but it was one he managed to convince himself to Believe.
It had been an average day at Capsule Corp sometime after that trouble with Piccolo Jr. Yamcha and Bulma were bickering about Some perceived scandal Bulma got into her head Yamcha had gotten into, so Puar and Oolong were off waiting for that to die down. Honestly, Puar had never expected Oolong , his biggest bully, would settle into his second closest friend. Sure, the two were very sarcastic with each other, but Oolong was sarcastic with everyone, and it's not like his personality made him an easy guy to be around without letting out at least the occasional quip.
The two were rummaging through Bulma and Yamcha's Shared wardrobe, trying on outfits and pretending to be their owners. Puar had absentmindedly thrown on A Yamcha outfit at one point instead of Bulma's.
Puar blinked In the mirror. He didn't know what it was about the image of him Shapeshifted into Bulma while wearing Yamcha's clothes drew the reaction, but Puar was soon sobbing. Full on ugly tears.
Oolong was obviously startled, having even less idea than Puar what the hell was going on.
"Damn, Puar, it's not that bad of a look on you." He quipped, though their was an unease to his tone.
"Hmmph. You ain't a looker yourself, porky." He returned fire easily, though he suddenly felt… tired. He returns to his usual form, gives a halfhearted excuse, and floated off to bed.
Puar isn't sure why he didn't expect Yamcha and Bulma to be there to check on him pretty early the next day. Yamcha was his best friend and Bulma, for all her less than admirable qualities, was still a caring person who would be concerned about what Yamcha was concerned about.
"Puar, we can talk, woman to woman, it you need to?" Bulma offered.
That was when it clicked for Puar he needed to be honest. Puar swallowed thickly.
"That… that may be hard because, uh, I'm… I'm not.. not a woman." Puar Shyly forced out.
Yamcha seemed a little confused but clearly didn't want to upset Puar by saying the wrong thing so he stayed quiet for now. Bulma, however, had a simple look of recognition.
"... I'm sorry Puar. You know you don't have to hide things from us, right? Being trans is something I only have vague experience with that comes from being In a big city, but there's nothing wrong with it. Any jackass who says otherwise can deal with me." She folded her arms. The sheer confidence she exuded made Puar jealous as it Usually did, but it was (mostly) overpowered by appreciation this time around.
"...Trans? Is… is that what's going on…?"
"Well, I am just assuming based on your wording." Bulma admits.
"Puar, you're my friend. I.. I hope I didn't make you think you had to hide something like your gender from me." Yamcha finally speaks up, looking a little guilty.
"No no, Yamcha! I... I have my own issues to sort through. It was never you." Puar assured. That seemed to put the ex-bandit at ease.
The two hugged and Bulma smiled.
Running back into Oolong had been a little awkward, but the pig was fine with it it seemed (he jokingly whined about having more competition with picking up chicks, and Puar decided to let him have that one sarcasm free). Bulma's parents, ever supportive, openly promised to provide anything he made need for his transition, and made thinly veiled offers to use their wealth to crush anyone who was bigoted towards the cat.
And Puar was finally himself.
(Puar had to make some mental preparations for when he met back up with Goku though. Kami knows he wasn't exactly going to fully grasp the situation or treat it with tact. And he didn't. But hey, Puar had built up some humor towards the situation by then. But that was a story for another time).