Chapter Text
Warnings: misgendering but it's unintentional and part of the plot I promise
Radio Riot knew something was bothering Ultra-Violet from the moment it started. He could pick up on all the teen's signs. She was never fully focused on her work, always frowning harder the more she tried to force herself to concentrate. At first, Riot had thought nothing of it. The days were getting warmer, and the longer the group went without needing to go on a mission besides their supply runs, the more they were cooped up in the diner and trying to avoid the heat. That didn't stop the green-haired Killjoy from keeping a closer eye on Violet, however. He was paranoid, worried something would happen to the younger teen while he wasn't looking. Most of the time Violet would come to him when something was wrong or bothering her, and Riot didn't want to push. He had only known Ultra-Violet for almost a year but had grown overly protective of the young Killjoy, her shy yet tough personality and tech skills reminding Riot a lot of his own younger sister. It was an often painful reminder, seeing his baby sister in another person, but it was a bittersweet reminder she was still around him, even if she was no longer physically there.
Soon enough, Riot was picking up on the much smaller things Violet began doing. It was something he had seen a few times before, the frowns whenever someone used a feminine term for Violet, the anxious pulling at her long brown hair as if wishing it was shorter, the constant pulling at her shirts. Riot hadn't experienced gender dysphoria himself, but he knew enough about it from being with the Misfits. Adrenaline Rat and Kid Crimson were outside the gender binary, and both had been willing to answer Riot's questions about what it was like. He was curious, and had just wanted to know more about his friends. However, he wasn't even sure how to approach Violet and ask if she was okay. What if he was intruding? What if he made her uncomfortable?
And so Riot simply stuck with silently watching Violet, keeping an eye on the Killjoy from further away.
The opportunity to talk presented itself a few days later when Riot walked in on Violet in the diner's bathroom; scissors in one hand, a lock of brown hair in the other and a very concentrated yet emotional look on the Killjoy's face.
"Violet? What are you doing?" Riot interrupted, causing the younger teen to jump at his sudden presence.
"I don't-" Violet stumbled, dropping the scissors into the sink and letting go of her hair, a defeated look on her face. "I don't know!"
"Woah, woah" Riot smiled lightly, trying to ease Violet as he gently moved toward her. "Are you okay?"
"I don't know" Violet repeated, moving her hands and nervously playing with the hem of her purple shirt. "Everything just feels so- wrong"
Riot frowned before sitting crossed-legged on the floor and patting the tile in front of him. "Sit"
Violet sighed, a confused look on her face but sat down in front of Riot regardless, gently rocking back and forth. It was as if there were a permanent frown on the Killjoy's face, eyes flickering in every direction except Riot's.
"Do you wanna talk about it? Y'know you can tell me anything abeja" Riot softly smiled, hoping to ease Violet's stream of anxiety.
Instead, she tilted her head at Riot. "Abeja?" The word fell uncertainly from the teen's lips, as if testing the sound in her mouth.
Riot huffed sheepishly, lips parting in a bashful smile. "It means bee in Spanish. Abejorro means bumblebee. I just- I thought it was fitting" He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.
The wide smile that appeared on Violet's face was the first time Riot had seen her smile properly in days. "I love it!"
"Good! I don't plan on changing it. Now, you wanna tell me what's up? You've been acting off all week" Riot said softly.
As quick as it had arrived, Violet's smile fell again, being replaced with her pursing her lips and looking away from Riot again, anxiously fiddling with the fingers of her prosthetic arm.
"You don't have to talk about it if you don’t want to, though!" Riot quickly added. "I just wanna make sure you're okay"
"I don't really know what's wrong, though" Violet muttered, pulling and twisting at the hem of her shirt again. "I just, I don't understand why I feel wrong. When…when you guys call me a girl or call me your little sister it just, I don't know! I don't like it. And my hair is too long and my clothes are too tight-" Violet rambled.
"Woah, woah! It's okay, Vi" Riot held out his hands up with a smile, placing one of them on Violet's shoulder.
"It is..?" The younger teen asked hesitantly.
"Course! What you're experiencing is called gender dysphoria, I think" Riot replied.
"Gender dysphoria?" Violet repeated, tilting her head. She didn't know there was a word for such a thing, or that it was even acceptable to be feeling this way in the first place.
"It's like…" Riot stopped, chewing on his lip as he gathered the correct words. "You don't feel comfortable being referred to as a girl because you're not one. Using feminine pronouns makes you dysphoric. Right?" He tried to explain, Violet slowly nodding along in slight understanding.
"Do you feel like a girl?" Riot asked.
Violet's head shook from side to side, long brown hair flickering with the movements. "Is that- is it wrong?"
"No, no! Course not kid. Not feeling like the gender you were assigned at birth isn't wrong at all. It's all about what you feel. If you don't feel like a girl, then you're not one" Riot explained. The teen chewed on the inside of his cheek, debating if he should bring up Addy and Crimson and talk about his experiences with the two of them.
"Y'know Show Pony?" Riot asked instead.
Violet nodded. "Course"
"Y'know how they use they them pronouns? That's cuz they didn't feel like the gender they were assigned at birth. So they're nonbinary" Riot explained.
"Nonbinary…" Violet repeated, a smile growing on the Killjoy's face at the way it sounded. Violet knew Show Pony used different pronouns, ones the young teen had never heard someone else use before. But Violet simply never really questioned it, no one actively mentioned it and Violet didn't want to come across as rude or disrespectful.
"So, if I said 'This is Violet. He's my little brother', how does that feel?" Riot asked, the comforting smile remaining on his face.
Violet's face immediately brightened, eyes widening as if coming to a realisation. "I like that!"
"How about, 'this is Violet, they're my sibling'" Riot continued, smiling wider with Violet.
