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“Hey, Brick?”
Bubbles’ voice startled Brick out of his thoughts. That testosterone was really doing its job, deepening Bubbles’ voice. He was a couple months on it. Brick was fully aware that this change made Bubbles happy. Like, really happy. Bubbles is usually happy and cheerful by default, but Brick has never seen him so happy before. Maybe his siblings have. While Brick doesn’t understand anything to do with transitioning, he knows that being on testosterone has helped Bubbles a lot, and while he’ll never catch himself admitting it… it makes him happy, too.
“What?” he finally replies. He’s caught himself thinking about Bubbles again. Goddamnit.
“Can I ask you something?” Bubbles says, his voice cracking on accident. There’s the testosterone doing its thing.
“Uhh, yeah, sure.” Brick wasn’t aware that his face felt warm to the touch, becoming his signature color.
“Okay! Well, I’ve been thinking about… a new name for myself.” Bubbles began, a broad smile on his face. “That’s why I wanted to hang out with you today, because I want to test it out on you.”
“Me?” Brick asked dumbly. He pointed to himself. “What do I have to do with it? You can just… change your name? Just like that?”
“Sure! If you wanna!” Bubbles nodded, bouncing in his lap. Typical Bubbles and his stupid… cute- contagious smile! Brick grumbled to himself. “Anyone can change their name, not just trans people! But anyways, I have a name in mind and I tested it out with Blossom and Basil, but I wanna hear you say it, too!”
Brick’s hair fluffed up a bit, getting flustered. He was acting like this was some romantic request, or something more intimate. What, was this some kind of trust? He didn’t know! He’s cis! He gathered himself, playing it cool. “Oh. Okay. What’s the name?”
“Barley.” Bubbles answered. “I just think it sounds cute, and it works with Blossom and Basils’ names! A blossom is a flower, and basil is an herb! Barley is a grain in the grass family, so I thought it’d be cute to match with them! It starts with the letter B, after all!”
Barley. The name repeated in Brick’s head like a broken record player. It is cute. Would this mean that Bubbles no longer wants to be named Bubbles? He started playing with fistfuls of grass in thought. So instead of having a friend named Bubbles, he has a friend named… Barley. Huh. It fits. It sounds like it fits, and if it’s what Bubbles wants, then… Brick saw no problem. Deep down, he really does want to see him happy. It almost makes himself happy.
Brick almost forgot to reply. He stumbled on his words, mentally slapping himself back to reality. Quit acting dumb like Boomer! “Barley sounds cool. So, what do you want me to do?”
“Umm, if it’s okay, I want you to call me Barley!” Bubbles responded, brushing back strands of his hair nervously. “I’m still trying it out. I want to hear you say it. For example, refer to me as Barley instead of Bubbles, while still using my pronouns.”
Simple enough. Even Boomer can do it. Brick’s jaw worked for the right words. Just any sentence calling him Barley works, then. He cleared his throat.
“So, uhm, I have- my friend Barley is really cool… and stuff.” Brick ended that one awkwardly, still embarrassed to call Bubbles- Barley, that. “He has two older siblings. I think Barley is smarter than Boomer and I like hanging out with him more. Barley is-”
Brick stopped himself, his heart almost dropping to his butt. He was gonna say it. He took a deep breath, steering himself in the right direction.
“Barley is a really cool name and, uhh, I’d- I’d be cool to call him that.” Brick finished, fairly certain he might’ve embarrassed himself. Where’s his forced pride when he needs it?! ‘You’re straight.’ Brick repeats to himself in his head, not very confidently, ‘You’re straight. You’re straight. You like girls. Bubbl- Barley is a boy and you’re straight. You don’t like him that way. You don’t have a crush on him. Crushes are stupid.’
“Thank you, Brick!” Brick was once again startled out of his stupid thoughts. He’d forgotten he was talking to Barley. The name was already becoming natural to him.
“Oh- uhh, n-no problem.” Brick awkwardly replied, clearing his throat. He knew his face must’ve looked red, at least a little red. He’s such a mess right now. “So, uhh, does it fit? Do you like the name?”
“Mhmm!” Barley hummed happily. “It sounds really nice when you say it. Your voice makes it sound… fitting. I can’t explain it!”
Brick felt the arrow of love pierce through his heart, clean and precise. “Th-that’s cool.” he stammered.
“I wanna go by Barley now.” Barley said, nodding to himself. “Can you please keep calling me that from now on? I’ll tell Blossom and Basil, too! You really helped me decide!”
“Yeah!” Brick answered a little too quickly, slightly forcing a lame smile. “I mean, uhh- y-yeah, of course.”
“Thanks, Brick!” Suddenly, Barley enveloped Brick in a tight hug, burying his face into Brick’s shoulder. He waggled his hips side to side, hardly able to contain himself from such excitement! “You’re a good friend!”
Brick, needless to say, was surprised. He let his arms go slack by his sides, not sure how to react to being hugged. Barley’s always hugged him like this, but this one was… different. This hug was a different hug, for sure. It felt warmer than the rest, and the way Barley was squeezing him was the right amount of pressure to make him relax on the spot. He almost went limp completely.
Brick has always let Barley hug him, but would never return the hug, and Barley was fine with that. He didn’t expect hugs from him, and that was fine, so Brick could hardly realize himself hugging back for the first time. Of course, Barley noticed.
“Aww, you’re hugging me, too!” Barley squealed, hugging Brick tighter.
“Do we have to stay friends?” Brick asked.
But the words never left his mouth, instead a thought he couldn’t get out from his pursed lips. He might never get the answer, if at all. Maybe with time, he’ll get it. Just not today. But he’ll wait for the answer. He’ll wait eons for it, even if it’ll kill him a thousand times over.
He wondered if he could still die from a kiss.