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“Dad?” A voice suddenly piped up from across the room. John looked up to see his daughter standing from the entrance that leads from the hallway into the living room. Cybil is now 15 years old. The past nine years since she came into Sherlock and John’s life has been a wonderful experience for the two of them. And with Cybil being in her teenage years, she has been trying to deal with a lot of things.
Mostly when it comes to herself and who she is. Recently, Cybil came to a realization about herself that has been on her mind for the past few days. Tonight, Cybil just needed to know if what she is experiencing is a good thing or a bad one. John looked up at her.
“Hey there, hun! How is it going?”
Cybil waited a couple of seconds before giving him a reply.
“I-I am doing okay. ..Mostly. I just have to think about some things.”
John got an idea.
“Do you want to talk about it with me?”
That was the original plan Cybil had before coming to the living room. She wanted to talk to her Dad about something that has been bothering her for the past few days.
“Actually..I would like to do that with you if you have time.”
“Oh, sweetheart, I always have time when it comes to you! Please, have a seat.”
Cybil walked over and sat on the couch that was across from the recliner that John was sitting in when she arrived.
“So..what do you want to talk about with me?”
Cybil silently gulped before speaking again. She was not sure how this was going to go but Cybil was doing this for herself. All she just wanted is answers. Nothing more and nothing less than that.
“As a doctor..have you ever dealt with someone who does not have sexual feelings of any kind?”
John was not exactly sure what she meant by that.
“Could you elaborate on that for me, please?”
Cybil nodded.
“Yes. Have you ever dealt with someone who could not naturally get sexually aroused? Like, they can feel turned on for any reason. Even if they try, it just does not happen for them?”
John was surprised to hear this from her. Cybil has never talked about sex with them nor have asked either him or even Sherlock about it before..until now.
“Is there a reason why you are curious about that?”
“Yes. People around my age can start to develop certain kinds of feelings when it comes to their bodies as they are going through puberty but..I have not been able to experience those. I have seen porn stuff in all kinds of media and things like but..my body does not get excited from it. I have tried but my body physically refuses to do that.”
John was starting to understand Cybil more now.
“How do you feel about this?”
Cybil looked down at the floor below.
“It..it makes me feel like I am such a “defective” human being because my body will not do this.”
She was very honest with her dad. John got up from his recliner and sat down on the couch right next to her. He looked at her again as she was still staring at the floor.
“Cybil, it is very okay for someone to not feel sexual arousal. It does not mean that you are defective. Also..is there a reason why you want to talk to me about this? I do not mind that you are but I am curious.”
She looked back up at her dad.
“Because not only you are a doctor but..I also trust you and your advice. I do not have a lot of people that I feel like I can talk about with nor have many people in my life that may understand it.”
John gave her a smile.
“I feel honored that you feel that way enough to talk to me about these kinds of things. And still, you are not defective in any way. You are still the very same Cybil that I adore and love so much.”
“That makes me happy to know.”
John had a thought suddenly pop up into his head.
“By the way, do you know what asexuality is or have you ever heard of of the term?”
Cybil shook her head a couple of times.
“No but I know about a lot of other kinds of sexualities and stuff but not that one.”
“Well, asexuality is a spectrum. Some people on the spectrum can want to have sex or self pleasure and can feel arousal and some just..well, they just do not feel that way about sex or are repulsed by the act of having sex with someone else or even just sex itself. Some people who are asexual are like what you are experiencing at the moment. Or you could be a late bloomer but regardless, there is nothing wrong with how your body is working when it comes to that.”
That made a lot of sense to his daughter.
“Now that you mention this, I do not think of bodies in a sexual way nor the idea of having sex with someone else appeals to me in any way. I know I am just 15 but still..it just made me wonder things about who I am.”
“You could just be asexual then. And it is okay. You can figure out stuff like this at any age. Young and older.”
“Does that disappoint you that I am like this and could be this way for the rest of my life? It could change but also, it may never change.”
John shook his head a couple of times.
“Nah. Not at all. You never have disappointed me in any way and this does not change that. I just want you to be happy. As long as you are happy then that is all that matters.”
Cybil agreed.
“Thanks, Dad. Do you think Papa will understand all of this if I also talk to him about it as well?”
“You are welcome and I think he will. He tends to be pretty good at that.”
Cybil gave her Dad a smile.
“I am glad that I talked to you about this. It does explain a lot and honestly, I am okay with this being a part of who I am. Also, I was not planning on having sex until after I became an adult anyway but I think that is not going to happen either. I think I will be fine.”
“I know you will be. You are truly an amazing person and anyone who tries to shame you for it or anything you like are huge arseholes. Being asexual does not make you a “defective human being”. Just be the way you are, okay?”
“I will. And I am glad that I can talk to you about this kind of stuff but I tend to get so nervous about when I have to talk to you or Papa about stuff like this. it is not on purpose, though. I just naturally get that way at times.”
John understood and he would never want Cybil to feel like that there was something that she could never talk about either him or Sherlock.
“No need to be that way with us. We are here to help you with anything you need. No matter the subject that needs to be discussed.”
Cybil suddenly wrapped her arms around her dad and gave him a hug.
“I love you, Dad.”
John wrapped both of his arms around her as well.
“I love you, too, Cybil. Always will with all of my heart. I am so glad that you are my kid.”
“I am glad that you are my Dad, too.”
Both John and Cybil felt happy. And Cybil felt a whole lot better after talking to her dad about what has been going on. He was able to answer things that Cybil was worried about. And now having all of these answers, she felt like things were going to be fine. Yet, she still has to tell her Papa about her new found sexuality. Hopefully, Sherlock will accept her but John has no doubts about that.
Sherlock and John love their daughter with both of their hearts and no matter what happens, that love for her will never, ever change.
The End