The younger Killjoy nodded happily. "I like both of those!"
"So, which one makes you feel more comfortable? 'This is Violet, she's my sister' or-" Violet frowned at the first one, sending a pang of hurt through their chest.
"Or, 'This is Violet, he's my sibling'" Riot finished.
"Definitely the second one" Violet replied with a confident nod.
"So, do you wanna use he and they pronouns? See how they fit?" Riot asked, tilting his head.
Violet nodded, eyes furrowing as they thought about it. "Yeah! Is…is that okay? What would the others say?" Violet frowned again, fingers going back to pulling at the hem of their shirt the more they overthought.
Riot shook his head, placing his hands on Violet's shoulders. "For one, of course it's okay. You're allowed to be yourself out here, it's what being a Killjoy means. You're a Killjoy no matter what anyone else says. And two, I know they'll accept you. Have you met them? I don't think they even know the definition of gender roles" Riot joked, smiling when he managed to get a laugh out of Violet.
"They won't hate me?" He asked nervously, his voice small.
Riot leant forward, planting a gentle kiss on the top of Violet's head. "Never in a million years would they hate you. There's literally nothing you can do to make them hate you. Now, if you want, of course, I can go grab Ghoulie and we can help you with this" Riot pulled a hand away, ruffling Violet's hair instead.
Their face instantly brightened. "You'd help lace it up?"
"Course! I'm not the best stylist but I've had my practice" Riot chuckled. He neglected to mention he used to help his sister style her hair every morning, spending hours learning how to braid and cut her hair to the way she wanted it. "I'd need another person to help me though"
"You promise Ghoulie won't be mad?" Violet asked.
Riot held out his pinkie. "I pinkie promise, abeja. You know how seriously I take my pinkie promises. And if he is, then I'll just give him a good punch to make him come to his senses" He laughed.
Violet smiled shyly, wrapping his pinkie finger around Riot's and laughing when the older boy shook them around to 'seal the deal'.
"Right, you stay here, I'll grab Ghoul" Riot ruffled Violet's hair again before pushing himself up off the floor and leaving the bathroom in search of the other younger Killjoy.
It didn't take very long to find him, the teen was sprawled across one of the booths, one leg propped up on the table, the other bent on the plush seating. A comic was clasped in his hands along with a concentrated look on his face as he tried to focus on the words.
"Oi, Ghoul. Wanna come help me with somethin'?" Riot called over, sliding into the seat opposite Ghoul.
Said Killjoy sat up, finally sitting on the seat normally and placing his open comic down on the table. "Depends what it is. Last time you said that I took the blame for one of yours and Kobra's stunts" Ghoul raised an eyebrow, huffing playfully as he crossed his arms.
"You need to get over that, it was ages ago" Riot teased back.
"It was two days ago!" Ghoul retorted.
"Yeah exactly, ages ago! Anyway, it's not about that. It's about Violet"
"Violet? Why, is she okay?" Ghoul's expression suddenly turned concerned, pushing away his comic to finally give Riot his full attention.
"Violet's fine, don't worry. It's- man how do I even explain this? Vi's like, experimenting with their gender. They don't feel like a girl so we're gonna use new pronouns for him" Riot fiddled with his hands, picking at the skin around his nails as he tried to explain in the least confusing way possible.
"Oh. Oh! That's rad, proud of 'em. So, what pronouns are we using?" Ghoul smiled and Riot felt an invisible weight lift off his shoulder's at Ghoul's calm reaction. Riot knew he'd be chill about it, this was Fun Ghoul we were talking about. But he supposed a darker part of him was worried Ghoul was going to turn around and be a dick about it, and Riot would have to punch him, and he really didn't feel like punching Fun Ghoul.
"He him and they them. He's in the bathroom right now, I said I'd come get you so we could help cut his hair" Riot replied.
Ghoul nodded along. "Rad. I'll help, I'm great at cutting hair. Oh! There's some a box of probably not expired dye in the back, d'you think he'd wanna dye it too?"
Riot couldn't help the swell of happiness in his stomach at the fact Ghoul switched pronouns so easily, he knew it'd make Violet incredibly happy knowing Ghoul accepted them just like that.
"We can bring in some colours an' ask, I think I know what box you're talking about. I can go grab it while you go talk to him?" Riot offered.
Ghoul nodded, pushing himself out of the booth and saluting to Riot before making his way into the bathroom. Riot watched him leave before standing and walking toward the back storage room, whistling a small tune to himself as he walked. He pushed open the back room door, it slowly closing behind him and encasing him in darkness before he quickly reached over and flicked on the light. The bulb hummed as it flickered on, Riot watched it for a moment, waiting for the bulb to settle down and actually stay on. He breathed a sigh of relief when it did, finally moving further into the room and beginning to dig and push around the boxes, trying to find the one labelled hair dye. Though, if Ghoul was the one to label the box, Riot wouldn't be surprised if 'dye' had been spelt 'die', knowing how Ghoul would find that absolutely hilarious.
When Riot finally found the box, he scoffed to himself with a smile as he proved himself correct; Ghoul really did label the box "hair die", along with a poorly drawn angry smiley face in dark green. However, as Riot picked up the box, a shiver went down his spine, and the sudden feeling of being watched loomed over him. The teen frowned, shaking out his shoulders in hopes of getting rid of the feeling, but the sense still remained. Riot traced the feeling into a darker corner of the storage room, frowning harder at the shadows that seemed to grow larger and more threatening. Not wanting to find out why he suddenly felt like he was being watched, Riot simply turned around and hurried out the door, quickly flicking the light off. The feeling immediately dispersed as the door closed behind him, but Riot didn't dwell on it, instead making his way back to the bathroom to find Fun Ghoul and Ultra-Violet.